Antwerp | |
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State | Antwerp |
Country | Belgium |
Capital | |
Population | 525935 |
Antwerp ( (listen); Dutch: Antwerpen [ˈɑntʋɛrpə(n)] (listen); French: Anvers [ɑ̃vɛʁs] (listen)) is a city in Belgium and the capital of Antwerp province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, it is the most populous city proper in Belgium, and with a metropolitan population of around 1,200,000 people, it is the second-largest metropolitan region after Brussels.Antwerp is on the River Scheldt, linked to the North Sea by the river's Westerschelde estuary. It is about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Brussels, and about 15 kilometres (9 mi) south of the Dutch border. The Port of Antwerp is one of the biggest in the world, ranking second in Europe and within the top 20 globally. The city is also known for its diamond industry and trade. In 2020, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network rated Antwerp as a Gamma + level Global City.
Istanbul | |
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State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 0 |
Istanbul ( ISS-tan-BUUL, also US: ISS-tan-buul; Turkish: İstanbul [isˈtanbuɫ] (listen)), formerly known as Byzantium and Constantinople, is the most populous city in Turkey and the country's economic, cultural and historical center. Istanbul is a transcontinental town in Eurasia, straddling the Bosporus strait (which separates Europe and Asia) between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical center lies on the European side and about a third of its population lives in suburbs on the Asian side of the Bosporus. With a total population of around fifteen million residents in its metropolitan area, Istanbul is one of the world's largest cities by population, standing as the world's fifteenth-largest town and the largest city in Europe. The town is the administrative center of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (coterminous with Istanbul Province).
Founded under the name of Byzantion (Βυζάντιον) on the Sarayburnu promontory around 660 BCE, the city grew in size and influence, becoming one of the most significant cities in history. After its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 CE, it served as an imperial capital for almost sixteen centuries, during the Roman/Byzantine (330--1204), Latin (1204--1261), Byzantine (1261--1453) and Ottoman (1453--1922) empires. It had been instrumental in the progress of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times, before the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 CE and transformed it into an Islamic stronghold and the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate. Under the name Constantinople it was the Ottoman capital until 1923. The capital was then moved to Ankara and the city was renamed Istanbul.
The town held the strategic position between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.