Nantes vs Istanbul

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Nantes (, also US: , French: [nɑ̃t] (listen); Gallo: Naunnt or Nantt [nɑ̃(ː)t]; Breton: Naoned [ˈnãunət]) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, 50 km (31 mi) from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth-largest in France, with a population of 309,346 in Nantes and a metropolitan area of nearly 973,000 inhabitants (2017). With Saint-Nazaire, a seaport on the Loire estuary, Nantes forms one of the main north-western French metropolitan agglomerations. It is the administrative seat of the Loire-Atlantique department and the Pays de la Loire region, one of 18 regions of France. Nantes belongs historically and culturally to Brittany, a former duchy and province, and its omission from the modern administrative region of Brittany is controversial. Nantes was identified during classical antiquity as a port on the Loire. It was the seat of a bishopric at the end of the Roman era before it was conquered by the Bretons in 851. Although Nantes was the primary residence of the 15th-century dukes of Brittany, Rennes became the provincial capital after the 1532 union of Brittany and France.

During the 17th century, after the establishment of the French colonial empire, Nantes gradually became the largest port in France and was responsible for nearly half of the 18th-century French Atlantic slave trade. The French Revolution resulted in an economic decline, but Nantes developed robust industries after 1850 (chiefly in shipbuilding and food processing). Deindustrialisation in the second half of the 20th century spurred the city to adopt a service economy. In 2020, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked Nantes as a Gamma world city. It is the third-highest-ranking city in France, after Paris and Lyon. The Gamma category includes cities such as Algiers, Orlando, Porto, Turin and Leipzig. Nantes has been praised for its quality of life, and it received the European Green Capital Award in 2013. The European Commission noted the city's efforts to reduce air pollution and CO2 emissions, its high-quality and well-managed public transport system and its biodiversity, with 3,366 hectares (8,320 acres) of green space and several protected Natura 2000 areas.

Source: Wikipedia

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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.

It was also on the historical Silk Road. It controlled railroad networks between the Balkans and the Middle East and was the only sea route between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. In 1923, after the Turkish War of Independence, Ankara was chosen as the new Turkish capital, and the town's name was changed to Istanbul. Nonetheless, the city maintained its prominence in cultural and geopolitical affairs. The population of this city has increased tenfold since the 1950s, as migrants from around Anatolia have moved in and town limits have expanded to accommodate them. Arts, music, film, and cultural festivals were established near the end of the 20th century and continue to be hosted by the city now. Infrastructure improvements have generated a complex transportation network in town. Over 13.4 million foreign visitors came to Istanbul in 2018, eight years after it had been called a European Capital of Culture, which makes the city the world's fifth-most popular tourist destination. The city's biggest attraction is its historical center, partially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its cultural and entertainment hub is located across town's natural harbor, the Golden Horn, in the Beyoğlu district. Considered an Alpha - international city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, it hosts the headquarters of many Turkish companies and media outlets and accounts for more than a quarter of the nation's gross domestic product. Hoping to capitalize on its revitalization and rapid growth, Istanbul has bid for the Summer Olympics five times in twenty years.

Source: Wikipedia