Amman vs Dundalk

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Amman (English:; Arabic: عَمّان‎ ʻammān pronounced [ʕamːaːn]) is the capital and largest city of Jordan and the country's economic, cultural and political centre. With a population of 4,007,526, Amman is the biggest city in the Levant area and the sixth-largest town in the Arab world.The earliest evidence of settlement in Amman is in a Neolithic site known as'Ain Ghazal, where some of the oldest human statues ever discovered dating to 7250 BC were uncovered. During the Iron Age, the city was known as Ammon, home to the Kingdom of the Ammonites. It was called Philadelphia during its Greek and Roman periods, and was finally called Amman during the Islamic period. For much of the middle and early Islamic periods (7th--14th centuries), it served as a centre for the Balqa district of Syria. Afterwards, Amman was a largely abandoned site before the late 19th century when Circassian immigrants were settled there by the Ottoman Empire in 1878. The first municipal council was established in 1909. Amman witnessed rapid growth after its designation as Transjordan's capital in 1921, and after several successive waves of refugees: Palestinians in 1948 and 1967; Iraqis in 1990 and 2003; and Syrians since 2011. It was originally built on seven hills but now spans over 19 hills combining 22 areas, which are administered by the Greater Amman Municipality headed by its mayor Yousef Shawarbeh.

Areas of Amman have gained their titles from either the hills (Jabal) or the valleys (Wadi) they occupy, such as Jabal Lweibdeh and Wadi Abdoun. East Amman is predominantly filled with historical sites that frequently host cultural activities, while West Amman is more modern and serves as the financial centre of the city.Approximately two million visitors arrived in Amman in 2014, which made it the 93rd most visited city in the world and the 5th most visited Arab city. Amman has a relatively fast growing market, and it is ranked as a Beta− worldwide city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. In addition, it was named among the Middle East and North Africa's finest cities based on economic, labour, environmental, and socio-cultural factors. The city is one of the most popular locations in the Arab world for multinational corporations to establish their regional offices, together with Doha and just behind Dubai. It is expected that in the next 10 years these three towns will capture the largest share of multinational corporation activity in the area.

Source: Wikipedia

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Dundalk ( dun-DAWK; Irish: Dún Dealgan [ˌd̪ˠuːnˠ ˈdʲalˠɡənˠ], meaning "Dealgan's fort", a Fir Bolg Chieftain) is the county town (the administrative centre) of the county of Louth in Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is near the border with Northern Ireland (which is 7 km from the town centre by road and 3.5 km at the nearest points by air), and is equidistant between Dublin and Belfast (80 km from both). It is the eighth largest urban area in Ireland, with a population of 39,004 as of the 2016 census. Having been inhabited since the Neolithic period, Dundalk was established as a Norman stronghold in the 12th century following the Norman invasion of Ireland, and became the northernmost outpost of The Pale in the Late Middle Ages. The town came to be nicknamed the "Gap of the North" where the northernmost point of the province of Leinster meets the province of Ulster. The modern street layout dates from the early 18th century and owes its form to James Hamilton (later 1st Earl of Clanbrassil). The legends of the mythical warrior hero Cú Chulainn are set in the district and the motto on the town's coat of arms is Mé do rug Cú Chulainn cróga (Irish) "I gave birth to brave Cú Chulainn".

The town developed brewing, distilling, tobacco, textile, and engineering industries during the nineteenth century. It became prosperous and its population grew as it became an important manufacturing and trading centre—both as a hub on the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) network and with its maritime link to Liverpool from the Port of Dundalk. It later suffered from high unemployment and urban decay after these industries closed or scaled back operations in the aftermath of the Partition of Ireland in 1921 and the accession of Ireland to the European Economic Community in 1973. Following the Celtic Tiger period of the late 20th century, new industries have been established including pharmaceutical, technology, financial services, and specialist foods. There is one third-level education institute—Dundalk Institute of Technology. The largest theatre in the town, An Táin Arts Centre, is in the Town Hall, and the restored buildings of the nearby former Dundalk Distillery house both the County Museum Dundalk and the Louth County Library. Sporting clubs include Dundalk Football Club (who play at Oriel Park), Dundalk Rugby Club, Dundalk Golf Club, and a number of Gaelic football clubs. Dundalk Stadium is a horse and greyhound racing venue and is Ireland's only all-weather horse racing track.

Source: Wikipedia