http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/kultur-sanat/haber/20172589.asp

Sibel Ertürk Kurtoğlu / A.A

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I read an interesting article about the origin of the city name Istanbul. The views of Halin Dursun, the historian and director of Hagia Sofia museum were explained in the article.

During its 8500 year-old history Istanbul was known with so many names. The ancient Greek called it Byzantion. In 337 it was named Constantinople in order to honor the Roman Emperor Constantine I. The discussion about how the city should be called began only after it was conquered by the Ottomans. As the center of an Islamic Caliphate it was called “Darülhilafe” and as the center of the Empire the naming “Makarrı Saltanat” was preferred. The name Constantinople survived, though, until 1930 when Kemal Atatürk ordered the name Istanbul to be used internationally. During centuries, aside with the official names, local people chose their naming on a more practical basis: for instance, for those who lived further from the centre, Istanbul ment only the area which was inside the city walls.

In a charming way, Dursun explains the simultaneous coexistence of different names with the hospitality and self-esteem of the city which tolerated this colorful diversity.

The name Istanbul is no more Turkish origin than Constantinople. It is an old folksy name that probably originates from Greek words stan and polis, both of them from a root that means ‘city’:

“Tonguç, “Neden ´Stanpolis´ demişler? Çünkü buraya gelen insanlar, yolda şehri sorarlarmış, ´Şehre nasıl gidebiliriz?´ diye. O yüzden de şehrin adı ´Stanpolis´ olarak kalmış ve zamanla İstanbul´a dönüşmüş” dedi.” ‘Tonguç said: “Why did they use the word ‘Stanpolis’? Because people who were coming here used to ask about the city on the road saying: “How can we get to the city? That’s why the name of the city became Stanpolis and in the long run changed into Istanbul.’

Saffet Emre Tonguç, a writer and historian, reminds of the foreign roots of the name Constantinople also:

“…Saffet Emre Tonguç, Türk insanının, şehrin Rum ya da Yunan geçmişini hatırlattığı gerekçesiyle Konstantinopolis ismini sevmediğini ifade ederek, “Asıl Rumca´dan gelen isim İstanbul. İmparator Konstantin Roma´dan gelerek şehri kuruyor ve kendi adını veriyor. Aslında adam İtalyan ve Rumca tek kelime bilmiyor” diye konuştu.” ‘Saffet Emre Tonguç said, while explaining that Turks don’t like the name Constantinople on account of the fact that it reminds of the Roman and Greek past of the city: “Istanbul is a name that comes from ancient Greek. Emperor Constantine comes from Rome, establishes a city and gives it his own name. Actually the man is Italian and he doesn’t speak a word of Greek.”’

The article says there has been discussion on whether the Turkish name of Istanbul should be spelled with dotted or undotted initial letter. In Halin Dursun’s opinion, there are more important things to take care of:

“Doğrusunun hangi kelime olduğu üzerinde durmadığını vurgulayan Dursun, “Sadece şehrin, tarihi mekanın gereği gibi korunması, görüntüsünün, tarihi özelliğinin korunması ve en azından dünyanın belli bir bölgesinin merkezi olması düşüncesinin daha önemli olduğu kanaatini taşıyorum” dedi.” ‘Dursun, emphasizing that he doesn’t put stress on which word is the correct one, said: “My opinion is only that it is more important to protect the city, the historical site, its image, its historical characteristics as it is due and at least to understand that it is a center of a certain area of the world.”’

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My knowledge of history is not on a good level and the translations are My Tries. Feel free to correct me.

I disagree.

This name confusion makes me think of the great significance Istanbul has in the history of Europe. I don’t know if everyone is familiar with the doctrine of the Third Rome:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Rome

Europeans never really came to an agreement which city is the Third Rome, the holder of the legacy of the First and the Second Rome, that carries on the torch of pure Christianity and best European heritage lightening the rest of the world. Maybe the strongest claims came from Moscow. Even today right-wing populists say fight against the invasion of Islam is fight for the Third Rome.

No matter where the third Rome is, the Second will always be Nova Roma, the city that is located on the Bosphorus strait. Whether you Turks like it or not.

Complete nonsense to me. Claims, tales, legends, fantasies. 

Do you know what pure Christianity means? It is based on Bible and solely on Bible Called sola Scriptura). Bible regards Rome as Babylon, the fallen city. Fundamental Christians never wanted any city, any land, any enlightment, any heritage. Their home is Heaven. 

I as a fundamental Christian I do not think of earthly values. We only live here about 60-80 years. After that we never will need anything from this world, neither will be interested in things happening here. Our destination is Heaven.

So I cant understand why people use the term "pure Christianity" having no clue on it. Pure Christian is the one who only concentrates on Christ and Word along with relationships with other pure Christians. No any other addition, no any other tradition or rituals.

I understand what you mean, lemon. A believer is not after worldly power. But we are talking about rulers who want to justify their deeds with arguments like cultural heritage or religion.

My late teacher of Russian literature stressed that the doctrine of three Romes lived in Russia until the communist era and that the Orthodox symbols were as well used by bolsheviks. The names changed but the stories told were the same.

