Damascus vs Taunton

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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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Taunton is a town in Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. It has over 1,000 years of religious and military history, including a 10th-century monastery. Taunton Castle has origins in the Anglo Saxon period. It was later the site of a priory. The Normans then built a stone castle that belonged to the Bishops of Winchester. Today's reconstructed buildings are the inner ward, housing the Museum of Somerset and Somerset Military Museum. Events include the Second Cornish uprising of 1497, when Perkin Warbeck marched a 6000-strong army to Taunton, most of which surrendered to Henry VII on 4 October 1497.

On 20 June 1685 the Duke of Monmouth crowned himself King of England at Taunton during a rebellion that culminated in the Battle of Sedgemoor. Judge Jeffreys then lived in the town during the Bloody Assizes held in the Great Hall of the Castle. The Grand Western Canal reached Taunton in 1839 and the railway in 1842. Today Taunton holds Musgrove Park Hospital, the Somerset County Cricket Club's County Ground and the headquarters of 40 Commando, Royal Marines. The Taunton flower show has been held in Vivary Park since 1866. The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office is located in Admiralty Way.

Source: Wikipedia