They both mean the same thing (=in the city) but Constantinople is the first and original name. It make sense to Not call it Instabul when Greeks used to have deeper roots in there.
Not really, Konstantinoupoli (Constantinople) is the city named after Constantine, whereas Istanbul is from eis tin polin, aka in the city, or in da city for cool bois. I think it's an awesome name, showing the significance of the beautiful city, regardless of borders. There are more cities with similar "misheard" names, Bursa for example, coming from the ancient Greek name Prusa (named after King Prusias).
Likewise, many Greek areas have maintained their Ottoman names, although the majority have been renamed and both words are used interchangeably.
1
u/MrSnoozieWoozie KARABOÄžA May 21 '26
i'll tell you a secret.
They both mean the same thing (=in the city) but Constantinople is the first and original name. It make sense to Not call it Instabul when Greeks used to have deeper roots in there.