This richly illustrated and thoroughly researched book takes the reader through the history of a fascinating city. As the capital of two great empires, Constantinople occupied a stategic political position between the West and the East for centures and inspired artists from both cultures to create works of the very highest quallity. All major cultural treasures of the city and describes here, from the masterpieces of the early Christian period to the magnificent palaces and mosques of the Ottoman era and the architectural achievements of the nineteenth century.