Vijayapur city, formerly Bijapur,^[1] is the district headquarters of Bijapur District of Karnataka state. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluka. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importance built during the rule of the Adil Shahi dynasty. Bijapur is located 530 km northwest of Bangalore and about 550 km from Mumbai, and 384 km west of the city of Hyderabad.

Bijapur urban population as per 2011 census is 326,000, perhaps the 9th biggest city in Karnataka. Vijayapura Mahanagara Palike(VMP) is the newest Municipal Corporation formed under the KMC act along with Shivamogga andTumakuru Municipal Corporations. The other existing city corporations in Karnataka state in descending order of population are Bengaluru, Hubballi-Dharawada, Mysuru, Kalaburgi, Belagavi, Mangaluru, Davangere and Ballari. Administratively, Bijapur district comes under Belgaum division along with Bagalkote, Belgaum, Dharwad, Gadag,Haveri and Uttara Kannada (Karwar) districts.

Bijapur, the land of five rivers and the domain of different cultures, is an ancient city. The city established in the 10th and 11th centuries by the Chalukyas of Kalyani was known as Vijayapura (City of victory). Bijapur was the biggest district place of the state with 11 taluks, but after forming bagalokote new district in 1997 Now it consists of five taluks viz. Basavan Bagevadi, Bijapur, Indi, Muddebihal and Sindagi.

The city was established in the 10th-11th centuries by the Kalyani Chalukyas and was known as Vijayapura (City of victory). The city was passed to Yadavas after Chalukya's demise. The city came under the influence of the KhiljiSultanate in Delhi by the late 13th century. In 1347, the area was conquered by the Bahmani Sultanate of Gulbarga. By this time, the city was being referred as Bijapur.

Beejpur literally means replete with seeds meaning Pomegranate, Beejpur is a Hindi word.

Mysore officially renamed as Mysuru, is the third largest city in terms of population in the state ofKarnataka, India, which served as the capital city of Mysore Princely Kingdom (Kingdom of Mysore) for nearly six centuries, from 1399 until 1947. Located at the base of the Chamundi Hills about 146 km (91 mi) southwest of the state capital Bangalore, it is spread across an area of 128.42 km² (50 sq mi). According to the provisional results of the 2011 national census of India, the population of Mysore is 887,446. Mysore City Corporation is responsible for the civic administration of the city, which is also the headquarters of the Mysore district and the Mysore division. Mysore is the cleanest city of India.^[5]

The Kingdom of Mysore was ruled by the Wodeyar dynasty, except for a brief period in the late 18th century whenHyder Ali and Tipu Sultan were in power. Patrons of art and culture, the Wodeyars contributed significantly to the cultural growth of the city. The cultural ambience and achievements of Mysore earned it the sobriquet Cultural capital of South Karnataka. Mysore is noted for its palaces, including the Mysore Palace, and for the festivities that take place during the Dasara festival when the city receives a large number of tourists. It lends its name to the Mysore style of painting, the sweet dish Mysore Pak, the Mysore Peta (a traditional silk turban) and the garment known as the Mysore silk saree. Tourism is the major industry, while information technology has emerged as a major employer alongside the traditional industries. Mysore depends mainly on rail and bus transport for inter-city connections. It also has an Airport serving the city, also known as Mandakalli Airport. The city was the location of the first private radio station in India. Mysore houses Mysore University, which has produced several notable authors, particularly in the field of Kannada literature. Cricket is the most popular sport in the city; however, it has many other sport facilities.