Line #108 Main/CityOfSpies


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7	[[quoteright:350:[[TabletopGame/CityOfSpiesEstoril1942 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/city_of_spies.jpg]]]]
8	[[caption-width-right:350:''Estoril is small town near Lisbon, Portugal. Having a casino, beach and wonderful weather, the region was a center of diplomacy -- and spying -- during World War II.'']]
9
10	->''"Let me pass on to you the one thing I've learned about this place -- ''no one'' here is exactly what he appears. Not Mollari, not Delenn, not Sinclair... and not me."''
11	-->-- '''G'kar''', ''Series/BabylonFive'', "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS01E06MindWar Mind War]]"
12
13	It's a city. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Of spies]].
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15	It might even be that the number of posted spies are equivalent to, or even outmatches the numbers of regular citizens, potentially creating a FlockOfWolves situation. Taken to its logical conclusion, is not unlikely that most of the spies have ended up GoingNative to some degree or another, because who else would be around to actually maintain the city and making sure that goods and services are still flowing otherwise?
16
17	These locations tend to occur in multi-polar 'verses (that is, with two or more power blocs) and are either neutral locations or the capital cities of the powers themselves.
18
19	If all the world's spies seem to work in the city a SpyDrama is set in, it's a CityOfAdventure. See also the TruceZone, which is very often one of these. For when a group consists entirely of people who are meant to be infiltrating it, see FlockOfWolves.
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21	Its vast number of spies might also be because a DecadentCourt has set up shop here.
22
23	For the {{Superhero}} equivalent, see SuperheroCapitalOfTheWorld.
24
25	----
26	!!Examples:
27
28	[[foldercontrol]]
29
30	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
31	* Roanapur, in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'', has a fair number of spies running around in addition to all the criminals.
32	* Academy City from ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex''.
33	* Thanks to the mysterious [[EldritchLocation Hell's Gate]], Tokyo in ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' is crawling with agents for every faction imaginable, from criminal cartels to national intelligence agencies.
34	* Berlint in ''Manga/SpyXFamily'', as the capital of Ostania, naturally has a fair number of spies and counterintelligence agents (plus Yor's assassin organization). However, it's the only city we've seen so far.
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Comic Books]]
38	* UsefulNotes/LosAngeles serves as an interesting variation of this in ''ComicBook/DesolationJones''. It's a city full of spies who've all been forcibly retired and who are kept legally invisible by the government. They also can't leave.
39	* One of the ''Marvelman''/''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}'' comics ("Spy Story", #21 of the revived series, 1991, by Creator/NeilGaiman) is about a woman living in a city of spies. It turns out that all the members of the intelligence agencies of the world who couldn't adjust to the {{Utopia}} were put into one big city to intrigue their little hearts out.
40	* In ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'', Diana, Steve and Etta can't go anywhere in Washington DC without running into someone doing espionage work for the Axis powers.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
44	* ''Film/AtomicBlonde'' takes place in UsefulNotes/{{Berlin}} near the very end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar when the [[UsefulNotes/BerlinWall Wall]] is about to fall in November 1989, so naturally, the city is full of spies from both the UsefulNotes/{{NATO}} nations (chiefly USA, UK and France) and the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]].
45	* ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'', in the film of the same name.
46	* ''Film/OSS117CairoNestOfSpies'': OSS 117 indeed bumps into a variety of spies in Cairo (Soviets, British, separate Egyptian factions, a goofy Belgian spy and even a hidden group of the ''Nazis''), most likely due to the Suez Canal crisis and Gamal Abdel Nasser's presidency at the epicenter of pan-Arabism.
47	* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
48	** Coruscant, being a CityPlanet and the center of the Galaxy's government, is rife with espionage.
49	** Bothawui and the other Bothan-colonized worlds (especially Kothlis, home of the cell of Bothan spies who are mentioned in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'') in the ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' are [[PlanetOfHats planets of spies]]. Also {{Playful Hacker}}s, backbiting status-obsessed politicians, and incredibly brave honor-bound people. With plenty of overlap between these categories. Bothans wear many Hats.
50	** Starting with ''Literature/TheIllustratedStarWarsUniverse'' Legends texts frequently portray Mos Eisley spaceport as a rat's nest of professional and amateur spies, all hoping to see something valuable that can be sold - either to Jabba the Hutt, Lady Valarian, or Imperial Prefect Talmont. ''Literature/TalesFromTheMosEisleyCantina'' features the Devish fugitive Labria eking out a pathetic living as Jabba's least favourite spy, while more talented spies like Garindian prefer to work freelance and set their own prices.
