ISTANBUL -- A chartered plane carrying the Beijing Olympic flame arrived Wednesday night in Turkey's largest city of Istanbul, the second stop of the global torch relay.

Red tulips are seen in Istanbul's square in this March 30, 2008 photo. This Turkey's largest city of Istanbul, the second stop of the global torch relay. [Xinhua]

Istanbul, also the cultural and financial hub of Turkey, is the only city in the world bridging two continents of Europe and Asia.

The city is located in the northwest Marmara Region of Turkey. It encloses the southern Bosphorus which places 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 area of 1,539 square kilometers, while the metropolitan region, or the Province of Istanbul, covers 6,220 square kilometers.

Established 2,700 years ago, Istanbul has served as the capital city of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

Throughout this long history, Istanbul has acquired a reputation for being a cultural and ethnic melting pot. As a result, there are many historical mosques, churches, synagogues, palaces, castles and towers which attract more than 23 million tourists annually. The historic areas of Istanbul were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.

It was also the intersection of the Silk Road on land and the Silk Road on the sea. The Topkapi Museum is famous for its large collection of more than ten thousand pieces of ancient Chinese china.

Istanbul has made four consecutive bids for the Olympic Games and has hosted the 1964, 1972 and 2004 torch relay successfully.