The New Year party where time jumped forward nearly 600 years

The iconic Istanbul hotel which hosted spies, kings and Greta Garbo

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) — If you dreamed of holding one of history’s most seismic New Year parties, one capable of ripping through six centuries of time and uniting the chronology of a whole country at the stroke of midnight, you’d choose a ballroom like this. When the Champagne popped in this room on December 31, 1925, Turkey officially abolished the Rumi calendar, which was pinned to the year 1341, and instantly woke up i…

The New Year party where time jumped forward nearly 600 years

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) — If you dreamed of holding one of history’s most seismic New Year parties, one capable of ripping through six centuries of time and uniting the chronology of a whole country at the stroke of midnight, you’d choose a ballroom like this. When the Champagne popped in this room on December 31, 1925, Turkey officially abolished the Rumi calendar, which was pinned to the year 1341, and instantly woke up i…