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Answer
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The Zuma Rock, a massive natural monolith used as a defensive retreat by the Gbagyi people against invading neighboring tribes, is located in the outskirts of what world capital?
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Abuja
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Considered the largest continental sandy terrain in Europe and sometimes called the "European Sahara", what geo-morphological formation in northern Serbia was formed by the withdrawal of the Pannonian Sea?
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Deliblatska Peščara / Deliblato Sands
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Hong Kong is administratively divided into three areas: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and what third (and largest) division? Consisting of 86% of Hong Kong's total area and over 200 islands, it was leased by the United Kingdom in an unequal treaty signed in 1898.
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New Territories
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While it carries a significant amount of water during the monsoon season, the river known as the "Red" or "Black Nile" often turns into a series of disconnected pools during winter. This tributary is better known by what other name, after the Sudanese city where it joins the Nile?
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Atbarah
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The Albertine Rift is home to what chain of eight major volcanoes located at the tripoint of the DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda? Africa's oldest national park, hosting about one-third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas, is named for this chain.
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Virunga Mountains
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What body of water was historically known by locals as the Northern Sea, the Pomorsky Sea, or even the Murman Sea?
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Barents Sea
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Connecting the Orinoco River with the Rio Negro, what Venezuelan canal famously mapped by Alexander von Humboldt is considered the world's largest natural river bifurcation?
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Casiquiare canal
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A large Buddha statue carved into a red sandstone cliff sits at the confluence of the Min and Dadu rivers near what Sichuan city? Mount Emei, the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China, is also located nearby.
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Leshan
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What is the longest river to flow entirely within Brazilian territory?
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São Francisco
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Issyk-Kul and Neusiedl are examples of what type of lake that forms in a closed drainage basin and where water does not flow out to an ocean or sea? Water remains trapped and can only leave through evaporation or seepage, often leading to high salinity levels.
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Endorheic
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While the term "panhandle" is commonly used to refer to the westernmost extensions of Florida and Oklahoma, what other term is preferred to refer to the southeastern salient of Missouri and southwestern corner of New Mexico?
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Bootheel
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The oceanfront resort Atlantis is located on what Bahaman island, located just off the coast of Nassau?
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Paradise Island
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Both Honduras and El Salvador have departments named for what statesman who served as the President of the Federal Republic of Central America in the 1830s?
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Francisco Morazán
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In 2019, the Indian government passed an Act that resulted in the merging of two union territories made up of four separate geographical entities. Provide the name of any one of these four entities.
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Dadra / Nagar Haveli / Daman / Diu
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What is the only French department to have kept the word "Territoire" (Territory) in its official name? It retained this designation after most of the neighboring Haut-Rhin department was annexed by Germany in 1871.
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Territoire de Belfort
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What city is the capital of Costa Rica’s Guanacaste province? Home to Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport, it acts as the primary gateway for tourists traveling to the country's Pacific beaches and several national parks.
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Liberia
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Theatrum Orbis Terrarum ("Theatre of the Lands of the World), published in 1570 and widely considered the first modern atlas, was written by what Antwerp-born geographer?
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Abraham Ortelius
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Big Corn Island and Little Corn Island together form the Corn Islands, a municipality of nearly 8,000 inhabitants belonging to what country?
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Nicaragua
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Literally meaning "castle" in its native language, what four-letter suffix can follow Jēkab-, Vents-, Valdemār-, and Salas- to form the name of different novads?
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-pils
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Kevin Baugh is the self-proclaimed leader of what micronation located in Storey County, Nevada? This micronation's currency, the Valora, is pegged to the value of Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
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Republic of Molossia
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The Haystack Rock, which serves as a nesting site for seabirds like tufted puffins, is located along the coast of what Oregon community and tourist destination famously featured in the opening scene of "The Goonies"?
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Cannon Beach
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The world's longest natural unbroken sandy beach is located within what Bangladeshi district? This city is also the top tourist destination in Bangladesh.
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Cox's Bazar
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What multi-ethnic Bosnian district technically belongs to both the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, but is actually governed independently? Its unique status was the solution to a dispute between the two confederal entities.
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Brčko
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What neutral international name is used to refer to the small group of islands known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea?
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Liancourt Rocks
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The Ignis Brunensis is an international fireworks competition held annually in what second-largest city in its country? The Villa Tugendhat, known for its early functionalist design and luxurious materials like onyx and rare tropical woods, is also located here.
