Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Name	Istanbul
Settlement type	City
Blank emblem type	Logo
Pushpin map	Turkey
Pushpin map caption	Location in Turkey
Pushpin mapsize	300px
Coordinates region	TR
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name
Subdivision type1	Region
Subdivision name1	Marmara
Subdivision type2	Province
Subdivision name2	Istanbul
Leader party	AKP
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Kadir Topbaş
Established title	Established
Established title1	- Byzantium
Established date1	c. 660 BC
Established title2	- Constantinople
Established date2	330 AD
Established title3	- Istanbul
Established date3	1453 (Ottoman Turkish)1923 (Modern Turkish)1930 (internationally)
Parts type	Districts
Parts	39
Area metro km2	5343
Area metro mi2	2063
Area metro footnotes
Population total	8,803,468
Population as of	2000–10 city proper, 2010–12 metro area
Population metro	13,255,685
Population rank	1st Turkish, 19th World
Population density metro km2	2481
Timezone	EET
Utc offset	+2
Timezone dst	EEST
Utc offset dst	+3
Postal code type	Postal code
Postal code	34000 to 34850
Area code	(+90) 212 (European side) (+90) 216 (Asian side)
Website	}}

Istanbul (), historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople (see names of Istanbul for further information), is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province (municipality) had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe(if its Asian half is counted) after London and Moscow. The city in its administrative limits had 8.8 million residents counted in the latest Turkish census from 2000. Istanbul is a megacity, as well as the cultural, economic, and financial centre of Turkey. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbour known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) sides of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents. Istanbul is a designated alpha world city.

During its long history, Istanbul has served as the capital of the Roman Empire (330–395), the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). When the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed on 29 October 1923, Ankara, which had previously served as the headquarters of the Turkish national movement during the Turkish War of Independence, was chosen as the new Turkish State's capital. Istanbul was chosen as a joint European Capital of Culture for 2010 and the European Capital of Sports for 2012. Istanbul is currently bidding to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. The historic areas of the city were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.

The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province.

Toponymy

Byzantium (, ''Byzántion'') is the first known name of the city. Around 660 BC, which came into existence around 685 BC. However, Eusebius of Caesarea, while concurring with 685 BC as the year Chalcedon was founded, places Byzantion's establishment in 659 BC. Among more modern historians, Carl Roebuck proposed the 640s BC while others have suggested even later. Further, the foundation date of Chalcedon is itself subject to some debate; while many sources place it in 685 BC, others put it in 675 BC or even 639 BC (with Byzantion's establishment placed in 619 BC). As such, some sources have opted to refer to Byzantium's foundation as simply located in the 7th century BC.|group="note"|name="byz-date"}} Greek settlers from the city-state of Megara founded a Doric colony on the present-day Istanbul, and named the new colony after their king, Byzas. After Constantine I (Constantine the Great) made the city the new eastern capital of the Roman Empire in 330 AD, the city became widely known as Constantinopolis or Constantinople, which, as the Latinised form of "Κωνσταντινούπολις" (Kōnstantinoúpolis), means the "City of Constantine". He also attempted to promote the name ''Nea Roma'' ("New Rome"), but this never caught on. Constantinople remained the official name of the city throughout the Byzantine period, and the most common name used for it in the West until the establishment of the Republic of Turkey.

By the 19th century, the city had acquired a number of names used by either foreigners or Turks. Europeans used ''Constantinople'' to refer to the whole of the city, while using the name ''Stamboul'' - as the Turks also did - to describe the walled peninsula between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara. ''Pera'' was used to describe the area between the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, but Turks also used the name ''Beyoğlu'', which is still in use today. However, with the Turkish Postal Service Law of 28 March 1930, the Turkish authorities formally requested foreigners to adopt ''İstanbul'', a name in existence since the 10th century, as the sole name of the city within their own languages.

Etymologically, the name "İstanbul" (, colloquially ) derives from the Medieval Greek phrase or, in the Aegean dialect, (, Modern Greek "στην Πόλη" ), which means "in the city" or "to the city". In modern Turkish, the name is written "İstanbul", with a dotted İ, as the Turkish alphabet distinguishes between a dotted and dotless I. Also, while in English the stress is on the first syllable ("Is"), in Turkish it is on the second syllable ("tan"). Like Rome, Istanbul has been called "The City of Seven Hills" because the oldest part of the city is supposedly built on seven hills, each of which bears a historic mosque.

History

First settlements

Recent construction of the Marmaray tunnel unearthed a Neolithic settlement underneath Yenikapı on Istanbul's peninsula. Dating back to the 7th millennium BC, before the Bosphorus was even formed, the discovery indicated that the peninsula was settled thousands of years earlier than previously thought. Thracian tribes established two settlements—''Lygos'' and ''Semistra''—on the Seraglio Point, near where Topkapı Palace now stands, between the 13th and 11th centuries BC. On the Asian side, artifacts have been found in Fikirtepe (present-day Kadıköy) that date back to the Chalcolithic period. The same location was the site of a Phoenician trading post at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC as well as the town of Chalcedon, which was established by Greek settlers from Megara in 685 BCE.

However, the history of Istanbul generally begins around 660 BCE, when the settlers from Megara, under the command of King Byzas, established Byzantion (Latinised as Byzantium) on the European side of the Bosphorus. By the end of the century, an acropolis was established at the former locations of ''Lygos'' and ''Semistra'', on the Seraglio Point. The city experienced a brief period of Persian rule at the turn of the 5th century BC, but the Greeks recaptured it during the Greco-Persian Wars. Byzantium then continued as part of the Athenian League and its successor, the Second Athenian Empire, before ultimately gaining independence in 355 BCE. Long protected by the Roman Republic, Byzantium officially became a part of the Roman Empire in AD 73.

Byzantium's decision to side with the usurper Pescennius Niger against Roman Emperor Septimus Severus cost it dearly; by the time it surrendered at the end of 195, two years of siege had left the city devastated. Still, five years later, Severus began to rebuild Byzantium, and the city regained—and, by some accounts, surpassed—its previous prosperity.

Rise and fall of Constantinople

When Constantine I defeated Licinius at the Battle of Chrysopolis in September 324, he effectively became the emperor of the whole of the Roman Empire. Just two months later, Constantine laid out the plans for a new, Christian city to replace Byzantium. Intended to replace Nicomedia as the eastern capital of the empire, the city was named ''Nea Roma'' (New Rome); however, most simply called it Constantinople ("the city of Constantine"), a name that persisted into the 20th century. Six years later, on 11 May 330, Constantinople was proclaimed the capital of an empire that eventually became known as the Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire.

The establishment of Constantinople served as one of Constantine's most lasting accomplishments, shifting Roman power eastward and becoming a center of Greek culture and Christianity. Numerous churches were built across the city, including the Hagia Sofia, which remained the world's largest cathedral for a thousand years. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople developed in the city, and its leader is still one of the foremost figures in the Greek Orthodox Church. Constantinople's location also ensured its existence would stand the test of time; for many centuries, its walls and seafront protected Europe against invaders from the east as well as from the advance of Islam. During most of the Middle Ages and the latter part of the Byzantine period, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city on the European continent, and during parts of this period the largest in the world.

Constantinople began to decline after the Fourth Crusade, during which it was sacked and pillaged. The city subsequently became the center of the Latin Empire, created by Catholic crusaders to replace the Orthodox Byzantine Empire, which was divided into splinter states. However, the Latin Empire was short-lived, and the Byzantine Empire was restored, weakened, in 1261. Constantinople's churches, defenses, and basic services were in disrepair, and its population had dwindled to forty thousand from nearly half a million during the 9th century.

Various economic and military policies instituted by Andronikos II, such as the reduction of forces, weakened the empire and left it more vulnerable to attack. In the mid-14th century, the Ottoman Turks began a strategy by which they took smaller towns and cities over time, cutting off Constantinople's supply routes and strangling it slowly. Finally, on 29 May 1453, after an eight-week siege (during which the last Roman Emperor, Constantine XI, was killed), Sultan Mehmed II "the Conqueror" captured Constantinople and declared it the new capital of the Ottoman Empire. Hours later, the sultan rode to the Hagia Sofia and summoned an imam to proclaim the Islamic creed, converting the grand cathedral into an imperial mosque.

Turkish rule

Following the fall of Constantinople, Mehmed II immediately set out to revitalize the city, now also known as Istanbul. He invited and forcibly resettled many Muslims, Jews, and Christians from other parts of Anatolia into the city, creating a cosmopolitan society that persisted through much of the Ottoman period. By the end of the century, Istanbul had returned to a population of two hundred thousand, making it the second-largest city in Europe. Meanwhile, Mehmed II repaired the city's damaged infrastructure and began to build the Grand Bazaar. Also constructed during this period was Topkapı Palace, which served as the official residence of the sultan for four hundred years.

The Ottomans quickly transformed Constantinople from a bastion of Christianity to a symbol of Islamic culture. Religious foundations were established to fund the construction of grand imperial mosques, often adjoined by schools, hospitals, and public baths. Suleiman the Magnificent's reign from 1520 to 1566 was a period of especially great artistic and architectural achievements; chief architect Mimar Sinan designed the Süleymaniye Mosque and other grand buildings in the city, while Ottoman arts of ceramics, calligraphy and miniature flourished. The total population of Constantinople amounted to 570,000 by the end of the 18th century.

A period of rebellion at the start of the 19th century led to the rise of the progressive Sultan Mahmud II and eventually the ''Tanzimat'' period, which produced reforms that aligned the empire along Western European standards. Bridges across the Golden Horn were constructed during this period, and Istanbul was connected to the rest of the European railway network in the 1880s. The Tünel, one of the world's oldest subterranean urban rail lines, opened in 1875; other modern facilities, such a stable water network, electricity, telephones, and trams, were gradually introduced to Istanbul over the following decades, although later than to other European cities.

Still, the modernization efforts were not enough to forestall the decline of the Ottoman regime. The early 20th century saw the Young Turk Revolution, which disposed of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, and a series of wars that plagued the ailing empire's capital. The last of these, World War I, resulted in the British, French, and Italian occupation of Istanbul. The final Ottoman sultan, Mehmed VI, was exiled in November 1922; the following year, the occupation of Istanbul ended with the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne and the recognition of the Republic of Turkey, which was declared by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on 29 October 1923.

In the early years of the republic, Istanbul was overlooked in favor of the country's new capital, Ankara. However, starting from the late 1940s and early 1950s, Istanbul underwent great structural change, as new public squares (such as Taksim Square), boulevards, and avenues were constructed throughout the city, sometimes at the expense of historical buildings. In 1955, the Istanbul Pogrom targeted the city's ethnic Greek community. The pogrom greatly accelerated the emigration of the city's ethnic Greeks to Greece. The population of Istanbul began to rapidly increase in the 1970s, as people from Anatolia migrated to the city to find employment in the many new factories that were built on the outskirts of the sprawling metropolis. This sudden, sharp rise in the city's population caused a large demand for housing development, and many previously outlying villages and forests became engulfed into the greater metropolitan area of Istanbul. As a capital of empires, the city was not only an administrative, but also a religious center. The Patriarchate of Eastern Christians has been headquartered here since its establishment, and the largest early churches and monasteries of the Christian world rose in this city on top of the pagan temples. Within a century after the city was conquered, it was enriched with mosques, palaces, schools, baths and other architectural monuments that gave it a Turkish character, while some of the existing churches in ruins were repaired, altered and converted into mosques.Between the 16th century when the Ottoman sultans acquired themselves the title of the "Caliph of Islam" and 1924, the first year of the Republic, Istanbul was also the headquarters of the Caliphate. More Jews settled in Istanbul than any other port, and here they built themselves a new and happy life after they were rescued from Spain by the Turks in the 15th century. Istanbul has always been a city of tolerance where mosques, churches and synagogues existed side by side. The city was adorned with a large number of dazzling and impressive works even during the period of decline of the Ottomans. During this time, the influence of European art made itself felt in the new palaces, while the northern slopes of the Golden Horn, Galata and Beyoglu districts assumed a European character. Even when the Empire, which was a party to World War I, collapsed and the young Republic that replaced it moved the capital to Ankara, Istanbul did not lose its significance. The haphazard development that began in the years following World War II and accelerated in the 1950s has unfortunately had a negative impact on the fabric of the old city, and while old wooden houses disappeared rapidly, concrete buildings proliferated. Istanbul experienced a population explosion due to immigration, and within a very short period it expanded far beyond the historical city walls. The areas inside the walls were invaded by workshops, mills and offices; even the new thoroughfares could not solve the traffic problems, and the inadequacy of the infrastructure gave rise to a sea pollution problem, starting with the Golden Horn.

With the initiatives for saving the city in the 1980s, Istanbul embarked on a process of restructuring on a scale unseen in its history.Thousands of buildings along the Golden Horn were demolished to make way for a green belt on its shores; parks and gardens were built on the land claimed by filling up the beaches of the Sea of Marmara. In order to prevent sea pollution drainage systems were completed and physical and biological wastewater treatment plants were erected; the use of natural gas for heating has considerably reduced air pollution. Efforts are continuing for the restoration of the Roman city walls, and Beyoglu, the main artery, was rescued by building a newavenue. Improvements were made in ihe general cleaning, maintenance, garbage collection fields and these services are now at Western European standards. Ring roads cross the Bosphorus over two suspension bridges to connect the two continents. The European side has now a fast tramway system and a subway, and comfort and speed has been ensured in sea transportation with the hydrofoil terminals built on the seashores. All industrial establishments on the historic peninsula have been moved to new facilities in the suburbs, and the new international bus terminal has reduced traffic intensity. The old jail and the first large concrete building of the city were given over to tourism and converted into 5-star hotels.

The city is growing dynamically and developing at full speed on an east-west axis along the shores of the Marmara.

Geography

Istanbul is located in northwestern Turkey within the Marmara Region on a total area of . is given by them for the "MMI Authority Area", while another page states that "Each MM is sub-divided into District Municipalities ("DM") ''of which there are 27 in Istanbul''" [emphasis added] with a total area of . However, the Municipal History Page appears to be the most explicit and most updated, saying that in 2004, "Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's jurisdiction was enlarged to cover all the area within the provincial limits". It also states a 2008 law merged the Eminönü district into the Fatih district (a point that is not reflected in the previous source) and increased the number of districts in Istanbul to 39. That total area, as corroborated on the Turkish version of the MMI website, is .|group="note"|name="city-area"}} The Bosphorus, which connects the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea, divides the city into a European side, comprising the historic and economic centers, and an Asian, Anatolian side; as such, Istanbul is one of the two bi-continental cities in Turkey among with Çanakkale. The city is further divided by the Golden Horn, a natural harbor bounding the peninsula where the former Byzantium and Constantinople were founded. In the late-19th century, a wharf was constructed in Galata at the mouth of the Golden Horn, replacing a sandy beach that once formed part of the inlet's coastline. The confluence of the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus, and the Golden Horn at the heart of present-day Istanbul has deterred attacking forces for thousands of years and still remains a prominent feature of the city's landscape.

The historic peninsula is said to be built on seven hills, each topped by an imperial mosque, surrounded by of city walls; the largest of these hills is the site of Topkapı Palace on the Sarayburnu. Rising from the opposite side of the Golden Horn is another, conical hill, where the modern Beyoğlu district is situated. Because of the topography, buildings were once constructed with the help of terraced retaining walls (some of which are still visible in older parts of the city), and roads in Beyoğlu were laid out in the form of steps. Üsküdar on the Asian side exhibits similarly hilly characteristics, with the terrain gradually extending down to the Bosphorus coast, but the landscape in Şemsipaşa and Ayazma is more abrupt, akin to a promontory. The highest point in Istanbul is Çamlıca Hill (also on the Asian side), with an altitude of .

Istanbul is situated near the North Anatolian Fault on the boundary between the African and Eurasian plates. This fault zone, which runs from northern Anatolia to the Sea of Marmara, has been responsible for several deadly earthquakes throughout the city's history. Among the most devastating of these seismic events was the 1509 earthquake, which caused a tsunami that broke over the walls of the city, destroyed over 100 mosques, and killed more than 10,000 people. More recently, in 1999, an earthquake with its epicenter in nearby İzmit left 17,000 people dead, including 1,000 people in Istanbul's suburbs. Istanbulites remain concerned that an even more catastrophic seismic event may be in Istanbul's near future, as thousands of structures recently built to accommodate the city's rapidly increasing population may not have been constructed properly. Seismologists say the risk of a 7.6-magnitude earthquake striking Istanbul by 2030 is greater than sixty percent.

