Olympic flame arrives in Istanbul

　　(ISTANBUL, April 2) -- The sacred flame of the Beijing Olympics arrived in Istanbul, the biggest city in Turkey, at 12:05 a.m. local time on Thursday to start the second leg of an unprecedented relay around the world. Contained in a specially-prepared protective lantern, the Olympic flame arrived at the airport, which is located in the European part of Istanbul, from Almaty, Kazakhstan, onboard a chartered Air China plane.

　　Jiang Xiaoyu, Executive Vice-President of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, disembarked the plane holding the lantern to the cheers of a waiting crowd, reports Xinhua. Among those in attendance were vice governor of Istanbul province Ergun Gungor, senior official of the Turkish Olympic Committee Yalcin Aksoy and Chinese ambassador to Turkey Sun Guoxiang.

　　The Turkish leg of the Torch Relay will be 17.8 km, said Aksoy, and will involve 80 torchbearers. It will begin Thursday afternoon in Istanbul, the only city in the world located on two continents �C Asia and Europe.

　　The starting point in Istanbul will be St. Sophia Square and the first torchbearer will be Turkish figure skater Tugba Karademir. Runners will pass through the city and across the Bosphorus Bridge, a famous suspension bridge linking Asia and Europe.

　　After returning to the European part of Istanbul, the torch will head to Taksim Square and will be used to light a ceremonial cauldron and begin a public celebration. Turkey's national TV broadcaster TRT will broadcast the Olympic Torch Relay live, enabling audiences nationwide to share in the passion and joy of the relay.

　　On April 2, the Olympic flame successfully toured Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, in its first leg of a journey around the globe. Almaty and Istanbul were both major cities along the ancient "Silk Road." After Istanbul, the flame continues to St. Petersburg, Russia

　　The flame's 130-day relay will cover 137,000 kilometers and will be carried by 21,880 torch bearers before returning to Beijing and lighting the main cauldron of the National Stadium on August 8 to commence the 2008 Olympic Games.