1.
Gross domestic product
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Gross Domestic Product is a monetary measure of the market value of all final goods and services produced in a period. Nominal GDP estimates are used to determine the economic performance of a whole country or region. The OECD defines GDP as a measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident and institutional units engaged in production. ”An IMF publication states that GDP measures the monetary value of final goods and services - that is. Total GDP can also be broken down into the contribution of industry or sector of the economy. The ratio of GDP to the population of the region is the per capita GDP. William Petty came up with a concept of GDP to defend landlords against unfair taxation during warfare between the Dutch and the English between 1652 and 1674. Charles Davenant developed the method further in 1695, the modern concept of GDP was first developed by Simon Kuznets for a US Congress report in 1934. In this report, Kuznets warned against its use as a measure of welfare, after the Bretton Woods conference in 1944, GDP became the main tool for measuring a countrys economy. The switch from GNP to GDP in the US was in 1991, the history of the concept of GDP should be distinguished from the history of changes in ways of estimating it. The value added by firms is relatively easy to calculate from their accounts, but the value added by the sector, by financial industries. GDP can be determined in three ways, all of which should, in principle, give the same result and they are the production approach, the income approach, or the expenditure approach. The most direct of the three is the approach, which sums the outputs of every class of enterprise to arrive at the total. The income approach works on the principle that the incomes of the factors must be equal to the value of their product. This approach mirrors the OECD definition given above, deduct intermediate consumption from gross value to obtain the gross value added. Gross value added = gross value of output – value of intermediate consumption, value of output = value of the total sales of goods and services plus value of changes in the inventories. The sum of the value added in the various economic activities is known as GDP at factor cost. GDP at factor cost plus indirect taxes less subsidies on products = GDP at producer price, for measuring output of domestic product, economic activities are classified into various sectors. Subtracting each sectors intermediate consumption from gross output gives the GDP at factor cost, adding indirect tax minus subsidies in GDP at factor cost gives the GDP at producer prices
Gross domestic product
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Selection of GDP PPP data (top 10 countries and blocks) in no particular order
2.
Aberdeen
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Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands. During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeens buildings incorporated locally quarried grey granite, since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, other nicknames have been the Oil Capital of the World or the Energy Capital of the World. The area around Aberdeen has been settled since at least 8,000 years ago, the city has a long, sandy coastline and a marine climate, the latter resulting in chilly summers and mild winters. Aberdeen received Royal Burgh status from David I of Scotland, transforming the city economically, the traditional industries of fishing, paper-making, shipbuilding, and textiles have been overtaken by the oil industry and Aberdeens seaport. Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial heliports in the world, in 2015, Mercer named Aberdeen the 57th most liveable city in the world, as well as the fourth most liveable city in Britain. In 2012, HSBC named Aberdeen as a business hub and one of eight super cities spearheading the UKs economy. The Aberdeen area has seen human settlement for at least 8,000 years. The city began as two separate burghs, Old Aberdeen at the mouth of the river Don, and New Aberdeen, a fishing and trading settlement, the earliest charter was granted by William the Lion in 1179 and confirmed the corporate rights granted by David I. In 1319, the Great Charter of Robert the Bruce transformed Aberdeen into a property-owning, granted with it was the nearby Forest of Stocket, whose income formed the basis for the citys Common Good Fund which still benefits Aberdonians. The city was burned by Edward III of England in 1336, but was rebuilt and extended, the city was strongly fortified to prevent attacks by neighbouring lords, but the gates were removed by 1770. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1644–1647 the city was plundered by both sides, in 1644, it was taken and ransacked by Royalist troops after the Battle of Aberdeen and two years later it was stormed by a Royalist force under the command of Marquis of Huntly. In 1647 an outbreak of plague killed a quarter of the population. In the 18th century, a new Town Hall was built and the first social services appeared with the Infirmary at Woolmanhill in 1742 and the Lunatic Asylum in 1779. The council began major road improvements at the end of the 18th century with the main thoroughfares of George Street, King Street, gas street lighting arrived in 1824 and an enhanced water supply appeared in 1830 when water was pumped from the Dee to a reservoir in Union Place. An underground sewer system replaced open sewers in 1865, the city was incorporated in 1891. Although Old Aberdeen has a history and still holds its ancient charter. It is an part of the city, as is Woodside. Old Aberdeen is the location of Aberdon, the first settlement of Aberdeen
Aberdeen
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From the top: Part of the Aberdeen skyline, Aberdeen Harbour, and the High Street in Old Aberdeen.
Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen
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The Town House,
Old Aberdeen. Once a separate burgh, Old Aberdeen was incorporated into the city in 1891
3.
Abidjan
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Abidjan is the economic capital of Ivory Coast and is one of the most populous French-speaking cities in Africa. According to the 2014 Ivory Coast census, Abidjans population was 4.7 million, considered the cultural crossroads of Africa, Abidjan is characterised by a high level of industrialisation and urbanisation. The city expanded quickly after the construction of a new wharf in 1931, Abidjan remained the capital of Ivory Coast after its independence from France in 1960. The completion of the Vridi Canal in 1951 enabled Abidjan to become an important sea port, in 1983, the city of Yamoussoukro was designated as the official political capital of Cote dIvoire. However, almost all institutions and foreign embassies continue to be located in Abidjan. Because Abidjan is also the largest city in the country and the centre of its economic activity, the Abidjan Autonomous District, which encompasses the city and some of its suburbs, is one of the 14 districts of Ivory Coast. Abidjan lies on the south-east coast of the country, on the Gulf of Guinea, the city is located on the Ébrié Lagoon. The business district, Le Plateau, is the center of the city, along with Cocody, Deux Plateaux, and Adjamé, a slum on the north shore of the lagoon. Treichville and Marcory lie to the south, Attecoube, Locodjro, Abobo Doume and Yopougon to the west, further south lies Port Bouët, home to the airport and main seaport. Abidjan is located at 5°25′ North, 4°2′ West, Abidjan experiences a tropical wet and dry climate, according to the Köppen climate classification. Abidjan has nonconsecutive rainy seasons (precipitation above 60 millimetres with a rainy season from March to July and a short rainy season from September to December. Precipitation is abundant during the months, except for August, due to activation of the Benguela Current. The Benguela Current also lowers the temperature during August, making it the coolest month of the year. Abidjan has two dry months. Abidjan is generally humid, with relative humidity above 80% throughout the year. Each has ten formal boroughs, or communes, each being run by a mayor, Abobo consists mainly of public housing. Abobo has a population of low-income migrants. Adjamé developed from the village of Ébrié, which existed before Abidjan developed, although polluted and small in size, this commune is commercially very important for the Ivorian economy
Abidjan
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Collection of views of Abidjan, featuring
St. Paul's Cathedral, the
Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium, the Republic square, the beach of Vridi and the CBD named Le Plateau.
Abidjan
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Some buildings in the Plateau
Abidjan
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Beach of Vridi
Abidjan
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Abidjan boatmen.
4.
Abu Dhabi
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Abu Dhabi is the capital and the second most populous city of the United Arab Emirates, and also capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the largest of the UAEs seven emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the western coast. The city proper had a population of 1.5 million in 2014, Abu Dhabi houses federal government offices, is the seat of the United Arab Emirates Government, home to the Abu Dhabi Emiri Family and the President of the UAE, who is from this family. Abu Dhabis rapid development and urbanisation, coupled with the high average income of its population, has transformed the city into a large. Today the city is the center of political and industrial activities. Abu Dhabi accounts for about two-thirds of the roughly $400-billion United Arab Emirates economy, Abu Dhabi is the fourth most expensive city for expatriate employees in the region, and in 2014 was the 68th most expensive big city in the world. Abu Dhabi is full of evidence that points to civilizations, such as the Umm an-Nar Culture. Settlements were also found farther outside the city of Abu Dhabi. There is evidence of civilizations around the mountain of Hafeet and this location is very strategic because it is the UAE’s second tallest mountain, so it would have great visibility. It also contains a lot of moisture in its springs and lakes, origin of the name Abu Dhabi The origin of the name Abu Dhabi is uncertain. Meaning Father of the Gazelle, when translated from Arabic. According to Bilal al-Budoor, assistant under-secretary for Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development, The area had a lot of dhibaa, an old story tells about a man who used to chase deer and was named the father of the animal. Abu Dhabis original name was Milh salt, possibly referring to the salty water of the Persian Gulf, some Bedouins called the city Umm Dhabi, while British records refer to the place as Abu Dhabi. According to some accounts, the name Abu Dhabi was first used more than 300 years ago. The first word of Abu Dhabi is pronounced Bu by inhabitants on the western coast. In the eastern part of the city, the pronunciation is Abu, origins of the Al Nahyan family The Bani Yas bedouin were originally centered on the Liwa Oasis. This tribe was the most significant in the area, having over 20 subsections, in 1793, the Al Bu Falah subsection migrated to the island of Abu Dhabi on the coast of the Persian Gulf due to the discovery of fresh water there. One family within this section was the Al Nahyan family and this family makes up the rulers of Abu Dhabi today
Abu Dhabi
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Clockwise, from top left: Skyline from Marina,
Etihad Towers,
Ferrari World, Skyline from Breakwaters Marina,
Emirates Palace, Desert Ripples.