Climate

Istanbul has a Mediterranean climate according to the Köppen climate classification system, although its climate becomes more oceanic toward the north.

In summer the weather in Istanbul is hot and humid, with the temperature in July and August averaging . Summers are relatively dry, but rainfall is significant during that season. Extreme heat, however, is uncommon, as temperatures rise above on only five days per year on average. During winter it is cold, wet and often snowy, with the temperature in January and February averaging . Snowfalls tend to be heavy, but the snowcover and temperatures below the freezing point rarely last more than a few days. Spring and autumn are mild, but are unpredictable and often wet, and can range from chilly to warm, however the nights are chilly.

Istanbul has a persistently high humidity, which can exacerbate the moderate summer heat. The humidity is especially salient during the morning hours, when humidity generally reaches eighty percent and fog is very common. The city receives fog an average of 228 days each year, with the highest concentration of foggy days being in the winter months, although it usually dissipates by noontime. Thunderstorms are uncommon, occurring just 23 days each year, but they occur most frequently in the summer and early autumn months. Istanbul has an annual average of 124 days with significant precipitation, which together generate around of rain. The highest recorded temperature was on 12 July 2000, and the lowest recorded temperature was on 9 February 1927. Istanbul also tends to be a windy city, having an average wind speed of . Due to the city's huge size, topography and maritime influences, Istanbul exhibits a multitude of distinct microclimates.

Cityscape

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 Beyoğlu district, which forms Istanbul's commercial and entertainment center and includes İstiklal Avenue and Taksim Square.

Dolmabahçe Palace, the seat of government during the late Ottoman period, is located in Beşiktaş, just north of Beyoğlu, across from BJK İnönü Stadium, home to Turkey's oldest football club. The former village of Ortaköy is situated within Beşiktaş 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 ''yalıs'', luxurious chalet mansions originally built by 19th-century aristocrats and elites as summer homes. Today, some are homes within the city's most exclusive neighborhoods, including Bebek. Further inland, between the Bosphorus Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosphorus) Bridge, are Levent, Maslak, and Mecidiyeköy, Istanbul's primary economic centers. Officially part of the Beşiktaş and Şişli districts, they contain Istanbul's tallest buildings and the headquarters of Turkey's largest companies.

Like Beyoğlu, the districts of Üsküdar and Kadıköy on the Asian side were originally separate cities, Chrysopolis and Chalcedon, respectively. During the Ottoman period, they continued to remain outside the scope of urban Istanbul, serving as tranquil outposts with seaside ''yalıs'' and gardens. However, during the second half of the 20th century, the Asian side experienced massive urban growth, owning in part to the development of Bağdat Avenue into an upscale shopping hub similar to İstiklal Avenue on the European side. The fact that these areas were largely empty until the 1960s also provided the chance for developing better infrastructure and tidier urban planning when compared with most other residential areas in the city. While now officially parts of Istanbul, much of the Asian side of the Bosphorus, which accounts for one third of the city's population, functions as a suburb of the economic and commercial centers in European Istanbul.

As a result of Istanbul's exponential growth during the 20th century, a significant portion of the city's outskirts comprised ''gecekondus'' (a Turkish term meaning ''built overnight''), referring to the illegally constructed squatter buildings run rampant outside the centers of the country's largest cities. At present, some ''gecekondu'' areas are being gradually demolished and replaced by modern mass-housing compounds.

Architecture

Whs	Historic Areas of Istanbul
State party
Type	Cultural
Criteria	I, II, III, IV
Id	356
Region	Europe and North America
Year	1985
Session	9th
Link	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/356 }}

Istanbul is primarily known for its Byzantine and Ottoman architecture, but its buildings reflect the various peoples and empires that have ruled its predecessors. Genoese, Roman, and even Greek forms of architecture remain visible in Istanbul alongside their Ottoman counterparts. Similarly, while the Hagia Sophia and imperial mosques dominate much of the city's skyline, the city is also home to a number of historic churches and synagogues.

More than two thousand years following the departure of the Greeks, few examples of Istanbul's Greek architecture have survived. Perhaps the most prominent relic of the Greek era is Maiden's (Leander's) Tower. Residing on an islet in the Bosphorus just off the coast of Üsküdar, Maiden's Tower was first built by the Greeks in 411 BC to guide ships within the strait. Since then, however, the tower has undergone a number of enlargements and restorations, rendering its connection to the Greeks tenuous, and today merely serves as an observation point.

Examples of Roman architecture have proved themselves to be more durable. Obelisks from the Hippodrome of Constantinople, modeled after the Circus Maximus in Rome, are still visible in Sultanahmet Square. A section of the Valens Aqueduct, constructed in the late 4th century to carry water to the city, stands relatively intact over in the west of the Fatih district. Similarly, the Walls of Constantinople, which were erected in stages well into the Byzantine period, are still visible along much of their original course from the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn. Finally, the Column of Constantine, erected in 330 AD to mark the new Roman capital, still stands not far from the Hippodrome.

Early Byzantine architecture followed the classical Roman model of domes and arches, but further improved these architectural concepts, as in the Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus. The oldest surviving Byzantine church in Istanbul (albeit partially in ruins) is the Stoudios (İmrahor) Monastery, which was built in 454. Other extant structures from the early Byzantine period include the Hagia Irene, initially the first church in the new capital, and the Prison of Anemas, which was incorporated into the city walls. After the recapture of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantines constructed two of their most important churches, Chora Church and Pammakaristos Church. Across the Golden Horn, the Genoese contributed Galata Tower, then the highest point in the citadel of Galata. Still, the pinnacle of Byzantine architecture, and one of Istanbul's most iconic structures, is the Hagia Sophia. Topped by a dome in diameter, the Hagia Sofia stood as the largest cathedral for more than a thousand years, before being converted into a mosque and, now, a museum.

Among the oldest extant examples of Ottoman architecture in Istanbul are the Anadoluhisarı and Rumelihisarı fortresses, which helped block sea traffic aimed at assisting the Byzantines during the Turkish siege of the city. Over the next four centuries, the Ottomans continued to make an indelible impression on the skyline of Istanbul, building towering mosques and ornate palaces. These grand imperial mosques include Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the Blue Mosque), Süleymaniye Mosque, and Yeni Mosque, all of which were built at the peak of the Ottoman Empire, in the 16th and 17th centuries.

In the following centuries, and especially after the Tanzimat reforms, Ottoman architecture was supplanted by European styles. In contrast to the traditional elements of Topkapı Palace and the mosques on the historic peninsula, Dolmabahçe Palace, Yıldız Palace, and Ortaköy Mosque in Beşiktaş, and Beylerbeyi Palace across the Bosphorus in Üsküdar are clearly of Neo-Baroque style. At the same time, the areas around İstiklal Avenue were filled with grandiose European embassies and rows of buildings in European (mostly Neoclassical and, later, Art Nouveau) style started to appear along the avenue. Istanbul was one of the major centers of the Art Nouveau movement in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, with famous architects of this style building palaces and mansions in the city.

Administration

Since 2004, Istanbul, the capital of the Istanbul Province, has been one of only two cities in Turkey whose city boundaries are equivalent to the boundaries of its province. The city is administered by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (MMI), which oversees the thirty-nine districts of the city-province. The main decision-making body of the Municipality is the Municipal Council, headed by the mayor; among its responsibilities are controlling the award of contracts, setting the fare prices on public transport, and regulating taxes. All members of the council, including the mayor, are elected to five-year terms. The mayor of Istanbul has been Kadir Topbaş since first being elected in March 2004 and being re-elected in March 2009. The governor of Istanbul province is Hüseyin Avni Mutlu.

Istanbul is a home rule city and municipal elections are mainly partisan. The metropolitan model of governance has been used with the establishment of metropolitan administration in 1930. The metropolitan council is responsible for all authority when it comes to making city decisions.

The metropolitan government structure consists of three main organs: (1) The Metropolitan Mayor (elected every five years), (2) The Metropolitan Council (decision making body with the mayor, district Mayors, and one fifth of the district municipal councillors), (3) The metropolitan executive committee. There are three types of local authorities: (1) municipalities, (2) special provincial administrations, (3) village administrations. Among the local authorities, municipalities are gaining greater importance with the rise in urbanisation.

The current Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality City Hall building in the Saraçhane quarter of the Fatih district, the construction of which began on 17 December 1953 and was completed and inaugurated on 26 May 1960, will soon be demolished and replaced by a new building, designed by Istanbul-based Arolat Architects.

Demographics

! Year	! Population	! Year	! Population
330	40,000	1914	909,978
400	200,000	1927	680,857
530	550,000	1935	741,148
545	350,000	1940	793,949
715	300,000	1945	860,558
950	400,000	1950	983,041
1200	250,000	1955	1,268,771
1453	36,000	1960	1,466,535
1477	70,000	1965	1,742,978
1566	600,000	1970	2,132,407
1690	750,000–800,000	1975	2,547,364
1817	500,000	1980	2,772,708
1860	715,000	1985	5,475,982
1885	873,570	1990	6,629,431
1890	874,000	2000	8,803,468
1897	1,059,000	2007	11,372,613
1901	942,900	2010	13,120,596

The population of the metropolis more than tripled during the 25 years between 1980 and 2005. Roughly 70% of all Istanbulites live in the European section and around 30% in the Asian section. Due to high unemployment in the southeast of Turkey, many people from that region migrated to Istanbul, where they established themselves in the outskirts of the city. Migrants, predominantly from eastern Anatolia arrive in Istanbul expecting improved living conditions and employment, which usually end with little success. This results each year with new gecekondus at the outskirts of the city, which are later developed into neighbourhoods and integrated into the greater metropolis.

According to the address-based birth recording system of the Statistical Institute, the metropolitan municipality (entire Istanbul Province), had a population of 13,255,685 people as of 2010, making the city one of the largest metropolitan areas today. On the last census in 2000, Istanbul had a proper population of 8,803,468 inhabitants. According to present estimates the rate of population growth in the city is currently at 3.45% a year on average, mainly due to the influx of people from the surrounding rural areas. Istanbul's population density of 2,742 people per square mile (1,700 per square km) far exceeds Turkey's 130 people per square mile (81 people per square km).

During the early Middle Ages, Istanbul was the largest city in the world, and has been one of the world's largest and most important cities during much of its history (excepting the period of collapse of the Byzantine Empire, before the Ottomans). Its geopolitical significance since ancient times brought representatives of ethnic groups from all over Europe, Asia, and Africa, many of whom became assimilated with the local Greek and later Turkish populations.

The following overview shows the numbers of inhabitants by year. Population tallies up to 1914 are estimated with variations of up to 50% depending upon researcher. The numbers from 1927 to 2000 are results of censuses. The numbers of 2005 and 2006 are based on computer simulation forecasts. The doubling of the population of Istanbul between 1980 and 1985 is due to a natural increase in population as well as the expansion of municipal limits.

Religion

The urban landscape of Istanbul is shaped by many communities. The religion with the largest community of followers is Islam. Religious minorities include Orthodox Christians, Armenian Christians, Catholic Levantines and Sephardic Jews. According to the 2000 census, there were 2,691 active mosques, 123 active churches and 26 active synagogues in Istanbul; as well as 109 Muslim cemeteries and 57 non-Muslim cemeteries. Some districts used to have sizeable populations of these ethnic groups, such as the Kumkapı district, which had a sizeable Armenian population; the Balat district, which had a sizeable Jewish population; the Fener district, which had a sizeable Greek population; and some neighbourhoods in the Nişantaşı and Beyoğlu districts that had sizeable Levantine populations. Very few remain in these districts, as they either emigrated or moved to other districts. In some quarters, such as Kuzguncuk, an Armenian church sits next to a synagogue, and on the other side of the road a Greek Orthodox church is found beside a mosque.

The seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, patriarch of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church, is located in the Fener (Phanar) quarter. Also based in Istanbul are the archbishop of the Turkish Orthodox Church, an Armenian archbishop, and the Turkish Grand-Rabbi. A number of places reflect past movements of different communities into Istanbul, most notably Arnavutköy (Albanian village), Polonezköy (Polish village) and Yenibosna (New Bosnia).

The Muslims are by far the largest religious group in Istanbul. Among them, the Sunnis form the most populous sect, while a number of the local Muslims are Alevis. In 2007 there were 2,944 active mosques in Istanbul.

Istanbul was the final seat of the Islamic Caliphate, between 1517 and 1924, when the Caliphate was dissolved and its powers were handed over to the Turkish Parliament. On 2 September 1925, the tekkes and tarikats were banned, as their activities were deemed incompatible with the characteristics of the secular democratic Republic of Turkey; particularly with the secular education system and the laicist state's control over religious affairs through the Religious Affairs Directorate. Most followers of Sufism and other forms of Islamic mysticism practiced clandestinely afterwards, and some of these sects still boast numerous followers. To avoid the still active prohibition, these organisations represent themselves as "cultural associations."

The city has been the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople since the 4th century AD. The city is also seat of the Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate and the Armenian Patriarchate. The city was formerly also the seat of the reduced Bulgarian Orthodox Exarchate, before its autocephaly was recognised for a second time by other bodies of the Orthodox Church.

The everyday life of the Christians, particularly the Greeks and Armenians living in Istanbul changed significantly following the bitter conflicts between these ethnic groups and the Turks during the fall of the Ottoman Empire, which began in the 1820s and continued for a century. The conflicts reached their culmination in the decade between 1912 and 1922; during the Balkan Wars, the First World War and the Turkish War of Independence. The Christian population declined from 450,000 to 240,000 between 1914 and 1927. Today, most of Turkey's remaining Greek and Armenian minorities live in or near Istanbul. The number of the local Turkish Armenians in Istanbul today amount to approximately 45,000 (not including the nearly 40,000 Armenian workers in Turkey who came from Armenia after 1991 and mostly live and work in Istanbul); while the Greek community, which amounted to 150,000 citizens in 1924, currently amounts to approximately 4,000 citizens. There are also 60,000 Istanbulite Greeks who currently live in Greece but continue to retain their Turkish citizenship.

The Sephardic Jews have lived in the city for over 500 years. They fled the Iberian Peninsula during the Spanish Inquisition of 1492, when they were forced to convert to Christianity after the fall of the Moorish Kingdom of Andalucia. The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II (1481–1512) sent a sizable fleet to Spain under the command of Kemal Reis to save the Sephardic Jews. At that point in the Caliphate's history it was a beacon of tolerance compared to most of Christendom. More than 200,000 Jews fled first to Tangier, Algiers, Genova, and Marseille, later to Salonica, and finally to Istanbul. The Sultan granted over 93,000 of these Spanish Jews to take refuge in the Ottoman Empire. Another large group of Sephardic Jews came from southern Italy, which was under Spanish control. The ''İtalyan Sinagogu'' (''Italian Synagogue'') in Galata is mostly frequented by the descendants of these Italian Jews in Istanbul.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were over 200,000 Jews in Istanbul. However with the formation of the Turkish Republic and accompanying nationalism, many Jews emigrated along with other minorities. The 1934 anti-Jewish pogrom, the 1942 Varlık Vergisi ("Wealth Tax"), and recent terrorist bombings of synagogues have contributed to the exodus. Today, according to the World Jewish Congress, 23,000 Jews remain in Turkey, the vast majority being located in Istanbul. There are about 20 synagogues, the most important of them being the Neve Shalom Synagogue inaugurated in 1951, in the Beyoğlu district.

Economy

Apart from being the largest city and former political capital of the country, Istanbul has always been the centre of Turkey's economic life because of its location as a junction of international land and sea trade routes. Istanbul is also Turkey's largest industrial centre. It employs approximately 20% of Turkey's industrial labour and contributes 38% of Turkey's industrial workspace. Istanbul and its surrounding province produce cotton, fruit, olive oil, silk, and tobacco. Food processing, textile production, oil products, rubber, metal ware, leather, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics, glass, machinery, automotive, transport vehicles, paper and paper products, and alcoholic drinks are among the city's major industrial products. According to ''Forbes'' magazine, Istanbul had a total of 35 billionaires as of March 2008, ranking fourth in the world.

