It is the Turkey's most popular city, and also cultural and economic centre. Istanbul encloses the southern Bosporus which puts the city on two continents.The western portion of Istanbul is in Europe, while the eastern portion is in Asia. The city boundaries cover a surface of 1,539 square kilometers. The Metropol region, or the province of Istanbul, has an area of 5,220 square kilometers.

Climate

The city has hot and humid summers with cold, rainy and sometimes snowy winters. Yearly precipitation for Istanbul averages 870 mm. Humidity is often rather high which can make temperatures feel much warmer or colder than they actually are. The average maximum temperature during the winter months varies between 7°C (46° F) and 9°C (50° F). Snowfall is quite common, snowing for a week or two during the winter season, but it can be heavy once it snows. It is most likely to occur between the months of December and March. The summer months of June through September bring average daytime temperatures of 28 °C (82 °F).

The warmest month is July with on the average 23.2 degrees Celsius, coldest January with 5.4 degrees Celsius on the average. The highest recorded temperature in Istanbul is 40.5 °C (105 °F) (August 2000), with the lowest being -16.1 °C (3 °F) (February 1927). The weather becomes slightly cooler as one moves toward eastern Istanbul. The city is quite windy, having an average wind speed of 17 km/h (11 mph).Summer is by far the driest season, although there is no real summer drought such as occurs further west, and so the climate cannot be considered truly.