Down Where We Belong Trivia Quiz

Answer: Baku

Baku, Azerbaijan is considered the world's lowest city in terms of altitude. Found twenty-eight meters below sea level, it's a bit of an anomaly, especially since it sits on the Caspian Sea (though, technically, that is a lake). Built to sustain Azerbaijan's flourishing oil industry, Baku grew to become a major port, one of the largest Islam cities in Europe, and a unique historical hotspot.

Its Walled City has since been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites listing. One in four Azerbaijani people lives in Baku.

Answer: Amsterdam

The capital city of the Netherlands, Amsterdam is one of the most famous capitals in Europe. Home to upwards of three million people, it is perhaps most famous for its series of canals weaving through the city. Other notable hotspots include the world-famous Red Light District and countless museums, most containing the works of famous Dutch artists (Rembrandt, Van Gogh, etc.). Most of Holland's coastal provinces are below sea level and, as such, the country contains many dams and dykes to prevent flooding.

The city is on the River Amstel which inevitably leads to Markermeer and, finally, the North Sea.

Answer: Panama City

Known for its famous canal, Panama City is the southernmost capital of Central America and acts as the last stop before South America begins. Aside from its role as a gate between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (for which it must be at sea level), the city is also rich in local culture.

The local rainforests house descendants of old tribes while the fortified city landmarks (including the historic Panamá Viejo and the pirate-laden Casco Viejo) give visitors a taste of its interesting past influenced by the Spanish, the French, the Dutch, and hints of piracy.

Answer: Bandar Seri Begawan

A quarter of a million people reside in the area in and around of Bandar Seri Begawan (half of the population of Brunei), and the city itself is perhaps most famous for its mosques, specifically the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque. After nearly a century of British rule (and Japanese occupation), the Bruneians took the country for themselves in the 1980s to build their own economy around the burgeoning oil and natural gas deposits offshore. Bandar Seri Begawan is certainly the cultural capital though-- it contains most of the country's museums, tombs, and landmarks.

Answer: Suva

Suva, the capital city of Fiji, is one of the most populated Oceanic cities and is frequented by tourists looking for tropical destinations in the Pacific. For many years, Fijian tribes were known for their cannibalism but, since those times, Fiji has grown to be an island of beautiful beaches, captivating cultures, and, surprisingly, commerce and trade.

All of the other options are Oceanic capital cities and all of them are also found at sea level. Melekeok is the capital of Palau; South Tarawa is in Kiribati, and Apia is in Samoa.

Answer: Copenhagen

Copenhagen, formed over a millennium ago, became a capital city in half that time. Situated on the Øresund between the Baltic Sea and the Northern Atlantic it's a prime sport for a port city. It's also quite close to the nearby country of Sweden, its Scandi-neighbour to the northeast. Aside from the well-known amusement park Tivoli Gardens (and the first-ever Legoland outside the city), Copenhagen is also known as the home of Hans Christian Andersen, the Little Mermaid statue, and several ornate belltowers and castles.

The city itself spreads north and west away from the Øresund to encompass two million citizens, a third of all Danes.

Answer: Singapore

One of the busiest commercial ports around the globe, Singapore rose in prominence as a leader in industry and business after taking its independence midway through the twentieth century. Now, urbanized, Singapore is a playground of a city. Although its skyline features the headquarters of several international corporations, it also features landmarks like the Singapore Flyer, the Marina Bay Sands, and Sentosa Island. Singapore is a short ferry ride away from continental Asia-- you can actually take the train to Malaysia to the north.

The island, on average, is at sea level.

Answer: Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, named after the Spanish Saint Dominic, was founded by Christopher Columbus' brother Bartholomew in the late fifteenth century and became a major port of call in the Caribbean shortly thereafter. Also a famous port for piracy, Santo Domingo has since become a tourist destination. It's one of only two capital cities on Hispaniola, the Caribbean's second-largest island; the other capital is Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti, which is found approximately one hundred feet above sea level despite being adjacent to the coast.

Praia (the capital of Cape Verde in the Atlantic), Kingstown (the capital of St. Vincent and the Grenadines), and Port of Spain (the capital of Trinidad and Tobago) are all also found at sea level as they are all port cities on island nations.

Answer: Monrovia

Found along the western coast of Africa, Liberia is a small country torn asunder by civil wars in the late twentieth century. Situated on the coast is Monrovia, the capital, which contains approximately a million people. The construction of the city was greatly influenced by Americans before and during the Second World War.

In fact, it's one of only two capital cities in the world named after a U.S. President-- James Monroe-- the only other is the capital of the States. Monrovia is a harbour city on the Atlantic Coast.

Answer: Tunis

Tunis is the only other Mediterranean capital situated at sea level; like Algiers in neighbouring Algeria, it's a port city taking advantage of the access to Europe to the north and the Middle East to the east. A city of souks and monuments, Tunis features many old-style buildings interspersed with modern architecture and French influences.

In the thirteenth century, the country was taken over by France; independence was had in the 1950s. Tunis has been Tunisia's capital for over eight hundred years and is a noteworthy city to ancient history buffs.