Istanbul could be split in two, says Turkish prime minister

Radical plan unveiled by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to cope with growing strains of city with 17 million residents

"Istanbul is renown as the place where east meets west, the only city in the world to straddle Europe and Asia. But it may soon lose this unique status if the Turkish government goes ahead with a plan to divide it in two. The prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a former Istanbul mayor, has announced what he described as a "wild project" to split the city into European and Asian sides to make it easier to govern"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/18/istanbul-split-turkish-prime-minister