51	* Post-war Vienna is a hotbed of intrigue (and zither music) in ''Film/TheThirdMan''.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Literature]]
55	* Grantville in ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'' becomes this in later books, as everyone and his mother wants to get their hands on up-time technology. Subverted in that the spying is done fairly openly - most of the information they want is public knowledge, and the Americans don't actually care that much. Adding to the mix is that Grantville still has a functioning (if limited) Internet, which offers a very secure way for the aforementioned spies to swap information with one another. From the same series of books venice, is also bad enough that one character wonders about advertising to ninjas as a working vacation.
56	* Boktor (capital of Drasnia) and Mal Zeth (capital of the Mallorean Empire) in ''Literature/TheBelgariad''. Drasnia tops it all, being a ''country'' of spies. Spies are its chief export (that and reindeer).
57	* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', Ankh-Morpork is certainly implied to be one, but there's not a lot of focus on the spies themselves. It's just taken for granted that news ''will'' make it back to Lord Vetinari. At one point he's seen reading the report from the ThievesGuild ''inner'' inner council. Amusingly, Glenda, the protagonist of ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'' (who ''really is'' just a cook), is mistaken for a spy because of this[[note]]She does do some spying, that's not her being a spy, just a well-intentioned busybody[[/note]] -- Ridcully says that Vetinari is the largest employer in the city, and he wishes he knew exactly who he was employing.
58	* ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'': In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresDeathAndDiplomacy Death and Diplomacy]]'', spying, deception and intrigue are the [[PlanetOfHats Hat]] of the Saloi, to the point that every Saloi is secretly spying on not only their two enemy cultures, but every other Saloi. (Except it's ''not'' a secret, because everybody ''knows'' that, so maybe that's just what they ''want'' people to think, and so on...)
59	* {{Discussed\|Trope}} in the ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'' novels when revealing where Mithril had the administrative headquarters for their Pacific operations. They chose Sydney, Australia as its large enough that they can blend by pretending to be the regional headquarters of a multi-national corporation and geographically isolated enough that it's not a natural crossroads attracting a lot of attention.
60	* In Creator/WilliamTenn's short story "Lisbon Cubed", Earth itself turns out to be a conveniently located neutral site where dozens of alien species secretly run their competing spy rings, spying on each other, while Earth remains unaware of the ''existence'' of aliens. The name is a reference to the historical role the city of Lisbon in Portugal played as a spy center during WWII.
61	* ''Literature/OurManInHavana''. Bet you can't guess which city.
62	* King's Landing in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', though to a lesser extent than some of the other examples on this page, does have a large number of spies for different factions. Although they don't figure into the War of the Five Kings much, supplementary materials indicate that Braavos and Volantis (as well as the other Free Cities) have in the past served in this role. Essentially, anywhere [[TheSpymaster Varys]]' influence extends could count as such, thanks to his network of "little birds".
63	* In Creator/RobertSheckley's "Spy Story", there's an entire ''planet'' settled exclusively by the spies who come to spy on the main protagonist.
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
67	* ''Series/TheAmericans'', set in Washington DC during TheEighties and featuring KGB spies as protagonists, makes use of this trope, showing how the KGB operates out of the Soviet embassy with impunity.
68	* If you were to believe ''Series/BurnNotice'', Miami is full of spies and retired spies. Then again, the city attracts a lot of retiring people and is pretty close to Cuba. And it doesn't hurt that Florida doesn't have a state income tax, which makes it a popular place for mobile people to have as a residence.
69	* ''Series/BabylonFive'': The Babylon 5 SpaceStation itself is a massive nest of intrigue, mostly because it's the only neutral port around and between the major powers. Being the hub of diplomats means it attracts the dark side of diplomacy, spying. Notably, when the Interstellar Alliance relocates its headquarters to Minbar at the end of season 5, the chief of the ISA's covert intelligence division chooses to remain stationed on Babylon 5.
70	* ''Series/{{Chuck}}'': In the episode "[[Recap/ChuckS2E13ChuckVsTheSuburbs Chuck Versus the Suburbs]]", Chuck and Sarah go undercover in the suburb of Meadow Branch to find a Fulcrum agent. Later in the episode, it is revealed that the entire cul-de-sac is actually a front for [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Fulcrum]], which is trying to build their own intersect.
