Istanbul-once known as the capital of capital cities-has many unique features. It is the only city in the world to straddle two continents and the only one to have been a capital during two consecutive empires -Christian and Islamic. Once capital of the Ottoman Empire-Istanbul still remains the commercial-historical and cultural pulse of Turkey and its beauty lies in its ability to embrace its contradictions. Ancient and modern-religious and secular-Asia and Europe-mystical and earthly all co-exist here.