Istanbul or Constantinople?

Istanbul is one of those rare and exciting cities that seem forever destined to generate more history than they can possibly hope to consume on their own. Sited at the intersection of both continents and cultures, it was the capital city of two successive empires that have both left their mark on its landscape, and it's been fought over by just about every wannabe Atilla the Hun of the last two thousand years, mostly without much success. It's also the place I get to pick up the trail of Ibn Battutah, who came here in 1332. In those days Istanbul was still Constantinople, the increasingly untenable capital of an empire hardly worthy of the name that was clinging on for dear life in the face on an unstoppable tide of Turkish expansion from Asia. Ibn Battutah travelled here from the Ukraine accompanying an Imperial Princess who'd been married off to the ruling Moslem Khan. She was making a home visit to mum and dad (and when she got to Constantinople refused to go back), and so our traveller got special dispensation as a moslem to accompany her into the city. It's the only time in the Travels when he describes visiting a Christian city. Unfortunately, as a moslem he wasn't allowed into the interior of the great church of the Hagia Sophia, which is a great shame as it remains spectacular even to this day. But he has struck by the great number of monsteries he encountered in the city, and rather shocked at the dirtiness of the bazaars and churches in the part of the city that belonged to the Italian merchants.

I've been meaning to visit Istanbul for years so arrival here yesterday was really exciting. After a memorable evening on the Croatian schnapps (it's very good) in Zagreb which left me a little green around the gills the following morning, the remainder of the journey was pleasant and relatively uneventful. Spent today visiting lots of the key sites in the city, and as you will gather, the Hagia Sophia was simply stunning among them. Hoping to get out on the Bosphorus tommorrow to see the city by water. I've also discovered a bit of a taste for a Turkish beer named Eefes, and today I enjoyed my first proper donner kabab. This is nothing if not a holistic introduction to Turkey.

Tomorrow we become a full team with the addition of the remaining nine people for the trip leg on to Ashgabat.