The document provides information about 15 major cities around the world, including their locations, populations, and brief histories. The cities mentioned are Nairobi, Kenya; Kolkata, India; Lima, Peru; Cairo, Egypt; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Vancouver, Canada; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Lagos, Nigeria; Seoul, South Korea; Venice, Italy. The document asks questions to prompt thinking about how the cities are similar and different and which might be most modern, old-fashioned, wealthy, or beautiful.

1. Where are we?

3. Nairobi, Kenya
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of
Kenya. Nairobi is the most populous city in
East Africa, with a current estimated
population of about 3 million. Nairobi is now
one of the most prominent cities in Africa
politically and financially.

5. Kolkata, India
Kolkata, or Calcutta, is the
capital of the Indian state of
West Bengal. Located on the
east bank of the Hooghly
River, it is the principal
commercial, cultural, and
educational centre of East
India. As of 2008, its
economic output as
measured by gross domestic
product ranked third among
South Asian cities, behind
Mumbai and Delhi.

7. Lima, Peru
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It
is in the central part of the country, on a desert
coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Lima is
home to one of the oldest higher learning
institutions in the New World. The National
University of San Marcos, founded on May 12,
1551 during Spanish colonial regime, is the
oldest continuously functioning university in the
Americas.

8. • Why do you think you guessed the way you
did?
• How are these places different? How are they
the same?
• Are these cities like the one you live in?

10. Cairo, Egypt
Cairo ( /kaɪroʊ/; Arabic: ‫القاهرة‬
al-Qāhira, literally "The
Conqueror"), is the capital of
Egypt and the largest city in
the Arab world and Africa, and
the 16th largest metropolitan
area in the world. Located
near the Nile Delta, it was
founded in the year 969 A.D.
making it 1,042 years old.
Nicknamed "The City of a
Thousand Minarets" for its
wealth of Islamic architecture,
Cairo has long been a centre
of the region's political and
cultural life.

12. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur is the federal capital and most
populous city in Malaysia. The city covering an
area of 243 km2 (94 sq mi), has a population of
1.5 million as of 2010, and an estimate of 1.6
million as of 2012.

14. Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver (/vænku:vər/) is a coastal seaport city
on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada.
Vancouver has ranked highly in worldwide
"livable city" rankings for more than a decade
according to several business magazines, and it
was also acknowledged by Economist
Intelligence Unit as the first city to rank among
the top-ten of the world's most livable cities for
five straight years.

16. Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe (English pronunciation: /sæntə feɪ/; Tewa:
Ogha Po'oge, Navajo: Yootó) is the capital of the
U.S. state of New Mexico. Santa Fe (literally “holy
faith” in Spanish) had a population of 67,947 in the
2010 census. The city’s full name when founded
was La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de
Asís (“The Royal Town of the Holy Faith of St.
Francis of Assisi”).

17. • Which of these places is the most modern?
Which is the most old-fashioned?
• Which place do you think has the most
money? Why?
• Have you ever heard of any of these places?

19. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Amsterdam (/æmstərdæm/) is the largest city and
the capital of the Netherlands. Amsterdam
became one of the most important ports in the
world during the Dutch Golden Age, a result of its
innovative developments in trade. During that
time, the city was the leading center for finance
and diamonds. Today, Amsterdam is considered
an alpha world city by the Globalization and
World Cities study group.

21. Lagos, Nigeria
Lagos (/leɪɡɒs/ LAY-gos) is a port city and the most
populous city in Nigeria. With a population of
16,937,932, it is also the most populous city in Africa
and is estimated to be the second fastest growing city in
Africa (7th fastest in the world).

23. Seoul, South Korea
Seoul (Korean: 서울), officially the Seoul Special
City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South
Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10
million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD
developed world.

25. Venice, Italy
Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia )is a
city in northeast Italy which is renowned for
the beauty of its setting, its architecture and
its artworks. During the Renaissance, Venice
was a very important center of trade
(especially in silk, grain, and spice) and art in
the 13th century up to the end of the 17th
century.

26. • Which of these places is the most beautiful?
Which is the most interesting?
• What do you know about these cities?
• Which city would you like to visit?
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