Originally established as the Ottoman Stock Exchange (''Dersaadet Tahvilat Borsası'') in 1866, and reorganised to its current structure at the beginning of 1986, the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) is the sole securities market of Turkey. During the 19th century and early 20th century, Bankalar Caddesi (Banks Street) in Galata was the financial centre of the Ottoman Empire, where the headquarters of the Ottoman Central Bank (established as the ''Bank-ı Osmanî'' in 1856, and later reorganised as the ''Bank-ı Osmanî-i Şahane'' in 1863) and the Ottoman Stock Exchange (1866) were located. Bankalar Caddesi continued to be Istanbul's main financial district until the 1990s, when most Turkish banks began moving their headquarters to the modern central business districts of Levent and Maslak. In 1995, the Istanbul Stock Exchange moved to its current building in the İstinye quarter.

Today, the city generates 55% of Turkey's trade and 45% of the country's wholesale trade, and generates 21.2% of Turkey's gross national product. Istanbul contributes 40% of all taxes collected in Turkey and produces 27.5% of Turkey's national product. In 2005 the City of Istanbul had a GDP of $133 billion. In 2005 companies based in Istanbul made exports worth $41,397,000,000 and imports worth $69,883,000,000; which corresponded to 56.6% and 60.2% of Turkey's exports and imports, respectively, in that year.

Istanbul is one of the most important tourism spots of Turkey. There are thousands of hotels and other tourist oriented industries in the city, catering to both vacationers and visiting professionals. In 2006 a total of 23,148,669 tourists visited Turkey, most of whom entered the country through the airports and seaports of Istanbul and Antalya. The total number of tourists who entered Turkey through Atatürk International Airport and Sabiha Gökçen International Airport in Istanbul reached 5,346,658, rising from 4,849,353 in 2005. Istanbul is also one of the world's major conference destinations and is an increasingly popular choice for the world's leading international associations.

Public services

Education

Istanbul holds some of the finest institutions of higher education in Turkey, including more than 35 public and private universities. Most of the reputable universities are public, but in recent years there has also been an upsurge in the number of private universities. Istanbul University, founded as a madrasa in 1453, is the oldest Turkish educational institution in the city, while Istanbul Technical University (1773) is the world's third-oldest technical university dedicated entirely to engineering sciences. Other prominent state universities in Istanbul include Boğaziçi University, Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, Yildiz Technical University and Marmara University. The major private universities in the city include Koç University, Sabancı University,Istanbul Bilgi University, Bahçeşehir University, Yeditepe University, Istanbul Kültür University, and Kadir Has University. Almost all Turkish private high schools and universities in Istanbul teach in English, German or French as the primary foreign language, usually accompanied by a secondary foreign language.

Among the best public schools of Turkey, the Galatasaray High School, established in 1481 as ''Galata Sarayı Enderun-u Hümayunu'' (''Galata Palace Imperial School'') and later known as ''Galatasaray Mekteb-i Sultanisi'' (''Galatasaray School of the Sultans''), is the oldest Turkish high school in Istanbul and the second oldest Turkish educational institution in the city. Istanbul High School, also commonly known as İstanbul Erkek Lisesi (established in 1884), abbreviated İEL, is one of the oldest and internationally renowned public high schools of Turkey. Kuleli Military High School is the only military high school in Istanbul, located in Çengelköy district. Another important school in Turkey is Darüşşafaka which has no similar world-wide, providing children opportunities around the Turkey without receiving any money from any of them. The school accepts only yetim children (a child without father), children with both parents or öksüz children (a child without mother) are not accepted. This school was built in 1873 by Darüşşafaka community. The primary person who came up with creating this school and community is Yusuf Ziya Pasha. Darüşşafaka is located in Maslak.

''Anadolu Liseleri'' (Anatolian High Schools) were originally furnished for the Turkish children who returned home from foreign countries, such as the Üsküdar Anadolu Lisesi with German as the primary foreign language and technical instruction in German. Kabataş Erkek Lisesi(Kabatas Highschool)is one of Anatolian High Schools and also one of the oldest and the most prominent schools in Turkey. Established in 1908 by the Ottoman Empire Sultan Abdulhamid II, the high school has been educating for 103 years and still does. The Queen of the UK has visited the school in 2008. Furthermore, Kadıköy Anadolu Lisesi which is also commonly known as Kadıköy Maarif College is one of the first six special Ministry of Education Colleges established in 1950s in big cities across Turkey. Those English-medium colleges were renamed as "Anadolu Lisesi" in subsequent decades. There are also many foreign high schools in Istanbul, most of which were established in the 19th century to educate foreigners in Istanbul. Following the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, most of these schools went under the administration of the Turkish Ministry of Education, but some of them still have considerable foreign administration, such as the Liceo Italiano Statale I.M.I. (Özel İtalyan Lisesi), which is still regarded as an Italian state school by the government of Italy and continues to receive funding and teachers from Rome. Robert College established in 1863 and Üsküdar American Academy established in 1876, are other remarkable foreign schools in the city, among numerous others.

''Fen Liseleri'' (Science High School) were originally furnished for the Turkish children who wants to be scientist, doctor or a job about the "Science", such as Atatürk Fen Lisesi, Yaşar Acar Fen Lisesi and 2 other science high schools.

Istanbul has numerous libraries, many of which contain vast collections of historic documents from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods, as well as from other civilisations of the past. The most important libraries in terms of historic document collections include the Topkapı Palace Library, Library of the Archaeological Museum, Library of the Naval Museum, Beyazıt State Library, Nuruosmaniye Library, Süleymaniye Library, Istanbul University Library, Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Paşa Library, Atatürk Library and Çelik Gülersoy Library.

Healthcare

The city has many public and private hospitals, clinics and laboratories within its bounds and numerous medical research centers. Many of these facilities have high technology equipment, which has contributed to the recent upsurge in "medical tourism" to Istanbul, particularly from West European countries like the United Kingdom and Germany where governments send patients with lower income to the city for the inexpensive service of high-tech medical treatment and operations. Istanbul has particularly become a global destination for laser eye surgery and plastic surgery. The city also has an Army Veterans Hospital in the military medical centre.

Pollution-related health problems increase especially in the winter, when the combustion of heating fuels increase. The rising number of new cars in the city and the slow development of public transportation often cause urban smog conditions. Mandatory use of unleaded gas was scheduled to begin only in January 2006.

Utilities

Istanbul's first water supply systems date back to the foundation of the city. The two greatest aqueducts from the Roman period are the Mazulkemer Aqueduct and the Valens Aqueduct. These were built to channel water from the Halkalı area in the western edge of the city to the Beyazıt district in the city centre, which was called the ''Forum Tauri'' in the Roman period. After reaching the city centre, the water was later collected in the city's numerous cisterns, such as the famous Philoxenos (Binbirdirek) Cistern and the Basilica (Yerebatan) Cistern. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned Mimar Sinan, his engineer and architect-in-chief, to improve the water needs of the city. Sinan constructed the Kırkçeşme Water Supply System in 1555. In later years, with the aim of responding to the ever-increasing public demand, water from various springs was channeled to the public fountains by means of small supply lines; see German Fountain.

Today, Istanbul has a chlorinated and filtered water supply and a sewage disposal system managed by the government agency İSKİ. There are also several private sector organisations distributing clean water. Electricity distribution services are covered by the state-owned TEK. The first electricity production plant in the city, ''Silahtarağa Termik Santrali'', was established in 1914 and continued to supply electricity until 1983.

The Ottoman Ministry of Post and Telegraph was established in the city on 23 October 1840. The first post office was the ''Postahane-i Amire'' near the courtyard of Yeni Mosque. In 1876 the first international mailing network between Istanbul and the lands beyond the vast Ottoman Empire was established. In 1901 the first money transfers were made through the post offices and the first cargo services became operational. Samuel Morse received his first ever patent for the telegraph in 1847, at the old Beylerbeyi Palace (the present Beylerbeyi Palace was built in 1861–1865 on the same location) in Istanbul, which was issued by Sultan Abdülmecid who personally tested the new invention. Following this successful test, installation works of the first telegraph line between Istanbul and Edirne began on 9 August 1847. In 1855 the Telegraph Administration was established. In July 1881 the first telephone circuit in Istanbul was established between the Ministry of Post and Telegraph in Soğukçeşme and the Postahane-i Amire in Yenicami. On 23 May 1909, the first manual telephone exchange with a 50 line capacity was established in the ''Büyük Postane'' (Grand Post Office) of Sirkeci.

Transportation

Airports

Istanbul has two international airports: The larger one is the Atatürk International Airport located in the Yeşilköy district on the European side, about west from the city centre. When it was first built, the airport was situated at the western edge of the metropolitan area but now lies within the city bounds. The smaller one is the Sabiha Gökçen International Airport located in the Kurtköy district on the Asian side, close to the Istanbul Park GP Racing Circuit. It is situated approximately east of the Asian side and east of the European city centre.

Navigation

Sea transport is vital for Istanbul, as the city is practically surrounded by sea on all sides: the Sea of Marmara, the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. Many Istanbulites live on the Asian side of the city but work on the European side (or vice-versa) and the city's famous commuter ferries form the backbone of the daily transition between the two parts of the city – even more so than the two suspension bridges that span the Bosphorus. The commuter ferries, along with the high speed catamaran ''Seabus'' (''Deniz Otobüsü''), also form the main connection between the city and the Princes' Islands.

The first steam ferries appeared on the Bosphorus in 1837 and were operated by private sector companies. On 1 January 1851, the ''Şirket-i Hayriye'' (literally the ''Goodwill Company'', as the Istanbul Ferry Company was originally called) was established by the Ottoman state. The Şirket-i Hayriye continued to operate the city's landmark commuter ferries until the early years of the Republican period, when they went under the direction of Türkiye Denizcilik İşletmeleri (Turkish State Maritime Lines). Since March 2006, Istanbul's traditional commuter ferries are operated by İstanbul Deniz Otobüsleri (Istanbul Sea Buses), which also operates the high speed catamaran Seabus.

İDO (''İstanbul Deniz Otobüsleri'' – ''Istanbul Sea Buses'') was established in 1987 and operates the high speed catamaran ''Seabuses'' that run between the European and Asian parts of Istanbul—and also connect the city with the Princes' Islands and other destinations in the Sea of Marmara. The ''Yenikapı High Speed Car Ferry Port'' on the European side, and the ''Pendik High Speed Car Ferry Port'' on the Asian side, are where the high speed catamaran "car ferries" are based. The car ferries that operate between Yenikapı (on the European side of Istanbul) and Bandırma reduce the driving time between Istanbul and İzmir and other major destinations on Turkey's Aegean coast by several hours; while those that operate between Yenikapı or Pendik (on the Asian side of Istanbul) and Yalova significantly reduce the driving time between Istanbul and Bursa or Antalya.

The port of Istanbul is the most important one in the country. The old port on the Golden Horn serves primarily for personal navigation, while Karaköy port in Galata is used by the large cruise liners. Regular services as well as cruises from both Karaköy and Eminönü exist to several port cities in the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea. Istanbul's main cargo port is located in the Harem district on the Asian side of the city. Istanbul also has several marinas of varying size for personal navigation, the largest of which are the Ataköy Marina on the European side and Kalamış Marina on the Asian side.

Motorways

The State Road and the European route , the ''Trans European Motorway'' (TEM) are the two main motorway connections between Europe and Turkey. The motorway network around Istanbul is well developed and is constantly being extended. Motorways lead east to Ankara and west to Edirne. There are also two express highways circling the city. The older one, the , is mostly used for inner city traffic; while the more recent one, the , is mostly used by intercity or intercontinental traffic.

The Bosphorus Bridge on the and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge on the establish the motorway connection between the European and the Asian sides of the Bosphorus. The southern and northern shores of the Golden Horn, an inlet of the Bosphorus on the European side of the city, are connected through the Galata Bridge, the Atatürk Bridge and the Haliç Bridge; the latter also being a part of the motorway network.

Büyükdere Avenue is the main artery that runs through the central business districts of Levent and Maslak on the European side, and is also accessible through a number of subway stations. At the point where the motorway junctions and tunnels between the quarters of Gayrettepe and Zincirlikuyu come together, Büyükdere Avenue connects with Barbaros Boulevard, which descends towards the ferry port of Beşiktaş. There it connects with the coastal highway that runs along the European shore of the Bosphorus, from Eminönü in the south to Sarıyer in the north.

Railways

In 1883, a Belgian entrepreneur, Georges Nagelmackers, began a rail service between Paris and Istanbul, using a steamship to ferry passengers from Varna to Constantinople. In 1889, a rail line was completed going directly from Istanbul to Bucharest, making the whole journey via land possible. The route was known as the Orient Express, made even more famous by the works of Agatha Christie and Graham Greene.

Today, the Sirkeci Terminal of the Turkish State Railways (TCDD), which was originally opened in 1890 as the terminus of the Orient Express, is the terminus of all the lines on the European side and the main connection node of the Turkish railway network with the rest of Europe.

Currently, international connections are provided by the line running between Istanbul and Thessaloniki, Greece, and the ''Bosphorus Express'' serving daily between Sirkeci and Bucharest, Romania. Lines to Sofia, Belgrade, Budapest are established over the ''Bosphorus Express'' connection to Bucharest.

Beyond the Bosphorus, the Haydarpaşa Terminal on the Asian side serves lines running several times daily to Ankara, and less frequently to other destinations in Anatolia. The railway networks on the European and Asian sides are currently connected by the train ferry across the Bosphorus, which will be replaced by an underwater tunnel connection with the completion of the Marmaray project, scheduled for 2012. Marmaray (Bosphorus Rail Tunnel) will also connect the metro lines on the European and Asian parts of the city. Inaugurated in 1908, the Haydarpaşa Terminal was originally opened as the terminus of the Istanbul-Konya-Baghdad and Istanbul-Damascus-Medina railways.

A suburban railway line runs between the main train station of the European part, the Sirkeci Terminal, and the Halkalı district towards the west of the city centre, with 18 stations along its 30 km length. A single trip takes 48 minutes. Another suburban line runs on the Anatolian part from the main train station, the Haydarpaşa Terminal, to Gebze at the eastern end of the city. The 44 km long line has 28 stations and the trip takes 65 minutes. 720,000 passengers use the urban rail lines on the European side of the city every day.

Trams

Trams first entered service in Istanbul on 3 September 1869, at the ''Tophane – Ortaköy'' line. In 1871 the ''Azapkapı – Galata''; ''Aksaray – Yedikule''; ''Aksaray – Topkapı''; and ''Eminönü – Aksaray'' lines entered service. Other lines that entered service in the late 19th century included the ''Voyvoda Caddesi – Kabristan Sokağı – Tepebaşı – Taksim – Pangaltı – Şişli'' line; the ''Bayezid – Şehzadebaşı'' line; the ''Fatih – Edirnekapı – Galatasaray – Tünel'' line; and the ''Eminönü – Bahçekapı'' line. Since 1939 the trams of the city are operated by the İETT. On 12 August 1961, the historic red trams of Istanbul were removed from the city's European side; and on 14 November 1966, they were removed from the city's Asian side. Towards the end of 1990, replicas of these historic red trams were put in service along the İstiklal Avenue between Taksim and Tünel, which is a single 1.6 km-long (1640 m) line. On 1 November 2003, another nostalgic tram line (T3) was reopened on the Anatolian part of Istanbul between Kadıköy and Moda. It has 10 stations on a 2.6 km long route. The trip takes 21 minutes.

A fast tram (T1) was put in service in 1992 on standard gauge track with modern cars, connecting Sirkeci with Topkapı. The line was extended on one end from Topkapı to Zeytinburnu in March 1994, and on the other end from Sirkeci to Eminönü in April 1996. On 30 January 2005 it was extended from Eminönü to Fındıklı, crossing the Golden Horn through the Galata Bridge for the first time after 44 years. A final extension to Kabataş was opened in June 2006. The line has 24 stations on a length of 14 km. Service was initially operated with 22 LRT vehicles built by ABB, now reassigned to other lines; while stations were provided with temporary high platforms. These vehicles were replaced by 55 low-floor Bombardier Flexity Swift trams in 2003. An entire trip takes 42 minutes. The daily transport capacity is 155,000 passengers. The amount of investment totaled US$110 million. In September 2006, a second tram line (T2) was added, running west from Zeytinburnu to Bağcılar. Service on this line is operated with 14 ABB LRT cars. Stations have high platforms at the level of the car floor.

