Aqaina

Aqaina is a city in Pua, Taatiklatar. It has a population of 497,483 as of the C.Y. 250 census, making it the 7th largest city in the country and the largest in the province. It is located directly east of the Taatiklarian capital city of Alakina on the Pua Channel. It has many suburbs, the largest being Channelia and Gate to Bliss.

Income
25.7% of Aqaina's residents were low-income (per capita income of <$10,000 / year) according to the C.Y. 250 census.

Gender, Sexuality
The city was 49.4% female, 49.1% male and 1.5% other (non-binary, questioning, etc.) 24% of the city's population were non-heterosexual, and 4.9% were transgender.

Racial demographics
The city was 59.0% White, 18.6% Latin American, 8.3% East Asian, 7.5% Black, 3.4% Arab, 2.9% South Asian, 0.3% Indigenous American and <0.1% Indigenous Oceanian according to the C.Y. 250 census. 33.2% of the city's population said they had mixed racial ancestry.

Language
92% of the city's population were proficient in English, 30% were proficient in Spanish, and 27% were proficient in Taatiklarian or Puan.

History
Aqaina was the first settlement founded in Pua, in C.Y. 14. It was briefly part of early Taatiklatar, but the residents of Pua voted to gain independence from Taatiklatar in C.Y. 18. Aqaina was named the capital of the new country of Pua. At this time, it was the only major settlement on the island and had a population of approximately 75 people.

After many cypriot decades of relative isolation from Taatiklatar and the rest of Cyprus, the construction of the monumental Alakina-Aqaina Bridge began in C.Y. 78. Support for rejoining Taatiklatar as a province grew after the completion of the bridge in C.Y. 83, and the residents of Pua voted to rejoin Taatiklatar in C.Y. 85.

Aqaina became an important part of the Alakina-Aqaina metro area afterwards, as the smaller of the two central cities. Today, it is known for its unique Puan architecture, utilized in many of its earlier buildings.

Culture
Today, Aqaina is known as a central hub for Puan culture, which first developed during the period of relative isolation from Taatiklatar in Cyprus' early history. A well-known Aqainan dish is the melon sandwich, which is composed of two narrow slices of watermelon covering a filling of ingredients, typically including chocolate sauce.