71	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
72	** King's Landing is rife with spies for various members of the DecadentCourt. In one scene, Littlefinger is polite enough to point out several of them, including his own.
73	** At the time of ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'', both Mysaria (a.k.a. the "White Worm") and Larys Strong have networks of informants in King's Landing.
74	* UsefulNotes/{{Vancouver}}, of all places, on ''Series/Intelligence2006''. This makes more sense than you might think. It's a major world port right next to a major world power (the United States) and right across from two more (China and Russia) in Canada, which has traditionally served as a buffer between the three. Plus, the fact that it's a very cosmopolitan city where any nationality blends right in, it could very well be a City of Spies for much the same reason Kathmandu has become so popular.
75	* UsefulNotes/{{Berlin}} in ''Series/PanAm''. Of course, as the series is set in TheSixties during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, this is TruthInTelevision (as noted below).
76	* The Village in ''Series/ThePrisoner1967.'' All the inhabitants are forcibly retired spies. [[WildMassGuessing Presumably]]. [[AmbiguousSituation Possibly]]. [[MindScrew Maybe]].
77	* In ''Series/WonderWoman1975'', Washington, D.C. is a den of spies. From [[TheMole Steve Trevor's first secretary]] (who Wonder Woman personally knocks out to take her job) to [[TheBaroness Baroness von Gunther]] to [[SurgicalImpersonation spies posing as Treasury Department managers]], the first season has so many spies that there must have been a shortage of both housing and abandoned warehouses.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Pinballs]]
81	* ''Pinball/SecretService'' suggests that everyone in Washington D.C. is either an undercover agent or a Soviet spy.
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
85	* Columbia in ''TabletopGame/CrimsonSkies''.
86	* In ''TabletopGame/DemonTheDescent'', any city with a huge Unchained presence quickly becomes a city of spies. The demons must constantly stay one step ahead of the God-Machine, unraveling its plans through moves and countermoves. Most demons organize themselves in small Rings, and many cities have Agencies that can offer demons resources, be they cash, safehouses, or host bodies.
87	* ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'' goes a step further and has an entire ''country'' of spies -- Zilargo, especially its capital of Trolanport. It's also the homeland of the gnomes. Adventurers in Zilargo are well advised to BewareTheNiceOnes, as Zilargo boasts the most terrifyingly capable secret police force in the setting. It's not that everyone is watching you that you should be worried about -- it's when everyone stops watching you that you should really worry.
88	* Al Amarja, the Mediterranean BananaRepublic where ''TabletopGame/OverTheEdge'' is based in, is crammed to the rafters with the weirdness of every description. The multiple espionage agencies fighting each other in the back alleys is one of the most mundane aspects of the setting.
89	* Every player character in ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' is required to be a member of at least one secret society, and most [=NPCs=] are part of one as well. Given that the characters are supposed to be hunting down secret society members, [[FlockOfWolves this can get ugly]].
90	* ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' has [[EldritchLocation Sigil]], City of Doors, which is a city of spies because it contains portals to every plane in the multiverse and is, therefore, the most strategically important location imaginable. Legions of ideological/philosophical or political factions, religious groups, business empires, crime syndicates, and both sides in the [[HellIsWar Blood War]] have agents here.
91	* The board game ''TabletopGame/SpyAlley'' takes place in one.
92	* The 'newly created international city of [[MeaningfulName Espiona]]' in the board game ''Spy Ring''.
93	* The setting of the ''Top Secret'' adventure "Operation: Sprechenhaltestelle'' is a small neutral European town full of spies.
94	* The planet Arden in ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}''.
95	* Krakow in ''TabletopGame/Twilight2000''.
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Video Games]]
99	* The AI in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V'' will almost always plant its spies in the city with the highest espionage potential (because they can steal technologies from it faster), which is based on science output per turn and therefore [[ArtificialStupidity almost certainly a/the player's capital]], especially in single-player. Place one counterspy in your capital and watch him rapidly level up to Special Agent by killing spies from around the world every few turns as world leader after world leader crawls to you, embarrassed and begging for forgiveness.
