A bygone city with a distinctive air (4)

I believe the answer is:

aura

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'distinctive air' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'a bygone city with a' is the wordplay.
'bygone city' becomes 'ur' (ancient Sumerian city state. I am not sure about the 'bygone' bit.).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a'+'ur'+'a'='AURA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for aura that I've seen before include "Emanation - distinctive air" , "Vibe" , "Air, distinctive character" , "Perception of distinctive personality" , "distinctive impression" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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