Towns and Cities: Asia

Including the Middle East.

Middle Eastern city where the Louvre opened its third museum (the first outside France) in 2017		Abu Dhabi
Taj Mahal		Agra
The largest city in Syria; formerly the third largest in the Ottoman Empire (after Constantinople and Cairo), and one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world (over 4,000 years)		Aleppo
The start of the Silk Road
Its 11th–century Great Mosque lost its minaret during the civil war in 2013
City in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh: gives its name (which means 'abode of God') to a traditional fruit cake, laced with rum, eaten by local Christians at Christmas time		Allahabad
Largest city in Kazakhstan, and the former capital – replaced 1998 by Astana		Alma Ata (Almaty)
Sacred city of the Sikhs, in Punjab: home to Harmandir Sahib, popularly known as the Golden Temple – one of Sikhism's most significant places of worship		Amritsar
Capital of the state of Karnataka, India's third most populous city (after Mumbai and Delhi): nicknamed the Garden City, centre of the Indian technology industry		Bangalore
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (krung hep ma–HA na–HON), or simply Krung Thep, is the native name for		Bangkok
Stands on the Chao Phraya river (the principal river of its country)
Grand Palace, including the Temple of the Emerald Buddha
Temple of Wat Traimit, whose Buddha is said to be the world's largest solid gold statue
Second–largest city in Iraq		Basra
Gate of Heavenly Peace, Monument to the People's Heroes		Beijing
Temples of Heaven, the Earth, the Sun, the Moon, and Agriculture
Seaside resort in south–western Anatolia (Turkey) which includes the site of the ancient city of Halicarnassus, including the Mausoleum		Bodrum
Brought as part of Catherine of Braganza's dowry to Charles II		Bombay
Sacked by the crusaders in 1204		Byzantium
Capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu – formerly known as Madras		Chennai
Umayyad Mosque (The Great Mosque of ...), The Gate of God		Damascus
City at the eastern end of the Great Wall of China – on the border with North Korea; population 2.44 million in 2010		Dandong
Shah Jehan's Red Fort; Chandi Chawk (Silver Street)		Delhi
The world's four tallest hotels, including the Burj Al Arab (with its distinctive "sail" shape – the third tallest, at 321 metres / 1,053 ft)		Dubai
Headquarters of the International Cricket Council (since 2005)
Israel's southernmost city: a busy port and tourist resort on the Red Sea		Eilat
City in India – flourishing in the 16th century, but now ruined – whose name is a metonym for "a mine of wealth", and was used as the title of a painting by René Magritte		Golconda
City in Uttar Pradesh, India, which now boasts the world's longest railway platform (1.3 kM – surpassing that at Kharagpur, West Bengal – 1,073m)		Gorakhpur
Hagia Sofia; Topkapi Palace; Blue Mosque		Istanbul
The Golden Horn is the natural harbour of
Sarayburnu (Palace Point – known in English as the Seraglio Point) is a prominent headland in
The only city in the world that spans a continental border
Former Arab port, now part of Tel Aviv; said to be the world's oldest port		Jaffa
Capital of Rajasthan, India's largest state by area – 'the Pink City'		Jaipur
Hawa Mahal – a.k.a. the Palace of the Winds or Palace of the Breeze
The small town of Amer – home of the renowned Amer Fort (or Amber Fort) – is 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) from
Second largest city, and principal commercial centre, of Saudi Arabia		Jeddah
Boasts the world's tallest lighthouse (at 436 feet) – completed in 1990
Dome of the Rock (an Islamic shrine – the world's oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture)		Jerusalem
al–Quds is the Arabic name, and Zion is a synecdoche or metonym, for
Via Dolorosa (said to be the path walked by Jesus on the way to his crucifixion – now walked by pilgrims)
Church of the Holy Sepulchre (said to be the site of Jesus's tomb)
Western Wall – also known as the Wailing Wall, Kotel, or al–Buraq wall: the last remaining part of the Temple of Solomon, which was destroyed in the 6th century BC; the holiest place where Jews are permitted (by agreement with the Muslim community) to pray
Centre of the earth, according to the Mappa Mundi
The old city has Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian quarters
Afghanistan end of the Khyber Pass		Kabul
Temple of the Tooth – said to contain Buddha's tooth – often the target of terrorist bombs (Sri Lankan city)		Kandy
Blue Nile and White Nile meet at		Khartoum
Pakistan's most populous city, and its only major port		Karachi