Funiculars

Istanbul is served by two underground funicular railways, of very different ages and styles. The older of these lines is the Tünel (1875). Inaugurated on 17 January 1875, the Tünel is the second-oldest subterranean urban rail line in the world after the London Underground (1863) (arguably third in the world, if one counts Brooklyn, New York's abandoned Atlantic Avenue Tunnel) and the first subterranean urban rail line in continental Europe; though the first full subway line with multiple underground stations in continental Europe was the Line 1 of the Budapest Metro (1896). The Tünel is long with an altitude difference of 60 m and no intermediate stations between Karaköy and Tünel Square. It has been continuously in service since 1875. Two trains run on a single rail every 3.5 minutes, and a trip takes 1.5 minutes. Making 64,800 trips, totaling 37,066 kilometres a year, the Tünel carries 15,000 passengers per day.

A second funicular line, the Kabataş-Taksim Funicular, entered service on 29 June 2006, connecting Kabataş and Taksim. This system connects the Seabus station and the tram stop in Kabataş to the metro station at Taksim Square. It is about 600 meters long and climbs approximately 60 meters in 110 seconds, carrying 9,000 passengers per day.

Light rail

The Istanbul LRT is a light rail transit system consisting of 2 lines. The first line (M1) began service on 3 September 1989 between Aksaray and Kartaltepe. The line was further developed step-by-step and reached Atatürk Airport on 20 December 2002. The other line (T4) was opened in 2007 between Edirnekapı and Mescid-i Selam. There are 36 stations, including 12 underground and 3 viaduct stations, on the line's 32 km length. The lines are totally segregated from other traffic, without level crossings, and run underground for 10.4 km. Service is operated with LRT vehicles built by ABB in 1988.

Metro

Construction works of the Istanbul Metro (M2) began in 1992 and the first completed section between Taksim and 4. Levent entered service on 16 September 2000. This section of the line is long and has 6 stations. In 2000, there were 8 Alstom-built 4-car train sets in service, which ran every 5 minutes on average and transported 130,000 passengers daily. On 30 January 2009, the first train sets built by Eurotem entered service. Eurotem will build a total of 92 new wagons for the M2 line. As of 30 January 2009, a total of 34 train sets, each with 4 cars, were being used on the M2 line.

A northern extension from 4. Levent to Maslak was opened on 30 January 2009. The southern extension of the M2 line from Taksim to Yenikapı, across the Golden Horn on a bridge and underground through the historic peninsula, has thus far been completed up to the Şişhane station in Beyoğlu, which also entered service on 30 January 2009. At Yenikapı the M2 network will intersect with the extended light metro and suburban train lines, and with the Marmaray tunnel.

At present, the M2 line has 10 stations in service on the European side of the city; while 6 new stations on the European side and 16 new stations on the Asian side are currently under construction. The trip between the Şişhane station in Beyoğlu and the Atatürk Oto Sanayi station in Maslak is long and takes 21 minutes. The total length of the European side of the M2 line will reach when all 16 stations from Hacıosman to Yenikapı will be completed; not including the 936 metres long Golden Horn metro bridge, the 0.6 km long Taksim-Kabataş tunnel connection with the Seabus port, the 0.6 km long Yenikapı-Aksaray tunnel connection with the LRT network, and the 13.6 km long Marmaray tunnel.

On the Asian side, construction of the long M2 line from Kadıköy to Kartal continues, which will have a total of 16 stations. The Marmaray tunnel (Bosporus undersea railway tunnel) will connect the metro lines of the Asian and European parts of the city. According to the scheduled construction timeline, the tunnel will enter service in 2013.

Bus rapid transit

Bus rapid transit (also known as metrobus or quality bus) is a useful public transportation system in Istanbul.

Culture and contemporary life

Fine arts

Istanbul is becoming increasingly colourful in terms of its rich social, cultural, and commercial activities. While world famous pop stars fill stadiums, activities like opera, ballet and theatre continue throughout the year. During seasonal festivals, world famous orchestras, chorale ensembles, concerts and jazz legends can be found often playing to a full house. The Istanbul International Film Festival is one of the most important film festivals in Europe, while the Istanbul Biennial is another major event of fine arts.

Annually Istanbul hosts music and opera festivals. These festival are an outgrowth of Turkey's government policy starting in the early 1930s to introduce and instutionalize the teaching and performing of polyphonic music and opera. The policy was implemented using highly acclaimed musicologists, performers, composers, etc. who were at risk in their native Germany. Among them were Paul Hindemith, Licco Amar, Carl Ebert, and Ernst Praetorius. They are part of a music and opera directorate bound to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Istanbul Modern frequently hosts the exhibitions of renowned Turkish and foreign artists. Pera Museum and Sakıp Sabancı Museum have hosted the exhibitions of world famous artists and are among the most important private museums in the city. The Doğançay Museum – Turkey’s first contemporary art museum – is dedicated almost exclusively to the work of its founder Burhan Doğançay. The Rahmi M. Koç Museum on the Golden Horn is an industrial museum that exhibits historic industrial equipment such as cars and locomotives from the 19th century and early 20th century, as well as boats, submarines, aircraft, and other similar vintage machines from past epochs.

Istanbul Archaeology Museum, established in 1881, is one of the largest museums of its kind in the world. The museum contains more than 1,000,000 archaeological pieces from the Mediterranean basin, the Balkans, Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Istanbul Mosaic Museum contains the late Roman and early Byzantine floor mosaics and wall ornaments of the Great Palace of Constantinople. The nearby Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum displays a vast collection of items from various Islamic civilisations. Sadberk Hanım Museum contains a wide variety of artifacts, dating from the earliest Anatolian civilisations to the Ottomans.

Occasionally, in November, the ''Silahhane'' (Armory Hall) of Yıldız Palace hosts the ''Istanbul Antiques Fair'', which brings together rare pieces of antiques from the Orient and Occident. The multi-storey ''Mecidiyeköy Antikacılar Çarşısı'' (Mecidiyeköy Antiques Bazaar) in the Mecidiyeköy quarter of Şişli is the largest antiques market in the city, while the ''Çukurcuma'' neighbourhood of Beyoğlu has rows of antiques shops in its streets. The Grand Bazaar, edificed between 1455–1461 by the order of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror also has numerous antiques shops, along with shops selling jewels, carpets and other items of art and artisanship. Historic and rare books are found in the ''Sahaflar Çarşısı'' near Beyazıt Square, and it is one of the oldest book markets in the world, and has continuously been active in the same location since the late Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods.

Live shows and concerts are hosted at a number of locations including historical sites such as the Hagia Irene, Rumeli Fortress, Yedikule Castle, the courtyard of Topkapı Palace, and Gülhane Park; as well as the Atatürk Cultural Center, Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall and other open air and modern theatre halls.

Turkish baths

A significant culture has been developed around what is known as a Hamam, the Turkish word for a Turkish Bath. It was a culture of leisure during the Ottoman period, one of the finest example being the Çemberlitaş Hamamı (1584) in Istanbul, located on the Çemberlitaş (Column of Constantine) Square. Another fine example from the 17^th Century is the ''Galatasaray Hamamı'', located on the Beyoğlu district, known for the quality of service and its cleanliness. In the Ottoman Empire, many Hamams were also actually build adjacent to mosques, as part of the "külliye" (complex). A very fine example to this is the Hamam of the Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque built by Mimar Sinan.

Recreation

Recently, old beaches have reopened in the city. The most popular places for swimming in the city are in Bakırköy, Küçükçekmece, Sarıyer and the Bosphorus. Outside the city are the Marmara Sea's Princes' Islands, Silivri and Tuzla; as well as Kilyos and Şile on the Black Sea.

The Princes' Islands (Adalar) are a group of islands where motor transportation is prohibited, located in the Marmara Sea, south of the Kartal and Pendik districts. Pine and stone-pine wooden ''neoclassical'' and ''art nouveau''-style Ottoman era summer mansions from the 19th century and early 20th century, horse-drawn carriages and seafood restaurants make them a popular destination. They can be reached by commuter ferries or high-speed catamaran ''Seabus'' (''Deniz otobüsü'') from Eminönü and Bostancı. Of the nine islands, only five are settled.

Şile is a distant and well-known Turkish seaside resort on the Black Sea, from Istanbul, where unspoiled white sand beaches can be found. Kilyos is a small calm seaside resort not far from the northern European entrance of the Bosphorus at the Black Sea. The place has good swimming possibilities and has become popular in the recent years among the inhabitants of Istanbul as a place for excursions. Kilyos offers a beach park with seafood restaurants and night clubs, being particularly active in the summer with many night parties and live concerts on the beach.

Shopping

Istanbul has numerous historic shopping centers, such as the Grand Bazaar (1461), Mahmutpaşa Bazaar (1462) and the Egyptian Bazaar (1660). The first modern shopping mall in Turkey was Galleria Ataköy (1987), which was followed by dozens of others in the later decades, such as Akmerkez (1993), which is the only mall to win both "Europe's Best" and "World's Best" awards by the ICSC; Metrocity (2003); Cevahir Mall (2005), which is the largest mall in Europe; and Kanyon Mall (2006), which won the 2006 Cityscape Architectural Review Award for its interesting design. İstinye Park (2007) and City's Nişantaşı (2008) are two new malls that target high-end consumers and are almost exclusively dedicated to world-famous fashion brands.

Restaurants

Along with the traditional Turkish restaurants, many European and Far Eastern restaurants and numerous other cuisines are also thriving in the city. Most of the city's historic winehouses (''meyhane'' in Turkish) and pubs are located in the areas around İstiklal Avenue in Beyoğlu. The 19th century Çiçek Pasajı (literally ''Flower Passage'' in Turkish, or ''Cité de Péra'' in French) on İstiklal Avenue, which has many historic meyhanes, pubs and restaurants, was built by Hristaki Zoğrafos Efendi at the former site of the Naum Theatre and was inaugurated in 1876. The famous ''Nevizâde Street'', which has rows of historic meyhanes next to each other, is also in this area.

Other historic pubs are found in the areas around ''Tünel Pasajı'' and the nearby ''Asmalımescit Sokağı''. Some historic neighbourhoods around İstiklal Avenue have recently been recreated, with differing levels of success; such as ''Cezayir Sokağı'' near Galatasaray High School, that has rows of pubs, cafés and restaurants playing live music.

Istanbul is also famous for its historic seafood restaurants; as an example, the Kumkapı neighbourhood has a pedestrian-only area that is dedicated to fish restaurants. Some 30 fish restaurants are found there, many of them among the best of the city. Also, many of the most popular and upscale seafood restaurants (with picturesque views) are found along the shores of the Bosphorus, particularly in Bebek, Arnavutköy, Yeniköy, Beylerbeyi and Çengelköy; and by the Marmara Sea shore towards the south of the city. The largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara (namely Büyükada, Heybeliada, Burgazada and Kınalıada) and ''Anadolu Kavağı'' near the northern entrance of the Bosphorus towards the Black Sea (close to Yoros Castle, which was also known as the ''Genoese Castle'' due to Genoa's possession of it in the mid-15th century) also have many historic seafood restaurants.

Nightlife

There are many night clubs, pubs, restaurants and taverns with live music in the city. The night clubs, restaurants and bars increase in number and move to open air spaces in the summer. The areas around Istiklal Avenue, Nişantaşı, Bebek and Kadıköy offer all sorts of cafés, restaurants, pubs and clubs as well as art galleries, theaters and cinemas. ''Babylon'' and ''Nu Pera'' in Beyoğlu are popular night clubs both in the summer and in the winter.

The most popular open air summer time seaside night clubs are found on the Bosphorus, such as ''Sortie'', ''Reina'' and ''Anjelique'' in the Ortaköy district. ''Q Jazz Bar'' in Ortaköy offers live jazz music in a stylish environment.

Venues such as ''Istanbul Arena'' in Maslak and ''Kuruçeşme Arena'' on the Bosphorus frequently host the live concerts of famous singers and bands from all corners of the world. ''Parkorman'' in Maslak hosted the Isle of MTV Party in 2002 and is a popular venue for live concerts and rave parties in the summer.

Media

The first Turkish newspaper, Takvim-i Vekayi, was printed on 1 August 1831 in the Bâbıâli (''Bâb-ı Âli'', meaning ''The Sublime Porte'') district. Bâbıâli became the main centre for print media. Istanbul is also the printing capital of Turkey with a wide variety of domestic and foreign periodicals expressing diverse views, and domestic newspapers are extremely competitive. Most nationwide newspapers are based in Istanbul, with simultaneous Ankara and İzmir editions.

Sports

During the Roman and Byzantine periods, the most important sporting events were the quadriga chariot races that were held at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, which had a capacity to accommodate more than 100,000 spectators. Today, sports like football, basketball and volleyball are very popular in the city. In addition to Beşiktaş, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, which field teams in multiple sports, several other clubs have also excelled in particular team sports; such as Efes Pilsen, Fenerbahçe Ülker, Galatasaray Cafe Crown and Beşiktaş Cola Turka in basketball; or Eczacıbaşı, Vakıfbank and Fenerbahçe in volleyball.

The Atatürk Olympic Stadium, the largest multi-purpose stadium in Turkey, is a 5-star UEFA stadium and a first-class venue for track and field; having reached the highest required standards set by the International Olympic Committee and sports federations such as the IAAF, FIFA and UEFA. The stadium hosted the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final. The Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home of Fenerbahçe, which is also a 5-star UEFA stadium, hosted the 2009 UEFA Cup Final that went down to history as the last Final of the UEFA Cup football tournament. The UEFA Cup will be replaced by the UEFA Europa League starting from the 2009–2010 season.

The Sinan Erdem Dome, the largest multi-purpose indoor arena in Turkey, hosted the Final of the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship, and will also be the venue for the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 2012 FINA Short Course World Championships. The Abdi İpekçi Arena hosted the Final of EuroBasket 2001, and was also the venue for the 1992 Euroleague Final Four.

Istanbul hosts several annual motorsports events, such as the Formula One Turkish Grand Prix, the MotoGP Grand Prix of Turkey, the FIA World Touring Car Championship, the GP2 and the Le Mans Series races at the Istanbul Park GP Racing Circuit. From time to time Istanbul also hosts the Turkish leg of the F1 Powerboat Racing on the Bosphorus. Several annual sailing and yacht races take place on the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. The Golden Horn is where the rowing races take place. Major clubs like Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş, and major universities such as the Bosphorus University have rowing teams. Air racing is new to the city. On 29 July 2006, Istanbul hosted the 5th leg of the spectacular Red Bull Air Race World Series, as well as the 4th leg on 2 June 2007, in both cases above the Golden Horn.

Personal sports like golf, horse riding and tennis are gaining popularity as the city hosts international tournaments such as the WTA Istanbul Cup. For aerobics and bodybuilding, numerous fitness clubs are available. The Paintball sport has recently gained popularity and is practiced by two large clubs in the proximity of Istanbul. Martial arts and other Eastern disciplines and practices such as Aikido and Yoga can be exercised in several centers across the city. Istanbul also hosts the annual MTB races in the nearby Belgrad Forest and Büyükada Island. Two of the most prominent cycling teams of Turkey, namely the Scott/Marintek MTB Team and the Kron/Sektor Bikes/Efor Bisiklet MTB Team, are from Istanbul.

