Damascus vs Waitakere Ranges

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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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The Waitākere Ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise an area of some 27 720 ha of public and private land located between metropolitan Auckland and the west coast of Waitakere City and Rodney District. The area is of local, regional, and national significance. The Waitākere Ranges include a chain of hills in the Auckland Region, generally running approximately 25 km (15.5 mi) from north to south, 25 km west of central Auckland, New Zealand. The Waitākere Ranges are part of the Waitākere Ranges regional park.

The ranges and surrounding areas were traditionally known to local Māori as Te Wao Nui o Tiriwa (The Great Forest of Tiriwa). From 1 May 2018 the forested areas of the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park were closed, with some exceptions while Auckland Council upgraded the tracks to dry foot standard to prevent the spread of potential disease and protect tree roots. But many are now marked as permanently closed and their future is uncertain.

Source: Wikipedia