Victoria, British Columbia

View Interesting Maps in a larger map

Victoria (pronounced /vɪkˈtɔəriə/) is the capital city of British Columbia. Located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria is a major tourism destination seeing more than 3.65 million visitors a year who inject more than one billion dollars into the local economy.[3] Victoria is a cruise ship port where cruise liners stop at Ogden Point terminal. The city also receives economic benefits from its close proximity to Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, the Canadian military’s main Pacific naval base. Downtown Victoria also serves as Greater Victoria's regional downtown, where many night clubs, theatres, restaurants and pubs are clustered, and where much larger regional public events occur. In particular, Canada Day fireworks displays and Symphony Splash concerts draw tens of thousands of Greater Victorians and visitors to the downtown core.

Victoria, British Columbia@Wikipedia

Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic

View Interesting Maps in a larger map
Dubrovnik (pronounced [ˈdǔbro̞ːʋniːk], also known as "the Pearl of the Adriatic"[1]) is a city on the Adriatic Sea coast in the extreme south of Croatia, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its population was 43,770 in 2001[2] down from 49,728 in 1991.[3] In the 2001 census, 88.39% of its citizens declared themselves as Croats.

In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

The prosperity of the city of Dubrovnik has always been based on maritime trade. In the Middle Ages, as the Republic of Dubrovnik, it became the only eastern Adriatic city-state to rival Venice. Supported by its wealth and skilled diplomacy, the city achieved a remarkable level of development, particularly during the 15th and 16th centuries. Dubrovnik was one of the centres of the development of primarily the Croatian language and literature, home to many notable poets, playwrights, painters, mathematicians, physicists and other scholars.

more in Wikipedia

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

View Interesting Maps in a larger map
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, located in San Diego, California, is a state protected historical park in San Diego. The park preserves and recreates the old town of the city, from shortly after the Mexican War of Independence during its pueblo Alta California period beginning in 1821, through the Bear Flag Revolt, the American period, and ending in 1872, 22 years after statehood. Between 2005 and 2006, California State Parks listed Old Town San Diego as the most visited state park in California.

On September 03, 1971, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Old Town San Diego Historic District.

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park@Wikipedia

Hoh Xil (可可西里)

View Interesting Maps in a larger map
Hoh Xil [Mongolian: Khökh shil (Russian transcription), Хөхшил Blue ridge; Chinese: 可可西里; pinyin: Kěkěxīlǐ; Tibetan transcription from Mongolian ཁུ་ཁུ་ཞིལ།, Tibetan original name: ཨ་ཆེན་གངས་རྒྱལ།།, literally Lord of 10 thousands of mountains, Chinese: 阿卿贡嘉; pinyin: Ā Qīng Gòng Jiā] is an isolated region in the northwestern part of the Tibetan plateau in China. It is China's least and the world's third-least populated area.

The region covers 83,000 square kilometres at an average elevation of 4,800 meters, between the Tanggula and Kunlun mountain chains in the border areas of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Northwest China's Qinghai Province and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It is one of the major headwater sources of the Yangtze River. 45,000 square kilometres, at an average elevation of 4,600 metres, were made into a national nature reserve in 1995. The Qingzang railway runs along the eastern boundary of the reserve [1].

Despite the harsh climate, Hoh Xil is home to more than 230 species of wild animals, 20 of which are under state protection, including the wild yak, wild donkey, white-lip deer, brown bear and the endangered Tibetan antelope or chiru.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
The hitherto little-known region, as well the struggling Tibetan antelope, became household names in China upon the release of the film Kekexili: Mountain Patrol in 2004.

Hoh Xil@Wikipedia

Pamukkale (cotton castle) , Turkey.

View Interesting Maps in a larger map
Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site and attraction in south-western Turkey in the Denizli Province. Pamukkale is located in Turkey's Inner Aegean region, in the River Menderes valley, which enjoys a temperate climate over the greater part of the year.

The ancient city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white "castle" which is in total about 2700 meters long and 160m high. It can be seen from the hills on the opposite side of the valley in the town of Denizli, 20 km away.

@Wikipedia

Lake Turkana, the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake.

View Interesting Maps in a larger map
Lake Turkana (tər-kăn'ə, tʊr-kä'nə), formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia.[1] It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. By volume it is the world's fourth largest salt lake after the Caspian Sea, Lake Issyk-Kul and the (shrinking) Aral Sea, and among all lakes it ranks twentieth.

