Ashgabat | |
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State | |
Country | Turkmenistan |
Capital | |
Population | 909000 |
Ashgabat (Turkmen: Aşgabat; Ашгабат, pronounced [ɑʃʁɑˈbɑt], Persian: عشق آباد; Russian: Ашхабад), formerly named Poltoratsk (Russian: Полтора́цк, IPA: [pəltɐˈratsk]) between 1919 and 1927, is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It is situated between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag mountain range in Central Asia. It is also near the Iran-Turkmenistan border.
The city was founded in 1881 on the basis of an Ahal Teke tribal village, and made the capital of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924.
Dundalk | |
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State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 25800 |
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".