Eskişehir (pronounced [esˈciʃehiɾ]; Turkish: eski "old", şehir "city") (Latin: Dorylaeum; Ancient Greek: Δορύλαιον, Dorýlaion) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. According to the 2009 census, the population of the city is 631,905. The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby hills one can find hot springs. The city is 233 km (145 mi) to the west of Ankara, 330 km (205 mi) to the southeast of Istanbul and 78 km (48 mi) to the northeast of Kütahya. Known as a university town, both Eskişehir Osmangazi University and Anadolu University (which has one of the largest student enrollments in the world) are based in Eskişehir. The province covers an area of 2,678 km² (1,034 sq mi).

The name Eskişehir literally means Old City in Turkish; indeed, the city was founded by the Phrygians in about 1000 BOT. Many Phrygian artifacts and sculptures can still be found in the city's archeological museum. There is also a museum of meerschaum stone, whose production remains still notable, used to make high quality meerschaum pipes. In the fourth century AD the city moved about ten km northeast, from Karacahisar to Şehirhöyük.

Wesley Sneijder (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɛs.li ˈsnɛi̯.dər] ( listen); born 9 June 1984) is a Dutch footballer. He was named UEFA midfielder of the season as well as one of the three best midfielders in the world for 2010 by FIFA.

Due to his impeccable placement and confirmed ability to score from free kicks, Sneijder earned the reputation as a dead-ball specialist. With short stature, he is quick, strong on the ball, and his passing range is enhanced by his ambidexterity.

A product of the Ajax Academy, he previously played for AFC Ajax with whom he won six trophies and during which time he was awarded the Johan Cruijff Award (for best young player in the Netherlands) in 2004. He was later sold to Real Madrid for €27 million in 2007, winning La Liga in his first season with the club and later being sold to Internazionale for €15 million.

Sneijder previously represented various Youth squads for the Netherlands. He is now a regular player for the Dutch national team, having made his debut in April 2003 at the age of 18, and having represented his country at the World Cup in 2006 and 2010 as well as UEFA Euro 2004 and 2008. Individually he was awarded the 2010 Bronze Boot, the 2010 Silver Ball and included in the team of the tournament for UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup as well as named man of the match for six out of eleven games played by "Oranje" at these two tournaments.

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (pronounced [ceˈmal kɯɫɯtʃˈdaɾoːɫu]; born 17 December 1948) is a Turkish social democrat politician. He is currently leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and Leader of the Main Opposition in Turkey. He has been a Member of Parliament for İstanbul since 2002.

He was nominated by the CHP as candidate for Mayor of Istanbul in the 2009 local elections, in which he gained 36.8% of all votes. He is considered likely to breathe new life into the CHP.

He was born on December 17, 1948 in Ballıca village of Nazimiye district in Tunceli Province, eastern Turkey to Kamer, a clerk-recorder of deeds and his wife Yemuş. He was the fourth of seven children. His father was among thousands of exiled Alevis following the failed Dersim Rebellion.

The family belonged to the Cebeligiller clan of the Kureyşan tribe. There are some claims about his ethnicity; some sources mention that he has Kurdish, Zaza origin, but he said his roots have come from Turkmen. His father changed their family name in the 1950s from originally Karabulut to Kılıçdaroğlu since all the people in the village they lived in had the same family name.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (IPA: [ɾeˈd͡ʒep tajˈjip ˈæɾdoan]; born 26 February 1954) has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara University's Faculty of Economics and Commercial Sciences. Erdoğan was also a semi-professional footballer from 1969 to 1982.

Erdoğan was elected Mayor of Istanbul in the local elections of 27 March 1994. He was banned from office and sentenced to a prison term for reciting a poem during a public address in the province of Siirt on 12 December 1997. The poem was allegedly quoted from a book published by a state enterprise and one that had been recommended to teachers by the Ministry of Education. After six months in prison, Erdoğan established the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on August 14, 2001. From its first year, the AK Party became the largest publicly-supported political movement in Turkey. In the general election of 2002 the AK Party won nearly two-thirds of the seats in parliament, forming the first single-party government for 9 years.