List of urban centers in Istanbul
Istanbul has thirty-nine districts administered by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (MMI).The district of Fatih, which includes the neighborhood and former district of Eminönü, is among the most central of these, residing on the historic peninsula south of the Golden Horn. The district corresponds to what was until the Ottoman conquest the whole of the city, across from which stood the Genoese citadel of Galata in the late Byzantine era. Those Genoese fortifications were largely demolished in the 19th century, leaving only the Galata Tower, to make way for northward expansion of the city. Galata is now a part of the Beyolu district, which forms Istanbul's commercial and entertainment center and includes stiklal Avenue and Taksim Square.
The waterfront yals on the Bosphorus are among the most noticeable traits of Istanbul's cityscape.
Dolmabahçe Palace, the seat of government during the late Ottoman period, is located in Beikta, just north of Beyolu, across from BJK nönü Stadium, home to Turkey's oldest football club.[81] The former village of Ortaköy is situated within Beikta and provides its name to the Ortaköy Mosque, along the Bosphorus near the First Bosphorus Bridge. Lining the shores of the Bosphorus north of there are yals, luxurious chalet mansions originally built by 19th-century aristocrats and elites as summer homes.
Istanbul's districts extend far from the city center along the full length of the Bosphorus (with the Black Sea at top and the Sea of Marmara at bottom).