Istanbul, Turkey, known before 330 as Byzantium and between 330 and 1930 as Constantinople, is a transcontinental city of Europe and Asia, straddling the Bosporus strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical center lies on the European side; about a third of its residents live on the Asian side. The population of the city has increased tenfold since the 1950s to around 15 million, making Istanbul one of the world's most populous cities and the fourth- largest city proper. Founded on the Sarayburnu promontory around 660 BCE, the city grew in size and influence. It was an imperial capital for almost 16 centuries, during the Roman and Byzantine (330–1204), Latin (1204–1261), Palaiologos Byzantine (1261–1453) and Ottoman (1453–1922) empires. Although Ankara was chosen as the new capital after the Turkish War of Independence, Istanbul remains Turkey's economic and cultural center.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1886:
American inventor Charles Martin Hall discovered an inexpensive method of producing aluminum (sample pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Martin_Hall
1909:
The Silver Dart was flown off the ice of Bras d'Or Lake on Cape Breton Island, making it the first controlled powered flight in Canada. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AEA_Silver_Dart
1947:
The International Organization for Standardization, responsible for worldwide industrial and commercial standards, was founded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Organization_for_Standardization
1991:
The government of Thai prime minister Chatichai Choonhavan was deposed in a bloodless coup by General Sunthorn Kongsompong. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatichai_Choonhavan
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
navel-gazing: 1. Contemplation of one's navel as an aid to meditation. 2. (derogatory) Excessive focus on oneself; self-indulgent introspection. 3. (sometimes derogatory) (Disproportionate) concentration on a single issue. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/navel-gazing
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Either the United States will destroy ignorance or ignorance will destroy the United States. And when we call for education we mean real education. We believe in work. We ourselves are workers, but work is not necessarily education. Education is the development of power and ideal. We want our children trained as intelligent human beings should be, and we will fight for all time against any proposal to educate black boys and girls simply as servants and underlings, or simply for the use of other people. They have a right to know, to think, to aspire. --W. E. B. Du Bois https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._E._B._Du_Bois