Most provinces bear the same name as their respective provincial capital districts.

However, many urban provinces, designated as greater municipalities, have a center consisting of multiple districts, such as the provincial capital of Ankara province, The City of Ankara, comprising nine separate districts.

A municipality's borders usually correspond to that of the urban settlement it covers, but may also include some undeveloped land.

They elect muhtars to care for specific administrative matters such as residence registration.

Greater municipalities (büyükşehir belediyesi) exist for large cities like Istanbul and İzmir that consist of an extra administrative layer run by an elected head mayor, who oversee the municipalities and mayors within the province.