M1, officially referred to as the M1 Yenikapı–Atatürk Airport/Kirazlı line, (also known as the Istanbul Light Metro (Turkish: Hafif Metro)) is a rapid transit line of the Istanbul Metro. Opened in 1989, it was the first rapid transit line in Istanbul and Turkey and its opening started the revival of mass-transit in Turkish cities. The M1 consists of two separate train services, the M1A and M1B. Both services run on the same line from Yenikapı to Otogar, where the M1B branches off to Kirazlı, while the M1A continues on the original line to Istanbul Atatürk Airport. The M1 has 23 stations in service, 11 underground and 3 elevated, and the total length of the line is 26.1 kilometers (16.2 mi) with 10.4 kilometers (6.5 mi) running underground. Even though the M1 is fully grade separated, it is considered a light metro line, due to the relatively low passenger capacity compared to other lines of the system. A total of 105 trainsets operate, carrying about 400,000 passengers daily.
.istanbul and .ist are approved top level domains (TLD) for the Internet. It is a community-based sponsored top-level domain by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and subsidiary Medya A.Ş. According to the Medya A.Ş., .istanbul will improve awareness on İstanbul's historical heritage and help economic growth by allowing unlimited and open registration of the names.
Along with TLDs such as .cat and .asia, .istanbul and other new TLDs fall into the new category of GeoTLDs.
Istanbul (/ˌɪstænˈbuːl/ or /ˌiːstɑːnˈbuːl/;Turkish: İstanbul [isˈtanbuɫ]), historically also known as Constantinople and Byzantium, is the most populous city in Turkey and the country's economic, cultural, and historic center. Istanbul is a transcontinental city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosphorus strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical center lies on the European side and about a third of its population lives on the Asian side. The city is the administrative center of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (coterminous with Istanbul Province), both hosting a population of around 14 million residents. Istanbul is one of the world's most populous cities and ranks as world's 6th-largest city proper and the largest European city.
Founded under the name of Byzantium on the Sarayburnu promontory around 660 BCE, the city developed to become one of the most significant in history. After its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 CE, it served as an imperial capital for almost 16 centuries, during the Roman and Byzantine (330–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin (1204–1261), and the Ottoman (1453–1922) empires. It was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times, before the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and transformed it into an Islamic stronghold and the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate.
"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is a 1953 swing-style song, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon. Written on the 500th year anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, the lyrics playfully refer to the official 1930 renaming of the city of Constantinople to Istanbul. The song's original release certified as a gold record.
It is said to be a response to "C-O-N-S-T-A-N-T-I-N-O-P-L-E" recorded in 1928 by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra.
"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" was originally recorded by the Canadian vocal quartet, The Four Lads on August 12, 1953. This recording was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 40082. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on October 24, 1953, and it peaked at #10. It was the group's first gold record.
One of the better-known versions of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is the cover by the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants (TMBG), who released it on their album Flood in 1990. It was released as the second single from that album in the same year. TMBG's version is at a faster tempo than the original.