Istanbul discussed in monthly seminars
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 15, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - In the third of a series, Dr. Oğuz Tekin, a professor at Istanbul University, gave a seminar called "Istanbul in Ancient Times" to an interested crowd of more than 40 people on Tuesday.
The seminar was part of the series called "Istanbul Toplantıları" and is being put together by the History Foundation of Turkey and the Union of Municipalities of the Marmara Region. The series began Nov. 17, 2008. Each month a speaker is brought in to give an account of Istanbul form a different perspective.
Yesterday’s seminar focused on Istanbul as an ancient city, with Tekin plotting the life of the city from the colony city of Byzantium to modern day Istanbul, emphasizing the different names the city has had over the centuries from the ancient Byzantium, to Constantinopolis, Konstantiniye, a short stint as Islambol to the current Istanbul, which comes from the Greek "Eis Ten Poli", or "to the city."
Tekin, who specializes in numismatics, tracked this evolution of the city through ancient coins, noting the presence of the palamut fish as a major motif on coins throughout the Hellenistic period. This was indicative of ancient Istanbul as a major fishing city. The abundance of fish was also how the Golden Horn got its name, according to Tekin. "When the fish would reach the narrowest part of the Bosphorus, they would head in towards the Haliç, or the Golden Horn. The fish were the "gold," he said. Tekin also spoke about the ancient city of Kalkhedon, which is where modern day Kadiköy is situated, and its friendly relationship with Byzantium.
The first of the Istanbul Toplantıları series, held three months ago, was a seminar on the urban renewal projects by Dr. Murat Güvenç. The next seminar in the series will be "Health Throughout History in Istanbul" and will be held on Feb. 17. Seminars are held at the historic building that houses the Union of Municipalities of the Marmara Region in Eminönü by Zindankapı in the Hızır Bey Çelebi conference room. More information on upcoming seminars within the series can be found at www.marmara.gov.tr.
Yesterday’s seminar focused on Istanbul as an ancient city, with Tekin plotting the life of the city from the colony city of Byzantium to modern day Istanbul, emphasizing the different names the city has had over the centuries from the ancient Byzantium, to Constantinopolis, Konstantiniye, a short stint as Islambol to the current Istanbul, which comes from the Greek "Eis Ten Poli", or "to the city."
Tekin, who specializes in numismatics, tracked this evolution of the city through ancient coins, noting the presence of the palamut fish as a major motif on coins throughout the Hellenistic period. This was indicative of ancient Istanbul as a major fishing city. The abundance of fish was also how the Golden Horn got its name, according to Tekin. "When the fish would reach the narrowest part of the Bosphorus, they would head in towards the Haliç, or the Golden Horn. The fish were the "gold," he said. Tekin also spoke about the ancient city of Kalkhedon, which is where modern day Kadiköy is situated, and its friendly relationship with Byzantium.
The first of the Istanbul Toplantıları series, held three months ago, was a seminar on the urban renewal projects by Dr. Murat Güvenç. The next seminar in the series will be "Health Throughout History in Istanbul" and will be held on Feb. 17. Seminars are held at the historic building that houses the Union of Municipalities of the Marmara Region in Eminönü by Zindankapı in the Hızır Bey Çelebi conference room. More information on upcoming seminars within the series can be found at www.marmara.gov.tr.