Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo is the largest city and Capital of the Dominican Republic. The city was founded in 1496 by Bartholomew Columbus and it is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas. The current population of the city pushes slightly past 2.2 million people. The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola (named by Christopher Columbus) with its impoverished neighbor to the west, the Republic of Haiti. Since the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010, Santo Domingo has served as a base of operations for relief operations and is home to many NGO's currently working in Haiti.