It wasn’t always “Istanbul”. And it wasn’t always under the bootheel of mohammedans.
Only a fool goes to Istanbul,
It is decadent, wicked and sinful,
But it’s better than here,
‘Cos they sell their beer,
Like bananas a 4p a skinful!
-Benny Hill
It was Byzantium first...
Indeed. Constantinople. But even then it was Orthodox.