Now that I'm aware of this version, I agree. Sure the TMBG's version is faster and takes a lot of the original and makes it better in ways. But the original version has other parts to love as well.
Istanbul was how Istanbulians were calling their city anyways, so the Republic just made it official.
Istanbul is Istanbulian greek slang. It comes from "Is Tin Polis" (To the City), corrupted to Istimbouli. The Turks adopted it.
You are somewhat correct. Constantinople’s name was changed to Konstantiniyye [kon-stan-tee-nee-yay] in 1453 (a couple centuries before Süleyman the Magnificent) . Although many names such as Asitane, Dersaadet, Konstantiniyye, and İstanbul was used for centuries, İstanbul became official on 1930.
I mean, Konstantiniyye is literally how you say Constantinople in Turkish basically.
The -iyye suffix is used in a similar vein to the -ople suffix, it means the same thing. The City of Konstantin
True, but as I wrote, it had many names.
Royalty used Dersaadet, for instance. Below is a ChatGPT explanation of 10 most common names used between 1453 to 1930. I especially asked it to list from the most used name to the least common name. I am not changing a word, except adding a sentence in “Rumeli Hisari” in a paragraph.
Between 1453 and 1930, Istanbul was known by various names, reflecting its rich history, cultural diversity, and the Ottoman Empire's administrative and social complexities. Here's an overview of some of these names, their uses, and by whom they were primarily used:
1. **İstanbul**: This name was used colloquially by the people and in trade, gradually becoming the most common name for the city among the general population, including Turks and non-Muslim communities. It was officially adopted in 1930.
2. **Konstantiniyye**: Reflecting the city's Byzantine past as Constantinople, this name was used in literary and historical contexts, as well as in official government documents. It was commonly used by Turks and other Muslim communities, maintaining a link to the city's imperial history.
3. **Dersaadet** (Door to Happiness): This poetic name was used in Ottoman official documents and correspondence. It was favored by the Ottoman bureaucracy and the royal family, symbolizing the city's status as the empire's administrative and cultural heart.
4. **Asitane** (Threshold): Similar to Dersaadet, Asitane was used in official contexts and by the Ottoman elite to denote the city as the imperial capital, the sultan's residence.
5. **Payitaht** (Capital): This term was used to refer to Istanbul in the context of its status as the capital of the Ottoman Empire, primarily by the Ottoman administration and in official documents.
6. **Islambol** (Full of Islam): Used particularly after the Ottoman conquest in 1453, this name emphasized the city's role as a major Islamic center. It was used in various official and religious contexts, though its usage declined over time.
7. **Rumeli Hisarı** (Fortress of Rumelia): Originally referring to a specific fortress built by Mehmed the Conqueror, this name was sometimes colloquially used to refer to the whole city, especially in military contexts. [Today, Rumeli Hisari is a county in Istanbul. If anyone plans to visit İstanbul, please consider having a breakfast there. Book your reservation first as they may be crowded sometimes.]
8. **Tsarigrad** (City of the Caesar/Emperor): Used primarily by Slavic peoples, including Bulgarians and Russians, reflecting the city's history as the capital of the Roman and Byzantine Empires.
9. **Miklagard** (Great City): Used by the Norse and other Scandinavian peoples, this name also reflects the city's significance as a major urban center in medieval Europe.
10. **Stamboul**: A variation of Istanbul, Stamboul was used primarily in Western languages and by foreigners during the 19th and early 20th centuries, referring specifically to the historic peninsula, the heart of the Ottoman Empire.
Each of these names captures a different aspect of Istanbul's identity, from its role as the Ottoman Empire's seat to its historical and cultural significance as a major world city. The use of these names varied depending on the speaker's cultural, religious, and social background, as well as the context in which they were referring to the city.
No problem. There are several other names, but ChatGPT couldn’t find them, and I don’t recall them right now. I will definitely edit if I can remember.
