Few cities in the world compare with İstanbul, so rich in culture and history. What other reason need one give for living here? “But is it safe?” friends at home occasionally ask. “And isn’t the real name Constantinople?”
This question startles me. Then I read somewhere that the city officially became known as İstanbul in 1930. More confusion. Ask your Turkish friends what the Ottomans called their capital city from 1453 onward. The question usually makes people stop and think, as if the answer may not be readily available. Visitors recently stumped me with a question reaching back more than 1,500 years: “What was the city called before the arrival of Constantine?” Read More
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