A City A Day

Istanbul  ( Turkish :  İstanbul ) is the largest city in  Turkey , constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population of  13.5 million , the city forms one of the  largest urban agglomerations in Europe [d]  and is among the  largest cities in the world  by population within city limits. [2] [3]  Istanbul's vast area of 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi) is coterminous with  Istanbul Province , of which the city is the administrative capital. [c]  Istanbul is a transcontinental city, straddling the  Bosphorus —one of the world's busiest waterways—in northwestern Turkey, between the  Sea of Marmara  and the  Black Sea . Its commercial and historical center lies in Europe, while a third of its population lives in Asia. [4]

Sukhumi  ( Abkhaz :  Аҟәа ,  Aqwa ;  Georgian :  სოხუმი ,  Sokhumi ;  Russian :  Сухум or Сухуми , Sukhum  or  Sukhumi ) is the capital of  Abkhazia , a disputed region on the  Black Sea  coast. The city suffered heavily during the  Georgian–Abkhazian conflict  in the early 1990s.

Poti  ( Georgian :  ფოთი ;  Mingrelian : ფუთი;  Laz : ფაში/Fashi; formerly known to the Turks as Faş ) is a  port city  in  Georgia , located on the eastern  Black Sea  coast in the  region  of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti  in the west of the country. Built near the site of the  ancient Greek colony of  Phasis  and deriving its name from the same, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also home to a main naval base and the headquarters of the  Georgian navy . The  Poti port  area is planned to become a  free economic zone  within the framework of a Georgian- United Arab Emirates  project inaugurated in April 2008.

Gori  ( Georgian :  გორი ) is a city in eastern  Georgia , which serves as the  regional   capital  of  Shida Kartli  and the centre of the  homonymous   administrative district . The name is from Georgian  gora  (გორა), that is, "heap", or "hill". [1] As of 2002, it had a population of 49,500. Gori was an important military stronghold in the Middle Ages and maintains a strategic importance due to its location on the principal highway connecting eastern and western parts of Georgia. In the course of its history, Gori has been invaded by the armies of regional powers several times. The city was  occupied by Russian troops  during the  2008 South Ossetian War . Gori is also known as the birthplace of the  Soviet  leader  Joseph Stalin  and ballistic missile designer  Alexander Nadiradze .

Rustavi  ( Georgian :  რუსთავი ) is a city in the southeast of  Georgia , in the province of  Kvemo Kartli , situated 25 km (15.53 mi) southeast of the capital  Tbilisi . It stands on the  Mtkvari River  at  41°32′N   45°00′E . It has a population of 116,384 (2002 census) and is dominated by the  Rustavi Metallurgical Plant . The history of Rustavi has two phases: an early history from ancient times until the city was destroyed in the 13th century, and modern history from the  Soviet  era to the present.

Batumi  ( Georgian :  ბათუმი ) is a seaside city on the  Black Sea  coast and capital of  Adjara , an  autonomous republic  in southwest  Georgia . Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 180,000 (2008 census), Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in agricultural produce such as citrus fruit and tea. While industries of the city include shipbuilding, food processing, and light manufacturing, most of its economy revolves around tourism

Kutaisi  ( Georgian :  ქუთაისი ; ancient names:  Aea / Aia ,  Kotais ,  Kutatisi ,  Kutaïssi ) is  Georgia 's  second largest city,  legislative  capital, and the capital of the western region of  Imereti . It is 221 km west of  Tbilisi . Kutaisi was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of  Colchis . Archeological evidence indicates that the city functioned as the capital of the kingdom of  Colchis  as early as the  second millennium BC . Several  historians  believe that in  Argonautica , a  Greek   epic poem about  Jason  and the  Argonauts  and their journey to  Colchis ,  Apollonius Rhodius , the author, considered Kutaisi their final destination and the residence of King  Aeëtes . From 978 to 1122 CE, Kutaisi was the capital of the united  Kingdom of Georgia , and from the 15th century until 1810 it was the capital of the...

Tbilisi  ( Georgian :  თბილისი   [tʰb̥ilisi]  (   listen ) ) is the  capital  and the  largest city  of  Georgia , lying on the banks of the  Kura River . The name is derived from an early Georgian form  T'pilisi  (ტფილისი) and it was officially known as  Tpilisi  (in  Georgian ) or  Tiflis  (in  Russian)  until 1936. [1]  The city covers an area of 726 km 2  (280 sq mi) and has 1,480,000 inhabitants. Founded in the 5th century by  Vakhtang Gorgasali , the monarch of Georgia's precursor  Kingdom of Iberia , Tbilisi has served, with various intervals, as Georgia's capital for nearly 1500 years and represents a significant industrial, social, and cultural center of the country. Located near the southeastern edge of Europe , Tbilisi's proximity to lucrative east-west  trade routes  often made the city a point of contention between variou...

