Have you ever wondered how the city of
Istanbul got its' name?
The origin comes from the previous name
of the city Constantinople, "The city of Constantine" and is a
direct referral to that city in
Greek. The Greeks used to refer to the city of Constantinople as "I
Poli",
"The city", or in short "Poli".
The name Istanbul originates from the Arabs
hearing the Greeks say "Eis ten
Polis", Greek "In the city" and the Arabs using that name for
the city. Eventually the Greek saying became the accepted name of the
city, a direct referral to the original name! It became the official name of
city by the Turkish government in the early 20th century.
Return
to Main