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http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/kultur-sanat/haber/20172589.asp
´İstanbul´ ismi nereden geliyor
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.
Edited (3/23/2012) by Abla
Edited (3/23/2012) by Abla
Edited (3/23/2012) by Abla
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