History lesson

Today I was playing with Ozan on our bed when from outside I heard the distinctive strains of the mehter march, which the Janissaries used to play when they were invading Europe 'n' stuff. But of course, I realized, today's May 29. On this day, exactly 555 years ago, the Ottomans breached the walls of Constantinople, founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine as "New Rome" in 330 AD, and brought to an end the Byzantine Empire. The Greeks, who used to run the place, are still mad about it. Heh, I'm reminded of the time we were watching some soccer game or other which must have been Greece vs. Turkey; a bunch of Turks in the stands unfurled a big banner which said "Istanbul – Since 1453" and had a picture of a turbaned Sultan on horseback leaping over the city walls, sword held aloft. Boy, were the Greeks in the stadium ticked off to see THAT. In case you're interested (or even if you're not – you're my captive audience, moo hoo ha ha!), the Ottomans continued to refer to the city as "Qustantiniyyeh" right up until the bitter end; the name "Istanbul" comes from the Greek for "into the City," eis ten Polin, which is what people said if you asked them where they were going and which became the popular name for the city long ago. In fact, some years ago an American acquaintance of mine who had traveled a lot in Greece told me that if you walk into any travel agent in Athens and ask for a ticket to "the City," they know you mean Istanbul. Sheesh, guys, give it up. It's like the English holding a grudge about the end of the Hundred Years' War.