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