Source: Wikipedia

The Great Sphinx of Giza

View Interesting Maps in a larger map
The Great Sphinx of Giza is a statue of a reclining lion with a human head that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile, near modern-day Cairo, in Egypt. It is the largest monolith statue in the world, standing 73.5 m (241 ft) long, 6 m (20 ft) wide, and 20 m (65 ft) high. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture, and is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians in the third millennium BCE.[1] The Great Sphinx faces due east and houses a small temple between its paws.

The Great Sphinx of Giza@Wikipedia

Urumchi (Ürümqi)

View Large Map
Urumchi or Ürümqi, sometimes spelled Wulumuqi (English IPA: [uːˈruːmtʃi], IPA: [wuːˈluːmuːˌtʃiː] (Wulumuqi); Uyghur: ئۈرۈمچی‎, Ürümchi; simplified Chinese: 乌鲁木齐; traditional Chinese: 烏魯木齊; pinyin: Wūlǔmùqí) is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country.

in Wikipedia

Sigiriya (Lion's rock), Sri Lanka.

View Interesting Maps in a larger map

Sigiriya (Lion's rock) is an ancient rock fortress and castle/palace ruin situated in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. It is a popular tourist destination, also known for its ancient paintings (frescos), very similar to those in the Ajanta Caves of India. The Sigiraya was built during the reign of King Kassapa I (AD 477 – 495), and it is one of the seven World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka.[1][2]

from Wikipedia

London Eye (Millennium Wheel), the biggest Ferris wheel in Europe

View Interesting Maps in a larger map

The London Eye (also known as the Millennium Wheel), at a height of 135 metres (443 ft),[1] is the biggest Ferris wheel in Europe, and has become the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over three million people in one year.[2] At the time it was erected it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, until it was surpassed by the Star of Nanchang (160 m) in May 2006, and then the Singapore Flyer (165 m) on 11 February 2008. However, it is still described by its operators as "the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel" (because the entire structure is supported by an A-frame on one side only).[3]

The London Eye is located at the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames in London, England, between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge. The site is adjacent to that of the former Dome of Discovery, which was built for the Festival of Britain in 1951.

London Eye@Wikipedia

Whistler, British Columbia

View Interesting Maps in a larger map
Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately 125 kilometres (78 mi) north of Vancouver. Incorporated as the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), it has a permanent population of approximately 9,965, plus a larger but rotating "transient" population of workers, typically younger people from beyond BC, notably from Australia and Japan.

Over two million people visit Whistler annually, primarily for alpine skiing and mountain biking at Whistler-Blackcomb. Its pedestrian village has won numerous design awards and Whistler has been voted among the top destinations in North America by major ski magazines since the mid-1990s. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Whistler will host most of the alpine, nordic and sliding events.

Whistler, British Columbia@Wikipedia

Prague Castle (Pražský hrad)

View Interesting Maps in a larger map
Prague Castle (Czech: Pražský hrad, former Austrian: Prager Burg) is a castle in Prague where the Czech kings, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. The Czech Crown Jewels are kept here. Prague Castle is one of the biggest castles in the world (according to Guinness Book of Records the biggest ancient castle [1]) at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide.

Prague Castle (Pražský hrad)@Wikipedia

Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano)

View Interesting Maps in a larger map
Milan Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Milano; Milanese: Domm de Milan) is the cathedral church of Milan in Lombardy, northern Italy. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi.

Milan Cathedral@Wikipedia

Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

View Interesting Maps in a larger map
Skopje (Macedonian: Скопје, Albanian: Shkup, or Shkupi[2]) is the capital of and largest city in the Republic of Macedonia, with more than a quarter of the population of the country, as well as its political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. It was known in the Roman period under the name Scupi. The city developed rapidly after World War II, but this trend was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by a disastrous earthquake. Today Skopje is a modern city with a wide range of cultural monuments.


Skopje@Wikipedia

Glasgow School of Art, one of four independent art schools in Scotland.

View Interesting Maps in a larger map
Glasgow School of Art is one of four independent art schools in Scotland, situated in the Garnethill area of Glasgow. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious institutions in the world for the study of art and design.

Glasgow School of Art@Wikipedia