Ankh-Morpork

Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. As cities go, it is on the far side of corrupt and polluted, and is subject to outbreaks of comedic violence and brou-ha-ha on a fairly regular basis. It is home to the Unseen University, a centre of magical learning.

Geography

Ankh-Morpork lies on the River Ankh (the most polluted waterway on the Discworld), where the fertile loam of the Sto Plains (similar to Western Europe) meets the Circle Sea (the Discworld's version of the Mediterranean). This, naturally, puts it in an excellent trading position.

Related Topics:
Sto Plains - Western Europe - Circle Sea - Mediterranean

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Lying approximately equidistant from the cold Hub and tropical Rim, Ankh-Morpork is in the Discworld's equivalent of the temperate zone.

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The name "Ankh-Morpork" refers to both the city itself, a walled city about a mile (1.6 km) across, and the surrounding suburbs and farms of its fiefdom.

Related Topics:
Walled city - Fiefdom

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The central city divides more or less into Ankh (the posh part) and Morpork (the humble part, which includes the slum area known as "the Shades"), which are separated by the River Ankh.

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Ankh-Morpork is built on black loam, broadly, but mostly what it is built on is more Ankh-Morpork. Because of the nature of the Ankh-Morpork citizenry and the flooding of the River Ankh, they figured it was simply easier to build on top of the existing buildings when the sediment grew too high, rather than excavate them out. This has resulted in two things: Firstly, many people own basements and have no idea they do. Secondly, there is a "cave network" below Ankh-Morpork made up of old streets and abandoned sewers – these "unknown basements" allow people to get around relatively unimpeded.

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The River Ankh

Even before it enters Ankh-Morpork, the River Ankh is full of silt from the plains; by the time it gets to the seaward side of the city, "even an agnostic could walk across it."

Related Topics:
Silt - Agnostic

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The citizens of the city are strangely proud of this fact, even going so far as to say that "it is easier to suffocate than drown in the Ankh." They also claim it to be the purest water on the Disc, as "Anything that's passed through so many kidneys has to be very pure indeed." Owing to the build-up of centuries, the bed of the river is higher than some parts of the city. When winter snows swell the flow, the low-rent areas of Morpork flood. In spring some parts catch fire, and others sprout small trees.

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In the times when the city catches fire, the river gates are closed, and the river rises and smothers the flames.

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