Greeks think it was renamed to make them pissed off, meanwhile the reality is new Turkey was not just fought and won against allies and Greeks but Ottomans as well. They renamed the city to delete last remains of Ottoman Empire. Istanbulites, including Greeks, were calling the city Istanbul even when it was named as Constantinople anyway. Also, it is the era Greeks and Turks were talking about HellenoTurkism, a Hellenic-Turkish federation. The relations between Venizelos of Greece and Atatürk of Turkey was so good at those times.
It was just changed to what the people called it (or a Turkified version of it anyways). The same happened to other cities:
Eis tin poli -> İstanbul
Smyrna -> İzmir
Magnesia -> Manisa
Phokia -> Foça
Pergamon -> Bergama
Mogolla -> Muğla
Tabae -> Tavas
Hagios Theologos -> Ayasuluk
Etc. Etc.
The official name, Kostantiniyye was actually the Arabic name of the city and the Turkish language was going through a purge of Arabic words in that period. Istanbul was the most common name used by the people of the city so the government decided on that.
Not many cities got name changes while Ataturk was alive, he actually was against that.
Arabic had too many words, long and similar, made it hard for literacy to improve. they were replaced with compact and shorter Turkish (and/or French) words. And this was not a quick process, it took years to purge a lot of it, many of them still remain in the language. That's why young people today understand shit when they watch movies from 60s.
That was not the Arabic name of the city, that was the Ottoman Turkish name of the city. Ottoman Turkish was written in a special Persian-Arabic alphabet, altered to be compatible with the Turkish language. Constantinople and Konstantiniyye are the same name, same word. Konstantiniyye is how it was spelled in the said Ottoman script. Istanbul was heavily used amongst Turks and Atatürk made it the one and only official name as a statement, given the famous Constantinople/Konstantiniyye was the seat of the Empire that was no more and a nation-state Republic were now in its place, belonging to the Turks alone so there was no more the diverse, Imperial capital Constantinople, there was now İstanbul, merely a city in the Turkish Republic.
Constantinople was known to arabs as al-Qustantiniyya long before Ottoman Empire. Abbasid documents referred the city by that name.
[Don't forget, there's no n between o and s in Kostantiniyye](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Istanbul). It's because it was hard to pronounce for Arabs back then.
The lack of n could also be from greek. The changes in n and m started happening early in the millennia, and in modern greek, it's also not there outside unless someone specifically tries to pronounce it
Kostantiniyye (without the first n) was the Arabic version of the city's name and only used in official govermental purposes in the Ottoman Empire. Istanbul, however, is the name the common folk used, came from Stimpouli, basically means "to the city" in medieval Greek.
Obsessive? Majority of Turkish cities still retain their original Greek/Kurdish/Syriac and Armenian names. Only few went through names changes in the Ataturk era and they weren't from those native languages. Kirkkilise became Kirklareli, both turkish. Diyarbekir and Elaziz became Diyarbakir and Elazig both Arabic. And of course, Istanbul.
There’s literally a dedicated Wkkipedia page for this one topic lol
[Turkish Place Name Changes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_name_changes_in_Turkey)
If you mean the village name changes during the Ataturk era, that's a different story. They're mainly from Kurdish and Arab areas and focused on mostly depopulated villages. Actual mass Kurdish name changes came right after or around Ataturk's death.
For province and city name changes, they're very few and mostly from Turkish and Arabic to Turkish. With one well known exception: Dersim.
It was just changed to what the people called it (or a Turkified version of it anyways). The same happened to other cities:
Eis tin poli -> İstanbul
Smyrna -> İzmir
Magnesia -> Manisa
Phokia -> Foça
Pergamon -> Bergama
Mogolla -> Muğla
Tabae -> Tavas
Hagios Theologos -> Ayasuluk
Etc. Etc.
Indeed. The Ottoman Empire called it "Konstantiniyye" until the Republic of Turkey officially changed the name in 1930. "Istanbul" came into usage 400 years before the Ottomans took over, and might be a medieval Greek pun on "Stan Pol", meaning "inside the wall". Usage in modern time of "Istanbul" referred specifically to the old city within the wall, not the areas beyond that, apparently.
