Aachen vs Ankara

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Aachen (, German: [ˈʔaːxn̩] (listen); Aachen dialect: Oche [ˈɔːxə]), also known as Bad Aachen ("Aachen Spa"), in Dutch as Aken, in French as Aix-la-Chapelle, in Italian as Aquisgrana, and in Latin as Aquæ Granni, is a spa and border city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen developed from a Roman settlement and spa, subsequently becoming the preferred medieval Imperial residence of Emperor Charlemagne of the Frankish Empire, and, from 936 to 1531, the place where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans.

Aachen is the westernmost city in Germany, located near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, 61 km (38 mi) west of Cologne in a former coal-mining area. One of Germany's leading institutes of higher education in technology, the RWTH Aachen University, is located in the city. Aachen's industries include science, engineering and information technology. In 2009, Aachen was ranked eighth among cities in Germany for innovation.

Source: Wikipedia

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Ankara ( ANK-ə-rə, also US: AHNK-ə-rə, Turkish: [ˈaŋkaɾa] (listen)), historically known as Ancyra ( an-SY-rə) and Angora ( ang-GOR-ə, also US: ANG-gə-rə), is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 4.5 million in its urban center and over 5.6 million in Ankara Province, making it Turkey's second-largest city after Istanbul. Serving as the capital of the early Celtic country of Galatia (280--64 BC), and later of the Roman province with the identical name (25 BC--7th century), the city is very old with various Hattian, Hittite, Lydian, Phrygian, Galatian, Greek, Persian, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman archaeological sites. The Ottomans made the city the capital first of the Anatolia Eyalet (1393--late 15th century), and the Angora Vilayet (1867--1922). The historic center of Ankara is a rocky mountain climbing 150 m (500 ft) over the left bank of the Ankara River, a tributary of the Sakarya River. The hill remains crowned by the ruins of Ankara Castle. Although few of its outworks have survived, there are well-preserved examples of Roman and Ottoman architecture across the city, the most remarkable being the 20 BC Temple of Augustus and Rome that boasts the Monumentum Ancyranum, the inscription recording the Res Gestae Divi Augusti.

On 23 April 1920, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was established in Ankara, which became the headquarters of the Turkish National Movement during the Turkish War of Independence. Ankara became the new Turkish capital upon the organization of the Republic on 29 October 1923, succeeding in this role the former Turkish capital Istanbul (Constantinople) following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The government is a prominent employer, but Ankara is also an important commercial and industrial city, located at the centre of Turkey's road and railway networks. The city gave its name to the Angora wool shorn from Angora rabbits, the long-haired Angora goat (the origin of mohair), and the Angora cat. The area is also famous for its pears, honey and muscat grapes. Although located in one of the driest regions of Turkey and surrounded largely by steppe vegetation (except for the forested areas on the southern periphery), Ankara can be considered a green city in terms of green areas per inhabitant, at 72 square metres (775 square feet) per head.

Source: Wikipedia