Istanbul

Turkey -x- Constantinople -- medieval

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THE SECOND COMING

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand;
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Wind shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

- William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

History

Historical Key: Plain black text denotes mortal events, while text in maroon text denote the popularly accepted dates of Cainite historical events and blue italics represent events of significance in the Underworld of the Dead.

The Dream: The Dream of the Toreador Methuselah Michael was, in essence, the city of Constantinople. Palaces, churches and aqueducts; the beauty of a sunset over the Golden Horn; rich, glorious history - these were what the Dream was all about. Through its sheer power to awe and enrapture, the Dream was one of the last things that formerly united the Cainites of Constantinople. Even newcomers to the city could not escape an overwhelming sensation of wonder as they gazed for the first time at the city's endless monuments, statues and subtle references to the Cainites of the Trinity.

Unfortunately, Michael's Dream, like any other was an ephemeral creation that was open to interpretation, and each Cainite found something different in it.

The Dream was a creation of ambition and egotism; the ultimate work of art, not confined to a stage or canvas, but manifest on the tapestry of humanity. Michael sought to create a place of heavenly beauty and serenity, an immortal testament not only to him, Antonius and the Dracon, but to all the children of Caine.

Unfortunately, many of the cursed childer of Caine considered existence ephemeral and transient, even though they are eternal. It was their fate to bear witness to the end of things, from the lives of loved ones to the cultures of their origins. Though Constantinople offered Michael the hope of eternity - that not everything must come to an end, that something would outlast him and his curse - ultimately the Dream faded into the Long Night.

But in the passing of ages, something of Constantinople and the Dream still shine through the centuries of history that bury them. Could the Dream live again? There are those who believe and where there is belief, faith might yet be kindled once more...

Alternate Histories

I wonder at times what the world would have become had not the flame of the Fourth Crusade burned our Dream to ash. Perhaps, had we been more united, had we found the dynamic forces within ourselves to break the habits of centuries, we could have managed the crisis as we had others. The Latin conquest might not have been stopped, but the senseless destruction could have been avoided.

In my most lucid moments I realize that in the end it would not have made a great difference. Surely we would have fallen to the Ottomans regardless of the burning - perhaps a year later, perhaps not. Yet, in rare moments of optimism and hope, I wonder. Could we not have recaptured the initiative by deflecting the Venetians? Could we not have learned to manage our resources better and taken advantage of the inevitable chaos rather than fall victim to it? Might not Constantinople still stand this night?

-- Gregory the Ancient, A.D. 1921

The Lasombra of Constantinople

Clan Lasombra were divided in Constantinople. The Magnus family stood as part of the Byzantine Dream, its roots dating back to the dawn of the Roman Empire. By contrast, the rapacious Narsene Lasombra of Venice were voracious merchants who sought only to strip the city of its wealth.

-- From the Journals of B.E.Zieger, C.E. 2016

The Magnus Lasombra

Magnus: The name of this final patriarch of the Greek Lasombra comes down to the Lasombra Antitribu as a byword for failure. Nothing is known of his mortal life and little of his unlife, save that he battled the Latin Lasombra ineffectually and was diableried by a nameless childe of which he had several.

The Narsene Lasombra

Alfonzo of Venice: Former Heretical Bishop and Lasombra Prince of the Latin Kingdom of Constantinople.

Maps

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=41.0499869&lon=28.9525554&z=11&l=0&m=b&v=8

http://maps.google.com/

http://www.openstreetmap.org/

Population

• City (13,483,052) - 2011 census
• Metro Area (13,483,052) - 2011 census

The 39 Districts of Istanbul

In 2004, Istanbul became one of two City-Provinces in Turkey. A city-province is a city whose boundaries are concurrent with the boundaries of its province. Istanbul has 39 districts in its city-province.

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The 39 Districts of Istanbul

Adalar - The Princes' Islands

This district consists of seven islands commonly referred to as the the Red Islands or historically as the Prince's Islands. These seven islands are located a few kilometers off shore, south of the City.

Arnavutköy

Arnavutköy is a city and a rural district of the Istanbul City-Province. The district was newly formed in 2008 from the large rural part of Gaziosmanpaşa district and parts of other districts, in particular Çatalca. It is located on the European side and borders the Black Sea.

Ataşehir

Ataşehir is a modern suburban district of Istanbul, located in the eastern or Anatolian side of the City. The region has been developed into a highrise condominium housing mecca. There are over 18,000 condominium highrises, enough to house 80,000 residents. The district has been engineered to appeal to high income individuals and families and doubles as a business center for corporate headquarters with large office blocks. Facilities for extracurricular activities such as cinemas, gyms and tennis courts make it popular for those who enjoy leisure and sports. Unlike much of Istanbul, getting around Ataşehir requires a car as there is little or no public transportation.

Avcılar

Avcılar is a small district of greater Istanbul. It is located west and south of Istanbul proper on the European side of the city. It is slightly west of the Küçükçekmece inlet of the north coast of the Sea of Marmara.

Bağcılar

Bağcılar is a working class suburban district of greater Istanbul. It is located directly north of the Bahçelievler district on the European side of the city.

Bahçelievler

Bahçelievler in Turkish means 'houses with gardens'. It is a large middle class residential suburb of greater Istanbul on the European side of the city. Bahçelievler district is sandwiched between Bağcılar and Bakırköy districts. This district covers 5% of Istanbul's land area and is home to over 570,000 people.

Bakırköy

Bakırköy is three distinct things - a neighborhood, a municipality and district on the European side of greater İstanbul. The quarter is densely populated, has a residential character and is inhabited by a middle class population. The municipality of Bakırköy is much larger than the quarter and also includes several other neighborhoods, such as Yeşilköy, Yeşilyurt, Ataköy. Bakırköy is located between the coast of the Sea of Marmara and the Bahçelievler district.

Başakşehir

Başakşehir is one of 8 new districts established in Istanbul in 39 total districts. The district of Başakşehir lies on the European side of greater Istanbul and is located directly north of Küçükçekmece Lake (or Inlet) which connects directly with the Sea of Marmara. The district is surrounded on all sides by eight neighboring districts and has no direct access to the Küçükçekmece Inlet or the Sea of Marmara. Başakşehir is a very modern suburban district with a population of approximately 280,385 (2010 Census).

Bayrampaşa

Bayrampaşa is a suburban district of Istanbul, located on the European side of the city. District is

Fatih - Historic Constantinople

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Şişli

Kateb Zek lived here.

Vampires of Istanbul

The number of potential undead in Istanbul staggers the imagination, as the mortal population teeters towards 14 million souls, the number of vampires in the city during a time of nocturnal civil war may exceed 160 damned. -- From the Journals of B.E.Zieger, C.E. 2016

Notable Mortals

Cagri Shad She who now believes.

Rusen Peynirci Investigative Reporter

Deniz Şehir

The Dream of Istanbul

Websites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul

http://wikitravel.org/en/Istanbul

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.9736255&lon=29.1206779&z=10&l=0&m=b

Turkish Lexicon

Gecekondu (plural gecekondular): is a Turkish word meaning a house put up quickly without proper permissions, a squatter's house, and by extension, a shanty or shack. Gecekondu bölgesi is a neighborhood made of those gecekondular.