Semester at Sea Fall
2006 Voyage 
It was Constantinople, Now it's Istanbul
By Reck
Istanbul,
once known as Constantinople, has always been an important
city. With its unique location joining Asia to Europe, it has always
been a nexus for new ideas, and a gateway between one world and the
other. Today it stands as an emerging global city
As Istanbul becomes a global city, it attracts new immigrants at an incredible pace. Jenny B. White talks about this in "Bridge between Europe and Asia," and about how the millions of new residents have crowded into the city, and what once had distinguishable neighborhoods is now a massive hunk of crammed together housing and narrow streets.
Amidst all of this there are the same transnational elements
we have
seen in every global city we have seen so far on this voyage. The banks
and skyscrapers have not changed from India, or Japan, just been
relocated along the Bosphorus. Interspersed between the crowded
neighborhoods and modern skyscrapers are numerous mosques, palaces,
even old Roman cathedrals.
Istanbul was an important crossroads in ancient times. It is home to the Hagia Sophia, an old Roman Cathedral that was later converted into a mosque to reflect the changing influences upon the city, and later converted into a museum as the new Turkish nation embraced sectarianism to better fit in with the west. It remains an important crossroads today, where east meets west, and the transnational meets with another set of distinct vernacular elements.