5 October, Istanbul
Haci Mimi Apartment 53TL

In May 1453, after a 53-day siege, Constantinople fell to Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror becoming the third capital of the Ottoman Empire and remaining so until the empire’s collapse in 1922. The battle for the city was dramatic and included Mehmed transporting 80 of his ships overland on a path of oiled tree branches to place them behind enemy lines. “Mehmed issued orders across his empire that Muslims, Christians, and Jews should resettle the city...” and in 1459 ordered that Greeks who had left the city as slaves or refugees should be allowed to return. An Italian community near the Galata Tower added to Constantinople’s cosmopolitan flavour and growing population. “The capital of an empire that stretched across Europe, Asia and Africa, [Constantinople] also became an important diplomatic centre, with several foreign embassies.” “When the Republic of Turkey was founded under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on October 29, 1923, the capital was moved from Istanbul to Ankara.” The name Istanbul, meaning “to the city” had long been used by residents, but was made official worldwide by the Turkish Postal Service Law of March 1930.

Lazy day at home.