Istanbul awaits: Inter, City set for Champions League final - ESPN
ESPN ISTANBUL, Turkey -- This city straddling Europe and Asia (you can literally drive across the bridge from one continent to the other) is a fitting venue for a UEFA Champions League final. It's the European Cup, yes, but the finalists are two Asian-owned teams (Manchester City majority owned by Abu Dhabi; Internazionale by Chinese investors) with a global appeal and this city, founded nearly three millennia ago, is used to being both a nexus and melting pot. When you exist in the place where people, religions and creeds collide and ferment, change is a constant ... which might be why Istanbul has changed its name three times.
Even today, it's a crossroads. Look out over the Bosphorus Strait and you might see ships carrying Ukrainian grain escorted by Turkish warships. If you had Marvel superhero eyesight you could stand on the banks and see Ukraine and Russia in the distance. Turn West, and it's the European Union; South, and it's Egypt and the African continent; East, and it's Syria, then Iraq and Iran and then, the Gulf.