Abu Dhabi
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Aerial view of Abu Dhabi on the coast of the
Persian Gulf.
Abu Dhabi
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Abu Dhabi seen from SPOT satellite.
Abu Dhabi
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Panoramic view of the Corniche.
5.
Addis Ababa
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Addis Ababa or Addis Abeba, is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It has a population of 3,384,569 according to the 2007 population census and this number has been increased from the originally published 2,738,248 figure and appears to be still largely underestimated. As a chartered city, Addis Ababa has the status of both a city and a state and it is where the African Union is and its predecessor the OAU was based. It also hosts the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa is therefore often referred to as the political capital of Africa for its historical, diplomatic and political significance for the continent. The city is populated by people from different regions of Ethiopia and it is home to Addis Ababa University. The Federation of African Societies of Chemistry and Horn of Africa Press Institute are also headquartered in Addis Ababa, Entoto is one of a handful of sites put forward as a possible location for a medieval imperial capital known as Barara. Dubbed the Pentagon, the 30 hecatre site incorporates a castle with 12 towers, the site of Addis Ababa was chosen by Empress Taytu Betul and the city was founded in 1886 by Emperor Menelik II. His interest in the area grew when his wife Taytu began work on a church on Mount Entoto, and Menelik endowed a second church in the area. However, the area did not encourage the founding of a town for lack of firewood and water. Initially, Taytu built a house for herself near the Filwoha hot mineral springs, other nobility and their staff and households settled in the vicinity, and Menelik expanded his wifes house to become the Imperial Palace which remains the seat of government in Addis Ababa today. The name changed to Addis Ababa and became Ethiopias capital when Menelik II became Emperor of Ethiopia, the town grew by leaps and bounds. One of Emperor Meneliks contributions that is visible today is the planting of numerous eucalyptus trees along the city streets. Following all the engagements of their invasion, Italian troops from the colony of Eritrea entered Addis Ababa on 5 May 1936. Along with Dire Dawa, the city had been spared the aerial bombardment practiced elsewhere, the city was liberated by Major Orde Wingates Sudanese and Ethiopian Gideon Force in time to permit Emperor Haile Selassies return on 5 May 1941, five years to the day after he had left. Following reconstruction, Haile Selassie helped form the Organisation of African Unity in 1963, the OAU was dissolved in 2002 and replaced by the African Union, also headquartered in Addis Ababa. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa also has its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa was also the site of the Council of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in 1965. Ethiopia has often called the original home of mankind because of various humanoid fossil discoveries like the Australopithecine Lucy. After analysing the DNA of almost 1,000 people around the world, geneticists, the research indicated that genetic diversity decreases steadily the farther ones ancestors traveled from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Addis Ababa
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A montage of Addis Ababa's sights (from left to right) Top:
Addis Ababa City Hall,
Lion of Judah Monument,
Tiglachin Monument Middle:
St. George's Cathedral,
Yekatit 12 Square,
Addis Ababa Railway Station Bottom:
Meyazia 27 Square, View of Addis Ababa from
Entoto,
Meskel Square
Addis Ababa
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Addis-Ababa and vicinities (false colors satellite image): it is an urbanization strip connecting Addis Ababa and
Debre Zeyit city (at image right bottom corner)
Addis Ababa
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Addis Ababa seen from SPOT satellite
Addis Ababa
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The bustling centre of Addis Ababa.
