9 Obscure Capital Cities ...

However well you think you know geography, every now and then you come across the name of a city that you’ve never heard of. Some of these are from former Soviet republics that have become (or reverted to) independent countries, others are from tiny countries that get no coverage in Western news. So here are some capital cities that you have probably never heard of …

1. Jamestown

Jamestown Photo Credit: © Sam.Seyffert

I bet you could spend years trying to find this capital on a map. It’s on the remote island of St Helena, a British overseas territory, which is known for being the site of Napoleon’s exile and death. At present, the island is only accessible by boat, although an airport is planned

2. Tegucigalpa

Tegucigalpa Photo Credit: bekahpaige

This is the capital of Honduras. No, I’d never heard of it either (Tegucigalpa, not Honduras). I’m not even sure how it’s pronounced – care to have a go yourself?

3. Vaduz

Vaduz Photo Credit: egold.

Vaduz is the capital of the tiny German-speaking principality of Liechtenstein. This country is so small that it has no airport and only one hospital. It also has the rare distinction of being only one of two countries in the world that is surrounded by other landlocked countries. Can you guess the other? No googling …

4. Ashgabat

Ashgabat Photo Credit: **El-Len**

No, not Azkaban, Ashgabat. This city might sound as though it belongs in a Harry Potter novel, but is actually the capital of Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic. Ashgabat does sound delightfully exotic, like something out of a fantasy novel, but is probably colonised by McDonalds and Burger King, just like everywhere else.

5. Castries

Castries Photo Credit: Second City Warehouse

The Caribbean island of St Lucia has Castries as its capital. Formerly a French, then British colony, St Lucia is now independent but remains part of the Commonwealth.

6. Vientiane

Vientiane Photo Credit: twi$tbarbie

This elegant-sounding city is the capital of Laos, one of the lesser-known countries in south-east Asia. Vientiane is the French version of the Lao name, Laos being a former French colony. It means either ‘city of the moon’, or ‘city of sandalwood’ – how beautiful!

7. Nouakchott

Nouakchott Photo Credit: Ferdinand Reus

This sounds like an Eskimo name, but is actually the capital of Mauritania, in West Africa. It’s considerably warmer than Eskimo territory, though! Mauritania was yet another French colony.

8. Bandar Seri Begawan

Bandar Seri Begawan Photo Credit: GeeTwoG'ray

Here’s the capital of another south-east Asian country, this time Brunei. Brunei was also a British colony – doesn’t its capital have a wonderful mouthful of a name?

9. Nuku'alofa

Nuku'alofa Photo Credit: Michaeeel

The capital of Tonga looks to be even harder to pronounce than Tegucigalpa. I’m glad this is not a radio article! Noo-koo-aloe-fa, Nuk-oo-lof-ay, En-ok-oo-ay-lowf … any more guesses?

Well, I’ve certainly found out some new facts while researching this article. There were lots more capital cities I’ve never heard of!

Top Photo Credit: Zombie37

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