Question: Istanbul or Constantinople?
Answer: The name evolution of this gem of Turkey -- and Europe's most populous city with nearly 12 million residents (making it the world's third largest city) -- is more than a They Might Be Giants song. Originally Byzantium, the city on the Bosphorus Strait served as capital of the Roman Empire back in the 4th century, gaining the name Nova Roma. After the death of Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor, the city was renamed Constantinople and remained so through the reign of the Ottoman Empire. With the Turkish Republic's founding in 1923, the city was renamed Istanbul as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk moved the capital to Ankara. In 1930, a Turkish act asked foreigners to start calling the city Istanbul, as well. However, Greeks still call the city Konstantinopolis.
Interestingly, the song "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" was penned by Irving Berlin in 1929.
