A City A Day

Tehran  (   pronunciation  ( help · info ) ) ( Persian :  تهران ‎  Tehrān ;  pronounced  [tehˈɾɒːn] ), sometimes spelled  Teheran , is the capital  of  Iran  and  Tehran Province . With an estimated population of 8,429,807, [3] [4]  it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, the largest city in  Western Asia  and the  19th-largest city globally . In the 20th and 21st centuries, Tehran has been the subject to mass migration of people from all around Iran. [5]  The city is home to many historic  mosques ,  churches ,  synagogues  and  Zoroastrian   fire temples . Contemporary Tehran is a modern city featuring many structures, of which the  Azadi (Freedom) Tower  and the  Milad Tower  have come to be symbols of Tehran itself. In 2008 Tehran was the least expensive capital in the world and the second-least expensive city globally based on the...

Abadan  is a town located near  Aşgabat  in the  Ahal Province  of  Turkmenistan . It was founded in 1963. It was named Büzmeýin  ( Russian :  Бюзмейн ) until October 2002 when its name was changed by Turkmenistan's president Saparmurat Niyazov . [1]  The traditional Russian name of the town is  Bezmein  (Безмейн). The town's current mayor, Orazmyrat Garajaýew , was one of the approved candidates for the  2007 presidential election . There are about 50000 people living in Abadan. There is a power plant where the former president of Turkmenistan Saparmyrat Niyazov used to work.

Balkanabat  (Балканабат, بلخان آباد), formerly  Nebit Dag , is a city in western  Turkmenistan , and the capital of  Balkan Province . It is located at  39°31′0″N   54°22′0″E , at an altitude of 17 meters, some 400 kilometers from  Ashgabat . As of 2006, the city had an estimated population of 87,822. [1]  Balkanabat lies at the foot of the  Balkan Daglary  mountain range. Balkanabat is about a four-hour taxi ride west of Ashgabat and a two-hour taxi ride east of the port city of Turkmenbashi.

Ashgabat  ( Turkmen :  Aşgabat ,  Persian :  اشک آباد ‎,  Russian :  Ашхабáд , also  Ashkhabad  in  transliteration from Russian , formerly  Poltoratsk  between 1919–1927) is the  capital  and largest city of  Turkmenistan , a country in  Central Asia . It has a population of 695,300 (2001 census estimate), 2009 estimates around 1 million people in Ashgabat, and is situated between the  Kara Kum   desert  and the  Kopet Dag  mountain range. Ashgabat has a primarily  Turkmen  population, with ethnic minorities of  Russians ,  Armenians , and Azeris . It is 250 km from the second largest city in  Iran ,  Mashhad .

Namangan  ( Uzbek :  Namangan  / Наманган ;  Russian :  Наманган ) is the third-largest city in Uzbekistan  (2011 pop. 449,200.). It is the capital of  Namangan Province , in the northern edge of  Fergana Valley  of north-eastern  Uzbekistan .

Fergana  ( Uzbek :  Farg'ona/Фарғона ;  Persian :  فرغانه ‎  Farghāneh ;  Russian :  Фергана́ ) is a city (population: 214,000), [1]  the capital of  Fergana Province  in eastern  Uzbekistan , at the southern edge of the  Fergana Valley  in southern  Central Asia , cutting across the borders of  Kyrgyzstan ,  Tajikistan , and Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 420 km east of Tashkent , and about 75 km west of  Andijan .

Termez  ( Uzbek :  Termiz/Термиз ;  Russian :  Термез ;  Persian :  ترمذ ‎  Termez, Tirmiz ) is a small city in southern  Uzbekistan  near the  Hairatan  border crossing of  Afghanistan . Some link the name of the city to  thermos , "hot" in Greek, tracing its name back to  Alexander the Great . [1]  Others suggest that it came from Sanskrit  taramato , meaning "on the river bank". [2]  It is the hottest point of Uzbekistan. It has a population of 140,404 (1 January 2005), and is the capital of  Surxondaryo Province . Its most famous native son is  Al-Tirmidhi , born in its suburb Bugh and buried 60 kilometers north of Termez, on the outskirts of Sherobod. He is locally known as Iso At Termezi or Termez Ota (Father of Termez City).  Hakim-e-Termizi , one of the famous  Sufi  leaders, is buried in the suburbs of Termez. He is also known as Termez Ota (Father of Terme...

