Turkey

Me and a friend of mine are looking for a theme from local history for a history competition project, and, as we haven't chosen the final theme yet, this card is a real motivation. And other thing important to mention, it's the first card that I've ever received as a part of my new RR on the Postcrossing forum. 

The reprint shows Istanbul in 1899, just few decades from a very turbulent part of Turkish history. Constantinople was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Latin and the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in AD 330, at ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine I , after whom it was named. It has a quiet interesting history of changing its name, so few words about that... The city was originally founded as a Greek colony under the name of Byzantium. It took on the name of Konstantinoupolis after its re-foundation under Roman emperor Constantine I, who designated it as his new Roman capital. The modern Turkish name İstanbul derives from the Greek phrase eis tin polin, meaning "in the City". After the creation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the Turkish government began to formally object to the use of Constantinople in other languages and ask that others use the more common name for the city. Thanks, Murat!