A City A Day

Baghdad  ( Arabic :  بغداد ‎,  Baġdād ,  IPA:  [bæɣˈdæːd] ) is the  capital  of the  Republic of Iraq , as well as the coterminous Baghdad Province . The population of Baghdad as of 2011 is approximately 7,216,040, making it the largest city in Iraq, [1] [2]  the second largest city in the  Arab World  (after  Cairo ,  Egypt ), and the second largest city in Western Asia (after  Tehran ,  Iran ). Located along the  Tigris River , the city was founded in the 8th century and became the capital of the  Abbasid Caliphate . Within a short time of its inception, Baghdad evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center for the  Islamic World . This in addition to housing several key academic institutions (e.g.  House of Wisdom ) garnered the city a worldwide reputation as the "Centre of Learning". Throughout the  High Middle Ages , Baghdad was considered to be t...

Erbil  ( Hewlêr  in Roman-alphabet Kurdish) (also written  Arbil , or  Irbil ) ( Akkadian :  Arba-ilu ;  Arabic :  اربيل ‎  Arbīl ; Kurdish :  ھەولێر   Hewlêr ;  Sumerian :  Urbilum ;  Syriac-Aramaic :  ܐܪܒܝܠ   Arbaelo ) is, with a population of approximately 1.3 million (2009), the fourth largest city in  Iraq  after  Baghdad ,  Basra  and  Mosul . [2]  It is located 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of Mosul, and is the  capital  of  Iraqi Kurdistan . Urban life at Erbil can be dated back to at least 6000 BC, [3] [4]  and it is one of the  oldest continuously inhabited cities  in the world. [3] [4]  At the heart of the city is the ancient  Citadel of Arbil . The Hurrians were the first to establish Urbilum  and expand their rule to the rest of northern  Mesopotamia . The city has since been under the rule of many regional...

Damascus  ( Arabic :  دمشق ‎ /  ALA-LC :  Dimashq ,  Metropolitan Arabic:   Dimisheʼ  ), commonly known in Syria as  ash-Sham ( Arabic :  الشام ‎,  ash-Shām ) and nicknamed as the  City of  Jasmine  ( Arabic :  مدينة الياسمين ‎ /  Madīnat al-Yāsmīn ), is the capital and the second largest city of  Syria  after  Aleppo . It's bordering  Quneitra ,  Daraa  and  As-Suwayda  to the south,  Jordan to the east,  Homs  to the north,  Lebanon  to the west. It is also the capital city of one of the country's 14  governorates . In addition to being one of the  oldest continuously inhabited cities  in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious center of the  Levant . The city has an estimated population of 1,711,000 (2009 est.). [1] Located in southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area of 2....

Aleppo  ( Arabic :  حلب ‎ /  ALA-LC :  Ḥalab ,  IPA:  [ˈħalab] ,  other names ), located in northwestern Syria 310 kilometres (193 miles) from  Damascus , is the largest city in  Syria [3]  and serves as the capital of  Aleppo Governorate , the most populous Syrian governorate . With an official population of 2,132,100 (2004 census), it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant . [4] [5]  For centuries, Aleppo was  Greater Syria 's largest city and the  Ottoman Empire 's third, after  İstanbul  and Cairo . [6] [7] [8] Aleppo is one of  the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world ; it has been inhabited since perhaps as early as the 6th millennium BC. [9]  Excavations at Tell as-Sawda and Tell al-Ansari, just south of the old city of Aleppo, show that the area was occupied since at least the latter part of the 3rd millennium BC; [10]  and this is also when Aleppo is fi...

The city has been a human settlement for thousands of years. The  Assyrians  called the city  Meliddu . [2]  Strabo says that the city was known "to the ancients"  [3]  as Melitene ( Greek   Μελιτηνή ), a name adopted also by the Romans following Roman expansion into the east. According to Strabo he inhabitants of Melitene shared at that time with the nearby Cappadocians and Cataonians the same language and culture. The site of ancient Melitene lies a few kilometres from the modern city in what is now the village of  Arslantepe  and near the dependant district center of  Battalgazi  ( Byzantine  to  Ottoman Empire ). Present-day Battalgazi was the location of the city of Malatya until the 19th century, when a gradual move of the city to the present third location began. Battalgazi's official name was  Eskimalatya  ( Old Malatya ); until recently, it was a name used locally.

Kahramanmaraş  is a  city  in southeastern  Turkey  and the administrative center of  Kahramanmaraş   Province  . The city lies on a plain at the foot of the Dibek Mountains (Dibek Dağları) and has a population of 412.252 as of 2010. The region is best known for its production of  salep , a flour made from dried  orchid  tubers, and its  distinctive ice cream . It is connected by  air  to Istanbul and Ankara. Turkish Airlines has daily direct flights from İstanbul and also Anadolu Jet operates direct flights from Ankara.

Denizli  is a growing industrial city in the southwestern part of  Turkey  and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river  Büyük Menderes , where the plain reaches an elevation of about a hundred meters. Denizli is located in the country's Aegean Region . The city has a population of about 511,751 (2011 census). It jumped from 389,000 in 2007, due to the merger of 13 municipalities and 10 villages. The area of Denizli Municipality has increased almost five times and the population increase become around 50 percent. Denizli (Municipality) is the capital city of  Denizli   Province .