Twin towns: Sistership, Cooperation and Goodwill agreements

Sister cities

Rio de Janeiro (1965) Shimonoseki (1972) Lahore (1975) Johor Bahru (1983) Jeddah (1984) Budapest (1985) Houston (1988) Cairo (1988) Berlin (1989) Shanghai (1989) St. Petersburg (1990) Rabat (1991) Merv (1994) Barcelona (1997) Dubai (1997) Cologne (1997) Sarajevo (1997) Odessa (1997) Amman (1997) Osh (1997) Durrës (1998) Almaty (1998) Jakarta (1998) Plovdiv (2001) Constanța (2001) Khartoum (2001) Busan (2002) Kazan (2002) Skopje (2003) Rotterdam (2005) Damascus (2006) Venice (2007) Bangkok (2009) Mexico City (2010) Tabriz (2010) Beirut (2010)

Cooperation protocols

Florence (1988) Berlin (1989) Stockholm (1990) Toronto (1990) Strasbourg (1991) Warsaw (1991) Budapest (1992) Havana (1992) Plovdiv (1992) Kabul (1992) Prague (1992) Venice (1993) Cologne (1997) Xi'an (1997) Athens (2000) Naples (2000) St. Petersburg (2003) Seoul (2005) Bucharest (2006) Shanghai (2006) Moscow (2006) Paris (2009) Casablanca (2009)

Goodwill protocols

Paris (2000) Rotterdam (2000) Milan (2005) Berlin (2005) Tbilisi (2006) Pécs (2008) Shanghai (2008)

Further reading

Gul, Murat. ''The Emergence of Modern Istanbul: Transformation and Modernisation of a City'' (I.B. Tauris, distributed by Palgrave Macmillan; 242 pages; 2010). Pays particular attention to modernization under the Democratic Party government (1950–60) of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes.

Notes

References

References

Bibliography

''Istanbul: Where the Continents Meet''

External links

Official website of Istanbul Governorship

Official website of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality: Interactive aerial photos (maps) of Istanbul from 1946, 1966, 1982 and 2005

Official Istanbul Travel Guide

Istanbul City Guide

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Demetri Martin (born May 25, 1973) is an American comedian, actor, artist, musician, writer and humorist. Martin is best known for his work as a stand-up comedian, contributor on ''The Daily Show'' and for his Comedy Central show ''Important Things with Demetri Martin''.

Early life

Demetri Martin was born to a Greek American family in New York City, New York, and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey. He is the son of Lillian, a nutritionist, and Dean C. Martin, a Greek Orthodox priest. Martin graduated from Yale University in 1995. Although he was accepted into Harvard Law School, he went to New York University School of Law after he received a full scholarship. In 1996 Martin interned for the Domestic Policy Council at the Clinton White House, then after completing his second year of law school he dropped out.

Career

In 2001, Martin caught his first big break in stand-up comedy when he appeared on Comedy Central's stand-up showcase ''Premium Blend''. At the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe he won the Perrier award with his show ''If I...''. The show was turned into a British television special in 2004. From 2003 to 2004, Martin wrote for ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. In 2004, Martin had his own ''Comedy Central Presents'' stand-up special. His special was divided into three parts. In the first, he performed in traditional stand-up comedy fashion. In the second segment, he used humorous drawings as visual aids, which would serve either as the punchline or a background. During the third segment, he played a guitar and put on a pseudo-play where he would strum his guitar while talking; some of his comedian friends dressed as fairies and dragons acted according to the story he was telling, detailing the magical land where his jokes came from. Martin's mother and grandmother also appeared.

Since late 2005, he has been credited as a contributor on ''The Daily Show'', on which he has appeared as the named "Senior Youth Correspondent" and on which he hosts a segment called "Trendspotting". He has used this segment to talk about so-called hip trends among youth such as hookahs, wine, guerilla marketing and Xbox 360. A piece about social networking featured his profile on MySpace. On March 22, 2007, Demetri made another appearance on ''The Daily Show'', talking about the Viacom lawsuit against Google and YouTube.

He has recorded a comedy CD/DVD titled ''These Are Jokes'', which was released on September 26, 2006. This album also features ''Saturday Night Live'' member Will Forte and stand-up comedian Leo Allen.

Martin returned to ''The Daily Show'' on March 22, 2006, as the new Youth Correspondent, calling his segment "Professional Important News with Demetri Martin". In 2007, he starred in a Fountains of Wayne music video for "Someone to Love" as Seth Shapiro, a character in the song. He also starred in the video for the new Travis single "Selfish Jean", in which he wears multiple t-shirts with lyrics written on them.

On September 2, 2007, Martin appeared on the season finale of the HBO series ''Flight of the Conchords''. He appeared as a keytar player named Demetri.

He also had a part in the movie ''The Rocker'' (2008) starring Rainn Wilson. Martin played the part of the videographer when the band in the movie was making their first music video.

In 2009, he hosted and starred in his own television show called ''Important Things With Demetri Martin'' on Comedy Central. Later in June, it was announced his show had been renewed for a second season. The second season premiered, again on Comedy Central, on February 4, 2010. Martin has stated that ''Important Things'' will not return for a third season.

Prior to completing work on his second season, Martin starred in the comedy-drama film ''Taking Woodstock'' (2009), directed by Ang Lee, which premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. In the film Martin plays Elliot Tiber, a closeted gay artist who has given up his ambitions in the city to move upstate and help his old-world Jewish family run their Catskill Mountains motel. The film is based on the book written by Tiber.

On April 25, 2011, Martin released his first book, titled ''This Is a Book''.

Future plans

Martin sold his movie concept ''Will'' to DreamWorks; he is expected to play a key supporting role. He will play the lead in the film ''Moon People'', a pitch that he sold to Columbia Pictures.

Martin also signed a blind script deal with CBS in October 2010 to produce, write, and star in his own television series.

After CBS was shown the pilot for the series, they decided not to air it.

On August 11, 2011, Fox ordered a presentation of a new animated show they might air.

''If I''

''If I'' is a Perrier Comedy Award-winning comedy one-man show written and performed by Demetri Martin at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It was also aired on British television as a special. The show is an autobiographical examination of Martin's life, as seen through various definitions of the word "if."

The title of the special comes from a lengthy palindromic poem that Martin wrote; the words "if I" are at the center of the poem.

Comedic style

Martin is known for being an unconventional stand-up comic. He uses extensive wordplay (particularly paraprosdokians), one-liners, and drawings on a "large pad", as well as accompanying his jokes with music on either guitar, harmonica, piano, keyboard, glockenspiel, toy bells, ukulele, or tambourine, sometimes all at once. He has cited comedian Steven Wright as an important influence (both use deadpan one-liners in their acts) and he is also a fan of Bill Cosby.

Personal life

According to a July 2011 interview on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast , Demetri had a short-lived marriage to a girl he knew from high school. They began dating after high school and got married when he was in NYU Law School and she was attending NYU Medical School. He was aged 25 and in the end of his marriage/going through divorce when his stand-up career began .

Martin moved to Santa Monica, California in 2009.

Discography

''Invite Them Up'' (2005)

''These Are Jokes'' (2006)

''Demetri Martin. Person.'' (2007)

Filmography and television work

''If I'' ''12:21'' ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' "''Someone to Love (Fountains of Wayne song) ''Flight of the Conchords (TV series) ''The Rocker (film) ''Paper Heart'' ''Post Grad'' ''Moon People'' ''Taking Woodstock'' ''Important Things with Demetri Martin'' ''Take Me Home Tonight (film) ''Contagion (film) ''Conan''

Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2002	''Analyze That''	Personal Assistant
2003	|	Himself	British television special, also writer
2004	|	Himself	short film, also writer
2004	|	Himself	1 episode, series writer
2007	Someone to Love''" ||	Seth Shapiro	''Fountains of Wayne'' music video
2007	Flight of the Conchords'' ||	Demetri	Season 1, Episode 12
2008	The Rocker'' ||	Kip (a music video producer)
2009	|	Himself
2009	|	Ad Exec
2009	|		lead role and writer
2009	|	Elliot Tiber	lead role
2009–2010	|	Himself / Various	lead role, writer, series creator, executive producer, and composer
2011	Take Me Home Tonight'' ||	Goldman Sachs Employee	supporting role
2011	Contagion'' ||
2011	|	Himself	guest

Written works

''This Is a Book'', April 2011, .

Awards and nominations

AwardPerrier Comedy AwardEmmy Awards Shared with Mike Sweeney (writer)Writers Guild of America Award Shared with Mike Sweeney (writer)Barry Award (for comedy)

Year	|	For	Category	Result	Other notes
2003	|	''If I''		Won	At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2004	|	''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program	Nominated	Mike Sweeney (head writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg
2005	|	''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series	Won	Mike Sweeney (head writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg
2006	Barry Award ||	''Dr. Earnest Parrot Presents Demetri Martin''		Won	Award for best show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

References

External links

Interview from November, 2006, in Onion AV Club

Interview from October 2006, in The DePaulia

Article, in ''The Scotsman''

Article, in ''Gelf Magazine''

Interview by Brian M. Palmer

MP3 Audio Interview on ''The Sound of Young America'' public radio show and podcast

Interview Believer Mag

New Jersey Monthly Magazine

Fresh Air, NPR.org

Category:1973 births Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:Actors from New York City Category:American comedians Category:American comedy musicians Category:American comedy writers Category:American film actors Category:American humorists Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American television writers Category:Living people Category:New York University alumni Category:Writers from New Jersey Category:Writers from New York City Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners Category:Yale University alumni

cs:Demetri Martin da:Demetri Martin de:Demetri Martin fr:Demetri Martin gl:Demetri Martin it:Demetri Martin simple:Demitri Martin fi:Demetri Martin sv:Demetri Martin

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	Marc Almond
landscape	yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Peter Mark Sinclair Almond
born	July 09, 1957Southport, (then Lancashire,now Merseyside), England, UK
instrument	Vocals
genre	Rock, cabaret, pop, art pop
occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter
years active	1978–present
label	Some Bizzare, Virgin, Sire, Echo, Blue Star, Sanctuary, Vertigo
associated acts	Soft Cell, Marc and the Mambas, Flesh Volcano, The Immaculate Consumptive, Marc Almond and the Willing Sinners, Jools Holland, Sex Gang Children, Current 93
website	http://www.marcalmond.co.uk}}

Marc Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell. Including his time with Soft Cell, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide.

Childhood and early life

Peter Mark Sinclair Almond was born in 1957 in Southport (then Lancashire, but now part of Merseyside), the son of Sandra Mary Dieson and Peter John Sinclair Almond, a Second Lieutenant in the King's Liverpool Regiment. He was brought up at his grandparents' house in Birkdale with his younger sister, Julia, and as a child suffered from bronchitis and asthma. When he was four, they left their grandparents' house and moved to Starbeck on the edge of Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Two years later they returned to Southport, and then moved to Horsforth (near Leeds).

At age 11 he attended Aireborough Grammar School near Leeds. Almond found solace in music, listening to British radio pioneer John Peel. The first album he purchased was the soundtrack of the stage musical ''Hair'' and the first single "Green Manalishi" by Fleetwood Mac. He later became a great fan of Marc Bolan and David Bowie and got a part time job as a stable boy to fund his musical tastes.

After his parents' divorce in 1972 he moved with his mother back to his home town of Southport. He gained two O-Levels in Art and English and was accepted onto a General Art and Design course at Southport College, specialising in Performance Art. He applied to Leeds Polytechnic where he was interviewed by Jeff Nuttall, also a performance artist, who accepted him on the strength of his performing skills. During his time at Art College he did a series of performance theatre pieces: "Zazou", "Glamour in Squalor", "Twilights and Lowlifes", as well as Andy Warhol inspired minimovies. The ''Yorkshire Evening Post'' labeled one of his performances "depressingly nihilistic". He followed bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees. He left Art College with a 2:1 honours degree. Almond later credited writer and artist Molly Parkin with discovering him. It was whilst at Leeds Polytechnic that Almond met David Ball, a fellow student; they formed Soft Cell in 1979.

Early musical influences

As a child, Almond listened to his parent's record collection, which included his mother's "Let's Dance" by Chris Montez and "The Twist" by Chubby Checker, also his father's collection of jazz including Dave Brubeck and Eartha Kitt. As an adolescent, Almond listened to Radio Caroline and Radio Luxembourg. He listened at first to Progressive, Blues and Rock Music, Free, Jethro Tull, Van der Graaf Generator, The Who, and The Doors, and bought the first ever issue of Sounds because it contained a free poster of Jimmy Page. He became a great fan of Marc Bolan after hearing him on the John Peel Show, buying the T. Rex single "Ride a White Swan", from then on he 'followed everything Marc Bolan did', and it was his obsession with Bolan that prompted Almond to adopt the 'Marc' spelling. He discovered the songs of Jacques Brel through Bowie as well as Alex Harvey and Dusty Springfield. Brel became a major influence.

Career

1980s

Almond initially shot to fame in the early 1980s as one half of the synth duo Soft Cell, whose hits included "Tainted Love" (UK #1), "Bedsitter" (UK #4), "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" (UK #3), "Torch" (UK #2), "What!" (UK #3), "Soul Inside" (UK #16), and the club hit "Memorabilia". Soft Cell's first release was an independent record (funded by David Ball's mother) entitled "Mutant Moments" via Red Rhino Records in 1980. It came to the attention of music entrepreneur Stevo Pearce, who at the time was compiling a "futurist" chart for the music paper ''Sounds'' which featured young, upcoming and experimental bands of the new wave of electronic sound. He signed the duo to his Some Bizarre label and they enjoyed a string of nine Top 40 hit singles and four Top 20 albums in the UK between 1981-84. They recorded three albums in New York with producer Mike Thorne: ''Non Stop Erotic Cabaret'', ''Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing'' and ''The Art of Falling Apart''.

Almond became involved with the New York Underground Art Scene at this time with writer/DJ Anita Sarko, and performed at a number of Art events as well as meeting many New York Art luminaries including Andy Warhol. Soft Cell disbanded in 1984 just before the release of their fourth album, ''This Last Night In Sodom'', though the duo reunited in 2001. "Tainted Love", a cover of a Gloria Jones's Northern Soul classic, was in the Guinness Book of Records for a while as the record that spent the longest time in the Billboard Top 100 chart in the U.S. It also won the best single award of 1981 at the first Brit Awards.

His first solo album was ''Vermin in Ermine'', released in 1984. Produced by Mike Hedges It featured musicians from the Mambas outfit, Annie Hogan, Martin McCarrick and Billy McGee. This ensemble, known as The Willing Sinners, worked alongside Almond for the subsequent albums ''Stories Of Johnny'' (1985) and ''Mother Fist and her Five Daughters'' (1987), also produced by Mike Hedges. McCarrick left The Willing Sinners in 1987 to join Siouxsie and the Banshees, from which point Hogan and McGee became known as La Magia. Almond signed to EMI and released the album ''The Stars We Are'' in 1988. This album featured Almond's version of "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart", which was later re-recorded as a duet with the song's original singer Gene Pitney and released as a single. The track reached number 1 in the UK. It was also number one in Germany and was a major hit in countries around the world. The album would become his biggest selling solo album in the USA, with his biggest-selling solo single, "Tears Run Rings". His other recordings in the 1980s included an album of Brel songs, called ''Jacques'', and an album of dark French chansons originally performed by Juliette Greco, Serge Lama and Leo Ferre, as well as poems by Rimbaud and Baudelaire set to music.

1990s

Almond's first release in the 1990s was the album ''Enchanted'', which spawned the Top 30 hit "A Lover Spurned". A further single from the album, "Waifs and Strays", was remixed by Dave Ball who was now in the electronic dance band The Grid. Almond left EMI Records. In 1991, Soft Cell returned to the charts with a new remix of "Say Hello Wave Goodbye" followed by a re-release of "Tainted Love" (with a new video). The singles were issued to promote a new Soft Cell/Marc Almond compilation album, ''Memorabilia - The Singles'', which collected some of the biggest hits from Almond's career throughout the previous ten years. The album reached the UK Top 10.

Almond signed to WEA and released a new solo album, ''Tenement Symphony''. Produced partly by Trevor Horn, the album yielded three Top 40 hits including renditions of the Jacques Brel classic "Jacky" (which made the UK Top 20), and "The Days of Pearly Spencer" which returned Almond to the UK Top 5 in 1992. Later that year, Almond played a lavish one-off show at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which featured an orchestra and dancers as he performed material from his entire career. The show was recorded and released as the CD and video ''12 Years of Tears''.