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Brno
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What depression in Chad is renowned as the world’s most abundant source of atmospheric mineral dust? Once a massive paleolake that dried out, this basin's nutrient-rich sediments create dust storms that act as a fertilizer for the Amazon rainforest.
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Bodélé Depression
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Humberstone in Chile, Bodie in California, Gamsutl in Dagestan, and Craco in Italy are settlements that can today be characterized by what two words?
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Ghost towns / Abandoned towns
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What term refers to the highly acidic and nutrient-poor soil of cold and moist coniferous forests? These soils, also found in Minecraft, are characterized by a bleached-grey subsurface and a darker subsoil layer enriched with iron, aluminum, and organic matter.
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Podzol / Spodosol
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One of the world's leading roller coaster and thrill ride designing companies is Intamin, whose primary headquarters is located in what most populous municipality in Liechtenstein?
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Schaan
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The Guardafui Channel is traditionally delimited by Puntland to the west and what island to the east?
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Socotra
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Kəngərli, Şərur, and Şahbuz are three of the eight districts that make up what autonomous republic?
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Nakhchivan
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Named after the wife of the American naval officer credited with the first airplane flight over the South Pole, what is the largest unclaimed territory on Earth?
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Marie Byrd Land
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The British colonial name for the Burmese town (and region) of Tanintharyi lends its name to what 1,700-km-long mountain chain forming the natural border between Myanmar and Thailand and extending into Malaysia?
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Tenasserim Hills
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The Sanssouci summer palace of Frederick the Great and the Babelsberg quarter, home to Europe's largest film studio, are located in what city on the Havel?
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Potsdam
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Adding one letter to the name of the third most populous city in eastern Nepal gives you the name of the city that is considered Saudi Arabia's oil capital (and where the headquarters of Saudi Aramco are located). Name either city.
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Dharan / Dhahran
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In 1871, Henry Stanley finally met Dr. David Livingstone at Ujiji, a former slave and ivory trading post located in present-day Tanzania. Ujiji is located about 6 kilometres away and often paired with what other city on Lake Tanganyika?
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Kigoma
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Weno serves as the capital of which one of the four Micronesian states? A proposed independence referendum for this region has frequently been postponed due to lack of legal preparation and strong opposition from federal leaders.
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Chuuk
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A 80,000-square-mile plateau region stretching from New York to Alabama between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the Blue Ridge Mountains is known by what name, whose Latin (and Italian) etymology literally means "foothills"?
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Piedmont
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The Sideroxylon spinosum (or argan tree), which produces argan oil used for cosmetic and culinary purposes, is native to what agricultural area in southwestern Morocco? This area is paired with Massa in the name of a Moroccan region.
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Sous
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The multi-purpose Milad Tower and the monumental white marble Azadi Tower are both located in what city?
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Tehran
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A vast Aboriginal-owned reserve in the northeastern corner of Australia's Northern Territory inhabited by the Yolŋu people was indirectly named after what capital of Gelderland?
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Arnhem
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Rosso, Richard Toll, Kaédi, and Bakel are important cities located on what river?
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Senegal
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What monument on Budapest's Várhegy (Castle Hill) honors the memory of the anglers who lived directly below the castle walls? These anglers were responsible for defending a section of the city's fortifications, thus the monument's name.
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Fisherman's Bastion
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Codrington is the only village located on what autonomous island? The periodically pink-colored Princess Diana Beach on this island's Coco Point honors the former princess who had visited the beach many times during her lifetime.
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Barbuda
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What peninsula, a popular weekend getaway located in Shizuoka Prefecture, is renowned for its views of Mount Fuji and numerous hot spring towns? Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata wrote about a student who falls in love with a "Dancing Girl" on this peninsula.
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Izu
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What 13-kilometer-wide passages separate the Sinai Peninsula from the Arabian Peninsula, linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba? Their strategic positions have been a major factor in past regional conflicts, such as the Suez Crisis and the Six-Day War.
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Straits of Tiran
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Which four-letter circular lake near Rome, formed in an ancient volcanic crater at least 36,000 years ago, was drained between 1929 and 1932 to recover two enormous 1st-century AD Roman pleasure barges built for Emperor Caligula?
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Lake Nemi
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The most southerly point on mainland Great Britain is located on what peninsula whose etymology does not actually refer to a reptile, but rather a Cornish phrase meaning "high court" or "high place"?
