Kathmandu vs Turku

Informations

Kathmandu (; Nepali: काठमाडौँ, Nepali pronunciation: [ˈkaʈʰmaɳɖu]) is the capital and largest city of Nepal, with a population of around 1 million. Also known as the city of temples, the city stands at an elevation of approximately 1,400 metres (4,600 feet) above sea level in the bowl-shaped Kathmandu valley in central Nepal. The valley was historically referred to as the"Nepal Mandala" and has been the home of the Newar people, a cosmopolitan urban culture in the Himalayan foothills. The town was the royal capital of the Kingdom of Nepal and hosts palaces, mansions and gardens of the Nepalese aristocracy. It has been home to the headquarters of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) since 1985. Today, it's the seat of government of the Nepalese republic, based in 2008, and is a part of the Bagmati Pradesh. Kathmandu is and has been for many years the center of Nepal's history, art, culture, and economy. It has a multi-ethnic population within a Hindu and Buddhist majority.

Religious and cultural festivities form a large part of the lives of people residing in Kathmandu. Tourism is an important part of the economy. In 2013, Kathmandu was rated third among the top ten upcoming travel destinations in the world by TripAdvisor, and ranked first in Asia. The city is regarded as the gateway to the Nepalese Himalayas and home to several world heritage sites: the Durbar Square, Swayambhunath, Boudhanath and Pashupatinath. Kathmandu valley is growing at 4 percent annually according to the World Bank in 2010, which makes it one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in South Asia, and the very first place in Nepal to face the unprecedented challenges of rapid urbanization and modernization in a metropolitan scale.Historic areas of Kathmandu were severely damaged by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in April 2015. Some of the buildings are restored while some stay in the process of reconstruction.

Source: Wikipedia

Informations

Turku ( TOOR-koo; Finnish: [ˈturku] (listen); Swedish: Åbo [ˈǒːbʊ] (listen), Finland Swedish: [ˈoːbu] (listen); Latin: Aboa; Russian: Турку, formerly Або) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (Varsinais-Suomi) and the former Turku and Pori Province (Turun ja Porin lääni; 1634–1997). The region was originally called Suomi (Finland), which later became the name for the whole country. As of 30 September 2018, the population of Turku was 191,499 making it the sixth largest city in Finland after Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa and Oulu. There were 330,192 inhabitants living in the Turku sub-region, ranking it as the third largest urban area in Finland after the Greater Helsinki area and Tampere sub-region. The city is officially bilingual as 5.2 percent of its population identify Swedish as a mother-tongue.It is unknown when Turku gained city rights. The Pope first mentioned the town Aboa in his Bulla in 1229 and the year is now used as the foundation year of Turku. Turku is the oldest city in Finland, and served as the most important city of the eastern part of the Kingdom of Sweden (modern-day Finland). After the Finnish war, Finland became an autonomous grand duchy of the Russian Empire in 1809. Turku lost its status as capital of the Grand Duchy in 1812, when Tsar Alexander I of Russia decided to move the capital to Helsinki.

It was only after the last great fire in 1827 that most governmental institutions were moved to Helsinki along with the Royal Academy of Turku (Turun Akatemia) founded in 1640, which then became the University of Helsinki. Turku continued to be the most populous city in Finland until the end of the 1840s, and it remains the regional capital and an important business and cultural center and port. Because of its long history, it has been the site of many important events, and has extensively influenced Finnish history. The history of the country is closely linked to Turku, the former capital. Along with Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Turku was designated the European Capital of Culture for 2011. In 1996, it was declared the official Christmas City of Finland. Also, Turku has been officially declared the "Food Capital of Finland", because it holds a number of Finland's oldest and high-qualited restaurants, including the country's top-rated Indian restaurant Delhi Darbar, and a historically famous fish market held twice a year.Due to its location, Turku is a notable commercial and passenger seaport with over three million passengers traveling through the Port of Turku each year to Stockholm and Mariehamn.

Source: Wikipedia