6.
Adelaide
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Adelaide is the capital city of the state of South Australia, and the fifth-most populous city of Australia. In June 2016, Adelaide had a resident population of 1,326,354 million. South Australia, with a total of 1, the demonym Adelaidean is used in reference to the city and its residents. Adelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges which surround the city. Adelaide stretches 20 km from the coast to the foothills, and 94 to 104 km from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south. Named in honour of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen consort to King William IV, Colonel William Light, one of Adelaides founding fathers, designed the city and chose its location close to the River Torrens, in the area originally inhabited by the Kaurna people. Lights design set out Adelaide in a layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares. Early Adelaide was shaped by prosperity and wealth—until the Second World War, it was Australias third-largest city and it has been noted for early examples of religious freedom, a commitment to political progressivism and civil liberties. It has been known as the City of Churches since the mid-19th century, as South Australias seat of government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the boulevard of North Terrace, King William Street. Today, Adelaide is noted for its festivals and sporting events, its food and wine, its long beachfronts. It ranks highly in terms of liveability, being listed in the Top 10 of The Economist Intelligence Units Worlds Most Liveable Cities index in 2010,2011,2012 and 2015. It was also ranked the most liveable city in Australia by the Property Council of Australia in 2011,2012 and 2013, prior to its proclamation as a British settlement in 1836, the area around Adelaide was inhabited by the indigenous Kaurna Aboriginal nation. Kaurna culture and language was almost completely destroyed within a few decades of the European settlement of South Australia in 1836, however, extensive documentation by early missionaries and other researchers has enabled a modern revival of both language and culture. South Australia was officially proclaimed as a new British colony on 28 December 1836, the event is commemorated in South Australia as Proclamation Day. The site of the capital was surveyed and laid out by Colonel William Light. Adelaide was established as a colony of free immigrants, promising civil liberties and freedom from religious persecution. Wakefields idea was for the Government to survey and sell the land at a rate that would maintain land values high enough to be unaffordable for labourers and journeymen
Adelaide
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From top to bottom, left to right:
Central Adelaide from
Mount Lofty, the
UniSA Building on North Terrace,
St Peter's Cathedral, the beachside suburb of
Glenelg, a rotunda in
Elder Park, and
Victoria Square illuminated in the evening
Adelaide
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Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, the city's namesake
Adelaide
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North Terrace in 1841
Adelaide
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Westpac House, Adelaide's tallest building at 132 metres (Australia's 127th tallest building).
7.
Ahmedabad
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Ahmedabad is the largest city and former capital of Gujarat, which is a state in India. It is the headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. With a population of more than 6.3 million and a population of 7.8 million, it is the sixth largest city. Ahmedabad is located on the banks of the Sabarmati River,30 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad has emerged as an important economic and industrial hub in India. It is the second largest producer of cotton in India, Cricket is a popular sport in Ahmedabad, which houses the 54, 000-seat Sardar Patel Stadium. The effects of liberalisation of the Indian economy have energised the citys economy towards tertiary sector such as commerce. Ahmedabads increasing population has resulted in an increase in the construction, in 2010, it was ranked third in Forbess list of fastest growing cities of the decade. In 2012, The Times of India chose Ahmedabad as Indias best city to live in, as of 2014, Ahmedabads estimated gross domestic product was $119 billion. Ahmedabad has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a city under PM Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. The area around Ahmedabad has been inhabited since the 15th century, at that time, Karna, the Chaulukya ruler of Anhilwara, waged a successful war against the Bhil king of Ashaval, and established a city called Karnavati on the banks of the Sabarmati. Solanki rule lasted until the 13th century, when Gujarat came under the control of the Vaghela dynasty of Dholka, Gujarat subsequently came under the control of the Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century. This area finally came under the control of his grandson Sultan Ahmed Shah in 1411 A. D, according to other sources, he named it after himself. Ahmed Shah I laid the foundation of the city on 26 February 1411 at Manek Burj and he chose it as the new capital on 4 March 1411. In 1487, Mahmud Begada, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, fortified the city with an outer wall 10 km in circumference and consisting of twelve gates,189 bastions and over 6,000 battlements. In 1535 Humayun briefly occupied Ahmedabad after capturing Champaner when the ruler of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, Ahmedabad was then reoccupied by the Muzaffarid dynasty until 1573 when Gujarat was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar. During the Mughal reign, Ahmedabad became one of the Empires thriving centres of trade, mainly in textiles, the Mughal ruler Shahjahan spent the prime of his life in the city, sponsoring the construction of the Moti Shahi Mahal in Shahibaug. The Deccan Famine of 1630–32 affected the city, as did famines in 1650 and 1686, Ahmedabad remained the provincial headquarters of the Mughals until 1758, when they surrendered the city to the Marathas. During the period of Maratha Empire governance, the city became the centre of a conflict between two Maratha clans, the Peshwa of Poona and the Gaekwad of Baroda
Ahmedabad
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Clockwise from topː Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalay at Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad Railway Station, CEPT University, Kankaria Lake and the Kirti Stambh at Hutheesing Temple
Ahmedabad
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City Walls of Ahmedabad, 1866
Ahmedabad
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Sabarmati Ashram, established by
Mahatma Gandhi
8.
