Ankara vs Addis Ababa

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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

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Addis Ababa (Amharic: አዲስ አበባ, Addis Abäba IPA: [adˈdis ˈabəba] (listen),"new flower"), also known as Finfinne(Oromo: Finfinne"natural spring"), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. According to the 2007 census, the town has a population of 2,739,551 inhabitants. As a chartered city, Addis Ababa also functions as the capital city of the Oromia Region. It is where the African Union is headquartered and where its predecessor the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was established. It also hosts the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in addition to various other continental and worldwide organizations.

Addis Ababa is therefore often referred to as"the political capital of Africa" for its historical, diplomatic and political significance for the continent. The town lies a few miles west of the East African Rift which divides Ethiopia into 2, involving the Nubian Plate and the Somali Plate. The city is surrounded by the Special Zone of Oromia and inhabited by people from different areas of Ethiopia. It is home to Addis Ababa University.

Source: Wikipedia