Istanbul Not Constantinople

In case you have had this going through your head for the last few days/weeks/months/decades (for which we thank Organic Learning!), this video has a slide show of Istanbul with some stunning shots of the Hagia Sophia (high on my list of imaginary travel plans).

And here is an excellent explanation of why the name was changed to Istanbul. Yes, yes, I know it is nobody's business but the Turk's... The answer is long and complicated (well, um, it's Byzantine, actually), but it's worth it! I, for one, learned that the city had a different name for nearly a thousand years before it was Constantinople!

I also did not realize that the song was a cover from the 1950s. We watched a number of Jazz and Big Band versions on You Tube, comparing notes with the ubiquitous They Might Be Giants version (which itself must have a dozen videos). It was interesting to watch so many versions of the song and talk about different musical and artistic styles and interpretations: how and why do artists and musicians see the world so differently?