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.
Chur | |
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State | Grisons |
Country | Switzerland |
Capital | |
Population | 34350 |
Chur (German: [ˈkuːr] or [ˈxuːr]) or Coire (French: [kwaʁ]; Romansh: Cuira [ˈkweːrɐ] (listen) or [ˈkwoi̯rɐ]; Italian: Coira [ˈkɔira]) is the capital and largest town of the Swiss canton of Grisons and lies in the Grisonian Rhine Valley, where the Rhine turns towards the north, in the northern part of the canton. The city, which is located on the right bank of the Rhine, is reputedly the oldest town of Switzerland.