Istanbul - The Capstone of an Incredible Journey
Istanbul in deed, a fitting capstone to our journey. The word of the day is alive! The official population is 15.5 million for the metropolitan area, but several times we heard larger numbers such as 17 or 20 million after adjusting to reflect all the people who come for work and including the immigrants from Syria and other war-torn areas. The population is a fluid number and people tend to be transient as they move about. Comparison to other cities is just not fair since Istanbul has a personality of its own and is truly alive. Istanbul is where Europe meets Asia. Asia Minor to be precise. Originally it was colonized by the Greeks in the 7 th century BC and known as Byzantium. It was under the control of the Romans for centuries. In 334 AD, Constantine the Great, relocated the capital of the Roman Empire to the city and renamed it to Constantinople. It remained the capital of the Roman Empire for about 65 years and of the Eas...