100	* ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity Override'' has two separate things that fit this in different ways. One is Pax Station, which as pretty much the sole place in which in the United Earth-Voinian Empire peace treaty meaningfully exists is a centre of intrigue, from Voinians hiring human mercenaries to UE agents retrieving Voinian defectors. The other is the entire Igadzra culture -- all three of the Strands have a [[PlanetOfHats thing]] as a deliberate policy, and the Igadzra thing is something like devious paranoia. This both means that Igadzra tends to spy on ''other'' Igadzra and has led to the Igadzra having the most sophisticated and extensive intelligence agencies and clandestine scheming amongst the Strands.
101	* The eponymous city in ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'' qualifies. The Great Game has its players nearly everywhere in London, including the Admiralty, and the district of Wilmot's End may as well be the “District of Spies” since just about everyone you’ll meet there is one of them.
102	* In ''VideoGame/GwentTheWitcherCardGame'', there's the Nilfgaard Empire. The most popular jobs in the Nilfgaardian empire are Spy, Assassin, and Courtesan. It's heavily implied that there is a major overlap between all three jobs.
103	* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', Manaan in some ways has this role in its nature as an extremely valuable world that maintains neutrality. While both the Republic and Sith have embassies on the world, neither are allowed to carry weapons on the streets and are both extremely limited and forced to combat by proxy. In addition, the trial of Sunry, where both he and his victim were being manipulated by the Republic and Sith, is an example of the types of manipulation that go on. [[spoiler: The way in which the Republic builds a secret base with the approval of elements of the Selkath rulers also fits into this type of system.]]
104	* Syndicate Rychart in ''VideoGame/StarTradersFrontiers'' is an entire faction that focuses on spying and subterfuge. A common saying goes: "Never bargain with a Rychart in the dark."
105	* The city of Crossbell from the ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'' edges into this, given that it’s located directly between the continents two major superpowers, the Erebonian Empire and Republic of Calvard, and is divided between factions that support Erebonia, Calvard or advocate for Crossbell to be independent of the two. Agents from both countries are also active in the background, along with [[spoiler:Wazy and Abbas keeping tabs on things for the Septian Church, and later Ries keeping tabs ''on'' the Church]]. During Azures’s final chapter, it's possible to find out that [[spoiler:Reins, a reporter at the Crossbell News Service, is actually an employee of R&A Research, meaning the Kingdom of Liberl is spying on Crossbell too]].
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Western Animation]]
109	* Pottsylvania from ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' is shown to be a whole country of spies in the few times it is shown.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Real Life]]
113	* Nearly any capital city or any city big enough to have a consulate, due to intelligence agents using diplomatic posts as cover, since they have diplomatic immunity. If they're caught, they can simply go back to their home country.
114	* As can be seen from the list below, if a city has been (or is) either the capital of a Great Power, or a focus of international conflict/intrigue at one time or another, it will become a real City of Spies.
115	[[AC: Europe]]
116	* UsefulNotes/{{Berlin}} during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, because it was a city in the middle of communist territory where [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks all]] [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships four]] [[UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades occupation]] [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets powers]] were in close proximity (as was Vienna, see below).
117	** Lampshaded in all conceivable versions of ''Literature/CasinoRoyale'' by Bond girl Vesper Lynd (a pun on 'West Berlin').
118	* Lisbon (UsefulNotes/WorldWarII) was pretty much this during the course of the war, particularly when taking into account [[UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}} Portugal's]] [[WorldWarII/TheNeutralNations neutral status]].
119	* UsefulNotes/{{Moscow}} (same as Washington DC)
120	** Russian intelligence [[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4638136.stm literally turn over stones]] in their search for spies. The fun part? [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/9022827/Russian-spy-rock-was-genuine-former-chief-of-staff-admits.html It's entirely justified.]]
121	* Helsinki (UsefulNotes/ColdWar, present):
122	** Because it was close to the Soviet Union, largely sympathetic to the West, but neutral. The Finns were quite aware of their situation, practicing a policy of "bowing to the East in such a way that it could not be seen as mooning the West."
123	** For a while it looked like Helsinki had lost its importance as a spy city in the aftermath of the Cold War as Finland was no longer situated in between two powerful military alliances. However, following the Russian annexation of Crimea, military intervention in Syria, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the resulting tensions with NATO, spy activity has once again spiked and according to Finnish Security Intelligence Service, it has reached Cold War era levels. And as of 2023, Finland has joined NATO in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
124	* Tallinn, Estonia (Today), because it was once part of the Soviet Union, but is now firmly in the Western camp (part of the EU and NATO). Since 2008 the city is home to the UsefulNotes/{{NATO}} Cyber Defense Center. This last is not particularly surprising: Internet penetration in Estonia is ridiculously high (the country was the first to hold official online elections), the country has a large number of internet-based companies including Skype, and Estonian systems are a common target for Russian hackers.
