Istanbul hosted 700,228 Muslim tourists in the mentioned period, according to figures of Istanbul Culture & Tourism Directorate.
Istanbul is a home to historical artifacts of Roman, Byzantium and Ottoman Empire periods as well as 8,500-year-old archeological artifacts. (source)
Istanbul hosted 6.4 million tourists in 2007, and 6.8 percent of them were from Islamic countries. 7.6 percent of 7.049 million tourists was Muslims in 2008, 9.3 percent of
7.5 million tourists in 2009, and 10 percent of 6.9 million tourists in 2010 were from Islamic countries.
In the first seven months of 2011, 4.4 million tourists arrived in Istanbul via Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen airports as well as Haydarpasa, Pendik and Karakoy ports. 15.6 percent of these tourists were from Muslim countries.
Istanbul hosted 560,511 Muslim tourists in the first seven months of 2010.
Source : http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=77382 - Aug 11, 2011
