"Triple AAA" - Capital Cities Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jakarta

Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is located at the western end of the island of Java - the 13th largest island in the world, but only the 5th largest island of Indonesia. The city was founded in the 4th century as part of the Sunda Kingdom and was known as Sunda Kelapa until 1527 when it was conquered by the neighbouring Demak Sultanate and renamed Jayakarta (which was too similar to the city's current name to include in the question!). It remained under Javanese control until 1619 when the area became a Dutch colony and the city was renamed Batavia - a name it retained until the mid-20th century. The city then became the first capital of an independent Indonesia in 1949 under the name Djakarta, before becoming Jakarta in 1972.

Jakarta lies on a flat plain, large parts of which are below sea level, and has over ten rivers flowing through it. Add in a tropical climate and a rainy season that lasts for the majority of the year and it should not be surprising to learn that the city is prone to major flooding events. Flooding in 2007 left around 70% of the city underwater and led to the evacuation of half a million people and 80 deaths.

Answer: Ankara

Although Turkey lies partly in Europe, its capital city, Ankara, is located in the Asian portion of the country. Archaeological evidence points to human settlement of the area dating back to the Hittite empire of around 1600 BC, but Ankara's ancient citadel - which includes Ankara Castle - dates to around the 7th century AD. The castle is built on the top of a volcanic outcrop and has a commanding view over a city which is filled with notable landmarks - both old and new. Other archaeological sites of interest in the city include 4th century Roman baths (from the reign of the Emperor Caracalla), a Roman theatre and a Roman temple.

The city was formerly known as Angora and as such gave its name to the famous wool-producing Angora rabbits and Angora goats and the Turkish Angora breed of cat (note that the cat is not wool-producing).

Answer: Havana

Havana is the capital of Cuba, the largest Caribbean island, which is located in the island chain known as the Greater Antilles. The island's north-western coast marks the south-eastern edge of the Gulf of Mexico and the southern boundary of the Straits of Florida - which connect the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean.

Havana was founded in its current location by the Spanish in 1519 and the Spanish name of the city is La Habana (but using that name wouldn't fit with this quiz's "Triple AAA" theme). The original part of the city is (inventively) referred to as 'Old Havana' and consists of narrow streets with buildings from a range of architectural styles, predominantly ornate baroque designs and elegant neoclassical structures. Havana is a popular tourist destination as it provides an interesting mix of history, heritage and heat - not to mention proximity to the beautiful beaches associated with holidays in the Caribbean.

Answer: Caracas

The Guaire River flows for just 72 kilometres (45 miles) through Venezuela's Capital District and its capital city, Caracas. It is a tributary of the much larger Tuy River that flows through Miranda State to the Caribbean Sea. Caracas is located in a valley in the Cordillera de la Costa, a mountain range that runs along Venezuela's coast and is a northern extension of the Andes mountain chain.

The city was founded in 1567 by the Spanish conquistador Diego de Losada and within ten years became the capital of the Spanish Empire's Venezuela Province. It became the capital of an independent Venezuela in 1812 before undergoing significant growth during the 20th century on the back of the proceeds of Venezuela's oil industry.

Answer: Ashgabat

Ashgabat is the capital of the central Asian republic of Turkmenistan - one of the many states to emerge from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The city is built on the edge of the Karakum Desert, so has a hot climate with relatively low rainfall. Although it was built on the site of a previous settlement on the famous Silk Road, the modern city wasn't founded until 1881 and many of the buildings of that period and the years following were destroyed by a major earthquake in 1948. The necessary redevelopment meant that Ashgabat became a largely planned city with the design focused on providing government offices and a seat of power for the nation.

Many of the replacement buildings have been constructed using white marble, earning the city a record for the highest density of buildings made from this material. The somewhat showy effect of this provides a stark example of the wealth generated by the country's massive reserves of natural gas.

Answer: Asmara

Asmara is the capital of Eritrea, which gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Eritrea had formerly been known as Italian Eritrea between 1890 and 1947 as one of the European nation's colonies in Africa. This history explains why much of Asmara's architecture reflects that found in Italy itself and why the city became known as 'Little Rome'. Asmara's buildings also tend to reflect modern architecture from the time they were built, so there are significant numbers of buildings in the neo-Romanesque, Art Deco, and Cubist styles. Asmara's eclectic mix of buildings gained it UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2017.

The city is located in the Eritrean Highlands, at around 2,300 metres (7,250 feet) above sea level. As a result it has a relatively mild climate, with average high temperatures of around 22 to 25⁰C throughout the year.

Answer: Kampala

Lake Victoria is the largest inland body of water on the African continent. It is bounded by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda; the city of Kampala, which sits on its northern shore, is the capital of Uganda. Kampala was originally built by people from the Bugandan Kingdom, one of the traditional kingdoms brought together to form first the British colony of Uganda and then the modern independent nation. The city's oldest buildings and some notable landmarks, including the Bulange (the Bugandan parliament building), the Lubiri Palace and the Kasubi Tombs, all date from this period.

The seven hills on which the city was originally built (modern development has seen it expand to cover a wider area) were Kasubi Hill, Mengo Hill, Kibuli Hill, Namirembe Hill, Lubaga Hill, Nasambya Hill and Kampala Hill. The hills all extend up to a height of around 1,200 metres (4,000 feet) above sea level.

Answer: Sana'a

Sana'a (otherwise known as Sanaa or Sana) is the capital city of Yemen and located in a mountainous region in the west of the country. The Old City dates back to at least the 5th century BC and contains some buildings that survived for around 1,500 years, such as the Great Mosque.

The wealth of history and archaeological treasures in the city led to its classification as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 - however, the site suffered significant damage as a result of civil war, terrorist activity and an international military invasion in 2015. Sana'a's "new city" developed in the 1960s after the establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic and the restoration of Sana'a as capital city.

Answer: Astana

The name 'Astana' translates from Kazakh into English as, simply, "The Capital City". So, on that basis it shouldn't be surprising to discover that this was a new name that was given to the city when the decision was made to make it the new capital of Kazakhstan in 1997. While not a brand-new settlement, like Brasilia in Brazil or Canberra in Australia, a completely new city centre design was commissioned from the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa in the 2000s.

The city that became Astana was founded in 1830 as Akmoly, before being renamed Akmolinsk in 1832, Tselinograd in 1961 and then Akmola in 1992.

Answer: Manama

The city of Manama is located on Bahrain Island, the largest island of the Kingdom of Bahrain in the Middle East. Bahrain was a British colony until 1971 and pre-independence Manama bore very little resemblance to the modern 21st century city with skyscrapers and a harbour filled with expensive yachts. Manama's economy was originally dependent on pearling before the discovery of oil in the 1930s opened up new industries. However, it wasn't until after Bahraini independence that the country's vast oil wealth funded the rapid urbanisation and globalisation of the city.

Manama became the capital city of Bahrain in 1932 when it took over the title from the nearby city of Muharraq, which is located to the north-east on Muharraq Island. The two cities were connected by a causeway in 1941. Since Bahrain Island is only a maximum of about 18 kilometres (11 miles) wide, Manama is also located within 10 miles of the King Fahd Causeway that links Bahrain with its much larger neighbour, Saudi Arabia.