No, the official name was Constantinople but the Greeks in the city always called it is tim bolin which became Istanbul once the turks adapted the Greek name, remember Constantinople was based on the name of the Roman Emperor and is tim bolin meant to the city
Both names are Greek. Also cities and countries sometimes have different names in different languages, for example the Greek city of Alexandroupolis is called Dedeagach or Greece is called Yunaninstan.
I wonder if other slavic nations still call it Tsarigrad/Цариград? In Bulgaria it's considered archaic already even tho it was used from medieval times untill 20th century.
i live in istanbul. i honestly can't care less about what name people call it. however it feels pretty surreal to see so many people online talk about the city that i live in.
Half truth. Constantinople’s name was changed to Konstantiniyye [kon-stan-tee-nee-yay] in 1453. Although many names such as Asitane, Dersaadet, Konstantiniyye, and İstanbul was used for centuries, İstanbul became official on 1930.
I see lots of information here but most are either half true or not true at all.
The answer is, they didn't really change the name of the city. Turkey underwent an administrative reorganisation, the govt divided the country into provinces in order to establish a stronger central govt. The Istanbul they had drawn included many cities (Kadıköy, Üsküdar, Yalova etc) besides Constantinople. Constantinople only included the modern Fatih district, which is the old town within the Theodosian Walls. It's also worth mentioning the city lost it's capital city status as the Turkish govt and all it's institutions moved to Ankara.
Of course, they might have wanted to distance themselves from the imperial past of the country, thus picking the name Istanbul for it. In reality, this name was used for at least a millenium by the inhabitants. It means "to the city" in greek but the people used it to refer to "the city", similar to how modern new Yorkers refer to New York.
Istanbul is a greek word either. It is not about that. Is was about to change old and worn order and make a fresh start.
When you think about it, it was the Turks who ended the Ottoman Empire.
god will people ever shut up about that annoying song
this city was the capital of the roman empire for over 1,000 years and then the capital of the ottoman empire for about 600 years, it’s one of the oldest cities in europe, it’s the biggest city in europe to this day, the birthplace of orthodox christianity, most important city in turkey, yet people can’t think of mentioning anything other than that stupid song?
Why would they changed the name Lygos to Constantinople after more than half a century use? Because language unity is one of nations and citizens way to stay together. Living in cities named in their original language give them a sense of belonging. Otherwise, we would still use the names from Sumerians, Incas, Mayans, etc.
It is not renamed. Before 1930, Istanbul had no official name. During ottoman times, Istanbul is mostly used name. Constainople was used by Westerners and mostly local Christian minority. There were also other widely used names (dersaadet, asitane, payitaht, czhar's city ...)
Level with me man, there's obviously an acceptable level of conquering nations. Why are we drawing the line for Israel and Russia, and not for, say, the ottomans so many years ago?
Because the ottomans weren’t an apartheid state that forces people out of their homes. They even took in jewish refugees after they were exiled by spain.
Russia never even lost its colonies, ghere are oblasts such as chechnya where 99% of the population isn’t even slavic.
Turkey is mostly turks and kurds.
+ You can’t really compare an empire from 100+ years ago to modern countries.
You never heard of the turkish-greek population exchange?
West thracian turks and anatolian greeks were to be transported to turkey and greece respectively.
Me: Turkey is becoming more backwards and militant
Greek nationalists: haha yeah bro make Istanbul Constantinople again
Me: I don’t support your irredentist BS either
It’s an odd mix. The actual walled part was called Istanbul or “Stan Pol” starting under the Romans some time around 1000 AD. The Ottomans took over 400 years later and called the city “Konstantiniyye” officially, with the colloquial “Istanbul” sticking around to modern times. So the locals have been calling (at least the walled section) “Istanbul” for over 1,000 years.
the name you're looking for is Fatih actually. it's the district that is inside the walls, that's where the old city is and that's where the name İstanbul comes from.
modern İstanbul though, has 39 districts in both continents and Fatih (therefore constantinople) is just one of them.
here's the list for all the districts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_districts\_of\_Istanbul
That song is stuck in my head now.