Albuquerque
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Albuquerque is the most populous city in the U. S. state of New Mexico. The high-altitude city serves as the county seat of Bernalillo County, the city population is 557,169 as of the July 1,2014 population estimate from the United States Census Bureau, and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U. S. The Albuquerque metropolitan statistical area has a population of 907,301 according to the United States Census Bureaus most recently available estimate for 2015, Albuquerque is the 60th-largest United States metropolitan area. The Sandia Mountains run along the side of Albuquerque. Albuquerque is also the home of the International Balloon Fiesta, the worlds largest such gathering of hot-air balloons from around the globe, the event takes place during the first week of October. Albuquerque was named in honor of Francisco, Duke of Alburquerque, the growing village soon to become Albuquerque was named by provincial governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés. Franciscos title referred to the Spanish town of Alburquerque, in the Spanish province of Badajoz, the name has two theories of origin which denote either Latin or Arabic roots. The first of which derived from the Latin albus quercus meaning white oak and this name was probably in reference to the prevalence of cork oaks in the region, which have a white wood when the bark is removed. Alburquerque is still a center of the Spanish cork industry, another theory suggests that it may come from the Arabic Abu al-Qurq, which means father of the cork. The change was also in due to the fact that citizens found the original name difficult to pronounce. Western folklore offers a different explanation, tracing the name Albuquerque to the Galician word albaricoque, the apricot was brought to New Mexico by Spanish settlers, possibly as early as 1743. As the story goes, the settlement was established near an apricot tree, as frontiersmen were unable to correctly pronounce the Galician word, it became corrupted to Albuquerque. The Tanoan and Keres peoples had lived along the Rio Grande for centuries before European settlers arrived in what is now Albuquerque, Albuquerque was founded in 1706 as the Spanish colonial outpost of Villa de Alburquerque. Present-day Albuquerque retains much of its historical Spanish cultural heritage, Albuquerque was a farming community and strategically located military outpost along the Camino Real. The town was also the center of the West. Spain established a presidio in Albuquerque in 1706, after 1821, Mexico also had a military garrison there. The town of Alburquerque was built in the traditional Spanish village pattern, a plaza surrounded by government buildings, homes. This central plaza area has preserved and is open to the public as a museum, cultural area
Albuquerque
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Francisco, Duke of Alburquerque
Albuquerque
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Balloon Fiesta,
Downtown Albuquerque Alvarado Center,
Sandia Peak Tramway San Felipe de Neri Church,
Rio Grande Wetlands.
Albuquerque
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Old Town Albuquerque Plaza
Albuquerque
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Downtown Albuquerque in 1880
9.
