A Capital Idea Trivia Quiz

Answer: Warsaw

Krakow is one of the oldest cities in Poland. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Poland from 1038 to 1569 and later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1596. In 1596, King Sigismund III Vasa moved the capital to Warsaw.

Answer: Naypyidaw

Yangon was formerly known as Rangoon. It was made the capital of Burma in 1948 when the country became independent from the United Kingdom. Both Rangoon and Burma were renamed Yangon and Myanmar respectively in 1989. It continued to be the capital until 2005-2006 when the government relocated the capital to Naypyidaw, a specially planned city.

Answer: Astana

Almaty was earlier known as Alma-Ata and records show that the first settlements in this region date back to the 9th century BC. In 1929, it became the capital of the Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic and later in 1936, the capital of Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.

It continued to be the capital when Kazakhstan became independent from Soviet rule in 1991. In 1998, the capital was moved to the city of Astana.

Answer: Muscat

Oman is a sultanate situated along the south-eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Salalah is a port city and the largest city in the province of Dhofar. It was the capital until 1970 when the then ruler, Sultan Said bin Taimur, was deposed by his son Qaboos bin Said in a bloodless coup. Sultan Qaboos moved the capital to Muscat, another port city further up the coast on the north-eastern side.

Answer: Islamabad

Karachi is the largest city and main seaport of Pakistan. It served as the capital of the country after Pakistan became independent in 1947. In the 1960s, work began on developing the city of Islamabad as a capital to ensure development and urbanization spread throughout the country. Islamabad became the capital in 1967.

While Islamabad was under construction, the city of Rawalpindi served as an interim capital from 1959 to 1967.

Answer: Abuja

Lagos was the capital of Nigeria from 1914 to 1976. It continues to be one of the largest cities in the country and one of the busiest ports of Africa. Unlike Lagos which is located on the western coast of Nigeria, the new capital of Abuja is a planned city situated in the central part of the country.

Answer: Ankara

Istanbul was known as Byzantium from when it was founded until it was renamed Constantinople after the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great in the 4th century. It was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and later the Ottoman Empire. When the Ottoman Empire ended after the first World War and Turkey proclaimed itself a republic, the capital was shifted to Ankara.

Answer: Brasilia

The city of Rio de Janeiro was built by the Portuguese in 1565. It served as the capital of various Portuguese states at different times in its history, also serving as the seat of the Portuguese monarchy when the royal court moved from Portugal to Brazil in the early 19th century.

When Brazil became independent, first as a monarchy and then as a republic, Rio de Janeiro continued to be the capital. In 1960, the capital was moved to Brasilia which was specially constructed to serve as the capital.

Answer: Tokyo

Kyoto is located on the island of Honshu. It was the capital of imperial Japan for over a thousand years until 1868. The capital was then shifted to Tokyo which is now home to both the seat of the government as well as the Emperor's residence.

Answer: Moscow

Moscow became the capital of the Tsardom of Russia in 1547 after having been the capital of the Grand Duchy of Moscow for over 200 years previously. In 1712, the city of Saint Petersburg was declared the capital of the Russian Empire. This continued till the capital was shifted back to Moscow in 1918.