To an outsider , Istanbul may at first seen like a Western city. The Western dress , the many new buildings , the traffic problems all make the city seem very modern. But there is another side to this great city-its rich past as the capital of the Ottoman Empire. In the narrow back streets , the bazaars , and the mosques , this past seems very near and real. And the spectacular mosques are evidence of the city ' s important role in history of Islam as well.