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From Wikipedia:
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Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other names of Istanbul) is Europe's most populous city (the world's 3rd largest city proper and 21st largest urban area) and Turkey's cultural and financial center. The city covers 27 districts of the Istanbul province. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbor known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) side of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world which is situated on two continents. In its long history, Istanbul served as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330–395), the East 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. |
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Samsun (Greek: Σαμψούντα, Samsounta, Amisos) is a city in northern Turkey, on the coast of the Black Sea, with a population of 725,111 as of 2007. It is the capital city of Samsun Province and an important port. Samsun was founded as the colony Amisos (alternative spelling Amisus, Eis Amison - meaning to amisos took the name Samsunta or Samsus ( Eis Amison - Samson - Samsounta) as in Greek + ounta "Greek toponomical suffix". ) by settlers from Miletus in the 7th century BC. It was later a part of the Pontus realm.
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Bitlis vs Samsun, 
