Ashgabat vs Matsue

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Ashgabat (Turkmen: Aşgabat; Ашгабат, pronounced [ɑʃʁɑˈbɑt], Persian: عشق آباد‎; Russian: Ашхабад), formerly named Poltoratsk (Russian: Полтора́цк, IPA: [pəltɐˈratsk]) between 1919 and 1927, is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It is situated between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag mountain range in Central Asia. It is also near the Iran-Turkmenistan border. The city was founded in 1881 on the basis of an Ahal Teke tribal village, and made the capital of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924.

Much of the city was destroyed by the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake but has since been extensively rebuilt under the rule of Saparmurat Niyazov’s "White City" urban renewal project, resulting in monumental projects sheathed in costly white marble. The Soviet-era Karakum Canal runs through the city, carrying waters from the Amu Darya from east to west. Since 2019, the city has been recognized as having one of the highest costs of living in the world largely due to Turkmenistan's inflation and import issues.

Source: Wikipedia

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Matsue (Japanese: 松江市, Hepburn: Matsue-shi) is the capital city of Shimane Prefecture, Japan, located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu.Matsue has an estimated population of 205,402 (2017) following the merger with Higashiizumo from Yatsuka District. Matsue is located at the northernmost point of Shimane Prefecture, between Lake Shinji and Nakaumi on the banks of the Ohashi River connecting the two lakes, though the city proper reaches the Sea of Japan coast.

Matsue is the center of the Lake Shinji-Nakaumi metropolitan area, and with a population of approximately 600,000 is the second largest on the Sea of Japan coast after Niigata. Matsue is sometimes called the "water city" (水の都) due to the prominence of the lakes, rivers and canals in the city-scape and scenery.Matsue is home to the Tokugawa-era Matsue Castle, one of the last surviving feudal castles in Japan.

Source: Wikipedia