Kabul vs Porto

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Kabul (Pashto: کابل, romanized: Kābəl; Dari: کابل, romanized: Kābol) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan, situated in the eastern section of the country. It is also a municipality, forming part of the greater Kabul Province, and divided into 22 districts. Based on estimates in 2020, the population of Kabul is 4.222 million, which includes all the significant ethnic groups of Afghanistan. Afghanistan's only city with a population of over 1 million, Kabul serves as its political, cultural and economical center. Rapid urbanization has made Kabul the world's 75th biggest city.Kabul is situated high up in a narrow valley between the Hindu Kush mountains, with an elevation of 1,790 metres (5,873 ft) making it one of the greatest capitals in the world. The city is said to be over 3,500 years old, said since at the time of the Achaemenid Empire. Located at crossroads in Asia - approximately halfway between Istanbul in the west and Hanoi in the east - it's in a strategic location along the trade routes of South and Central Asia, and a key location of the historical Silk Road. It has been part of the Achaemenids followed by the Seleucids, Mauryans, Kushans, Kabul Shahis, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Khwarazmians, Qarlughids, Khaljis, Timurids, Mughals, and Hotaks, until eventually becoming part of the Durrani Empire (also known as the"Afghan Empire") in 1747.

Kabul became the capital of Afghanistan in 1776, during the reign of Timur Shah Durrani, the son of Ahmad Shah Durrani. From the early 19th century, the British occupied the city, but after launching foreign relations, they were forced to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan. The city was occupied by the Soviets in 1979 but they too abandoned it after the 1988 Geneva Accords were signed. A civil war in the 1990s involving various rebel groups destroyed much of the city, leading to many casualties. From late 2001 the city has been continuously rebuilt.Kabul is well known for its gardens, bazaars, and palaces, well known examples being the Gardens of Babur and Darul Aman Palace. It was also formerly a mecca for young western hippies. Despite frequent terrorist attacks in the city, mainly by Taliban insurgents, the city continues to develop and was the fifth largest city in the world as of 2012.

Source: Wikipedia

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Porto or Oporto (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpoɾtu] (listen)) is the second-largest city in Portugal and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city is small compared to its metropolitan area, with a population of 237,559 people. Porto's metropolitan area has an estimated 1.7 million people (2019) in an area of 2,395 km2 (925 sq mi), making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal. It is recognized as a global city with a Gamma + rating from the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.Located along the Douro River estuary in northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, and its core was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996, as "Historic Centre of Porto, Luiz I Bridge and Monastery of Serra do Pilar". The historic area is also a National Monument of Portugal. The western part of its urban area extends to the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean.

Its settlement dates back many centuries, when it was an outpost of the Roman Empire. Its combined Celtic-Latin name, Portus Cale, has been referred to as the origin of the name Portugal, based on transliteration and oral evolution from Latin. In Portuguese, the name of the city includes a definite article: o Porto ("the port" or "the harbor"), which is where its English name "Oporto" comes from.Port wine, one of Portugal's most famous exports, is named after Porto, since the metropolitan area, and in particular the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia, were responsible for the packaging, transport, and export of fortified wine. In 2014 and 2017, Porto was elected The Best European Destination by the Best European Destinations Agency. Porto is on the Portuguese Way path of the Camino de Santiago. Porto is also the home of one of the country's most successful football clubs, FC Porto.

Source: Wikipedia