Istanbul

UPDATE: Last week I scored Istanbul with my Great Leveling algorithm. I was very surprised at how well it scored -- one of the top cities in the world, in fact. Today (24 Jan 2010), an article in TechCrunch discusses Istanbul and bears out my analysis. The numbers do not lie! But, since there is no need for me to remind you of my brilliance and prescience (and beauty), I suggest you read the article; a great analysis of a very well-positioned city in a nation most Americans rarely think about.

The EU average is 29 hours. Turkey is also home to the world’s 12th largest Internet market and has 6th largest internet use in Europe user base with 38% penetration. In 2012 it is forecast to grow to 35.8 million users (which will make it the 5th largest internet population in Europe).

In other words, the internet is insanely popular here, where entertainment alternatives like the relatively tame content on state-regulated TV just doesn’t cut it amongst the youth. As you might expect, Google and Microsoft sites dominate, followed by Facebook, but then local content sites kick in.

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Now it's Instanbul, not Constantinople...

Most Americans have probably never heard of Constantinople and if they could pick it out on a map it would be random chance, like finding Tuvalu or Suriname. Course, my readers aren't most Americans (le sigh).

And near as I can tell, anything written by Americans/Westerners about Istanbul quickly uses the metaphor of bridges and crossings and links, between past and present, Christian and Muslim, East and West, young and old.

I'll skip that and just provide some Wikipedia info and then get right into the rankings...

Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul, historically also known as Byzantium and Constantinople;^[3] see the names of Istanbul) is the largest city in Turkey and fifth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.6 million. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province.^[4] It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbour known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) sides of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents.

In its long history, Istanbul has served as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330–395), the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). The city was chosen as joint European Capital of Culture for 2010. The historic areas of Istanbul were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.^{[5] [BSH: Wow, 13 million people! I had no idea.]}