Damascus | |
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State | Damascus Governorate |
Country | Syria |
Capital | |
Population | 1711000 |
Postcode | 2277 |
Damascus ( də-MASS-kəs; Arabic: دِمَشْق, romanized: Dimašq [diˈmaʃq], Syrian Arabic: [dɪˈmaʃʔ] is the capital of Syria; it became the country's largest city in the early 2010s, after the decrease in population of Aleppo during the struggle for the city. It's colloquially known in Syria as aš-Šām (الشَّام) and titled the"City of Jasmine" (مَدِينَة الْيَاسْمِين Madīnat al-Yāsmīn). Damascus is a major cultural centre of the Levant and the Arab world. The town had an estimated population of 2,079,000 as of 2019.
In south-western Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area of 2.7 million people (2004). Embedded on the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range 80 kilometres (50 mi) inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau 680 metres (2,230 feet ) above sea level, Damascus encounters a dry climate because of the rain shadow effect.
Bielsko-Biała | |
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State | Silesian Voivodeship |
Country | Poland |
Capital | |
Population | 173699 |
Bielsko-Biała [ˈbʲɛlskɔ ˈbʲawa] (listen) (Czech: Bílsko-Bělá; German: Bielitz-Biala; Hebrew: בילסקו ביאלה, Silesian: Biylsko-Bioło) is a city in southern Poland with a population of approximately 170,663 as of 2019 and an area of 124.5 km2 (48.1 sq mi). The city is a centre of the Bielsko Urban Agglomeration with 325,000 inhabitants and is an industrial (automotive), transport, and tourism hub of the Bielsko Industrial Region.