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The Lizard
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A geometric pattern formed by the Mississippi cites of Columbus, Starkville, and West Point shares a name with a region in Southeast Asia infamous for its large opium production and drug trafficking. What is that name?
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Golden Triangle
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Bishkek's international airport is named for which legendary Kyrgyz hero, whose eponymous epic narrates his military campaigns to secure the freedom of the unified Kyrgyz tribes? In 2025, the city of Jalal-Abad was officially renamed in his honor.
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Manas
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In the late 19th century, an art colony was founded in what New Mexico town, whose adjacent pueblo has been designated a World Heritage Site? Unrelatedly, this town is also known for a purported low-frequency humming noise heard by some of its residents.
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Taos
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Even though it isn't the tallest mountain above sea level, which mountain's peak lies farthest from Earth's center?
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Chimborazo
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Nicknamed the King of the Fjords, what is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway? The scenic Flåm railway line connects Myrdal to the village of Flåm, located at the innermost part of a branch of this fjord.
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Sognefjord
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Located in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, what is the largest Emirati city to not be the capital of its own emirate?
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Al Ain
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Lake Pichola, home to the Jag Mandir palace, is one of five major lakes surrounding what Rajasthani city, a famed romantic destination often featured in Bollywood productions? Parts of Octopussy, Gandhi, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel were also filmed there.
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Udaipur
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A remnant of the ancient Farallon plate, what small tectonic plate spanning from Vancouver Island to northern California is responsible for creating the Cascadia subduction zone and the Cascade chain of volcanoes?
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Juan de Fuca
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Endangered bird species such as the black stork and the Eurasian curlew as well as numerous insects (fittingly) make up the fauna of a Polish "Landscape Park" named for what river that forms part of the Belarus-Poland and Ukraine-Poland borders?
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Bug
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What North Korean city, where Kim Jong-un allegedly spent part of his childhood, was recently converted into a resort destination for domestic and international visitors? The area today includes the Masikryong Ski Resort and the Kalma Beach Resort.
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Wonsan
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Name either of the two largest German cities to have a toponymic suffix that can be considered the equivalent of "-bridge" or "-bridges" in English.
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Saarbrücken / Osnabrück
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The largest city in northeastern Thailand, Nakhon Ratchasima, is colloquially better known by what shortened name, which it shares with a short-haired silver-blue breed of domestic cat and a nearby plateau?
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Korat
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An isolated rocky hill or small mountain that rises abruptly from a flat plain may be called an inselberg, or alternately what other name borrowed from a prominent peak in New Hampshire?
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Monadnock
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What political entity has a flag depicting a yellow canoe sailing toward the Southern Cross constellation?
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Tokelau
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What Cape Town area on the slopes of Signal Hill is recognizable by its distinctive brightly colored houses? When residents of this predominantly Muslim community were allowed to buy their new homes, they painted them in bright colors to celebrate their freedom.
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Bo-Kaap / Malay Quarter
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What is the most common demonym for a resident of Halifax, whether in West Yorkshire or Nova Scotia?
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Haligonian
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In Panama, this type of administrative subdivision refers to an area with a substantial Amerindian population. In parts of Spain, it is a traditional or informal subdivision that groups municipalities sharing similar cultural, geographical, or economic traits. What is that term?
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Comarca
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What term of Irish origin refers to a long, narrow, and snake-like ridge made of stratified sand and gravel deposited by meltwater streams flowing in tunnels within or under stagnant glaciers?
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Esker
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Historically nicknamed "Piccola Roma," what capital city boasts the Futurist-styled Fiat Tagliero gas station and the Enda Mariam Orthodox Church?
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Asmara
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Which valley in northern Pakistan is often called the "Switzerland of Pakistan" because of its lush greenery, mountainous landscapes, and riverside scenery? While it was home to a sultanate centered around the city of Manglawar, Babe Ruth did not reign as its sultan.
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Swat
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What Nairobi slum was heavily featured in Fernando Meirelles' film "The Constant Gardener"? Despite its widespread extreme poverty, The Economist labeled it "the most entrepreneurial place on the planet" due to its high-density informal business ecosystem.
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Kibera
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"The Kidney", "The Tear", "The Trefoil", and "The Eye" are the monikers of some of the Seven Lakes of what highest mountain range in Bulgaria? The country's largest and most recognizable monastery, founded by Saint Ivan, is also located in this range.
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Rila
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