10 Countries Where The Capital Isn’t The City That You’d Expect

Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, has been one of the busiest cities in the world for millennia. Since its foundation in the sixth century BC it has been a melting pot of culture and trade, serving as a convenient middle ground between Europe and Asia and the Christian and Islamic worlds. It served as the capital of the Roman, Latin, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires for just shy of 1600 years and is still assumed by many to the capital of modern-day Turkey, attracting millions of visitors each year with historical attractions such as the Grand Bazaar and Hagia Sophia.

Since 1923, however, the capital has been the city of Ankara, which has less than a third of the population of its predecessor. The defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I led to Istanbul being occupied by the Allied forces, with intentions to split the city and its surrounding areas amongst the victorious sides. This did not sit well with Turkish nationalists under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who established their headquarters in the small town (then boasting around 35,000 inhabitants) and used it as a base of operations in their successive wars of independence against the Armenian, Greek and French colonial forces.

Sensing that a friendly Turkish nation would be beneficial as a buffer against the ascendant Soviet Union, Britain and France eventually sued for peace, ceding control of Turkey to Atatürk and allowing Istanbul to be reincorporated into the fledgling nation. The capital was never changed back, however.