Samarkand  ( Uzbek :  Samarqand ;  Persian :  سمرقند ‎ from  Sogdian : "Stone Fort" or "Rock Town") is the second-largest city in  Uzbekistan  and the capital of  Samarqand Province . The city is most noted for its central position on the  Silk Road  between China and the West, and for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study. In the 14th century it became the capital of the empire of Timur  (Tamerlane) and is the site of his mausoleum (the  Gur-e Amir ). The  Bibi-Khanym Mosque remains one of the city's most notable landmarks. The  Registan  was the ancient center of the city. In 2001,  UNESCO  added the city to its  World Heritage List  as  Samarkand – Crossroads of Cultures

Tashkent  ( / ˌ t æ ʃ ˈ k ɛ n t / ;  Uzbek :  Toshkent , Тошкент   [tɒʃˈkent] ;  Russian :  Ташкент ,  [tɐʂˈkʲent] ; literally "Stone City") is the capital of  Uzbekistan  and of the  Tashkent Province . The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. [1]  Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million. [2]

Navoiy  also spelled as  Navoi  ( Uzbek :  Navoiy  / Навоий ;  Russian :  Навои ) is a city (pop 125,800 in 2007) [1]  and the capital of  Navoiy Province  in the southwestern part of  Uzbekistan . It is located at latitude 40° 5' 4N; longitude 65° 22' 45E, at an altitude of 382 meters. The city is named after  Ali-Shir Nava'i . Navoiy Region has large stocks of natural gas and deposits of precious metals, as well as large stocks of raw materials for production of construction materials. Among these enterprises are  Navoi and Zarafshan Gold Mining and Metallurgical Complexes , which extract one of the purest gold in the world. The enterprise  NavoiyAzot  is the largest producer of mineral fertilizers in the country.

Bukhara  ( Persian :  بخارا ‎;  Uzbek :  Buxoro ;  Russian : Бухара  Bukhara ), from the  Soghdian   βuxārak  ("lucky place"), is the  capital  of the  Bukhara Province  ( viloyat ) of  Uzbekistan . The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 (2009 census estimate). The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time. Located on the  Silk Road , the city has long been a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. The historic center of Bukhara, which contains numerous  mosques  and  madrassas , has been listed by  UNESCO  as a  World Heritage Site . Ethnic Uzbek  may constitute the largest element in Bukhara, with the native  Tajiks  being as numerous. The city long has had a mixed population including  Jews  and other  ethnic  minorities.

Yaroslavl  ( Russian :  Ярославль ;  IPA:  [jɪrɐˈslavlʲ] ) is a  city  and the  administrative center  of  Yaroslavl Oblast ,  Russia , located 250 kilometers (160 mi) northeast of  Moscow . The historic part of the city, a World Heritage Site , is located at the  confluence  of the  Volga  and the  Kotorosl Rivers . It is one of the Golden Ring  cities, a group of historic cities northeast of Moscow that has played an important role in Russian history. Population: 591,486 ( 2010 Census ); [5]  613,088 ( 2002 Census ); [10]  632,991 ( 1989 Census ). [11]

Izhevsk  ( Russian :  Иже́вск ;  IPA:  [ɪˈʐɛfsk] ;  Udmurt :  Иж, Ижкар ,  Iž ,  Ižkar ) is the  capital   city  of the  Udmurt Republic ,  Russia , situated on the  Izh River  in the Western  Urals . Population: 628,116 ( 2010 Census preliminary results); [4]  632,140 ( 2002 Census ); [5]  635,109 ( 1989 Census ). [8] From 1984 to 1987, Izhevsk was called  Ustinov  ( Усти́нов , in honor of  Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union ,  Marshal   Dmitry Ustinov ). The city is an important industrial center, and is the economic, industrial, and administrative hub of the republic. Izhevsk is especially noted for its military industry, with Russia's biggest munitions enterprise,  Izhmash , manufacturer of the  AK-47 , based in the city.