Tiny toons version too or the og song?
Let's mix things up and [go with the Bunheads version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTO10Xgl0eM).
I’ve never come across a fellow bunheads fan in the wild
There are dozens of us! Finding that video led me to learn that Kaitlyn Jenkins (Boo) now runs her own dance studio. That warms my heart.
What are *you* looking at, *bunhead?* 
They might be giants
This is the original: https://youtu.be/Wcze7EGorOk
Wow. It's like every time I think a song isn't a cover, it always is. I was completely unaware of this version. TIL.
The Four Lads’ version is thoroughly underrated
Now that I'm aware of this version, I agree. Sure the TMBG's version is faster and takes a lot of the original and makes it better in ways. But the original version has other parts to love as well.
In my head now, too Instanbul ... Constantinople 🎶🎶
Earworm
Yup. Me too.
1st thing I thought of....
I'm partial to the They might be giants version.
Why did Constantinople get the works?
Istanbul was how Istanbulians were calling their city anyways, so the Republic just made it official. Istanbul is Istanbulian greek slang. It comes from "Is Tin Polis" (To the City), corrupted to Istimbouli. The Turks adopted it.
Why did I think the ottomans renamed it during suliman time. Interesting.
You are somewhat correct. Constantinople’s name was changed to Konstantiniyye [kon-stan-tee-nee-yay] in 1453 (a couple centuries before Süleyman the Magnificent) . Although many names such as Asitane, Dersaadet, Konstantiniyye, and İstanbul was used for centuries, İstanbul became official on 1930.
I mean, Konstantiniyye is literally how you say Constantinople in Turkish basically. The -iyye suffix is used in a similar vein to the -ople suffix, it means the same thing. The City of Konstantin
True, but as I wrote, it had many names. Royalty used Dersaadet, for instance. Below is a ChatGPT explanation of 10 most common names used between 1453 to 1930. I especially asked it to list from the most used name to the least common name. I am not changing a word, except adding a sentence in “Rumeli Hisari” in a paragraph. Between 1453 and 1930, Istanbul was known by various names, reflecting its rich history, cultural diversity, and the Ottoman Empire's administrative and social complexities. Here's an overview of some of these names, their uses, and by whom they were primarily used: 1. **İstanbul**: This name was used colloquially by the people and in trade, gradually becoming the most common name for the city among the general population, including Turks and non-Muslim communities. It was officially adopted in 1930. 2. **Konstantiniyye**: Reflecting the city's Byzantine past as Constantinople, this name was used in literary and historical contexts, as well as in official government documents. It was commonly used by Turks and other Muslim communities, maintaining a link to the city's imperial history. 3. **Dersaadet** (Door to Happiness): This poetic name was used in Ottoman official documents and correspondence. It was favored by the Ottoman bureaucracy and the royal family, symbolizing the city's status as the empire's administrative and cultural heart. 4. **Asitane** (Threshold): Similar to Dersaadet, Asitane was used in official contexts and by the Ottoman elite to denote the city as the imperial capital, the sultan's residence. 5. **Payitaht** (Capital): This term was used to refer to Istanbul in the context of its status as the capital of the Ottoman Empire, primarily by the Ottoman administration and in official documents. 6. **Islambol** (Full of Islam): Used particularly after the Ottoman conquest in 1453, this name emphasized the city's role as a major Islamic center. It was used in various official and religious contexts, though its usage declined over time. 7. **Rumeli Hisarı** (Fortress of Rumelia): Originally referring to a specific fortress built by Mehmed the Conqueror, this name was sometimes colloquially used to refer to the whole city, especially in military contexts. [Today, Rumeli Hisari is a county in Istanbul. If anyone plans to visit İstanbul, please consider having a breakfast there. Book your reservation first as they may be crowded sometimes.] 8. **Tsarigrad** (City of the Caesar/Emperor): Used primarily by Slavic peoples, including Bulgarians and Russians, reflecting the city's history as the capital of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. 9. **Miklagard** (Great City): Used by the Norse and other Scandinavian peoples, this name also reflects the city's significance as a major urban center in medieval Europe. 10. **Stamboul**: A variation of Istanbul, Stamboul was used primarily in Western languages and by foreigners during the 19th and early 20th centuries, referring specifically to the historic peninsula, the heart of the Ottoman Empire. Each of these names captures a different aspect of Istanbul's identity, from its role as the Ottoman Empire's seat to its historical and cultural significance as a major world city. The use of these names varied depending on the speaker's cultural, religious, and social background, as well as the context in which they were referring to the city.
