Istanbul may be a world away in both geography and culture, but New Yorkers who visit will feel right at home.

The Turkish metropolis, which straddles the Bosphorus Strait dividing Europe and Asia, has seen a population explosion, now with more than 14 million people living in the city, coming from all corners of the country and world.

This influx of people not only makes Istanbul a bustling destination (with a vibrant art and film scene, as well as sidewalks packed with pedestrians, just like Gotham), but has led to rapid development and great new attractions in previously overlooked areas.

A number of new hotels have opened recently, with others slated for completion in coming months. Among the most notable is the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Center. When it opened in January, the 34-story tower atop a hill in the once-sleepy Sisli district became the city’s largest hotel and conference center, with 829 rooms and suites with floor-to-ceiling windows and cutting-edge in-room technology.

Among the cool conveniences: The surround-sound system connects directly to your MP3 player, and you can activate the “Do Not Disturb” alert with the push of a bedside button.

But while the hotel exudes modernity, what sets it apart is how it simultaneously embraces Istanbul’s past. The Hilton’s Eforea spa, in addition to a full menu of treatments drawing on health research, provides a traditional hamam , in which the guest lies on a marble slab while being soaped and rinsed by an attendant. The Globe restaurant downstairs provides high-end dining in the evenings and traditional Turkish fare throughout the day.

But the most significant connection to the past is where the hotel gets its name from — the Bomonti Beer Factory, which adjoins the property. The 125-year old structure had for a century produced one of the country’s favorite beverages but it fell into disuse. It’s now in the process of being converted into a massive restaurant, shopping and entertainment complex that will maintain the factory’s original structure and incorporate its history into the new bars, stores and venues slated to open this August.

This balance of old and new is reflective of Istanbul as a whole. The city’s history of art, innovation and transformation dates back millennia and is central to the destination’s identity today.

Take the astounding Hagia Sophia, the grand church-turned-mosque-turned-museum, which captures in one structure the seismic changes the area has experienced. It sits where a Byzantine temple to Greek gods and goddesses stood until A.D. 360, when it became a Christian place of worship, expanded in 532 to become the largest church in the world. It stood for 916 years, until Sultan Mehmet II conquered the city, it became part of the Ottoman Empire, and he plastered over the Sophia’s Christian iconography, converting it into the largest mosque in the world. Five centuries later, Turkey declared its independence, Constantinople became Istanbul, and the structure became the museum it is today, where artifacts and architectural elements tell the story of this varied past.

A short walk through a well-manicured garden will bring visitors to another Istanbul icon, commanding the skyline with its grand dome, eight secondary domes, and six minarets: the Blue Mosque. Completed in 1616, the landmark (formally named the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, after the leader who commissioned it) remains a magnificent place of worship for thousands of Istanbul’s Muslims. The interior showcases 20,000 handmade ceramic tiles, sculpted marble, and verses of the Koran scripted by famed 17th-century calligrapher Seyyid Kasim Gubari. Whatever visitors’ religious persuasion, stepping inside (after removing your shoes, of course) will leave them with a sense of awe.

With your appetite for Turkish history whetted, you can take a short walk to Topkapi Palace, which served as the home of Ottoman sultans and their hundreds of associates for 400 years (until 1856 when Sultan Abdülmecid moved to a more European-style palace). The interconnecting rooms and courtyards offer a peek inside the daily lives of the empire’s leader and his court, from the Imperial Council where affairs of state were discussed; to the 350-room Harem, where the sultan’s mother, wives and children lived; to the Imperial Treasury, where financial decisions were once made, but which now houses an impressive collection of armor and weapons. Between Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace, you can cover thousands of years of history in a few hours.

While Istanbul’s structures tell a grand story, there are many more personal ways to learn about Turkish traditions and experience them first-hand. The Grand Bazaar, in the Fatih district, is the oldest shopping mall in the world. It was built in 1461, and much of the original tile work and structure is still intact. More than 4,000 shops at the Grand Bazaar showcase mosaics, scarves, lanterns, spices and other local crafts. With an overwhelming amount of merchandise, ranging from handcrafted works to mass-produced tchotchkes, it may be worth touring the Bazaar with a qualified guide. Travelium (travelium.com.tr) offers shopping tours and more far-reaching historical outings with skilled explainers.

If near the Grand Bazaar, you can also drop in at Hereke Hali (herekecarpet.com) to learn about Turkey’s tradition of handmade carpets, regional variations in their patterns, and see some weaving in action. If you opt to take one of the rugs home (they range from wool rugs costing a few hundred dollars to pure silk ones priced at tens of thousands), the company makes it easy to ship back to the U.S.

At the Culinary Arts Center, in the Armaggan Nuruosmaniye shopping emporium (armaggan.com), foodies can attend discussions on all types of Turkish cuisine, with tastings included. I had a chance to watch the center’s chefs preparing the beloved akide candy made by melting sugar and mixing in ingredients like sesame seeds and pistachio.

Speaking of food, eating in Istanbul remains one of the most pleasurable ways to experience the area’s history and culture. There is no shortage of excellent restaurants offering up traditional fare and new takes on the classics. Nar Restaurant, located at the Culinary Arts Center, boasts an extensive menu of traditional and contemporary Turkish dishes, including a must-try mezze (small dishes) bar to start your meal and a dessert bar — complete with dozens of varieties of Turkish delights — to finish it off.

Sur Balik Arnavutköy (surbalik.com), overlooking the Bosphorus, provides some of the freshest seafood in the city. Diners can select their own sea bass, swordfish, mullet and more from the ice box at the eatery’s entrance (or do as I did and ask the chef to choose for you).

While Kosebasi Nisantasi (kosebasi.com) also provides some phenomenal mezze, including an outstanding eggplant saksuka and cig kofte (a veal and lamb tartare), come here for the kabobs. The restaurant offers a whole menu of kabob options, and their signature dish, Tavuk Kosebasi, blends chicken, red bell pepper, parsley and Turkish spices into a tender and satisfying entree. The restaurant can be found in the burgeoning Macka neighborhood, which has seen lots of development and new stores moving in recently.

But like so much of this city, it has not lost hold of its past.

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IF YOU GO

Getting there: Turkish Airlines’ flights to Istanbul take about 10 hours and leave from JFK regularly.

Stay: Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Center, where room rates begin at $250 per night. (hilton.com)