Bettany Hughes

Istanbul has always been a place where stories and histories collide and crackle, where the idea is as potent as the historical fact. From the Qur'an to Shakespeare, this city with three names – Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul – resonates as an idea and a place, and overspills its boundaries, real and imagined. Standing as the gateway between East and West, it has served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman Empires. For much of its history it was known simply as The City, but, as Bettany Hughes reveals, Istanbul is not just a city, but a story. Chaired by Sameer Rahim of Prospect magazine.