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makifakat
Turkey
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Istanbul is Turkey's most populous city, and its cultural and economic center. It is located on the Bosphorus strait, and encompasses the natural harbor known as the Golden Horn (Turkish: Haliç), in the northwest of the country. Istanbul extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) side of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world which geographically is situated on two continents. In 2000 Census, population is 8,803,468 (city proper) and 10,018,735 (province), making it, by some counts, one of the largest cities in Europe. The census bureau estimate for July 20, 2005 is 11,322,000 for the province, which is generally considered as the metropolitan area, making it one of the twenty largest metropolitan areas in the world. The city is located at 41° N 28° E, and is the capital of Istanbul Province. Istanbul is chosen as the European Capital of Culture for 2010. Istanbul is nicknamed "The City on Seven Hills" because the historic peninsula which is the oldest part was built on seven hills, also represented with seven mosques, one at the top of each hill.
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