In 1993 Almond toured Russia and Siberia by invitation of the British consul in Moscow. Accompanied only by Martin Watkins on piano, he played small Soviet halls and theatres, often without amplification, and ended at the "mini Bolshoi" in Moscow. Transmitted live on television Almond made a plea for tolerance of gay people. The tour was fraught with troubles, which Almond detailed in his autobiography, but it marked the beginning of his love affair with the genre of Russian folk torch songs known as Romance. He was given master classes by Alla Bayanova.

Almond's next album ''Fantastic Star'' saw him part with WEA and sign to Mercury Records. Much of ''Fantastic Star'' was originally recorded in New York with Mike Thorne, but later after signing to Mercury, was reworked in London. Almond also recorded a session for the album with John Cale, David Johanson, and Chris Spedding; some made the final cut. Other songs were produced by Mike Hedges and Martin Ware. Adding to the disjointed recording process was the fact that during recording Almond also spent several weeks attending the Promis Treatment Centre in Canterbury, for treatment for addiction to prescription drugs. However on its release ''Fantastic Star'' gave Almond a hit single with ''Adored and Explored'', and also stage favorites such as ''The Idol'' and ''Child Star''. ''Fantastic Star'' was Almond's last album with a major record label, and the period also marked the ending of his managerial relationship with Stevo.

Almond re-invented himself and signed to Echo records in 1998 with a more downbeat and atmospheric electronica album, ''Open All Night''. This featured R and B, triphop and voodoo/Santeria influences, as well as torch songs which he had become known for. The album featured a duet (''Threat of Love'') with longtime friend Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie of the Creatures, as well as one (''Almost Diamonds'') with Keli Ali (then of the Sneaker Pimps). ''Open All Night'' was a successful album both with critics and fans, and introduced a darker, more mature and bluesy vocal sound. His record company upheavals continued however when a new head of A and R was appointed, and was disappointed that Almond wasn't recording more ''Tainted Love'' style songs. Almond was allowed to leave the label with the completed album, and signed to European label Tres Bis Viii where he stayed for the next four years. ''Tragedy'' was the single from the album ''Open All Night''.

He began a series of sell out concerts at London Almeida Theatre called Sin Songs Torch and Romance. The album ''Stranger Things'' followed. Recorded mostly in Iceland and produced by Johann Johannson, it carried on the Electronica and film samples sound of Open All Night but added Strings and multi instrumentation arranged and played by Johannson.

2000s

Almond relocated in 2000 to Moscow where he rented an apartment. With the encouragement and connections of executive producer Misha Kucherenko, he embarked on the three year recording project of Russian romance and folk songs, called "Heart on Snow". Featuring many Russian Stars old and new it was the first time that such a project had been undertaken by a Western Artist, many of the loved Soviet era songs sung in English for the first time.The album was produced by musician/arranger Andrei Samsonov. Almond performed many times at the famous now demolished Rossiya Concert Hall with Lyudmila Zekina and Alla Bayanova, and with the Rossiya Folk Orchestra. Another album of Russian songs came later in 2010.

2001: Soft Cell reunited briefly and released their first new album in 18 years, ''Cruelty Without Beauty'' and had a top 40 hit with a cover of the Frankie Valli's "The Night".

2004: Almond was seriously injured in a motorbike accident outside St Paul's Cathedral London. Near death and in a coma for weeks, he also suffered serious head injuries multiple breaks and fractures, collapsed lung and damaged hearing. He began a slow recovery determined to get back on the stage and in the studio.

2006: Almond recorded an album of cover songs, ''Stardom Road''. Specially hand picked to tell a story of his life and career the album featured songs as diverse as ''I Have Lived'' by Charles Aznavour, to ''Stardom Road'' by Third World War, ''Strangers in the Night'', and ''Kitch'' by Paul Ryan. The album featured his first new song since the crash, Beauty Will Redeem the World. The album was produced by Tris Penna and Marius De Vries. The Fashion House Yves St Laurent picked Almonds Strangers in the Night to represent their show at Londons Fashion Rocks. Almond performed it at the Albert Hall. It was to be one of three albums for the Sanctuary label but the label folded soon after.

2007: Almond celebrated his 50th birthday on stage and performed at a tribute show to Marc Bolan his teenage hero. At the concert he dueted with Bolan's wife, Gloria Jones, on an impromptu version of ''Tainted Love''.

2008/2009: he toured with Jools Holland throughout the UK as well at guesting at shows by Current 93, Baby Dee and a tribute show to the late folk singer Sandy Denny at the Festival Hall.

2010: In June 2010, he released ''Varieté'', an album of crafted personal songs, his first studio album of self-penned songs in almost a decade. Almond has stated this will possibly be his last fully self-penned album. He also announced a new concert tour in Autumn 2010 to celebrate his 30 years in music. Almond was awarded a Hero Award by the music magazine Mojo. He undertook his most successful tour celebrating thirty years of being a recording artist with a show of mostly Hits and A sides entitled "All A's".

2011: Almond released an album Feasting with Panthers. A collaboration with musician and arranger Michael Cashmore. Poems of Count Eric Stenboc put to music as well as decadent and Homo erotic poems by Jean Genet, Jean Cocteau, Paul Verlaine and Rimbaud. Almond took part in a unique music-theatre work Ten Plagues held at Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre from 1-28 August 2011. Ten Plagues is a song cycle based on Daniel Defoe's ''Journal of the Plague Year'' (which dates back to 1665), and was a collaboration between Almond, theatre director and designer Stewart Lain, libretto author Mark Ravenhill and composer Conor Mitchell. The show won the Scotman's Fringe First Award.

Personal life

Almond currently lives in London, as well as Moscow and Barcelona.

Discography

References

External links

Official website

Interview with Marc Almond about his car crash and Southport roots

Category:1957 births Category:Sire Records artists Category:Living people Category:Echo Records artists Category:English male singers Category:English New Wave musicians Category:English pop singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:LGBT people from England Category:LGBT musicians from the United Kingdom Category:People from Southport Category:Old Georgians (KGV) Category:Alumni of Leeds Metropolitan University Category:Torch singers Category:People educated at Aireborough Grammar School

cs:Marc Almond de:Marc Almond es:Marc Almond fr:Marc Almond it:Marc Almond he:מארק אלמונד nl:Marc Almond ja:マーク・アーモンド no:Marc Almond pl:Marc Almond pt:Marc Almond ru:Алмонд, Марк fi:Marc Almond sv:Marc Almond

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
publisher	DC Comics
debut	''All Star Comics'' #8
debutmo	December
debutyr	1941
creators	William Moulton MarstonHarry G. Peter
alter ego	Princess Diana of Themyscira
alliances	Justice LeagueAmazons of ThemysciraDepartment of Metahuman Affairs
partners	Steve TrevorTrevor BarnesNemesisSupermanBatman
aliases	Diana Prince
species	Amazon
powers	Strength, Speed, Movement, EnduranceFlight (only after 1960)Superior Fighting Skills EmpathyHealing FactorResistance to MagicAbility to Discern TruthAccess to Magical Weaponry
cvr image	Wwoman1.jpg
cvr caption	Cover for ''Wonder Woman'' #1 (1942). Art by Harry G. Peter.
schedule	Monthly
ongoing	Y
fantasy	first
superhero	y
multigenre	y
pub series	DC Comics
1stishhead	vol. 1
1stishyr	1942
1stishmo	Summer
endishyr	1986
endishmo	February
1stishhead1	vol. 2
1stishyr1	1987
1stishmo1	February
endishyr1	2006
endishmo1	April
1stishhead2	vol. 3
1stishyr2	2006
1stishmo2	August
endishyr2	2010
endishmo2	July
1stishhead3	vol. 1 cont.
1stishyr3	2010
1stishmo3	August
endishyr3	Present
issues	(vol. 1): 329(vol. 2): 228 (+ 8 Annuals, 1 Special)(vol. 3): 44 (+ 1 Annual)(vol. 1 cont.): 10(as of June, 2011)
main char team	Princess Diana of Themyscira
writers	(vol. 1)William Moulton Marston, Mike Sekowsky, Robert Kanigher, Martin Pasko, Gerry Conway, Dan Mishkin(vol. 2)Len Wein, George Pérez, Mindy Newell, William Messner-Loebs, John Byrne, Phil Jimenez, Greg Rucka(vol. 3)Allan Heinberg, Gail Simone(vol. 1 cont.)J. Michael Straczynski
pencillers	(vol. 1)Harry G. Peter, Ross Andru, Mike Sekowsky, Dick Giordano, John Rosenberger, Jose Delbo, Gene Colan(vol. 2)George Pérez, Chris Marrinan, Mike Deodato, John Byrne, Phil Jimenez(vol. 3)Terry Dodson, Aaron Lopresti(vol. 1 cont.)Don Kramer
inkers	(vol. 1)Mike Esposito, Dick Giordano, Vince Colletta(vol. 2)Bruce Patterson, Andy Lanning(vol. 3)Rachel Dodson, Matt Ryan
colorists	(vol. 2)Carl Gafford(vol. 3)Alex Sinclair
cat	super
subcat	DC Comics
hero	y
sortkey	Wonder Woman
sort title	Wonder Woman
addcharcat1	All-American Publications characters }}

Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' #8 (December 1941). The ''Wonder Woman'' title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986.

Wonder Woman is a Princess of the Amazons (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) and was created by Marston, an American, as a "distinctly feminist role model whose mission was to bring the Amazon ideals of love, peace, and sexual equality to a world torn by the hatred of men." Known in her homeland as Diana of Themyscira, her powers include superhuman strength, flight, super-speed, super-stamina, and super-agility. She is highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat and in the art of tactical warfare. She also possesses an animal-like cunning and a natural rapport with animals, which has in the past been presented as an actual ability to communicate with the animal kingdom. She uses her Lasso of Truth, which forces those bound by it to tell the truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets, a tiara which serves as a projectile, and, in some stories, an invisible airplane.

Created during World War II, the character was initially depicted fighting the Axis military forces, as well as an assortment of supervillains. In later decades, some writers maintained the World War II setting, with many of its themes and story arcs, while others updated the series to reflect the present day. Wonder Woman has also regularly appeared in comic books featuring the superhero teams Justice Society (from 1941) and Justice League (from 1960). Arguably the most popular and iconic female superhero in comics, Wonder Woman is also considered a feminist icon, and she is regarded as extremely physically attractive even by the standards of the superheroine. She was named the 20th greatest comic book character by ''Empire'' magazine.

In addition to the comics, the character has appeared in other media; most notably, the 1975–1979 ''Wonder Woman'' TV series starring Lynda Carter, as well as animated series such as the ''Super Friends'' and ''Justice League''. Although a number of attempts have been made to adapt the character to live-action film, none have yet emerged from "development hell." An animated film was released in 2009, with Keri Russell voicing the title role. In 2011, Adrianne Palicki starred in a failed pilot for a would-be series about the character.

In May of 2011, Wonder Woman placed fifth on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time.

Publication history

Creation

In an October 25, 1940 interview published in ''Family Circle'' titled "Don't Laugh at the Comics", William Moulton Marston described what he saw as the great educational potential of comic books. This article caught the attention of comics publisher Max Gaines, who hired Marston as an educational consultant for National Periodicals and All-American Publications, two of the companies that would merge to form DC Comics. At that time, Marston decided to develop a new superhero. ''Family Circle'' published a follow-up article two years later.

In the early 1940s, the DC line was dominated by superpowered male characters such as the Green Lantern, Batman and its flagship character, Superman. According to the Fall 2001 issue of the Boston University alumni magazine, it was Marston's wife Elizabeth's idea to create a female superhero:

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Marston introduced the idea to Gaines, co-founder of All-American Publications. Given the go-ahead, Marston developed ''Wonder Woman'' with Elizabeth, whom Marston believed to be a model of that era's unconventional, liberated woman. Marston was also inspired by Olive Byrne, who lived with the couple in a polygamous/polyamorous relationship. Both women served as exemplars for the character and greatly influenced the character's creation. Wonder Woman debuted in ''All Star Comics'' #8 (December 1941), scripted by Marston and with art by Harry G. Peter.

Marston was the creator of a systolic-blood-pressure-measuring apparatus, which was crucial to the development of the polygraph (lie detector). Marston's experience with polygraphs convinced him that women were more honest and reliable than men and could work more efficiently.

"Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world," Marston wrote. Although Gloria Steinem placed Wonder Woman on the first standalone cover of ''Ms.'' in 1972, Marston, writing in an earlier time, designed Wonder Woman to represent a particular form of female empowerment. Feminism argues that women are equal to men and should be treated as such; Marston's representative of femininity is a 6-foot-tall Amazon wielding a golden lasso that forces obedience on those it encircles. In Marston's mind, women not only held the potential to be as good as men but to be superior to men.

In a 1943 issue of ''The American Scholar'', Marston wrote:

During this period, Wonder Woman joined the Justice Society of America as the female member, albeit as the group's secretary, since the custom was that characters who had their own comic books would hold only honorary membership.

Evolution of the character

Initially, Wonder Woman was an Amazon champion who wins the right to return Steve Trevor — a United States intelligence officer whose plane had crashed on the Amazons' isolated island homeland — to "Man's World" and to fight crime and the evil of the Nazis.

During the Silver Age, Wonder Woman's origin was revamped, along with other characters'. The new origin story increased the character's Hellenic and mythological roots: receiving the blessing of each deity in her crib, Diana is destined to become "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, stronger than Hercules, and swifter than Mercury."

At the end of the 1960s, under the guidance of Mike Sekowsky, Wonder Woman surrendered her powers in order to remain in Man's World rather than accompany her fellow Amazons to another dimension. Becoming a mod boutique owner, the powerless Diana Prince acquired a Chinese mentor named I Ching. Under I Ching's guidance, Diana learned martial arts and weapons skills and engaged in adventures that encompassed a variety of genres, from espionage to mythology.

Because of the popularity of the ''Wonder Woman'' TV series, the character later returned to her superpowered roots in ''Justice League of America'' and to the World War II era in her own title.

Following the 1985 ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' series, George Pérez, Len Wein, and Greg Potter relaunched the character, writing Wonder Woman as an emissary and ambassador from Themyscira to Patriarch's World, charged with the mission of bringing peace to the outside world.

In August 2010 (issue #600), DC Comics replaced the character's iconic stars-and-stripes singlet with a blue jacket, red and gold top and dark pants, retaining only her tiara and lasso.

Powers and abilities

Pre-Crisis

Originally, Wonder Woman owed her abilities to the goddess Aphrodite creating Amazons superior to men, with Diana being the best of their kind.

The Golden Age Wonder Woman was later updated by Marston to be able to will a tremendous amount of brain energy into her muscles and limbs because of her Amazon training, endowing her with extraordinary strength and speed. According to her first appearance, she is stronger and more agile than a hundred of the best human athletes. In ''Sensation Comics'' #6 (June 1942), she is able to tear a steel door off its hinges. In one of her earliest appearances, she is shown running easily at 80 mph. In the same comic, she jumps from a building and lands on the balls of her feet. She can even type at a rate of over 160 words a minute during a test given to her. It was implied, and ultimately confirmed, that ''any'' woman who underwent Amazon training would gain superhuman strength. The TV series took up this notion, and in the first episode of ''Super Friends'', Diana states to Aquaman, "...the only thing that can surpass super strength is the power of the brain." In early ''Wonder Woman'' stories, Amazon training involves strengthening this ability using pure mental energy.

Her powers would be removed in accordance with "Aphrodite's Law" if she allowed herself to be bound or chained by a male. In the television series, her magic belt allowed her to retain her powers when she was not on Paradise Island; removing it weakened her.

With the inclusion of Wonder Girl and "Wonder Tot" in Diana's back-story, writers provided new explanations of her powers; the character became capable of feats which her sister Amazons could not equal. ''Wonder Woman'' (vol. 1) #105 reveals that Diana was formed from clay by the Queen of the Amazons and was imbued with the attributes of the Greek and Roman gods by Athena — "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules." and Martian.

Depending on the writer, Diana's invulnerability and power varied greatly according to the needs of the story. Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, Robert Kanigher, for example, portrayed Wonder Woman as being so strong that she, after standing atop her hovering plane and lassoing it with her magic lasso, was able to effortlessly lift Themyscira out of the way of an approaching tsunami using just one hand. She was able to make a coin into a bridge with her strength, or drill through a mountain within seconds, as well as hurl spaceships with enough accuracy she could bowl over a whole fleet. Her fingernails could cut through a steel door. She was even able to flip straight over while nearly paralyzed, and split a tree falling on her with her Amazonian boots. Kanigher showed Wonder Woman as a preteen able to lift whales, push a ship away from a whirlpool, and also as a toddler able to blow so hard on her birthday cake that she sent it into orbit.

