Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul, historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see Names of Istanbul) is Turkey's and Europe's most populous city, (the world's 4th largest), and its cultural and financial center. The city covers 25 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 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.

The prime minister's office says at least eight people are dead and 21 injured, but NTV television, citing officials at the scene, says nine bodies have been recovered so far, and CNN Turk television puts the injury toll at 50. Two cars fell over when the train from Istanbul derailed near the city of Kutahya with more than 700 people aboard.

A deluxe 65-bedroom hotel in Turkey has been crowned Europe's best hotel.The Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet topped a poll of readers of America's coveted Travel and Leisure magazine. Lying in the heart of historical Istanbul, this luxurious hotel has been created from a century-old neoclassic Turkish prison.The hotel is located

LifeLock [5%vol.] rocks Turkey hard! Check out their music and videos on myspace.com/lifelock.

So this is my second sketchy story from my trip. Some of you have probably read the antics in Istanbul, where these guys brought me to "club China" and ended up trying to rip me off for 500 bucks, and I narrowly escaped by

An information technologist and amateur scholar from Turkey claims that the Holy Grail is hidden in Saint Sophia Museum in Istanbul ,Turkey. He claims that he solved the Shepherds Monument Code in England. He released the solution of the code in his website http://www.gradale.comTurkish newspapers released the news in last week.