Kabul vs Shiraz

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Kabul (Pashto: کابل, romanized: Kābəl; Dari: کابل, romanized: Kābol) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan, situated in the eastern section of the country. It is also a municipality, forming part of the greater Kabul Province, and divided into 22 districts. Based on estimates in 2020, the population of Kabul is 4.222 million, which includes all the significant ethnic groups of Afghanistan. Afghanistan's only city with a population of over 1 million, Kabul serves as its political, cultural and economical center. Rapid urbanization has made Kabul the world's 75th biggest city.Kabul is situated high up in a narrow valley between the Hindu Kush mountains, with an elevation of 1,790 metres (5,873 ft) making it one of the greatest capitals in the world. The city is said to be over 3,500 years old, said since at the time of the Achaemenid Empire. Located at crossroads in Asia - approximately halfway between Istanbul in the west and Hanoi in the east - it's in a strategic location along the trade routes of South and Central Asia, and a key location of the historical Silk Road. It has been part of the Achaemenids followed by the Seleucids, Mauryans, Kushans, Kabul Shahis, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Khwarazmians, Qarlughids, Khaljis, Timurids, Mughals, and Hotaks, until eventually becoming part of the Durrani Empire (also known as the"Afghan Empire") in 1747.

Kabul became the capital of Afghanistan in 1776, during the reign of Timur Shah Durrani, the son of Ahmad Shah Durrani. From the early 19th century, the British occupied the city, but after launching foreign relations, they were forced to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan. The city was occupied by the Soviets in 1979 but they too abandoned it after the 1988 Geneva Accords were signed. A civil war in the 1990s involving various rebel groups destroyed much of the city, leading to many casualties. From late 2001 the city has been continuously rebuilt.Kabul is well known for its gardens, bazaars, and palaces, well known examples being the Gardens of Babur and Darul Aman Palace. It was also formerly a mecca for young western hippies. Despite frequent terrorist attacks in the city, mainly by Taliban insurgents, the city continues to develop and was the fifth largest city in the world as of 2012.

Source: Wikipedia

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Shiraz ( (listen); Persian: شیراز‎, romanized: Šîrâz [ʃiːˈrɒːz] (listen)) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province also known as Pars (پارس, Pārs) and Persis (Persia). At the 2016 census, the population of the city was 1,869,001 and its built-up area with "Shahr-e Jadid-e Sadra" (Sadra New Town) was home to 1,565,572 inhabitants. Shiraz is located in the southwest of Iran on the "Rudkhaneye Khoshk" (The Dry River) seasonal river. It has a moderate climate and has been a regional trade center for over a thousand years. Shiraz is one of the oldest cities of ancient Persia. The earliest reference to the city, as Tiraziš, is on Elamite clay tablets dated to 2000 BC. The modern city was founded or restored by the Umayyads in 693 and grew prominent under the successive Iranian Saffarid and Buyid dynasties in the 9th and 10th–11th centuries, respectively. In the 13th century, Shiraz became a leading center of the arts and letters, due to the encouragement of its ruler and the presence of many Persian scholars and artists. It was the capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1750 until 1800.

Two famous poets of Iran, Hafez, and Saadi are from Shiraz, whose tombs are on the north side of the current city boundaries. Shiraz is known as the city of poets, literature, wine (despite Iran being an Islamic republic since 1979), and flowers. It is also considered by many Iranians to be the city of gardens, due to the many gardens and fruit trees that can be seen in the city, for example, Eram Garden. Shiraz has had major Jewish and Christian communities. The crafts of Shiraz consist of inlaid mosaic work of triangular design; silver-ware; pile carpet-weaving and weaving of kilim, called gilim and jajim in the villages and among the tribes. In Shiraz industries such as cement production, sugar, fertilizers, textile products, wood products, metalwork, and rugs dominate. Shirāz also has a major oil refinery and is a major center for Iran's electronic industries: 53% of Iran's electronic investment has been centered in Shiraz. Shiraz is home to Iran's first solar power plant. Recently the city's first wind turbine has been installed above Babakuhi mountain near the city.

Source: Wikipedia