Istanbul is the largest city Turkey and fifth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.8 million. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural, economic and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 29 district of the Istanbul province. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses tha natural harbour known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European and Asian sides of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents.

Istanbul is located in the north-west Marmara Region of Turkey. It encloses the southern Bosporus which places the city on two continents—the western portion of Istanbul is in Europe, while the eastern portion is in Asia. The city boundaries cover a surface area of 1,830.93 square kilometres (707 sq mi), while the metropolitan region, or the Province of Istanbul covers 6,220 square kilometres (2,402 sq mi).

In it's long history, Istanbul has served as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330- 395), the Eastern Roman (  Byzantine ) Empire ( 395 -1204  and 1261 - 1453 ), the Latin Empire ( 1204 - 1261 ),and the Ottoman Empire (1453-1922). The city was chosen as joint European Capital of Culture for 2010. The historic areas of Istanbul were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.