Simon Sebag Montefiore uncovers the three identities of the city some call the Centre of the World: Byzantium, Constantinople and Istanbul. This one metropolis has been the capital city of three empires - Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. Each brought its own faiths, Gods and traditions, and each left its mark on the city in its architecture, traditions and in the living faith-communities who still populate this vast modern metropolis of 14 million people.
3.8 / 5
Episode 1
Simon Sebag Montefiore looks at Istanbul's Greek roots, its transformation into the capital of a Christian empire and reveals how clashes forced eastern and western churches apart.
Episode 2
Simon Sebag Montefiore explores modern Istanbul in search of the last centuries of Christian Byzantium, when the once glorious city was buffeted by enemies from both east and west.
Episode 3
Visiting the great mosques and palaces built by the Ottoman emperors, Simon Sebag Montefiore looks at how Istanbul became the imperial capital and Islam's most powerful city.
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