Ijevan  ( Armenian :  Իջևան ; formerly,  Istibulagh  and  Karavansara ) is a city in  Armenia  and the  capital  of  Tavush  region. It is located in the northern part of the region, on the foot of Ijevan ridge and Nal'teket ridge on both banks of Aghstev River. The city's current name, Ijevan, and its former name Karavansara (until 1919) both mean "inn" ( caravanserai ), in  Armenian  and Persian , respectively. [3]  The city's population as of 2009 is 20,500 making it the most populated city in the province. It is 137 km to the north-east of  Yerevan . Currently, the mayor of the city is Varuzhan Nersisyan who runs Ijevan alongside a fifteen-member council. [4]  The  Yerevan - Tbilisi  highway passes through the city. Ijevan has a railway station since 1870

Gavar  ( Armenian :  Գավառ ), is a city and the provincial capital of the  Armenian province  of  Gegharkunik . It was known as  Nor Bayezet  or  Novyi Bayazet  until 1959, then  Kamo  (named in honour of  Bolshevik of the same name ) until 1996. The town is situated in the mountains with an average altitude of 2000 meters above sea level, on a distance of 98 kilometers to the east of the capital  Yerevan .

Armavir  ( Armenian :  Արմավիր ) is a city located in western  Armenia . The 1989 census reported that the city had a total population of 46,900, but this has declined considerably: the 2001 census counted 32,034; the estimate for 2008 is 26,387. It is the capital of Armenia's  Armavir province (marz) . The city was known as  Hoktemberyan ,  Hoktemberian , or  Oktemberyan Armenian :  Հոկտեմբերյան  during the  Soviet  era up to 1992, and  Sardarabad ,  Sardarapat  or  Sardar-Apad  before 1932. Armavir  in  Russia , founded by  Armenians  in the 19th century, was named after this city.

Yerevan  ( Armenian :  Երևան   [jɛɾɛˈvɑn] ) is the capital and largest city of  Armenia  and one of the world's  oldest continuously inhabited cities . Situated along the  Hrazdan River , Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country. It has been the capital since 1918, the thirteenth in the  history of Armenia . The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC, with the founding of the fortress of  Erebuni  in 782 BC by king Argishti I  at the western extreme of the  Ararat plain . [3]  After  World War I , Yerevan became the capital of the  Democratic Republic of Armenia  as thousands of  survivors  of the  Armenian Genocide  settled in the area. The city expanded rapidly during the 20th century as Armenia became one of the  fifteen republics  in the  Soviet Union . In fifty years, Yerevan was transformed from a town of a few...

Stepanakert  ( Armenian :  Ստեփանակերտ ; called  Khankendi  ( Azerbaijani :  Xankəndi ) by  Azerbaijan ) is the largest city and capital  of the  Nagorno-Karabakh Republic , a  de facto  independent republic, though is internationally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan. [2]  The city population comprises about 53,000 ethnic Armenians.

The city of  Nakhchivan  ( Azerbaijani :  Naxçıvan ) is the capital of the eponymous  Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic  of Azerbaijan , located 450 km west of  Baku . The municipality of Nakhchivan consists of the city of Nakhchivan and the villages of  Başbaşı ,  Qarağalıq , and  Daşduz . [2]  It is spread over the foothills of Zangezur chain, on the right bank of the Nakhchivan river at an altitude of almost 1000 m.

Mingachevir  ( Azerbaijani :  Mingəçevir ; also,  Mengechaur ,  Mingächevir ,  Mingechaur ,  Mingechaurges , and Mingelchaur ), sometimes spelled Mingecevir, is the fourth-biggest city in  Azerbaijan  with a population of about 100,000. It is known as city of lights because of its hydroelectric power station on the  Kur River , which splits the city in half. The area has been settled for thousands of years, but the current city was founded in 1948, partly by German soldiers who were taken prisoner during World War II [ citation needed ] . Mingechevir is also home to  Mingechevir Polytechnic Institute . The city forms an administrative division of Azerbaijan.