Sunday, May 29, 2005
Today In History
May 29, 1453. Mehmet II took Constantinople and ended the Roman Empire. The slaughter was horrendous. Read John Norwich's history of Byzantium.
May 29, 1453 was a Tuesday.
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Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it’s Turkish delight on a moonlit night
Every gal in Constantinople
Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople
So if you’ve a date in Constantinople
She’ll be waiting in Istanbul
Even old New York was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it I can’t say
People just liked it better that way
So take me back to Constantinople
No, you can’t go back to Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That’s nobody’s business but the Turks
Thanks to They Might Be Giants for a tune often played in the officers' club, 528th US Artillery, Cakmakli, Republic of Turkey.
And thanks to the proud Turkish people who welcomed me into their country and treated me like a brother. I'll never forget you.
YD
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