125	* Vienna (UsefulNotes/ColdWar, Present). Most people don't realize this, but Austria, like Germany, was carved up into four occupation zones after the end of World War II, with Vienna also being divided. The terms under which the occupation of Austria ended mandated that Austria become a neutral state, which it did, so its situation ended up being rather like Finland's. Also, a large number of international institutions are based in or have major offices in Vienna; of these, the most important is the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
126	** The [[PeaceConference Congress of Vienna]] at the end of UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars was a great time for this as well. The British delegation went so far as to take their own service staff on the way with them, knowing that every Austrian they hired would [[TheButlerDidIt be working for the Austrian government]]. Others didn't think of this and as a result, the Austrians picked them blind.
127	** More recently, spy swaps between countries like the US, Russia, and Britain have still been known to take place in the area. The (now infamous) [=MI6=] informant Colonel Sergei Skripal was 'exchanged' at Schwechat airport in 2010.
128	* Prague seems to be the setting of many tales of espionage and intrigue across several genres.
129	* UsefulNotes/{{London}} particularly during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII when it was the main staging ground for the war effort but other periods as well. During the UsefulNotes/ColdWar [[Literature/JamesBond naturally]] and the early days of the age of sail, both [[UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar Civil]] [[UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses Wars]] and half a dozen other time periods, the place was swimming with people selling information to all sides of these conflicts. It probably has dozens of spies in residence to this day due to being one of the largest and most influential cities in the world.
130	** Hilariously, the Nazis ''thought'' London was a City of Spies during WorldWar2, but it was not: thanks to decyphering the Nazi encryption, the Allies managed to turn ''every single Nazi agent'' in the United Kingdom, and then used them to feed false information back to Berlin. This is the only known case of the trope being ''thoroughly'' averted.
131	* Geneva and other Swiss cities. Being a neutral country with many international agencies is enough to be a spy magnet in any era, but especially during World War 2 when Switzerland was neutral in the middle of Nazi-controlled Europe that did extensive business with both sides.
132	* UsefulNotes/{{Venice}} was this during the days of the Late Republic.
133	* Stockholm (UsefulNotes/WorldWarII), as you can read in ''Literature/CourierFromWarsaw'', similarly to Lisbon, above (but with colder weather).
134	* Rotterdam in the Netherlands during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, being located at the crossroads of all the major players on the Western Front, was a hotbed of espionage for both Entente and Central intelligence.
135
136	[[AC: The Americas]]
137	* UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC (UsefulNotes/ColdWar, present)
138	** It's not just unfriendly countries (the Communist bloc during the Cold War, China, and Russia today) that have a major espionage presence in Washington. There was a major scandal in the late 1980s when Israel, one of the U.S.'s closest allies, was caught conducting nuclear-related espionage, and commercial competitors of the U.S. engage in serious industrial/technical espionage efforts. The F.B.I.'s counterintelligence division has a more than a full-time job on its hands keeping track of all these spies and controlling their efforts.
139	** The opening video on the National Spy Museum tour estimates that DC has more spies per capita than any other city on the planet.
140	** Which causes problems when selecting areas for dead drops or covert meetings between spies and their [[TheHandler handlers]]. Because thousands of spies have been working in cities like Washington and Moscow for over half a century, there are very few 'ideal' locations that haven't been used before. In theory, a security service could stake out these places permanently and have a good chance of catching a spy in the act.
141	** Also during the UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, with DC set between Confederate Virginia and Confederate-friendly Maryland and a good number of residents sympathetic to the Southern Cause. DC's mirror opposite city, the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, was riddled with Union spies and sympathizers,[[note]]Virginia was very reluctant to secede and one of the last to do so and join the Confederacy[[/note]] and perhaps more to the point, all of the slaves in Richmond--including those in Confederate President Jefferson Davis' own household--were natural Union sympathizers and therefore natural Union spies (Davis' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Bowser housekeeper]], for instance, was a Union agent).
142	* New York today. Thanks to the United Nations, just about every nation in the world has a diplomatic presence in New York, even nations like North Korea or Iran that are hostile to the US.