The reason I brought up the issue here was Istanbul which is one of the main scenes of European history.

http://www.haberturk.com/kultur-sanat/haber/729595-fatih-sultan-mehmetin-madalyonuna-servet-isteniyor

Fatih Sultan Mehmet´in madalyonuna servet isteniyor

On April 25 in a London auction a bronze medallion with a youth portrait of Mehmed II will be sold for a high price. The medallion has been molded by an Italian sculptor during the first ten years after the conquest or Istanbul, between 1453 and 1463.  Ottoman motifs were popular amongst Renaissance artists. “The Great Monarch and the Great Sultan Mehmet” is printed on the medallion in Latin language. The word Allah is hidden in the folds of his turban.

The writer and numismatist Necati Doğan says unfortunately the precious medallion is probably not going to return to the heirs of Ottomans:

“Bir Türkün almasını isterim, ama tahmini rakamlar Osmanlı dönemi eseri için oldukça yüksek. Avrupa´da kriz nedeniyle para yok, ama müzayedeye özellikle Arap şeyhlerinin ilgi göstereceğini tahmin ediyorum.´´ I wish a Turk would buy it but the ballpark estimates for the Ottoman era piece of work are relatively high. There is no money in Europe because of the crisis, but I guess especially Arab sheikhs will show interest against the auction.

http://www.haberturk.com/kultur-sanat/haber/729985-4-mehmed-ile-papa-7-alessandro-akrabaymis

4. Mehmed ile Papa 7. Alessandro akrabaymış

Rinaldo Marmara, the official historian of a Turkish Catholic organization, is the first Turk who entered secret archives of Vatican. A document that dates back to the 17th century reveals an interesting fact about Mehmed IV, Mehmed the Hunter, who was the 19th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and who reigned in 1648-1687.

Dr. Marmara stresses that Vatican secret archives have until now hidden very important facts about Turkish history. As an example he shows a document which says Pope Alexander VII and Mehmed IV had a kinship relation which dated back to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificient’s (1494-1566) wife’s mother Hanne Marsigli who also was the ancestress of Pope Alexander VII.

This document claims Sultan Suleiman’s wife, the famous Hürrem Sultan was actually not a poor girl from Ukraine who ended up in the Sultan’s harem as she was introduced before in history and fiction. Instead she came from a noble Italian family. Dr. Marmara tells:

“Burada yazılanlara göre Türk korsanları İtalya´nın Siena bölgesindeki Collecehio Şatosu´na saldırdı, şatoyu yakıp yıktı. Şato, Hanne Marsigli adındaki bir İtalyan asilzadeye aitti. Bu kadının iki de çocuğu vardı. Leonardo ve Margherita. Türk korsanları Leonardo´yu geride bırakıp güzel kızıl saçları olan bu genç kızı Osmanlı Sarayı´na vermek için İstanbul´a götürdü. Hareme konulan Margherita´yı, Sultan Süleyman çok beğendi ve Margherita´nm Sultan Süleyman´dan çocukları oldu.” According to what is written here Turkish pirates attacked, burned and destroyed the Castle of Collecehio which was located in Siena area. The castle belonged to an Italian patrician called Hanne Marsigli. This woman also had two children, Leonardo and Margherita. The Turkish pirates left Leonardo but brought the beautiful red-haired girl to Istanbul in order to give her to the Ottoman Palace. Sultan Suleiman liked Margherita who was imposed to the harem and Margherita had children from the Sultan. 

FOLLOWİNG MESSAGE IS INTENDED AS A REPLY TO "Abla" post with the same thread name

Whether the Western historians like to acknowledge it or not, Third Rome is the Ottoman Empire. That was the basis of agreement between the Catholic Pope in Rome and the Moslem Emperor Mehmet II. ORTHODOX BYZANTINE will go and Mehmet II will be recognized as the new Eastern Roman Emperor.

Pope did all he could to facilitate capture of Istanbul by Turks.

1. Pope did absolutely nothing to help his Christian brothers facing the Ottoman Empire.

2. While Turks at the time were not great architects, construction of Rumelihisarı took only 6 months, possibly by Pope´s assistance.

3. Renown gunmaster Urban was not a god´s gift to Mehmet II. He was a devout catholic, an agent of Pope, sent to Mehmet´s assistance..Without him, walls of İstanbul could not have been penetrated.

On the day Istanbul fell to the Ottomans, Mehmet II was already considering himself as the new Roman Emperor, and the defeated natives of Istanbul as part of his subjects.

1.No one was deliberately killed after the city fell,

2.Looting was allowed for one day only, agaist Ottoman traditions.

3.All Christian places of worship were protected.

4. A population planning was carried out for the city in which the number and origin of Muslim immigrants to the captured city were restricted. A new Roman capital was being planned, with mixed (international) population.

POPE-Ottoman secret arrangements however did not work out afterwards. So much that Mehmet II decided to capture Italy and teach Pope a lesson. Ottoman soldiers did embark on Italian soil and began advancing towards Vatican.

Mehmet II was poisoned and killed at a very young age (approx. 28) and this saga ended.

All above can be verified from historical references on the Internet.

AlphaF, thank you for adding this information. Little by little we are drawing a picture of the era. I never knew about secret agreements between the Ottomans and Vatican.

Istanbul has a great symbolic value for Muslims. A Prophetic hadith promises Paradise to the leader who conquers Istanbul.

Good treatment of minorities is ordered in Islam. In this Muslims differ from Jews and Christians. Another question is how well people understand the teachings of their religion.

I mean the story would have made perfect sense even without the agreement with Pope...