These Cities Are "A"wesome! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Charlemagne

Known in French as Aix-la-Chapelle, Aachen is Germany's westernmost city, located near the border with Belgium and the Netherlands in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The city was founded by the Romans in the 2nd century AD as a spa resort with the name of "Aquae Granni" ("waters of Grannus", the Celtic god of healing). In the 8th century AD, Frankish king Pepin the Short had a residence in Aachen; after his coronation as King of the Franks, Pepin's son Charlemagne spent most winters there. The Palatine Chapel (now part of Aachen's magnificent cathedral, one of the oldest in Europe), where the emperor was buried after his death in 814, is the only remnant of the Palace that Charlemagne built in Aachen. From 936 to 1513, Holy Roman Emperors were crowned in Aachen Cathedral, which was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

Present-day Aachen is an important technology hub, and is home to a number of highly reputed institutions of higher education.

Answer: Catholic Church

Avignon lies on the left bank of the river Rhône, in the historic region of Provence in southeastern France. Founded by Greeks in the 6th century BC, it was named "Auenion" in Greek, and later "Avennio" by the Romans. After a period of decline in the Early Middle Ages, Avignon became one of the largest cities of the Kingdom of Burgundy, and its importance steadily grew, until, in 1309, it was chosen as the new seat of the Papacy by French-born Pope Clement V. This period, which lasted until 1367, is known as the Avignon Papacy, or - rather disparagingly - as the "Babylonian captivity of the Papacy", a very turbulent time in the history of the Catholic Church. The stunning Gothic Palace of the Popes dates from that era.

Avignon became part of France during the French Revolution (1791). The city's medieval centre and its famous bridge on the Rhône (the subject of a popular French folk song) were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

Answer: Ajaccio

Ajaccio is the largest settlement and regional capital of the island of Corsica, the fourth-largest Mediterranean island, which has been part of France since 1769; Napoleon Bonaparte was born there in that same year. Located on the west coast of the island, Ajaccio was probably founded in the 2nd century AD, and was part of the Republic of Genoa from the 15th century until its annexation to France. In 1943, it was the first French city to be liberated from the Nazis.

Ancona is the capital of the region of Marche, a port city on the Adriatic coast founded by the Greeks. Aosta, on the other hand, is the capital of the bilingual (French-Italian) region of Valle d'Aosta (Aosta Valley), and Arezzo is one of Tuscany's provincial capitals, a beautiful medieval city with plenty of remarkable monuments.

Answer: Syria

Most people will associate Aleppo with the major military confrontation - known as Battle of Aleppo - that tore the city apart between 2012 and 2016, during the Syrian Civil War. However, this city's history goes back thousands of years, as it is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities: its site is believed to have been occupied since around 5000 BC. There are various theories about the meaning of Halab, the city's original name, which may be related to the Aramaic word for "white" or the Hebrew word for "milk".

Located about 120 km (75 mi) from the Mediterranean coast, Aleppo is the capital of the Aleppo Governatorate, the most populous of Syria's fourteen administrative divisions. It is home to over 2 million people of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, including a large Christian community. In spite of the devastation wreaked by years of war, much of Aleppo's vast cultural heritage has survived. The Ancient City of Aleppo, which includes the huge medieval citadel and many traditional "souqs" (covered markets), was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986; at the time of writing, it is still part of the list of World Heritage in Danger, where it was placed in 2013.

Answer: gulf

One of Turkey's most populous cities, Antalya is a city of ancient origin located on the southwest coast of the Anatolian peninsula - known as the Turkish Riviera, or Turquoise Coast. Founded by the Greeks with the name of Attalia, the city lies on the eponymous gulf, a large bay on the Levantine Sea. It boasts many ancient monuments, which include the stunning Hadrian's Gate, a Roman triumphal arch, and many mosques and other Turkish-Islamic buildings.

Located just across the border from the Israeli city of Eilat, Aqaba is the only coastal city in Jordan; the gulf named after it lies at the northern tip of the Red Sea, between the Sinai and the Arabic Peninsulas. It is an ancient city - probably founded around 1500 BC - and various remains of its past can still be seen. However, modern Aqaba is mainly known as a port and an important tourist resort, both for its beaches and because of its nearness to Jordan's most renowned attractions, the archaeological site of Petra and the valley of Wadi Rum.

Known in the 1st century BC as Eudaemon ("blissful"), Aden is located almost at the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. It is Yemen's most important port, and has been its temporary capital since 2015. The city's natural harbour lies in the crater of a dormant volcano. The eastern approach to the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden is a deepwater gulf bounded by the Arabian Peninsula to the north, and the Horn of Africa to the south. It is connected to the Red Sea by the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb ("gate of lamentation").

