Istanbul: Madness or Addiction?
How different can a single city be…
While political controversy has continued in recent times in relation to the famous sacred Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the city has hit the headlines just as it has for centuries.
I have visited more than 83 countries on four continents in my whole life and I have seen more than 436 metropolises and although I have Turkish roots, without prejudice, I believe that none of them comes close to Istanbul with its fame and beauty or can contest it. It is simply the crown of the cities, not only historically but also spiritually, culturally, and on many different levels. I might only see Delhi in India and Rome in Italy a little more alike.
Imagine a city that has been besieged more than 28 times in the past 1500 years and each of these armies has considered it to be the center of the world, so if you could take it over, it would also be right as to see yourself the true world empire and Istanbul, with its old name Constantinople, as the world capital. It is not for nothing that Napoleon Bonaparte once said:
“If the earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital.”
In 1453 it came into Turkish hands and from that period until 1923 it was the capital of the Ottoman Empire, from where three continents were ruled. Although the…