Mersin  is a large city and a port on the  Mediterranean  coast of southern  Turkey . It is part of an  interurban agglomeration  – the  Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area  – and lies on the western part of  Çukurova , a geographical, economical and cultural region. According to  Evliya Çelebi , the city is named after the Mersinoğullari clan; another theory is that it is made from the myrtle  ( Greek :  μύρτος, μυρσίνη ) which grows abundanlty in the region. [2] Mersin is important for Turkey's economy, and  Turkey's largest seaport  is located there. Mersin's nickname within Turkey is "Pearl of the Mediterranean" ( Turkish :  Akdeniz'in İncisi ) and the city will host the  2013   Mediterranean Games . According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, as of 2011 the Mersin  Metropolitan Municipality  had a population of 859,680. [3]

Diyarbakır  ( Ottoman Turkish  دیاربکر,  Diyâr-ı Bekr ;  Armenian :  Դիարբեքիր ,  Diarbeqir ;  Kurdish  ئامه‌د,  Amed ; anc.  Amida ;  Syriac : ܐܡܝܕ ,  Amid  ) is one of the largest  cities  in southeastern  Turkey . Situated on the banks of the River  Tigris , it is the administrative capital of the  Diyarbakır Province  and with a population of about 843,460 it is the second largest city in Turkey's  South-eastern Anatolia  region, after  Gaziantep

Antalya  ( Turkish pronunciation:  [anˈtalja] ; from  Ancient Greek :  Aττάλεια , "Attalia") is a city on the  Mediterranean coast of southwestern  Turkey . It was the  world's third most visited city  by number of international arrivals in 2011, displacing New York. It is Turkey's biggest international  sea resort . According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, in 2011 the city had a population of 964,886 and the  metropolitan municipality  1,041,972. [1] [2]

onya  ( Turkish pronunciation:  [ˈkon.ja] ) is a city in the  Central Anatolia Region  of  Turkey . It the  seventh most populous  city in Turkey . As of 2011 the Konya  Metropolitan Municipality  had a population close to 1.1 million.

Gaziantep  ( Kurdish :  Dîlok ), previously and still informally called  Antep ; ʻayn tāb  [ʕajn tæːb]  is a city in southeast Turkey and amongst the  oldest continually inhabited cities  in the world. The city is located 185 kilometres (115 miles) northeast of  Adana and 127 kilometres by road north of  Aleppo ,  Syria . The city has two urban districts under its administration,  Şahinbey  and Şehitkamil . It is the  sixth most populous  city in  Turkey . According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, as of 2011 the city of Gaziantep had a population of 1,376,352 and its metropolitan municipality  1,393,289. [1]

Adana  ( pronounced  [aˈda.na] ) is a city in southern  Turkey  and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the  Seyhan River , 30 km inland from the  Mediterranean Sea , in south-central  Anatolia . It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province  and has a population of 1.6 million, making it the most populated city of the region.  Adana-Mersin metropolitan area , with a population of 3 million, stretches over 100 km from east to west and 25 km from north to south; encompassing the cities of  Mersin ,  Tarsus , Adana, and  Ceyhan . Adana lies in the heart of  Çukurova , a geographical, economical and cultural region that covers the provinces of  Mersin , Adana ,  Osmaniye , and  Hatay . Home to approximately six million people, the region is mostly a large stretch of flat, fertile land regarded as one of the most agriculturally productive areas of th...

Izmir  ( Turkish :  İzmir ,  Greek :  Σμύρνη  Smyrni,  Latin  Smyrna) is a large  metropolis  in the western extremity of  Anatolia  and the  third most populous  city in  Turkey . Izmir metropolitan area extends along the outlying waters of the  Gulf of İzmir  and inland to the north across  Gediz River 's  delta , to the east along an  alluvial plain  created by several small streams and to a slightly more rugged terrain in the south. The ancient city was known as  Smyrna , and the city was generally referred to as  Smyrna  in English, until the Turkish Postal Services Law of 1930 made "Izmir" the internationally recognized name. The city of Izmir is composed of several metropolitan districts. Of these,  Konak  district corresponds to historical Izmir, this district's area having constituted the "Izmir Municipality" ( Turkish :  İzmir Belediyesi )...

Ankara  ( Turkish pronunciation:  [ˈaŋ.ka.ɾa] ; historically known as Angora) is the  capital  of  Turkey  and the country's  second largest   city  after  Istanbul . The city has a mean elevation of 938 metres (3,077 ft). [3] Centrally located in  Anatolia , Ankara is an important commercial and industrial city. It is the center of the  Turkish Government , and houses all foreign embassies. It is an important crossroads of trade, strategically located at the centre of Turkey's highway and railway networks, and serves as the marketing centre for the surrounding agricultural area. The city was famous for its long-haired  Angora goat  and its prized wool ( mohair ), a unique breed of cat ( Angora cat ),  Angora rabbits  and their prized wool ( Angora wool ),  pears ,  honey , and the region's  muscat   grapes .