In the Silver and Bronze ages of comics, Wonder Woman was able to further increase her strength. She was unable to remove her bracelets without going insane. In times of great need, however, she would do just that, in order to temporarily augment her power tenfold. Since she would become a threat to friend and foe alike, she would use Amazonian berserker rage only as a weapon of last resort.

Before ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' there were two Wonder Women: the first one lived on Earth-Two; the second, on Earth-One. The first canonical appearance of the Earth-One Wonder Woman is ''Wonder Woman'' (vol. 1) #80 (February 1956). Their first published meeting is ''Justice League of America'' (vol. 1) #100 (August 1972); however, their earliest meeting within the DC continuity is ''Wonder Woman'' (vol. 1) #228 (February 1977), which takes place in 1943, prior to the events of the ''Justice League of America'' story.

Post-Crisis

Wonder Woman's body is a mystical creation made from the clay surrounding Themyscira. Through divine means, her disembodied soul was nurtured in and retrieved from the Cavern of Souls. Once the soul was placed into the body, it immediately came to life and was blessed with metahuman abilities by six Olympian deities.

Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility, blessed Diana with strength drawn from the Earth spirit Gaea, making her one of the physically strongest heroes in the DC Universe. She has been observed assisting in preventing large chunks of the Moon from crashing onto the Earth, supporting the weight of bridges, or hefting entire railroad trains. Although stated as at least somewhat physically weaker and slower than, for example, Power Girl, Diana's superior warrior training more than makes up for it, and through this along with strength drawn from the earth itself, she is able to overpower either Kara, or her counterpart Supergirl., and hold her own against beings such as Superman and Captain Marvel. Furthermore, unlike most of her contemporaries in Man's World, Diana is willing to use deadly force, which gives her more options to deal with opponents as circumstances dictate.

While not invulnerable, she is capable of withstanding great concussive force, shrugging off high-powered rifle fire with some pain but little injury, being knocked through a building, and even surviving a warp-core explosion. She is durable enough to survive the rigors of space until she runs out of breath. While her superhuman strength affords her great resistance to blunt-force trauma, her skin can be cut by weapons if they are sharp enough. Her muscles do not produce lactic acids, giving her great stamina. This allowed her to once battle a clone of Doomsday.

Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, blessed Diana with great beauty and a loving heart.

Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, granted Diana great wisdom, intelligence, and military prowess. Athena's gift has enabled Diana to master over a dozen languages (including those of alien origin), multiple complex crafts, sciences and philosophies, as well as leadership, military strategy, and armed and unarmed combat. She can mimic voices, although it is more difficult for her to mimic a man's voice. More recently, Athena bound her own eyesight to Diana's, granting her increased empathy.

Artemis, goddess of the hunt, animals, and the Moon, graced Diana with the Eyes of the Hunter and Unity with Beasts. The Eyes of the Hunter ability gives Diana a full range of enhanced senses, including enhanced sight and hearing. Unity with Beasts grants her the ability to communicate with all forms of animal life and to calm even the most ferocious of beasts.

Hestia, goddess of hearth and home, granted Diana "sisterhood with fire, that it might open men's hearts to her." This power has been shown to control the "Fires of Truth," which Diana wields through her lasso, making anyone bound by it unable to lie. This ability also grants her resistance to both normal and supernatural fire.

Hermes, the messenger god of speed, granted Diana superhuman speed and the ability to fly. By concentrating, Diana can mystically defy the laws of gravity and propel herself through the air to achieve flight. She is capable of flying at speeds approaching half the speed of light. She is swift enough to deflect bullets, lasers, and other projectiles with her virtually impenetrable bracelets. Her brain can process information at an incredibly fast rate.

Diana possesses the ability to relieve her body of physical injury and toxins by becoming one with the Earth's soil and then reforming her body whole again. During John Byrne's run, it was stated that this is a ritual so sacred that it is used only in the most dire of circumstances.

She is able to astrally project herself into various lands of myth. Her physical body reacts to whatever happens to her on the mythical astral plane, leaving her body cut, bruised, or sometimes strengthened once her mind and body are reunited. She can apparently leave the planet through meditation, and did this once to rescue Artemis while she was in hell.

Skills

All versions of Diana depict her as a masterful athlete, acrobat, fighter and strategist, trained and experienced in many ancient and modern forms of armed and unarmed combat, including exclusively Amazonian martial arts. In some versions, her mother trained her, as Wonder Girl, for a future career as Wonder Woman. From the beginning, she is portrayed as highly skilled in using her Amazon bracelets to stop bullets and in wielding her golden lasso. She is a superior warrior who has beaten Batman, Big Barda, and Black Canary in sparring matches. The modern version of the character differs from her compatriots in that she is willing to use deadly force when she deems it necessary.

Weapons

Diana has an arsenal of powerful god-forged weapons at her disposal, but her signature weapons are her indestructible bracelets and the Lasso of Truth.

Her bulletproof bracelets were formed from the remnants of Athena's legendary shield, the Aegis, to be awarded to her champion. The shield was made from the indestructible hide of the great she-goat, Amalthea, who suckled Zeus as an infant. These forearm guards have thus far proven indestructible and able to absorb the impact of incoming attacks, allowing Wonder Woman to deflect automatic weapon fire and energy blasts. Diana can also slam the bracelets together to create a wave of concussive force capable of making Superman's ears bleed.

The Lasso of Truth, or Lariat of Hestia, was forged by Hephaestus from the golden girdle of Gaea. It is virtually indestructible; the only times it has been broken were when truth itself was challenged, such as when she confronted Rama Khan of Jarhanpur, and by Bizarro in Matt Wagner's non-canonical ''Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity''. In ''Sensation Comics'' #6 (June 1942), Hippolyta claims that not even Hercules can break it. The Lasso burns with a magical aura called the Fires of Hestia, forcing anyone within the Lasso's confines to be truthful. It also at one time had the power to force anyone caught to obey any command given them, even overriding other kinds of mind control; this was effective enough to defeat strong-willed beings like Captain Marvel. Diana wields the lasso with great precision and accuracy and can use it as a whip or noose.

As early as the 1950s, Wonder Woman's Golden Tiara has also doubled as a dagger and a throwing weapon, returning to her like a boomerang. Its sharpness and mystical nature proved enough to cut even Superman.

In other media

Video games

Wonder Woman is a playable character in the 1995 game ''Justice League: Task Force'' for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis; the 2006 game ''Justice League Heroes'' for the PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox, and Nintendo DS; and the 2008 game ''Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe'' for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Wonder Woman is also playable in the Game Boy Advance games ''Justice League: Injustice for All'' (2002) and ''Justice League: Chronicles'' (2003), both based on the Justice League animated series, while she appears as a summonable "striker" character in ''Justice League Heroes: The Flash'' for the Game Boy Advance. Wonder Woman appears as a non-playable character in the MMO ''DC Universe Online'', for the PlayStation 3 and PC.

Books

Wonder Woman has appeared in many books. In their Archive Editions line, DC reprinted the complete run of ''All-Star Comics'' from the 1940s. The series comprises 12 volumes. Wonder Woman is featured beginning in the third volume, #2. (The first volume was numbered "0".) (See the Collected editions section below.)

The character has been written about in such titles as ''Seduction of the Innocent'' by Frederic Wertham, ''The Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia'' by Phil Jimenez, and ''Wonder Woman: Amazon. Hero. Icon.'' by Bob Greenberger. Wonder Woman has also been referred to in ''StarForce'' and ''Star Log'' magazines, and in Terry Moore's series ''Strangers in Paradise''.

TV series

An ABC television series called ''The New Original Wonder Woman'', which later moved to CBS as ''The New Adventures of Wonder Woman'', starred Lynda Carter in the title role and aired for three seasons from 1975–1979. The costume was designed by Hollywood designer Donfeld. Some of the early episodes were broadcast in 1975 as specials before the TV show became a weekly series in 1976.

A made-for-television movie called ''Wonder Woman'' was written and produced by John D. F. Black in 1974, a year before Carter popularized the role, and featured a Wonder Woman-''type'' heroine played by the blonde Cathy Lee Crosby. This Wonder Woman, however, had no super-human powers; her approach was closer to that of James Bond and Modesty Blaise, and she did not resemble the dark-haired amazon people identify as Wonder Woman. The TV movie fared well in the ratings, but the ABC television network decided to give Douglas S. Cramer permission to pursue his approach. He did so through Warner Brothers Television, which had become DC Comics's parent company and full owner; this included full ownership of the Wonder Woman copyright. Cramer's more closely resembled the comic-book version, and it resulted in Carter winning the lead role in the subsequent weekly series, which became a ratings success. Crosby's incarnation of Wonder Woman has a one-panel cameo in the comic book ''Infinite Crisis'' #6 (May 2006) as part of an alternate Earth.

Animated film

A direct-to-video animated film adaptation of Wonder Woman was released on March 3, 2009, on DVD and Blu-ray Disc as part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series produced by DC Comics animation veteran Bruce Timm and released by Warner Bros. The film stars Keri Russell as Wonder Woman and is directed by Lauren Montgomery. It features Russell's ''Waitress'' costar, Nathan Fillion, as Steve Trevor, as well as Alfred Molina, Rosario Dawson, and Virginia Madsen. The DVD sold 102,890 copies in its first week, ranking number 5 on the DVD sales chart in America.

Undeveloped projects

Announced television projects

In 1990, ''Comics Scene'' magazine announced a new syndicated Wonder Woman series to be produced and distributed by Warner Bros. In a letter column in ''Wonder Woman'' (vol. 2) #41, then-editor Karen Berger responded to a reader inquiry by saying that a pilot had been approved. However, no pilot was produced.

In the late 1990s, a new Wonder Woman project was announced for television. The 1990s success of ''Xena: Warrior Princess'' prompted interest in another live action Wonder Woman series, given the similarities between the two characters. For this fourth attempt, Deborah Joy LeVine was tasked with writing the premise and pilot. LeVine had created the moderately popular ''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. The basic premise had Diana living in modern-day Los Angeles, where she worked as a professor of Greek mythology at a local college. This series advanced far enough that some casting calls were initially made. Ultimately, the project never moved beyond these early stages and a pilot was never produced.

Live-action film

In January 2001, producer Joel Silver approached Todd Alcott to write a ''Wonder Woman'' screenplay, with Silver Pictures backing the project. Early gossip linked actresses such as Angelina Jolie, Beyoncé Knowles, Sandra Bullock, Rachel Bilson, Nadia Bjorlin, and Catherine Zeta-Jones to the role of Wonder Woman. Leonard Goldberg, speaking in a May 2001 interview, named Bullock as a strong candidate for the project. Bullock claimed that she was approached for the role, while wrestler Chyna expressed interest. Lucy Lawless, who had turned down the role in the past, indicated that she would have been more interested if Wonder Woman were portrayed as a "flawed hero." The screenplay went through various drafts written by Alcott, Jon Cohen, Becky Johnston, and Philip Levens. By August 2003, Levens was replaced by screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis.

{{epigraph |quote=Besides [Wonder Woman's] great origin story, there's nothing from the comics that felt right 100 percent, no iconic canon story that must be told. Batman has it made — he's got the greatest rogues gallery ever, he's got Gotham City. The Bat writes himself. With Wonder Woman, you're writing from whole cloth, but trying to make it feel like you didn't. To make it feel like it's existed for 60 years, even though you're making it up as you go along. But who she, and what the movie, is about, thematically, has never been a problem for me. But the steps along the way, it could be so easy for them to feel wrong. I won't settle. She wouldn't let me settle. |cite=Joss Whedon in November 2006, explaining the delay in developing a proper script. }}

In March 2005, Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures announced that Joss Whedon would write and direct the film adaptation of ''Wonder Woman''. Whedon's salary was reported to be $2 to $3 million. Since Whedon was directing ''Serenity'' at the time and required time to research Wonder Woman's background, he did not begin the screenplay until late 2005. According to Joel Silver, the script would cover Wonder Woman's origin and include Steve Trevor: "Trevor crashes on the island and they go back to Man's World." Silver wanted to film ''Wonder Woman'' in Australia once the script was completed. While Whedon stated in May 2005 that he would not cast Wonder Woman until he finished the script, Charisma Carpenter and Morena Baccarin expressed interest in the role.

After nearly two years as script-writer, Whedon had not managed to write a finished draft. "It was in an outline, and not in a draft, and they [studio executives] didn't like it. So I never got to write a draft where I got to work out exactly what I wanted to do." In February 2007, Whedon departed from the project, citing script differences with the studio. Whedon reiterated: "I never had an actress picked out, or even a consistent front-runner. I didn't have time to waste on casting when I was so busy air balling on the script." Whedon stated that with the ''Wonder Woman'' project left behind, he would focus on making his film ''Goners'', but said, "I would go back in a heartbeat if I believed that anybody believed in what I was doing. The lack of enthusiasm was overwhelming."

A day before Whedon's departure from ''Wonder Woman'', Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures purchased a spec script written by Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland. Set during World War II, the script impressed executives at Silver Pictures. However, Silver has stated that he purchased the script because he did not want the rights reverting; while the script has good ideas, Silver does not want the ''Wonder Woman'' film to be a period piece. By April 2008, Silver had hired Jennison and Strickland to write a new script set in contemporary times that would not depict Wonder Woman's origin, but explore Paradise Island's history.

Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO spoke about ''Wonder Woman'' in 2010, saying that a film is currently in development, along with films based on her counterparts The Flash and Aquaman. Nicolas Winding Refn has expressed interest in directing the film.

According to FoxNews.com, Warner Bros. is indeed developing a film which is slated for release in 2013, and according to Warner Bros., the villain of the film will be an entirely new one. ''X-Men'' producer Lauren Shuler Donner told Scifiwire.com that she is campaigning to produce the ''Wonder Woman'' film. ''Batman Begins'' and ''The Dark Knight'' writer David S. Goyer is rumored to be involved with the film as a director or a writer.

Justice League film

A film about the superhero team the Justice League was slated for a 2009 release before being put on indefinite hiatus in April 2008. It was based upon the DC Comics publication ''Justice League'', which has included a number of superheroes at various times, Wonder Woman among them. Producer Joel Silver said in 2007 that that due to the impending release of ''Justice League'', the Wonder Woman film would be placed on moratorium.

Jessica Biel was approached for the role of Wonder Woman in the ''Justice League'' film but declined it, while Missy Peregrym, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Teresa Palmer, Shannyn Sossamon, Beyoncé Knowles, and Christina Milian expressed interest. Eventually, Australian supermodel Megan Gale was cast. In early January 2008, production of the film was delayed because of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. When asked whether the film would still affect the solo ''Wonder Woman'' movie in April 2008, Silver said it would not, because the ''Justice League'' film had been put on indefinite hold. In August 2008, however, director George Miller and actress Megan Gale confirmed that the film was still on, with a plan to resume filming in 2009. In an article in ''The Wall Street Journal'', Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov expressed studio interest in the production of a Justice League film but confirmed that the project that had been in development had been shelved.