Answer: Astana

Before it became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, Astana - located in north-central Kazakhstan, on the banks of the river Ishim - was a small town established in 1830 with the name of Akmola ("Akmolinsk" in Russian). When it was decided to move the capital from Almaty to Astana, the city was considerably expanded, and most of its new buildings designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. Astana was renamed "Nur-Sultan" on 23 March 2019, two days after the resignation of its namesake, President Nursultan Nazarbayev. A futuristic-looking city with many state-of-the-art skyscrapers, Nur-Sultan has also the dubious distinction of being one of the world's coldest capitals, though its location in the middle of the steppe means that summer temperatures can reach highs of up to 35 °C (95 °F).

Almaty (formerly Alma-Ata), though no longer its capital, is Kazakhstan's largest city. Abadan is in southwest Iran, and Agra - the site of the world-famous Taj Mahal - in northern India.

Answer: India

Home to over 8 million people, Ahmedabad is the most populous city of the state of Gujarat, in western India, and one of the country's largest cities. It was established in 1411, and named after Ahmad Shah I, a ruler of the Gujarat Sultanate. An important economic hub, specialized in the production of cotton, it also boasts many historic monuments, such as the 15th-century walled city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017 - as well as the world's largest cricket stadium.

Allahabad is the judicial capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh, in northern India, located at the confluence of the rivers Ganges and Yamuna. An ancient holy city, which may have been founded in the 1st millennium BC, it was originally named Prayag ("confluence"), but was renamed Allahabad by Mughal emperor Akbar in the 17th century. Its official name is now Prayagraj, meaning "the king among the five confluences". Allahabad is also an important railway junction on the line that connects Delhi with Kolkata, cutting across northern India.

Aurangabad, in the western state of Maharashtra, was established in 1610, and named after Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. It is a major tourism hub, being situated near two of India's most important UNESCO World Heritage sites, the Buddhist cave monument of Ajanta and the Hindu caves of Ellora (both designated in 1983).

Answer: Addis Ababa

A number of African capital cities sit at elevations higher than 1,000 m (3,281 ft): Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is the highest of them all, with an average elevation of 2,355 m (7,726 ft). Only three other capitals, all located in South America, are higher: La Paz (Bolivia), Quito (Ecuador), and Bogotá (Colombia). The second-highest African capital (and sixth-highest in the world) is Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, which became independent from Ethiopia in 1993. Both these cities are located in the mountainous peninsula known as the Horn of Africa.

Madagascar's capital, Antananarivo, is also located at the respectable elevation of 1,288 m (4,226 ft) above sea level. Abuja, the purpose-built capital of Nigeria, sits at a more modest 777 m (2,549 ft), and Accra, the capital of Ghana, at a mere 98 m (322 m) - not surprisingly, as it is located on the Atlantic coast.

Answer: they are located in the Southern Hemisphere

All the cities mentioned in the question are in the Southern Hemisphere. Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, is the only one that is also a national capital. It is located in the southwestern part of the landlocked South American country, near the border with Argentina, on the southern bank of the River Paraguay. Founded in 1537, it is one of the oldest cities in South America.

The city of Antofagasta, established in 1868, lies on the Pacific coast, in northern Chile; it is part of the Atacama Desert, the driest desert on Earth. The Tropic of Capricorn passes through the north of the city, just outside the main urban area, and important copper and nitrate mines are located in its surroundings. Though earthquakes are common in the Antofagasta region, the city was never destroyed by one, and hopefully will never be.

The capital of the state of South Australia, Adelaide is one of the country's most populous cities. Unlike other major Australian cities, it was founded by free settlers in 1836, and designed by one of its founders, Colonel William Light, who chose the city's site near the River Torrens. Known for its high quality of life and many cultural events, Adelaide has been nicknamed the "City of Churches", being home to many faiths.

Auckland ("Tamaki Makaurau" in Maori), in New Zealand's North Island, is the country's largest city, and the southernmost of these four cities. First settled by the Maori around 1350, it was settled by Europeans in 1840. It is now a major economic and cultural centre, with two harbours located on separate bodies of water (the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean); it is also home to the world's largest population of ethnic Polynesians.

Answer: Austin

Established in 1835, and named after Stephen F. Austin, the founder of Anglo Texas, Austin is the capital of Texas, and the southernmost state capital in the contiguous US. It is located in central Texas, on the Colorado River, in a narrow transitional zone between the dry Southwest and the humid Southeast of the US - which means generally mild winters and pleasant fall and spring seasons, but also long, very hot summers. Home to over one million people, Austin is the seat of the University of Texas, one of the largest in the country; it has also acquired a reputation for its live music scene and the two major music and arts festivals - South by Southwest and Austin City Limits - that take place every year.

Though neither of them is a capital, Anchorage (Alaska) and Albuquerque (New Mexico) are the largest cities in their respective states. Anaheim, in California's Orange County, is known to most as the home of Disneyland, the popular entertainment resort that opened in 1955.