I am Istanbul, city of cities, mistress of metropolises, community of poets, seat of emperors, favorite of sultans, pearl of the world! And of all the world’s cities, I am without doubt the most magnificent, mysterious and terrible, a city upon whose shores pagans, christians, jews and unbelievers, friend and foe alike, have found safe harbor through the ages, a place where love and betrayal, pleasure and pain, live side by side.