Istanbul is Europe's most populous city and Turkey's cultural and financial center. The city covers 27 districts of the Istanbul province. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbor known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country.
History
Earth-Two
10th century
In 990, after being sent back in time, Batman and Robin freed a group of vikings from a citadel in Byzantium.[1]
20th century
In 1939 American adventurer Tex Thompson traveled to Istanbul at the behest of the Prime Minister of Turkey. Disguising himself as a Turk, Tex teamed up with a local guide named Ali-Baba and together they investigated a sabotage ring responsible for attacking the Turkish naval fleet. During this adventure, Tex also had a rematch with his old foe the Gorrah. The Gorrah captured Tex and his ally Bob Daley and used hypnosis on them in an effort to ascertain information regarding the naval fleet. Tex was unaffected but pretended to be under the Gorrah's control so that he could bait him into a trap. Refusing to be taken alive, the Gorrah faked his own death and went into hiding.[2]
While in Istanbul, Congo Bill overhears two men with German accents, disguised as Turks, discussing a plan to sabotage a German consulate reception by tossing a Turkish army grenade into the crowd, creating an excuse for Nazi forces to invade under the guise of "avenging" their people. Discovered and knocked out, Bill awakens tied up beside Turkish agent Mustafa Pasha, who explains the Nazis’ plan to recruit Turkey to the Axis. Bill uses broken records to cut through their ropes and create a signal to alert a policeman. Together, they thwart the grenade attack, saving the crowd and foiling the Nazi plot.[3]
Earth-One
After helping stop crooks from robbing a bank, Batman is asked to arrest Bruce Wayne, who is wanted for fraud and murder. Batman goes to Istanbul to capture Wayne, who is there to purchase the Neji, an expensive totem from the Kahari tribe of Africa. Wayne is there to purchase it to bring it back to it's native tribe that has erupted into violence. There he's confronted by Batman.... Who really turns out to be Plastic Man. It's revealed that the real Bruce Wayne was looking for the ideal candidate to pose as him while he was out of town securing the totem when he came across Plastic Man -- who had become a homeless bum following their last encounter, and offered him the chance to play the role of the caped crusader. An offer which Plastic Man agreed to, and hence the reason for this bizarre turn of events.[4]
New Earth
In his Istanbul apartment, criminal Johnny Warlock resurrected Darla Aquista, killing her father in the process.[5]
Huntress and the Birds of Prey confronted smuggler Yasemin Soze and ordered her to stop her business with the Irish mob and sell to the Sigiorello family instead, or else she would be destroyed. Yasemin then sent her men after them, who tried to gun them down in the middle of the city. Though they were able to fight them off, their attackers escaped them.[6]
Red Robin and the Teen Titans defeated a legion of Calculator's robots in Istanbul.[7]
Prime Earth
At the Grand Bazaar, Dr. Martine planned an attack, but was disrupted by Batwoman. Though he used monster venom to turn himself into a big monster, she defeated him in a fight. While he still managed to tell her about his sellers, The Many Arms of Death, he was killed by Knife before being able to give out more information.[8]
See Also
- Appearances of Istanbul
- Location Gallery: Istanbul
- Catalogued images related to Istanbul