Muscat vs Clermont-Ferrand

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Muscat (Arabic: مَسْقَط‎, Masqaṭ pronounced [ˈmasqatˤ]) is the capital city and is the most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was 1.4 million as of September 2018. The metropolitan area spans approximately 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi) and includes six provinces called wilayat. Known since the early 1st century AD as an important trading port between the west and the east, Muscat was ruled by various indigenous tribes as well as foreign powers such as the Persians, the Portuguese Empire, the Iberian Union and the Ottoman Empire at various points in its history. A regional military power in the 18th century, Muscat's influence extended as far as East Africa and Zanzibar. As an important port-town in the Gulf of Oman, Muscat attracted foreign tradesmen and settlers such as the Persians and the Balochis.

Since the ascension of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan of Oman in 1970, Muscat has experienced rapid infrastructural development that has led to the growth of a vibrant economy and a multi-ethnic society. Muscat is termed as a Beta - Global City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.The rocky Western Al Hajar Mountains dominate the landscape of Muscat. The city lies on the Arabian Sea along the Gulf of Oman and is in the proximity of the strategic Straits of Hormuz. Low-lying white buildings typify most of Muscat's urban landscape, while the port-district of Muttrah, with its corniche and harbour, form the north-eastern periphery of the city. Muscat's economy is dominated by trade, petroleum, liquified natural gas and porting.

Source: Wikipedia

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Clermont-Ferrand (UK: , US: ; French: [klɛʁmɔ̃ fɛʁɑ̃] (listen); Auvergnat: Clharmou; Latin: Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 143,886 (2017). Its metropolitan area (aire urbaine) had 485,315 inhabitants at the 2017 census. It is the prefecture (capital) of the Puy-de-Dôme department. Olivier Bianchi is its current mayor. Clermont-Ferrand sits on the plain of Limagne in the Massif Central and is surrounded by a major industrial area. The city known for the chain of volcanoes, the Chaîne des Puys surrounding it, including the dormant volcano Puy de Dôme (10 kilometres (6 miles), one of the highest, topped by communications towers, and visible from the city, which is inscribed since July 2018 as a "tectonic hotspot" on the UNESCO World Heritage List. One of the oldest French cities, it has been known by Greeks as the capital of the Arvernie Tribe before developping under the Gallo-Roman era under the name of Augustonemetum in the 1st century BC. The forum of the Roman city was located on the top of the Clermont mound, on the site of the present cathedral. The High Middle Ages were marked by the looting it was subjected to by the peoples who invaded Gaul and would not have been spared by the Vikings during the weakening of the Carolingian Empire.

Growing in importance under the Capetian dynasty, it hosted in 1095 the Council of Clermont that included the call to arms that would result in the First Crusade, and eventually the capture of Jerusalem. In 1551, Clermont became a royal town, and further made in 1610, inseparable property of the Crown. Today Clermont-Ferrand hosts the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (Festival du Court-Métrage de Clermont-Ferrand), one of the world's leading international festivals for short films. It is also home to the corporate headquarters of Michelin, the global tyre company founded there more than 100 years ago. With a quarter of the municipal population being students, and 6,000 researchers, Clermont-Ferrand is the first city in France to join the UNESCO Learning City Network. Along with its highly distinctive black lava stone Gothic Cathedral, Clermont-Ferrand's most famous site includes the public square Place de Jaude, on which stands a grand statue of Vercingetorix astride a warhorse and brandishing a sword. The inscription reads: J'ai pris les armes pour la liberté de tous (I took up arms for the liberty of all). This statue was sculpted by Frédéric Bartholdi, who also created the Statue of Liberty.

Source: Wikipedia