Collected editions

! Title !! Material collected !! ISBN
Wonder Woman Chronicles, Vol. 1	''All Star Comics'' #8, ''Sensation Comics'' #1–9, ''Wonder Woman'' #1
Wonder Woman Archive Edition, Vol. 1	''All Star Comics'' #8, ''Sensation Comics'' #1–12, ''Wonder Woman'' #1
Wonder Woman Archive Edition, Vol. 2	''Sensation Comics'' #13–17, ''Wonder Woman'' #2–4
Wonder Woman Archive Edition, Vol. 3	''Sensation Comics'' #18–24, ''Wonder Woman'' #5–7
Wonder Woman Archive Edition, Vol. 4	''Sensation Comics'' #25–32, ''Wonder Woman'' #8–9
Wonder Woman Archive Edition, Vol. 5	''Sensation Comics'' #33–40, ''Wonder Woman'' #10–12
Wonder Woman Archive Edition, Vol. 6	''Sensation Comics'' #41–48, ''Wonder Woman'' #13–15
Showcase Presents Wonder Woman, Vol. 1	''Wonder Woman'' #98–117
Showcase Presents Wonder Woman, Vol. 2	''Wonder Woman'' #118–137
Showcase Presents Wonder Woman, Vol. 3	''Wonder Woman'' #138–156
Diana Prince: Wonder Woman, Vol. 1	''Wonder Woman'' #178–184, ''Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane'' #93
Diana Prince: Wonder Woman, Vol. 2	''Wonder Woman'' #185–189, ''Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane'' #93, ''The Brave and the Bold'' #87
Diana Prince: Wonder Woman, Vol. 3	''Wonder Woman'' #190–198, ''World's Finest'' #204
Diana Prince: Wonder Woman, Vol. 4	''Wonder Woman'' #199–204, ''The Brave and the Bold'' #105
Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: Gods and Mortals	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #1–7
Wonder Woman, Vol. 2: Challenge of the Gods	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #7–14
Wonder Woman, Vol. 3: Beauty and the Beasts	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #15–19, ''Action Comics'' #600
Wonder Woman, Vol. 4: Destiny Calling	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #20–24, ''Annual'' #1
Wonder Woman: The Contest	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #0, #90–93
Wonder Woman: The Challenge of Artemis	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #94–100
Wonder Woman: Second Genesis	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #101–105
Wonder Woman: Lifelines	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #106–112
Wonder Woman: Paradise Lost	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #164–170, ''Secret Files'' #2
Wonder Woman: Paradise Found	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #171–177, ''Secret Files'' #3
Wonder Woman: Down to Earth	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #195–200
Wonder Woman: Bitter Rivals	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #201–205
Wonder Woman: Eyes of Gorgon	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #206–213
Wonder Woman: Land of the Dead	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #214–217, ''The Flash'' #219
Wonder Woman: Mission's End	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 2, #218–226
Wonder Woman: Who is Wonder Woman?	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 3, #1–4, ''Annual'' #1
Wonder Woman: Love and Murder	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 3, #6–10
Wonder Woman: Amazons Attack!	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 3, #11-13
Wonder Woman: The Circle	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 3, #14–19
Wonder Woman: Ends of the Earth	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 3, #20–25
Wonder Woman: Rise of the Olympian	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 3, #26–33
Wonder Woman: Warkiller	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 3, #34–39
Wonder Woman: Contagion	''Wonder Woman'' vol. 3, #40–44

Merchandise

On January 28, 2011, Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced that DC Comics's iconic heroine Wonder Woman will team up with MAC Cosmetics to create a Wonder Woman makeup collection that will be available in MAC stores in the spring of 2011. The collection includes blush, eye shadow, eyeliner, lip gloss, lipstick, mascara, mineral powder and nail polish.

See also

Alternative versions of Wonder Woman for ''Elseworlds'' and other characters to bear the title

Amazons (DC Comics)

Darna

Diana Prince

List of Wonder Woman enemies

List of Wonder Woman supporting characters

Orana (DC comics)

Portrayal of women in comics

List of female action heroes

Woman warrior

Wonder Woman in literature

References

External links

Wonder Woman Official website at DC Comics.com

Origin story of Wonder Woman at DC Comics.com

Carol A. Strickland's Wonder Woman site

AmazonArchives.com

Wonder of Wonders

Wonder Woman Wiki

Category:All-American Publications characters Category:Atlantis in fiction Category:Characters created by William Moulton Marston Category:Comics characters introduced in 1941 Category:DC Comics Amazons Category:DC Comics characters with accelerated healing Category:DC Comics characters with superhuman strength Category:DC Comics martial artists Category:DC Comics titles Category:Fictional aviators Category:Fictional diplomats Category:Fictional empaths Category:Fictional Greek people Category:Fictional immigrants to the United States Category:Fictional princesses Category:Fictional women soldiers and warriors Category:United States-themed superheroes

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Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	Olly Murs
background	solo_singer
birth name	Oliver Stanley Murs
born	May 14, 1984Witham, Essex, England
instrument	Vocals, guitar
genre	Pop, reggae fusion, ska
occupation	Singer-songwriter
years active	2009–present
label	Epic, Syco
associated acts	''The X Factor'' 2009 finalists
website	}}

Oliver Stanley "Olly" Murs (born 14 May 1984 in Essex, England) is an English singer-songwriter and TV presenter. Murs rose to fame after being the runner-up on the sixth series of ''The X Factor''. He is currently signed to Epic Records and Syco Music.

After being announced the runner up of ''The X Factor'', Murs announced he had signed a joint record deal between Epic Records and Syco Music, and would record a debut album. Murs released his first debut single "Please Don't Let Me Go" late August 2010, the song debuted at number-one on the UK Singles Charts becoming Murs' second number one single after releasing "You Are Not Alone" with his ''fellow series six finalists''. "Please Don't Let Me Go" received a Silver certification by the BPI. He released second single from the album "Thinking of Me" which charted at number four on the UK Singles Charts, however the single also got a Silver certification by the BPI.

Murs released his self-titled first debut album in November 2010, ''Olly Murs''. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number two, with the biggest week one album sales for a debut album in 2010, with over 108,000 albums sold. The album since went on to have sell over 600,000 being certificated double platinum by the BPI. He is due to release his second upcoming album in November 2011, with first single release from the album titled "Heart Skips a Beat" which features hip hop duo Rizzle Kicks. In May 2011, it was announced that Murs would return to ''The X Factor'' to co-present spin-off show ''The Xtra Factor'' with Caroline Flack. It was also confirmed that Murs would present a Celebrity Club Classic show on Heart FM.

Early and personal life

Murs was born to Vicky and Pete Murs, who is of Latvian descent. He has a twin brother, Ben (Olly is the older twin) and a sister, Fay. He attended Howbridge Junior School in Witham then Notley High School in Braintree, Essex where he was a star striker in the school's football team. He is a supporter of Manchester United and also played semi-professionally for Witham Town. Unfortunately due to an injury he had to give up his football dream. Prior to ''The X Factor'', Murs worked as an energy advisor in a call centre. He also appeared on the TV show ''Deal or No Deal'' and has played in Soccer Aid for charity early in 2010.

Music career

===2009–2010: ''The X Factor''=== He performed "Superstition" in his first audition and Simon Cowell said it was "the easiest yes I have ever given". On the first live show he sang "She's the One" and on the second, "A Fool in Love", a performance which Cowell described as being "in a different league." For week three he took on "Bewitched". Walsh commented that he was the "dark horse of the competition," and Cole said he was "coming into his own each week." He frequently employed dance moves in his performance including his trademark "Olly wiggle." In week 4 he sang "Come Together" and again received positive comments, with Walsh predicting, "I think you're in the final three," and Cowell saying he was "progressing better than just about everybody." In week 5 he performed "Twist and Shout" and in week 6 "Don't Stop Me Now", after which he was labelled by Minogue as, "absolutely the best performer we have on the show by far."

After a performance of "Fastlove", he was in the bottom two in week 7, with John & Edward. Cowell and Cole decided to send John & Edward home, but Walsh voted against Murs. Minogue then decided against taking the judges' vote to deadlock and sent home John & Edward. When the voting statistics were later released on ''The X Factor'' website, they revealed that if Minogue had voted to save John & Edward and taken it to deadlock, Murs would have been sent home on popular vote, as John & Edward gained 10.7% of the popular vote against just 9.8% to Murs. In the semi-finals Murs had to miss the wedding of his brother. The ceremony took place just 16 miles from the show's studio, but Cowell, his mentor, was against letting him off for a few hours on this crucial semi-final day. He sang "Can You Feel It" and "We Can Work It Out" in the semi-final and ended up as one of the three finalists, breaking down in tears upon hearing the result.

In the final on 12 December, he repeated his audition song, "Supersition", following which Cowell said putting him in the final 12 was "the best risk I have ever taken in my life". Murs then sang with Robbie Williams on a duet of "Angels". Williams fluffed his lines as he walked on stage to join Murs and came in at the wrong time, singing the second line of the song, but was helped by Murs to find the right spot. There was then a repeat performance of his week 2 song "Fool in Love". Murs qualified for the final two and first sang a repeat performance of "Twist and Shout", following which Louis Walsh commented, "You're a born, born showman and no matter what happens tonight you're going to have a great career in music." In his final performance on the show he performed the winner's song, "The Climb", finishing it in tears. He was told by Cole, "You absolutely tore it from your soul. I've never heard you sing like that. I thought it was a beautiful version of the song." He lost the final to Joe McElderry the next day and finished as the runner-up.

On 15 December, two days after the final, it was reported that Simon was going to offer Murs a record deal in early 2010. Following his defeat, Murs was reportedly texted by duet partner Robbie Williams and invited to visit him in his Los Angeles mansion and participate in the upcoming Soccer Aid, organised by Williams. Olly performed in the X Factor tour, alongside Joe McElderry, John & Edward, Stacey Soloman Lucie Jones and several other finalists. It was later revealed on ''The Xtra Factor'' that Murs was predicted by all the judges and presenters (except Minogue who said Nicole Jackson and Cole who said Miss Frank as a second choice) as the favourite to win the series at the Boot Camp stage. As with all other finalists save the winner, Murs began gigging around the country following the end of the show. A fight broke out at one New Year's Eve gig in London prompted by enthusiastic fans. He was also booked to appear at the engagement party of model Danielle Lloyd. Footage of Murs appearing on ''Deal or No Deal'' was later featured in an edition of the BBC's ''Almost Famous'' on 2 January 2010.

2010–2011: Major label success and ''Olly Murs''

Rumours began that Murs would record an debut album almost immediately after the final, where he finished in second place to Joe McElderry. After the rumours broke out, Murs announced he signed a joint record deal between Epic Records and Syco Music in February 2010. It was announced that Murs began working with John Shanks and Eg White. It was later confirmed that Roy Stride, Trevor Horn, Wayne Hector and Matty Benbrook would have envolvment on the album which he collaborated with to make the "best possible songs". More writers and producers were confirmed to be working with Murs in the studio including; Phil Thornalley, Martin Brammer, Samuel Preston, Mark Taylor. and Chris Difford Professor Green was due to appear on the album, however, the duet fell through before recording was completed. "Heart on My Sleeve" is a cover of the song originally recorded by ''American Idol'' finalist Michael Johns.

Murs confirmed the first single from the album to be titled "Please Don't Let Me Go", which was released on 27 August 2010 following the circulation of the accompanying music video. The song was written by Murs himself and with other songwriters, Claude Kelly and Steve Robson; the single was also produced by Future Cut. The song is about a minor relationship Murs was in where he ended up feeling something for the other person. Murs commented: "Sadly she kept giving me the impression that she didn't like me as much, and ultimately it didn't work out, so that's where the idea of me singing 'Please Don't Let Me Go' came from." The song was described as "a lovely summery reggae-tinged pop tune that bobs along in a thoroughly hummable and not un-Will Young-like fashion" and said that the music video "is just as quintessentially ''pleasant''". During the release, Murs was told not to get his hopes up for a number-one due to Katy Perry releasing "Teenage Dream" the same day. On 5 September 2010, the single entered the UK Singles Charts at number 1 beating Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream". The song was released with the B-side track, entitled "This One's for the Girls" also entered the UK Singles Charts, debuting at number 69, was written for all of his female fans.

His debut album was released in November 2010; which was a self-titled album, ''Olly Murs''. The album's tracking list was revealed on 15 October 2010. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number two, with the biggest week one album sales for a debut album in 2010, with over 108,000 albums sold. The album also charted on the Irish Albums Chart where it found itself peaking at number eleven. The second single will be "Thinking of Me", written by Murs, Steve Robson and Hector, and co-produced by Future Cut and Steve Robson. It is due to be released on 21 November 2010, prior to the album's release. It was reported that Professor Green would feature on the single, however, the duet fell through before it was completed. The single was added to BBC Radio 1's C Playlist on 3 November 2010. Murs performed the single for the first time on ''The X Factor''. Upon the release the single charted at number four on the UK Singles Charts and thirteen on the Irish Singles Charts. On 13 November Murs turned the Christmas lights on in the Scottish town Paisley and he also turned on the Christmas lights near his hometown in Chelmsford, Essex. Renfrew Council was criticised in the media for the £15,000 fee that Murs was paid to turn on the lights, after announcing that they were axing 500 jobs. Olly has now started his 2011 UK Tour starting in Rhyl, Wales on the 26th April.

2011–present: Second studio album and ''Xtra Factor''

It was rumoured that Murs had started working on his second studio album, which he confirmed. He said he would take the album from a different approach and said he would like to rap stating; "I'm secretly not a bad rapper, I really like to do a bit of beat boxing, Eminem is always a favourite, or maybe Vanilla Ice, "Ice Ice Baby" is a classic." Murs also confirmed that he would like to record a duet with Robbie Williams on the album, like he performed with him on ''The X Factor Live Final''. Murs also revealed that he will build himself a more of a "soulful" sound. He said that the second album is really different to the first single of the album. He said the first single is a summer song, but the album's completely different.

Murs confirmed that the first single from the album would be called "Heart Skips a Beat", the lead single from the album; which peaked at number one on the 28th August 2011, giving Murs his second number one single. The song was confirmed the feature rapping duo, Rizzle Kicks. The song premiered on The Chris Moyles Show on July, 7 2011 and has been well received by fans. The video was released by Murs onto his official YouTube. Murs said that the song is one of his favourite tracks of his new album; saying, "I'm loving the tune at the moment. It's going down really, really well." It was confirmed that Murs would return to ''The X Factor'' to present the spin-off show, ''The Xtra Factor'' however, he would co-present alongside Caroline Flack.

Other work

In February 2011, it was announced that Murs would take part in the BT Charity Trek along with other celebrities as part of the 2011 Comic Relief Red Nose Day campaign. The celebrities spent five days in the Kaisut desert in north Kenya, covering in temperatures up to 40°C. On 2 April 2011, Murs appeared in a celebrity version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and won £10,000 for charity. On 4 April 2011 for one week, Murs stood in for Comedy Dave Vitty on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 while Vitty was rehearsing for Dancing on Ice. In 2011, Murs appeared on CBBC's children's hidden camera show Remote Control Star. At the end of May 2011, Murs will present a Celebrity Club Classics show on Heart FM. On 31 May 2011 it was confirmed Olly would be co presenting the eighth series of The Xtra Factor alongside Caroline Flack.

Discography

Albums

rowspan="2"

Year

Album

Peak chart positions

*First studio album

*Released: 29 November 2010

*Label: [[Epic Records

2

11

3

UK">Music recording sales certification

! width=35

! width=35

! width=35

2010

align="left"

*First studio album

*Released: 29 November 2010

*Label: [[Epic Records

2

11

3

UK: 2x Platinum

IRMA>IRL: Gold

Singles

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" border="1" ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:15em;"| Single ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year ! scope="col" colspan="3"| Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Certifications ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|UK ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|IRE ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|SCO |- | align="left"|"Please Don't Let Me Go" | rowspan="2"|2010 | 1 || 5 || 2 | UK: Silver | rowspan="4"|''Olly Murs'' |- | align="left"|"Thinking of Me" | 4 || 14 || 3 | UK: Silver |- | align="left"|"Heart on My Sleeve" | rowspan="3"|2011 | 20 || — || 24 | |- | align="left"|"Busy" | 45 || — || — | |- | align="left"|"Heart Skips a Beat"(featuring Rizzle Kicks) | 1 || 6 || 1 | | TBA |- | colspan="14" align="center" bgcolor="#f2f2f2"| As featured artist |- | align="left"|"You Are Not Alone"(as part of ''The X Factor'' finalists) | 2009 | 1 || 1 || — | UK: Gold | ''non-album single'' |}

Other charted songs

Year	Single	Peak chart positions	Album/single
		! width=50
2010			b-side to "Please Don't Let Me Go"

References

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:British people of Latvian descent Category:English male singers Category:Music from Essex Category:People from Essex Category:Sony BMG artists Category:The X Factor (UK) contestants Category:The X Factor hosts Category:Twin people from England

de:Olly Murs es:Olly Murs it:Olly Murs pl:Olly Murs