Nur-Sultan | |
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Nur-Sultan (Kazakh pronunciation: [nʊɾ sʊltɑn], Cyrillic: Нұр-Сұлтан; see also other names), known between 1998 and 2019 as Astana (Kazakh pronunciation: [ɑstɑnɑ], Cyrillic: Астана), is the capital city of Kazakhstan. In March 2019, it was renamed Nur-Sultan in honour of the departing Kazakh president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. It stands on the banks of the Ishim River in the northern part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, though administered as a city with special status separately from the rest of the region. A 2020 official estimate reported a population of 1,165,983 within the city limits, making it the second-largest city in the country, after Almaty, the previous capital, between 1991 and 1997.The original city of Akmola (then Astana from 1998, and from 2019 Nur-Sultan) became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, and since then has developed economically into one of the most modern cities in Central Asia.
Aberdeen | |
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Aberdeen ( (listen); Scots: Aiberdeen, listen ; Scottish Gaelic: Obar Dheathain [opəɾ ˈɛ.ɛɲ]; Latin: Aberdonia) is a city in northeast Scotland. It is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City) and the United Kingdom's 39th most populous built-up area, with an official 2018 population estimate of 198,880 for the city of Aberdeen and 227,560 for the local council area.During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeen's buildings incorporated locally quarried grey granite, which can sparkle like silver because of its high mica content. Since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, Aberdeen has been known as the off-shore oil capital of Europe.
The area around Aberdeen has been settled for at least 8,000 years, when prehistoric villages lay around the mouths of the rivers Dee and Don. The city has a long, sandy coastline and a marine climate, the latter resulting in chilly summers and mild winters.
Aberdeen received Royal burgh status from David I of Scotland (1124–1153), transforming the city economically. The city has two universities, the University of Aberdeen, founded in 1495, and Robert Gordon University, which was awarded university status in 1992, making Aberdeen the educational centre of north-east Scotland.