Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, comprising the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. Its commercial and historical centre lies in the European part of Eurasia, while about a third of its population lives in the Asian part. Photos are from Aksaray, a neighborhood of shops and hotels centered around a busy square. Bordering the neighborhood is crowded Ataturk Blvd containing the Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque directly north of the narrow streets around the Yenikapi metro station. The last photos are from across the Bosphorus Strait on the Asian side in a high rise district with a giant Turkish flag topping a hill at the street's end