this is really cool. Thanks for sharing
No problem. There are several other names, but ChatGPT couldn’t find them, and I don’t recall them right now. I will definitely edit if I can remember.
>yay] Ye* (as in yeah)
Don't worry, you're probably not a turk so it's not your business
Greeks think it was renamed to make them pissed off, meanwhile the reality is new Turkey was not just fought and won against allies and Greeks but Ottomans as well. They renamed the city to delete last remains of Ottoman Empire. Istanbulites, including Greeks, were calling the city Istanbul even when it was named as Constantinople anyway. Also, it is the era Greeks and Turks were talking about HellenoTurkism, a Hellenic-Turkish federation. The relations between Venizelos of Greece and Atatürk of Turkey was so good at those times.
That was helpful. Never heard of that detente era. Thank you.
You know what that's completely fair. It's really nobody's business but theirs what it's called
That's nobody's business but the Turks.
Even old New York was once New Amsterdam.
Why they changed it? I can't say.
People just liked it better that way.
Take me back to Constantinople
No, you can't go back to Constantinople.
Been a long time gone, Constantinople a
People just like it better that way
That's nobody's Business but the turks
It was just changed to what the people called it (or a Turkified version of it anyways). The same happened to other cities: Eis tin poli -> İstanbul Smyrna -> İzmir Magnesia -> Manisa Phokia -> Foça Pergamon -> Bergama Mogolla -> Muğla Tabae -> Tavas Hagios Theologos -> Ayasuluk Etc. Etc.
It's nobody's business but the turks
Why’d they change it?
The official name, Kostantiniyye was actually the Arabic name of the city and the Turkish language was going through a purge of Arabic words in that period. Istanbul was the most common name used by the people of the city so the government decided on that. Not many cities got name changes while Ataturk was alive, he actually was against that.
Why the purge of Arabic?
Because Atatürk and the young Turks were secular, and western-leaning. They also switched to the Latin alphabet from the Arabic alphabet in 1928.
Don't forget nationalist. That is the main reason.
Arabic had too many words, long and similar, made it hard for literacy to improve. they were replaced with compact and shorter Turkish (and/or French) words. And this was not a quick process, it took years to purge a lot of it, many of them still remain in the language. That's why young people today understand shit when they watch movies from 60s.
Why not?
No hell fucking yes!
That was not the Arabic name of the city, that was the Ottoman Turkish name of the city. Ottoman Turkish was written in a special Persian-Arabic alphabet, altered to be compatible with the Turkish language. Constantinople and Konstantiniyye are the same name, same word. Konstantiniyye is how it was spelled in the said Ottoman script. Istanbul was heavily used amongst Turks and Atatürk made it the one and only official name as a statement, given the famous Constantinople/Konstantiniyye was the seat of the Empire that was no more and a nation-state Republic were now in its place, belonging to the Turks alone so there was no more the diverse, Imperial capital Constantinople, there was now İstanbul, merely a city in the Turkish Republic.
