Posted on 09/08/2009 7:28:05 AM PDT by Nikas777
Is Turkey Renaming Istanbul Constantinople?
Chances of Turkey and the Kurds reaching a rapprochement are at their highest in 25 years. But what does that mean for Turkification -- and what concessions are the Turks willing to make?
BY NICK DANFORTH | SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
Last month, Turkish President Abdullah Gul broke a long-standing national taboo: He called the remote village of Guroymak by its Kurdish name, Norshin.
The president's opponents say renaming Istanbul Constantinople on highway signs will inevitably follow. Or worse. For many Turks, saying Norshin leads to saying Kurdistan, and saying Kurdistan leads to recognizing an independent Kurdish state stretching across Iran, Iraq, and southeastern Turkey.
After a 1980 military coup, Turkey "Turkified": It banned the Kurdish language, imposed new Turkish place names, and famously declared that Kurds were actually "mountain Turks."
(Excerpt) Read more at foreignpolicy.com ...
That was funny as ...!
The Muslims changed it after the fall of the Byzantines who had named it Constantinople after Constantine, the first Roman rmporer to convert to Christianity.
I did not look this up so am open to corrections ..just a hunch.
Not on your life.
Actually the city’s name was only changed in the early 20th century in an attempt to create a new Turkish national identity. Before that the Turks kind of saw themselves as overlords of native peoples they ruled over. Their ancestors lived in tent cities and they would tax the native city and towns people. When the Ottoman Empire fell this created a need for a new type of Turkish identity which saw them now declaring they were natives of the lands they occupied.
Never say never. Modern Turkey is not that old a nation and is composed of many non Turks forced to be Turks. Who knows how long such a creation can last?
thanks for clarifying...
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Thanks Nikas777. Turkification... I turkification to Washington DC about ten years ago, and would like to do so again. |
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It got changed because the British took over from the Dutch.
York is in England. Amsterdam is in Holland.
Turkey is highly unlikely to replace the name of Istanbul with a Greek name. Turks don’t hate the Kurds. They oppose Kurdish irredentism and Kurdish Communists. Turks hate the Greeks.
So, Bert is right and Islam bashing FReepers are wrong.
The recent article describing a meet between Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Iran was not about a war compact to rule the world, but about seeking understanding of a common problem, what is the best course for dealing with a fragmented Kurdistan?
You can’t go back to Constantinople,
No you can’t go back to Constantinople,
No you can’t go back to Constantinople,
You can’t go back to Constantinople ‘cause it’s ISTANBUL! (ba-dum-dum-dum)
Istanbul is actually a Greek compound word that Turks use now. Constaninople is a Latin and Greek compound name - Constantine of course being a Latin name and polis being the Greek word for city.
Istanbul is a corruption of the Greek phrase istanˈpoli meaning "to the city" or "the City" or "DownTown".
I never heard of bert and why was he right over Islam bashers (whoever they are)?
Thank god for Heavy Metal music growing up that I did not have to listen to Alternative music by college kids.
Hey - Doctor Demento was THE radio show to “watch” back then! ;-P
Because he correctly indicated the common interest of the 4 nations regarding dealings with Kurds and that a meeting to form a world conquering Caliphate was ludicrous.
Was that like a California thing?
He did?
Oh just change it to Troy and call it good.
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