Anyone trying to reach Istanbul’s international airport on its European side or trying to enter the city after landing on Sunday met with treacherous traffic. The holdups began around noon and continued until almost midnight. In Istanbul, impossible traffic is nothing extraordinary, but on May 29, it exceeded even Istanbul standards.

The reason was simple: People were celebrating the conquest of the city 563 years ago.

It was impossible to miss the huge banners — hanging from bridges, electric poles, anything standing upright — with giant portraits of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and slogans in Turkish that read “Resurrection, Re-rise.” No eye could miss the number 563 plastered over them.

Big celebrations of the day Ottoman Turks conquered the capital of the East Roman Empire aren't exactly a novelty, yet the 563rd anniversary of the conquest was different from previous years. It was incomparably ornate, overblown and innovative. An expensively produced light and sound show in front of the long Roman walls, supported by digital technology, revisited that fateful moment when Byzantine (East Roman) defenses were breached and the victorious Ottoman forces penetrated the city following a 56-day siege. On that date 563 years ago, the East Roman Empire was terminated and a new era opened in history.