Kauffman Commentary

It is funny how everyone knows the song about how, “it’s Istanbul not Constantinople”. If not, you should pull it up on YouTube and it will run through your head all day long.
Constantinople was the ancient name for modern day Istanbul. It was first settled in 7th century B.C. and with its location, it thrived as a port city. In 330 A.D., the Roman Empire took over and the Byzantine Empire left Rome and stayed along the Bosphorus for 1100 years.

In 1453 the Ottoman Empire, the folks from Turkish tribes in Asia Minor, took Constantinople as its capital and ruled until 1922, just after WWI. During the Ottomans time the churches became Mosques and the majority were followers of Islam.

In 1930, the name was changed to Istanbul, the word means “to the city”. Istanbul was what the locals called the city even before it was officially changed.

In 1923 Turkey became a republic and its capital moved to Ankara. Turkey has gone through several military coups which have caused changes to their constitution and government. Istanbul has a current population of around 16 million and is currently considered a parliamentary democracy, with the president as head of the state and government. Most of the population is Sunni Muslim and only .2% are Christians.