143	* San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area region in the 21st century. Due to the presence of Silicon Valley and the many technology & media companies engaged in cutting edge research, countries all over the world [[https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/07/27/silicon-valley-spies-china-russia-219071 are flooding the city with spies to steal as much tech as possible.]] The most alarming foreign power at work here is China, which is able to take full advantage of the enormous Chinese-American community in the area to infiltrate its operatives into.
144	** It isn't just technology that foreign operatives are after, but also political influence and intel. California Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein, one of the longest-serving U.S. Senators to date and a native of San Francisco, was revealed in 2018 to have had [[https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/08/01/details-chinese-spy-dianne-feinstein-san-francisco/ a Chinese spy on her staff]] that had been working for her for ''20 years.'' Feinstein's office only found out about it in 2013, after which they quietly fired him.
145
146	[[AC: Africa]]
147	* Casablanca and Tangiers (UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo)
148	** Hence ''Film/{{Casablanca}}''.
149
150	[[AC: Middle East]]
151	* Istanbul (Practically Forever.)
152	** Istanbul has some claim to be the Trope Namer. It is after all a very "Byzantine" city.
153	*** The atmosphere is captured in the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII history ''Literature/IstanbulIntrigues'' by the author Barry Rubin who called it a "real life Casablanca".
154	*** Depicted as a nearly literal City of Spies in ''Literature/FromRussiaWithLove''.
155	* Tehran during UsefulNotes/WW2. Reza Shah's Pro-Axis administration was overthrown in a joint British-Soviet invasion shortly after the whole Operation Barbarossa thing and his Pro-Ally son was quickly crowned. British forces controlled the city while their enemies at the time (The Soviets) were ravaging the Gilan, Mazandaran, and Azerbaijan regions just north of the Alborz mountains. The strong American, British, French, Russian, and German presence in the city was one of the reasons the conference that finally got the Allies to pull themselves together was held there.
156	** And during the Cold War. Oil Money + U.S. Friendly Monarchy + Massive borders with the Soviet Union = Disaster. Even without all the [=MI6=], CIA and KGB agents running around there was a lot of crap going on. Most of the intellectuals were promoting Marxist-Leninist ideas, but American pop culture was insanely popular. Prime Minister Mosaddeq was trying to make Iran into a full Democracy which the CIA decided to prevent because the Tudeh party and the Jangal party (which were both Communist) were becoming worryingly popular. All political parties except the Rastakhiz party were [[ThePurge disbanded]] after the Mordad coup but that only led to Communist and Religious Terrorist groups (mostly with foreign benefactors) and the Iranian spy agency SAVAK failed to stop them decisively.
157	* Also in Iran, Bushehr has been a hotbed for spy activity forever. Since the 50s, it's been about as crazy as Tehran (look up the Nationalization of the Iranian Oil Industry) but the biggest Spy Magnet of the city is Iran's first Nuclear Power Plant which was built in the early 70s. A few years ago, the Islamic Republic's government decided to revive the Power Plant, flying in a few of the brilliant minds behind Chernobyl to help with the Reactor and triggering a massive load of sanctions from countries who believe the IR means to use nuclear energy for something else.
158	** Under the Safavids it was a sentinel of resistance against the Portuguese colonists, then when the Portuguese colonies were taken back it remained a major port in an era when the Safavids had developed relations with the Dutch and British East India Companies, which didn't quite get along. Nader Shah decided to put the Headquarters of his Navy in Bushehr, but he was killed before he was done conquering on land so the Navy went practically unused.
159	** Under the Qajar dynasty, Bushehr officially became a British Colony. The rest of Iran wasn't quite happy about it.
160
161	[[AC: Asia]]
162	* Kathmandu (since about the early 2000s): With Nepal being sandwiched between the two next likely superpowers of China and India, and a strategic prize for either, the capital has become like this. Sympathetic towards India mostly, but makes sure to keep Beijing in the loop.
163	* Iga, Japan (Feudal ages): It's where ninjas originated and where most of them lived during the feudal ages in Japan. It became so independent of the rest of Japan that it became a de-facto city-state until 1581 when it was destroyed.
164	* Vientiane, Laos in the 1960's thanks to its unusual coalition government of neutralists, communists, and right-wingers, formed because JFK's administration didn't want to risk a direct confrontation in the region. Instead, all sides waged a proxy war through the various Laotian factions until the communist forces became powerful enough to take over by military force in 1975.
165	[[/folder]]

Context Main / CityOfSpies