istanbul z william gibson uses it in a number of his stories, i believe, as an homage to samuel r delaney's prior use of it in his writing. delaney actually traveled the area by boat early in his career. it informed much of his work, influencing both it's milieu and as a model for social and cultural tropes at the crossroads of civilizations. bruce sterling uses it in a recent book also. 051101 ... DannyH My Mother lives in Istanbul. 'Tis a place of many contradictions. 051101 ... nom) constantinople 051101 ... nom) yeats sailing to byzantium 051101 ... nom) hagia sophia 051101 ... zeke hagia sophia has norse graphitti inside it 051101 ... zeke in runic 051101 what's it to you? who go blather from