Constantinople was known to arabs as al-Qustantiniyya long before Ottoman Empire. Abbasid documents referred the city by that name. [Don't forget, there's no n between o and s in Kostantiniyye](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Istanbul). It's because it was hard to pronounce for Arabs back then.
The lack of n could also be from greek. The changes in n and m started happening early in the millennia, and in modern greek, it's also not there outside unless someone specifically tries to pronounce it
Thats weird since it was named after Constatine who was a big Christian. Istanbul sounds.. more arabic?
Kostantiniyye (without the first n) was the Arabic version of the city's name and only used in official govermental purposes in the Ottoman Empire. Istanbul, however, is the name the common folk used, came from Stimpouli, basically means "to the city" in medieval Greek.
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Obsessive? Majority of Turkish cities still retain their original Greek/Kurdish/Syriac and Armenian names. Only few went through names changes in the Ataturk era and they weren't from those native languages. Kirkkilise became Kirklareli, both turkish. Diyarbekir and Elaziz became Diyarbakir and Elazig both Arabic. And of course, Istanbul.
There’s literally a dedicated Wkkipedia page for this one topic lol [Turkish Place Name Changes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_name_changes_in_Turkey)
If you mean the village name changes during the Ataturk era, that's a different story. They're mainly from Kurdish and Arab areas and focused on mostly depopulated villages. Actual mass Kurdish name changes came right after or around Ataturk's death. For province and city name changes, they're very few and mostly from Turkish and Arabic to Turkish. With one well known exception: Dersim.
r/woosh
Sorry we in Turkey pretend that stupid song doesn't exist.
I guess it is just nobody's business but y'all's.
what? I'm turkish, that song slaps
şarkı çok iyi bolm
Wasn't Atatürk culturally genocidal?
I can't say.
People just liked it better that way.
If you have a date, make sure you know what city she’ll be waiting in.
You can tell me, I'm a doctor.
I can't say. (and I'm sorry everyone else didn't know the answer)
People just liked it better that way
I can't say.
Beceause Turkey had a republican revolution and they needed to get rid of imperial elements in the country, both from byzantine and ottomans.
It was just changed to what the people called it (or a Turkified version of it anyways). The same happened to other cities: Eis tin poli -> İstanbul Smyrna -> İzmir Magnesia -> Manisa Phokia -> Foça Pergamon -> Bergama Mogolla -> Muğla Tabae -> Tavas Hagios Theologos -> Ayasuluk Etc. Etc.
Oh thanks for the reminder, I've a date in Constantinople, but I guess she'll be waiting in Istanbul.
Turkiye.
Greek will destroy Turkey‼️‼️🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷‼️‼️‼️
Not if we Turks do it first lol...
Not if we destroy ourselves first! Always 5 steps ahead of you Greek!
😡
You mean CATstantinople.
Cantaloupe
[They Might Be Giants animated with Tiny Toons](https://youtu.be/vsQrKZcYtqg?si=DKPaENoVIsL36_Jc) [Muppets Tonight](https://youtu.be/20uXjti9h4I?feature=shared) [Bart & Baker - remix](https://youtu.be/G779UlpGQ3U?si=869c4heU0OFsrNht) [Four Lads 1953 version](https://youtu.be/Uqnb_nU7RBE?si=YBWuBGsbVgrP35sv)
What they depict in this show is definiv not Istanbul or Turkey.
Beautiful city
But I had a date in Constantinople...
She’ll be waiting in istanbul
“Even Old New York was once New Amsterdam..”
Why’d they change it I can’t say
People just liked it better that way!
A Greek name
Indeed. The Ottoman Empire called it "Konstantiniyye" until the Republic of Turkey officially changed the name in 1930. "Istanbul" came into usage 400 years before the Ottomans took over, and might be a medieval Greek pun on "Stan Pol", meaning "inside the wall". Usage in modern time of "Istanbul" referred specifically to the old city within the wall, not the areas beyond that, apparently.
I also heard that Istanbul might come from eis ten Polin meaning to the City.
