Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it’s Turkish delight on a moonlit night
The lyrics were written by Jimmy Kennedy and composed by Nat Simon. It was written as a retaliation for those who did not accept the name change of the city of Istanbul, which is within the borders of the Republic of Turkey, and the song “C-O-N-S-T-A-N-T-I-N-O-P-L-E” by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra.
CONSTANTINOPOL TAKING THE NAME OF ISTANBUL
After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, this name was started to be used as “Constantinople” by the Ottoman Empire. Then, in the Cedid Atlas published in 1803, “Istanbul” was written instead of the name of the city of Constantinople. Although the name “Constantinople” was not used after the conquest of the city, the Universal Postal Union and a few countries persistently continued to use this name. Thereupon, in an application made in 1930, it was emphasized that the official name of the city was “Istanbul”. After this warning, although it was used as “Istanbul” in official uses, the name “Constantinople” was still being used among the people. On November 1, 1938, with the adoption of the “Law on the acceptance and application of the new Turkish letters” numbered 1353, the name Istanbul began to be used with the Latin alphabet.
SONG OF THE PAUL WHITEMAN ORCHESTRA
In 1928, the Paul Whiteman Orchestra was among those who insisted that the name of the city of Istanbul was still "Constantinople". That's why they released a song called "C-O-N-S-T-A-N-T-I-N-O-P-L-E"
SONG OF THE GROUP “THE FOUR LADS”
Despite all the steps aimed at proving that the name of the city is not "Constantinople" but "Istanbul" when the Paul Whiteman Orchestra released the song “C-O-N-S-T-A-N-T-İ-N-O-P-L-E”, The Four Lads band sang the song “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” in 1952 in response to those who persistently refused to accept the name Istanbul. The song was loved and listened to so much that neither the Paul Whiteman Orchestra song remains, nor the persistent “Constantinople”ists. Of course, these rumors did not completely disappear as soon as the song was released. This discussion still went on. But for that time, it calmed these discussions, albeit a little. Because the song is so popular, a cover version is released 24 times. One of them is the version released by Sevinç Tevs with the name “Istanbul”, and the other is the cover made by the band They Might Be Giants, which is perhaps more listened to today than the original.
SERIES USING THE SONG
- The cartoon series Tiny Toon
2. Mona Lisa Smile, Season 1, Episode 3 of Raising Hope
3. Episode 13 of season 16 of The Simpsons
4. In Danish Mads Brügger’s 2011 documentary Ambassador
5. Netflix 2019 series The Umbrella Academy season 1 episode 1
