"I am Istanbul; favorite of emperors, land of sultans, queen of cities, the most astonishing, mysterious and magnificent metropolis in the world! I am the blue of hope and the gren of poison; Iam turquoise! Iam capital city fort he masses and for loners. One leg flung across Asia, the other across Europe, I recline across two continents as the seas run through me. I, Istanbul, am fruitful and fertile, the only female to evade menopause for 2700 years! My name is Istanbul!" Istanbul, which is the setting for and the true protagonist of the Buket Uzuner novel "Istanbulians", comes to life as the reader is taken on a historical and cultural excursion to select districts of the city. With"My Name is Istanbul", Buket Uzuner pays loving tribute to Istanbul and her admirers in the form of a "literary monologue"...