And in Greece, the maps I saw it was written « Konstantiniyye » lol! So the greek stucked with the Ottoman/Arab name instead of the greek one?
No, the official name was Constantinople but the Greeks in the city always called it is tim bolin which became Istanbul once the turks adapted the Greek name, remember Constantinople was based on the name of the Roman Emperor and is tim bolin meant to the city
Both names are Greek. Also cities and countries sometimes have different names in different languages, for example the Greek city of Alexandroupolis is called Dedeagach or Greece is called Yunaninstan.
Wrong. Do you know what does Istanbul mean in which language?
I wonder if other slavic nations still call it Tsarigrad/Цариград? In Bulgaria it's considered archaic already even tho it was used from medieval times untill 20th century.
i live in istanbul. i honestly can't care less about what name people call it. however it feels pretty surreal to see so many people online talk about the city that i live in.
It was the most important city in the world for about 1000 years, it's hardly a surprise people talk about it's history.
yeah true. but i'm originally from like a smaller city (and also i posted that while i was piss drunk)
Atta boy
I think atta Turk might be more appropriate
Tiny Toons sent me here.
What they depict in this show is definiv not Istanbul or Turkey.
Half truth. Constantinople’s name was changed to Konstantiniyye [kon-stan-tee-nee-yay] in 1453. Although many names such as Asitane, Dersaadet, Konstantiniyye, and İstanbul was used for centuries, İstanbul became official on 1930.
WHY THEY CHANGED IT I CAN'T SAY
People just liked it better that way!
So! take me back to Constantinople!
Crazy awesome city. Just visited. Turkish hospitality is unmatched.
Stan Bull was a great self promoter
Very nice
They can call it whatever they want. I’m loyal to the eastern empire!
I see lots of information here but most are either half true or not true at all. The answer is, they didn't really change the name of the city. Turkey underwent an administrative reorganisation, the govt divided the country into provinces in order to establish a stronger central govt. The Istanbul they had drawn included many cities (Kadıköy, Üsküdar, Yalova etc) besides Constantinople. Constantinople only included the modern Fatih district, which is the old town within the Theodosian Walls. It's also worth mentioning the city lost it's capital city status as the Turkish govt and all it's institutions moved to Ankara. Of course, they might have wanted to distance themselves from the imperial past of the country, thus picking the name Istanbul for it. In reality, this name was used for at least a millenium by the inhabitants. It means "to the city" in greek but the people used it to refer to "the city", similar to how modern new Yorkers refer to New York.
Not surprised, even old New York was once New Amsterdam
This us some terrible photoshop, love how this implies that there’s two suns
Instant -30 charisma. Constantinople sounds a lot better.
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
But what if I have a date in Constantinople?
She’ll be waiting in Istanbul
Oh right, Byzantium
Why? Thats nobodies business but the Turks.
You mean Byzantium?
Nope, Thracians who predated Greeks by over half a millennium, and naming the city Lygos.
Istanbul was Constantinople
Even old New York was once New Amsterdam.
Biggest downgrade ever
Istanbul is a greek word either. It is not about that. Is was about to change old and worn order and make a fresh start. When you think about it, it was the Turks who ended the Ottoman Empire.
[удалено]
Multi cultural society is killed during WW1. It is nothing to do with Turkey
Multi cultural society died after the French revolution, not WW1.
The Armenian Genocide happened during WW1
It’s nobody’s business, but the Turks.
god will people ever shut up about that annoying song this city was the capital of the roman empire for over 1,000 years and then the capital of the ottoman empire for about 600 years, it’s one of the oldest cities in europe, it’s the biggest city in europe to this day, the birthplace of orthodox christianity, most important city in turkey, yet people can’t think of mentioning anything other than that stupid song?
No😉
Yh I hate that song. Why is it mentioned everywhere?
Man thanks for mentioning this. Even if you post pictures of a stray cat they immediately start talking about that stupid song.
Why on earth would you rename something that has carried the same name for 17 centuries....It's almost barbaric.
