Nantes | |
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State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 309346 |
Nantes (, also US: , French: [nɑ̃t] (listen); Gallo: Naunnt or Nantt [nɑ̃(ː)t]; Breton: Naoned [ˈnãunət]) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, 50 km (31 mi) from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth-largest in France, with a population of 309,346 in Nantes and a metropolitan area of nearly 973,000 inhabitants (2017). With Saint-Nazaire, a seaport on the Loire estuary, Nantes forms one of the main north-western French metropolitan agglomerations.
It is the administrative seat of the Loire-Atlantique department and the Pays de la Loire region, one of 18 regions of France. Nantes belongs historically and culturally to Brittany, a former duchy and province, and its omission from the modern administrative region of Brittany is controversial.
Nantes was identified during classical antiquity as a port on the Loire. It was the seat of a bishopric at the end of the Roman era before it was conquered by the Bretons in 851. Although Nantes was the primary residence of the 15th-century dukes of Brittany, Rennes became the provincial capital after the 1532 union of Brittany and France.
Aden City | |
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State | Aden Governorate |
Country | Yemen |
Capital | |
Population | 0 |
Aden is the UK's AY-d@n and US's AH-den. It is located near the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden) at 170 km (110 miles) east of Bab-el-Mandeb. The city is home to approximately 800,000. Aden's natural harbour is located in the crater a dormant volcano. It now forms a peninsula that connects to the mainland via a low isthmus. Front Bay was the first harbour to be used by the ancient Kingdom, Awsan, between the 7th and 5th centuries BC. On the opposite side of the peninsula is the modern harbour. The Gulf of Aden is named after Aden.
Aden is made up of several sub-centres. Crater was the original port city. Maalla was the modern port. Tawahi, also known as Steamer Point during colonial times, and the resorts at Gold Mohur are all part of the main centre. Khormaksar is located on the isthmus connecting Aden with the mainland. It houses the city's diplomatic missions and the main offices for Aden University. Aden International Airport, which was formerly the British Royal Air Force station RAF Khormaksar (Yemens second largest airport), is also here. The sub-centres and Al-Mansura are located on the mainland. These were once an oasis area. Madinat ash-Shab, formerly Madinat al-Itihad, is now the capital of South Arabian Federation. It also houses Aden University's large power/desalinization plant and additional faculties.
Aden surrounds the eastern end of the vast, natural harbour that forms the modern port. This made it necessary to create the Cisterns at Tawila, Aden's reservoirs.