Portoviejo vs Ashgabat

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Portoviejo (Spanish pronunciation: [poɾtoˈβjexo]) is a city in Ecuador, and the capital of the Province of Manabí 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the Pacific coast. (Population: about 250,000). Also known as the city of the "Royal Tamarind Trees" for the beautiful trees found in the area. Portoviejo is the main political and economical centre of the Portoviejo River valley, which also includes the cantons of Santa Ana and Rocafuerte, where about 110 square kilometres (42 square miles) are cultivated every year. The valley is rich in the production of tomatoes, onions, peppers, bananas, mangoes and other tropical fruits. The city, which was affected by economic crisis in the eighties and nineties, is now recovering but severe budget limitations and a huge unemployment rate present difficulties for local authorities. Portoviejo is a large commercial center for the province, where there are two shopping malls, one with a large hypermarket, 8 movie theaters, food court, and other stores.

The city is home of the cancer treatment hospital "Dr Julio Villacreses Colmont" serving the provinces of Manabí and Esmeraldas. Portoviejo is the capital of Manabí Province and is important for coffee, cattle and fishing. Founded on March 12, 1535, it is one of the oldest cities in Ecuador and is the sixth largest. Portoviejo has a thriving agricultural-processing industry and is an important commercial center, with good road connections to Quito and Guayaquil. The city houses over 200,000 inhabitants and is the capital of Manabi province as well as the main center for commercial activity such as coffee production, fishing and cattle ranching.

Source: Wikipedia

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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