İzmit

Nicomedia in what is today the İzmit district of the northwestern province of Kocaeli, which was one of the first metropolitan cities of the Roman Empire and its capital for long years, is home to the world's largest ancient theater overlooking the sea, according to archaeological data.

A magnitude-5.0 earthquake struck Turkey's northwestern province of Düzce, the country's disaster authority announced on Nov. 17.

The quake shook the central district of the province at 3:40 p.m. local time, according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

It occurred at a depth of 18.02 kilometers below the surface, it added.

Heavy downpour created a ruckus in Istanbul, Turkey's largest metropolis with 16 million population, causing heavy congestion on roads as traffic density in the city reached 71 percent in the early hours of Sept. 23.

A movement started by a group of students to draw attention to the sky-high dormitory and rental apartment costs across the country, especially in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul, continues to expand with more and more students becoming a part of it.

Turkish Industry and Technology Ministry issued 1,036 investment certificates in June, according to a written statement released on Aug. 8.

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The total of those investments is estimated at nearly 17 billion Turkish Liras ($1.97 billion), it said.

Carmaker Ford Otosan will temporarily halt production at one of its plants in Turkey's northwestern Kocaeli province due to disruptions in global supply processes.

Heavy snowfall and cold weather conditions disrupted traffic and paralyzed daily life in Istanbul on Feb. 17.

According to the Metropolitan Disaster Coordination Center (AKOM), temperatures will rise to seasonal norms on Feb. 18.

"Snow thickness in the high and rural areas of the city reached up to 30 centimeters," said AKOM in a statement.

Three Qatari tourists trapped in a snowstorm on Mt. Soğanlı in northeastern Turkey have been rescued, the country's disaster management agency said on Jan. 4. 

Hand-made guitars meticulously made by a young luthier, Burak Şekerli, in his workshop in the northwestern province of Kocaeli are in demand from musicians all over the world.

Turkey-based automotive firm Ford Otosan - a joint venture of Turkish Koç Holding and Ford - started works to establish a battery assembly factory for electric vehicles in the industrial province of Kocaeli.