Izmit
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İzmit (also known as Kocaeli; previously also sometimes spelled as Ismid, Greek: Νικομήδεια) is a city in the northwestern part of Anatolia, Turkey. It is located by the Gulf of İzmit, about 100 km east of İstanbul. It is the seat of Kocaeli Province. The city has a population of 195,699 (2000 census), compared with a pre-earthquake estimate of 210,000.
Features
İzmit is an important industrial centre, with a large oil refinery, and major paper and cement industries. Ford Motor Company has a plant here in a joint venture with Otosan, assembling the Transit/Tourneo and Transit/Tourneo Connect vans. It is also a transportation hub, being located on the main road and rail lines between İstanbul and Ankara, and having a major port.
Financial Times affiliated Foreign Direct Investment Magazine named Kocaeli (the province of which İzmit is the seat) among the 25 European Regions of the Future for 2006/2007.[fDi Magazine: European Regions of the Future] Elected along with Adana for Turkey, Adana scored the most points for cost effectiveness against Kocaeli's wider infrastructure, while Adana and Kocaeli tied on points for human resources and quality of life.
There are also places of interest for tourists both in the city and its immediate surrounding region. There is a 16th-century mosque by Sinan. There are remains of the ancient walls and a Byzantine fortress.
History
In antiquity, the city was called Astacus or Olbia (founded 712 B.C.). After being destroyed it was rebuilt and founded by Nicomedes I of Bithynia in 264 BC as Nicomedia, and it became the capital of the eastern Roman Empire until the founding of Constantinople.
Constantine the Great died at a royal villa nearby. Hannibal committed suicide in a castle at nearby Libyssa (Gebze). The historian Arrian was born there.
The earthquake of August 17, 1999 (magnitude 7.4) devastated the region, killing more than 19,000.
Sights in and around Izmit
- Agora of Izmit
- Citadel of Izmit
- Temple of Augustus of Izmit
- Izmit Bay Bridge
External links
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| Districts of Kocaeli |
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|---|---|---|
| İzmit | Derince | Gebze | Gölcük | Kandıra | Karamürsel | Körfez | ||
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