Istanbul is Turkey’s largest city and one of the only cities in the world to straddle two continents: Europe and Asia. It is also one of the only cities in the world that served as the seat of two major civilizations: the Byzantine Empire (330–1453 CE) and the Ottoman Empire (1423–1922). The name Istanbul, however, is a relatively modern moniker, officially bestowed upon the city in 1930 following the establishment of the Turkish Republic in the wake of World War I. Until then, for much of its long and distinguished life, the city was known as Constantinople, eponymously named for […]