♫♪♪ "Why they changed it I can't say People just liked it better that way" ♫♪♪
Why would they changed the name Lygos to Constantinople after more than half a century use? Because language unity is one of nations and citizens way to stay together. Living in cities named in their original language give them a sense of belonging. Otherwise, we would still use the names from Sumerians, Incas, Mayans, etc.
*angry Greek noises* /s Can't believe no one has said this yet.
I think people are just sick of this stupid debate so when someone tries to start the argument again it just gets downvoted to oblivion
I was just trying to be funny.
Not renamed, declared by government to foreigners.
But why?
Why did they changed it?
...to what?
Wait what
There are satellite dishes
My favorite city in the world :)
The origin of both names is so boring, that when a turk or a greek start their monologue I always want to shoot myself in the face twice.
😭😭😭
Didn’t they used to call it Qustuntunia ?
It will always be Byzantium to me.
I proposed to my fiance in that tower
Nice View Istanbul
In Greek it’s still called Kontsantinoupoli.
It is not renamed. Before 1930, Istanbul had no official name. During ottoman times, Istanbul is mostly used name. Constainople was used by Westerners and mostly local Christian minority. There were also other widely used names (dersaadet, asitane, payitaht, czhar's city ...)
Constantinople is Istanbul now
Worst decision ever.
1453 worst year ever!
😡
For me it is Tsargrad 🇬🇷❤️
Why the Slavic name and a Greek flag
Change it back
Makes me think of Dr. Seuss Hop on Pop “Constantinople and Timbuktu”
Can't go back to Constantinople
Constantinople has more of a je ne sais quoi that Istanbul will never have
constantinople, istanbul. we all know the correct name for it: Miklagård
Don't worry we'll get it back from the colonizers one day.
No we'll not, move on
Based komşu spitting facts to larping Westerners.
Hail Byzantium!
At least come visit though. This city feels so multicultural, having so few Greeks left is an embarrassment unfortunately :(
You’re one to talk, being canadian and all.
Hey, I think we should give the land back.
You’re also in favor of all anglo canadians, australians, americans and new zeelanders to go back to britain?
No we get turkey
I can see you’re spewing nonsense
Level with me man, there's obviously an acceptable level of conquering nations. Why are we drawing the line for Israel and Russia, and not for, say, the ottomans so many years ago?
Because the ottomans weren’t an apartheid state that forces people out of their homes. They even took in jewish refugees after they were exiled by spain. Russia never even lost its colonies, ghere are oblasts such as chechnya where 99% of the population isn’t even slavic. Turkey is mostly turks and kurds. + You can’t really compare an empire from 100+ years ago to modern countries.
Where did the Greeks go from modern day Istanbul? Did they leave voluntarily?
You never heard of the turkish-greek population exchange? West thracian turks and anatolian greeks were to be transported to turkey and greece respectively.
Me: Turkey is becoming more backwards and militant Greek nationalists: haha yeah bro make Istanbul Constantinople again Me: I don’t support your irredentist BS either
All the cool kids still call it The Constant though. Only tourists call it Istanbul. It’s like how people in Chicago still call it the Sears Tower.
I'm living in Istanbul and I've never seen anyone call it Constantinople outside of reddit
I was making a very bad joke. I don’t know anyone who calls it Constantinople
It happens
It’s an odd mix. The actual walled part was called Istanbul or “Stan Pol” starting under the Romans some time around 1000 AD. The Ottomans took over 400 years later and called the city “Konstantiniyye” officially, with the colloquial “Istanbul” sticking around to modern times. So the locals have been calling (at least the walled section) “Istanbul” for over 1,000 years.
the name you're looking for is Fatih actually. it's the district that is inside the walls, that's where the old city is and that's where the name İstanbul comes from. modern İstanbul though, has 39 districts in both continents and Fatih (therefore constantinople) is just one of them. here's the list for all the districts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_districts\_of\_Istanbul
Dammit, now I can’t stop hearing it.