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Kathmandu (; Nepali pronunciation: (:kɑʈʰmɑɳɖu)) is the capital and largest municipality of Nepal. It also hosts the headquarters of SAARC. It is the only city of Nepal with the administrative status of ''Mahanagar'' (Metropolitan City), as compared to ''Upa-Mahanagar'' (Sub-Metropolitan City) or ''Nagar'' (City). Kathmandu is the core of Nepal's largest urban agglomeration located in the Kathmandu Valley consisting of Lalitpur, Kirtipur, Madhyapur Thimi, Bhaktapur and a number of smaller communities. Kathmandu is also known informally as "KTM" or the "tri-city". According to the 2011 census, Kathmandu Metropolitan City has a population of 975,453 and measures . The city stands at an elevation of approximately in the bowl-shaped Kathmandu Valley of central Nepal. It is surrounded by four major hills: Shivapuri, Phulchoki, Nagarjun, and Chandragiri. Kathmandu Valley is part of three districts (Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur), has the highest population density in the country, and is home to about a twelfth of Nepal's population. Historically, the Kathmandu Valley and adjoining areas were known as Nepal Mandala. Until the 15th century, Bhaktapur was its capital when two other capitals, Kathmandu and Lalitpur, were established.〔Slusser, Mary (1982). ''Nepal Mandala: A Cultural Study of the Kathmandu Valley.'' Princeton University. ISBN 978-0-691-03128-6. Page vii.〕 During the Rana and Shah eras, British historians called the valley itself "Nepal Proper". Today, Kathmandu is not only the capital of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, but also the headquarters of the Bagmati Zone and the Central Development Region of Nepal.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The World Fact Book"Geography )〕 Kathmandu is the gateway to tourism in Nepal. It is also the hub of the country's economy. It has the most advanced infrastructure of any urban area in Nepal, and its economy is focused on tourism, which accounted for 3.8% of Nepal's GDP in 1995/96. Tourism in Kathmandu declined thereafter during a period of political unrest, but since then has improved. In 2013, Kathmandu was ranked third among the top 10 travel destinations on the rise in the world by TripAdvisor, and ranked first in Asia.〔http://www.businessinsider.com/tripadvisor-says-these-are-the-hot-new-destinations-for-travelers-2013-12〕 The city has a rich history, spanning nearly 2000 years, as inferred from inscriptions found in the valley. Religious and cultural festivities form a major part of the lives of people residing in Kathmandu. Most of Kathmandu's people follow Hinduism and many others follow Buddhism. There are people of other religious beliefs as well, giving Kathmandu a cosmopolitan culture. Nepali is the most commonly spoken language in the city. English is understood by Kathmandu's educated residents. Historic areas of Kathmandu were devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on 25 April 2015. ==Etymology== The city of Kathmandu is named after Kasthamandap temple, that stood in Durbar Square. In Sanskrit, ''Kastha'' () means "wood" and ''Mandap'' () means "covered shelter". This temple, also known as ''Maru Satal'' (in ″Newar language″), was built in 1596 by King Laxmi Narsingh Malla. The two-storey structure was made entirely of wood, and used no iron nails nor supports. According to legend, all the timber used to build the pagoda was obtained from a single tree.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Introduction )〕 The structure collapsed during the major earthquake in 26 April 2015. The colophons of ancient manuscripts, dated as late as the 20th century, refer to Kathmandu as ''Kasthamandap Mahanagar'' in Nepal Mandala. Mahanagar means "great city". The city is called "Kasthamandap" in a vow that Buddhist priests still recite to this day. Thus, Kathmandu is also known as Kasthamandap. During medieval times, the city was sometimes called Kantipur (कान्तिपुर). This name is derived from two Sanskrit words - ''Kanti'' and ''pur''. "Kanti" is one of the names of the Goddess Lakshmi, and "pur" means place. Among the indigenous Newar people, Kathmandu is known as ''Yen Desa'' (येँ देश), and Patan and Bhaktapur are known as ''Yala Desa'' (यल देश) and ''Khwopa Desa'' (ख्वप देश).〔 pp. 159, 162-163.〕 "Yen" is the shorter form of ''Yambu'' (यम्बु), which originally referred to the northern half of Kathmandu. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kathmandu」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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