I am Istanbul, city of cities, mistress of metropolises, community of poets, seat of emperors, favorite of sultans, pearl of the world! And of all the world’s cities, I am without doubt the most magnificent, mysterious and terrible, a city upon whose shores pagans, Christians, jews and unbelievers, friend and foe alike, have found safe harbor through the ages, a place where love and betrayal, pleasure and pain, live side by side. I, daughter of poseidon, miracle of the argonauts, empress of medieval cities, the harbinger of a new age, whose star shines anew in the 21st century, am the city of prosperity and ruin, of defeat and glad tidings, blue as hope, green as poison, rosy as dawn, I am Istanbul: I am in the judas tree, in acacia, in lavender; I am turquoise! My name is Istanbul.
