Damascus vs Hämeenlinna

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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.

The Barada River flows through Damascus. Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. First settled in the 2nd millennium BC, it was selected as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. Following the success of the Abbasid dynasty, the chair of Islamic power was transferred to Baghdad. Damascus saw its importance decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain substantial value from the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it's the seat of the central government and each the government ministries. As of September 2019, eight years to the continuing Syrian Civil War, Damascus was appointed the least livable city in the worldwide Liveability Ranking.

Source: Wikipedia

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Hämeenlinna (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈhæme̞ːnˌlinːɑ]; Swedish: Tavastehus; Karelian: Hämienlinna; Latin: Tavastum or Croneburgum) is a city and municipality of about 68,000 inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia (Häme) in the south of Finland. Hämeenlinna is the oldest inland city of Finland and was one of the most important Finnish cities until the 19th century. It still remains an important regional center. Hämeenlinna is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), and before 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the province of Southern Finland.

Nearby cities include the capital Helsinki (98 km or 61 mi), Tampere (73 km or 45 mi) and Lahti (72 km or 45 mi), the regional center of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme). The medieval Häme Castle (Hämeen linna) is located in the city. The municipalities of Hauho, Kalvola, Lammi, Renko and Tuulos were consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 1 January 2009; with these municipal associations, the Hattula municipality is almost completely surrounded by Hämeenlinna.

Source: Wikipedia