Nur-Sultan vs Qom

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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.

On 23 March 2019, following a unanimous vote in Kazakhstan's parliament, the city was renamed Nur-Sultan, after former Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev.Modern Nur-Sultan is a planned city, following the process of other planned capitals. After it became the capital of Kazakhstan, the city dramatically changed its shape. The city's master-plan was designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. As the seat of the Government of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan is the site of the Parliament House, the Supreme Court, the Ak Orda Presidential Palace and numerous government departments and agencies. It is home to a range of futuristic buildings, including many skyscrapers.

Source: Wikipedia

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Qom (Persian: قم‎ [ɢom] (listen)) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located 140 km (87 mi) to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its population was 1,201,158. It is situated on the banks of the Qom River. Qom is considered holy in Shi'a Islam, as it is the site of the shrine of Fatimah bint Musa, sister of Imam Ali ibn Musa Rida (Persian: Imam Reza; 789–816). The city is the largest center for Shi'a scholarship in the world, and is a significant destination of pilgrimage, with around twenty million pilgrims visiting the city every year, the majority being Iranians but also other Shi'a Muslims from all around the world.

Qom is also famous for a Persian brittle toffee known as sohan (Persian: سوهان), considered a souvenir of the city and sold by 2,000 to 2,500 "sohan" shops. Qom has developed into a lively industrial centre owing in part to its proximity to Tehran. It is a regional centre for the distribution of petroleum and petroleum products, and a natural gas pipeline from Bandar Anzali and Tehran and a crude oil pipeline from Tehran run through Qom to the Abadan refinery on the Persian Gulf. Qom gained additional prosperity when oil was discovered at Sarajeh near the city in 1956 and a large refinery was built between Qom and Tehran.

Source: Wikipedia