Pieter Snapper in Istanbul, Turkey:
"Istanbul, a city whose power grid is fragile to the point of almost daily outages, is bright, celebratory, and functioning quite well in the hours after the new millennium arrived here. This city, which has seen more new millennia than most, is lit up by more fireworks displays than can possibly be safe. At the stroke of midnight I was with friends at my home on a hill overlooking the bosphorus and much of the city. At 11:55 pm no fewer than eight distinct fireworks displays illuminated the city and the bridges spanning the European and Asian sides of Istanbul.... From my vantage point I can see lights and activity on both continents, and the bridges are as beautifully lit as ever. I am pleased to report that Istanbul has joined the ranks of large cities surviving the millennial changeover."