Turkey is composed of 81 provinces. Although located in the same country, they share very few things. Almost everything they have, including their cultures, geography, and life styles differs from each other’s. Two of these cities are Erzincan and Istanbul. Even though Erzincan and Istanbul resemble one another in several aspects, there are striking differences between them as well.
Erzincan and Istanbul have several similarities. They are both under the Turkish flag and their people speak Turkish. Besides, Erzincan is on important trade routes. Similarly, Istanbul is a bridge between Asia and Europe. What is more, two cities are situated on the same fault line, so they have both experienced great earthquakes several times so far, and they lost many citizens of them in these quakes.
Despite these similarities, Erzincan and Istanbul have a lot of differences. First, while Istanbul is a very big city, Erzincan is a very small one. Moreover, Istanbul has fifteen districts such as Kadıköy, Fatih, and Ümraniye, which are as big as Erzincan. In addition, Istanbul has many historical places but Erzincan has one or two historical sites. This is because Istanbul was the capital of many states. In contrast, Erzincan was only the capital of Akkoyunlu state. Furthermore, people know each other in Erzincan and they help their relatives and neighbors. On the other hand, most people who live in Istanbul prefer living alone and they are not in a close relationship with their neighbors. Besides, most of the people who live in Erzincan or thereabouts migrate to other cities, whereas Istanbul lets in immigrants. In brief, the two cities have numerous different attributes.
In conclusion, as it is seen, Istanbul and Erzincan have not only similarities but also different characteristics. Erzincaners and Istanbulites are both happy with their similarities and differences. In my opinion, Istanbul is worth visiting, but Erzincan is worth living.