Capitals of Pakistan:

1947–59		Karachi
1959–67		Rawalpindi
1967 onwards		Islamabad

City in Greater Tokyo – the 9th largest in Japan: gives its name to an engineering company, whose most famous product is motor cycles, but which is actually based in Kobe			Kawasaki
Japanese city devastated by an earthquake in January 1995			Kobe
Capital of West Bengal, and the seventh largest city in India in 2011 (fourth largest in 2001); formerly the capital of British India (until 1912)			Kolkata (formerly Calcutta)
Capital of Japan, before Tokyo (794–1878); name means "capital of capitals"			Kyoto
Potala Palace (residence of the Dalai Lama, until the 14th fled to India in 1959)			Lhasa
Port in Indonesia: gave its name to an oil used as a hair dressing, and to a type of ebony wood			Makassar
Capital of Burma from its foundation in 1857 until 1885; still Myanmar's second–largest city			Mandalay
Gave its name to a type of fibre, and thus to a type of folder or envelope			Manila
The Royal Clock Tower – completed in 2010, the world's fifth tallest free–standing and third largest structure; includes the world's largest clockfaces – each with a diameter of 141 feet, and illuminated by about two million LED lights			Mecca
Israeli fortress town, associated with Armageddon			Megiddo
Yemeni port, gives its name to a coffee drink flavoured with chocolate			Mocha
Chaupati (Chowpatty) Beach, Dhobi Ghat (said to be the world's biggest open–air laundry)			Mumbai
Gateway of India (a monumental stone arch)
Principal town of the Khumbu region (Nepal) – a major landmark for expeditions to Mount Everest			Namche Bazaar
Eastern (Pakistan) end of the Khyber Pass			Peshawar
Situated at the confluence of the Tonlé Sap and Mekong			Phnom Penh
Badminton was first played in, and took its first name from			Poona (near Bombay)
Rungrado 1st of May Stadium: completed in 1989, and with a capacity of 114,000, the world's largest sports stadium			Pyongyang
Second largest city in Uzbekistan – famous for its position at the midpoint of the Silk Road – one of the world's oldest inhabited cities			Samarkand
Largest city on Hokkaido – hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics			Sapporo
Major city of the Crimea			Sevastopol
The world's second most populous "city proper" (Wikipedia, 2019); has the world's busiest container port (overtaking Singapore in 2010)			Shanghai
Nanjing Road (one of the world's busiest shopping streets)
The Bund (historic waterfront area)
Oriental Pearl TV Tower
Iranian city known as a centre of culture, capital of Persia 1750–81; its name is now often used for a variety of grape, although there is no established connection			Shiraz
Indian hill resort: capital of Himachal Pradesh, and the summer capital of British India 1865–1939			Shimla (Simla)
Raffles Hotel			Singapore
The winter capital of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir is Jammu; the summer capital is			Srinagar
Ginza – one of the world's most exclusive shopping and dining districts			Tokyo
United Nations University (headquarters)
First Asian city to host the Olympic Games (1964)
"City of Lakes" in Rajasthan, India: site of the title character's floating palace in the Bond film Octopussy			Udaipur
Name means Red Hero (after the leader of the 1921 revolution when the country was freed, with Russian help, from Chinese rule)			Ulan Bator
Established by the British in 1842: originally known as Queenstown; considered to be the capital of Hong Kong until handover in 1997			Victoria
City in north–western China – one of China's oldest; starting point of the Silk Road, and home to the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang			Xi'an
Major seaport adjoining Tokyo, and Japan's second largest city (on Tokyo Bay)			Yokohama

© Haydn Thompson 2018–24