Alexandria
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Alexandria is the second largest city and a major economic centre in Egypt, extending about 32 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country. Its low elevation on the Nile delta makes it vulnerable to rising sea levels. Alexandria is Egypts largest seaport, serving approximately 80% of Egypts imports and exports and it is an important industrial center because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez. Alexandria is also an important tourist destination, Alexandria was founded around a small Ancient Egyptian town c.331 BC by Alexander the Great. Alexandria was the second most powerful city of the ancient world after Rome, Alexandria is believed to have been founded by Alexander the Great in April 331 BC as Ἀλεξάνδρεια. Alexanders chief architect for the project was Dinocrates, Alexandria was intended to supersede Naucratis as a Hellenistic center in Egypt, and to be the link between Greece and the rich Nile valley. The city and its museum attracted many of the greatest scholars, including Greeks, Jews, the city was later plundered and lost its significance. Just east of Alexandria, there was in ancient times marshland, as early as the 7th century BC, there existed important port cities of Canopus and Heracleion. The latter was rediscovered under water. An Egyptian city, Rhakotis, already existed on the shore also and it continued to exist as the Egyptian quarter of the city. A few months after the foundation, Alexander left Egypt and never returned to his city, after Alexanders departure, his viceroy, Cleomenes, continued the expansion. Although Cleomenes was mainly in charge of overseeing Alexandrias continuous development, the Heptastadion, inheriting the trade of ruined Tyre and becoming the center of the new commerce between Europe and the Arabian and Indian East, the city grew in less than a generation to be larger than Carthage. In a century, Alexandria had become the largest city in the world and and it became Egypts main Greek city, with Greek people from diverse backgrounds. Alexandria was not only a center of Hellenism, but was home to the largest urban Jewish community in the world. The Septuagint, a Greek version of the Tanakh, was produced there, in AD115, large parts of Alexandria were destroyed during the Kitos War, which gave Hadrian and his architect, Decriannus, an opportunity to rebuild it. On 21 July 365, Alexandria was devastated by a tsunami, the Islamic prophet, Muhammads first interaction with the people of Egypt occurred in 628, during the Expedition of Zaid ibn Haritha. He sent Hatib bin Abi Baltaeh with a letter to the king of Egypt and Alexandria called Muqawqis In the letter Muhammad said, I invite you to accept Islam, Allah the sublime, shall reward you doubly. But if you refuse to do so, you bear the burden of the transgression of all the Copts
Alexandria
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Alexandria Ἀλεξάνδρεια
Alexandria
Alexandria
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Residential neighborhood in Alexandria
Alexandria
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Fishing in Alexandria
10.
Algiers
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Algiers is the capital and largest city of Algeria. In 2011, the population was estimated to be around 3,500,000. An estimate puts the population of the metropolitan city to be around 5,000,000. Algiers is located on the Mediterranean Sea and in the portion of Algeria. The casbah and the two form a triangle. A Phoenician commercial outpost called Ikosim which later developed into a small Roman town called Icosium existed on what is now the quarter of the city. The rue de la Marine follows the lines of what used to be a Roman street, Roman cemeteries existed near Bab-el-Oued and Bab Azoun. The city was given Latin rights by Emperor Vespasian, the bishops of Icosium are mentioned as late as the 5th century. The present-day city was founded in 944 by Bologhine ibn Ziri and he had earlier built his own house and a Sanhaja center at Ashir, just south of Algiers. Although his Zirid dynasty was overthrown by Roger II of Sicily in 1148, the city was wrested from the Hammadids by the Almohads in 1159, and in the 13th century came under the dominion of the Ziyanid sultans of Tlemcen. Nominally part of the sultanate of Tlemcen, Algiers had a measure of independence under amirs of its own due to Oran being the chief seaport of the Ziyanids. As early as 1302 the islet of Peñón in front of Algiers harbour had been occupied by Spaniards, thereafter, a considerable amount of trade began to flow between Algiers and Spain. However, Algiers continued to be of little importance until after the expulsion of the Moors from Spain. In 1510, following their occupation of Oran and other towns on the coast of Africa, in 1516, the amir of Algiers, Selim b. Teumi, invited the corsair brothers Aruj and Hayreddin Barbarossa to expel the Spaniards, Aruj came to Algiers, ordered the assassination of Selim, and seized the town and ousted the Spanish in the Capture of Algiers. Hayreddin, succeeding Aruj after the latter was killed in battle against the Spaniards in the Fall of Tlemcen, was the founder of the pashaluk, Algiers from this time became the chief seat of the Barbary pirates. Formally part of the Ottoman Empire but essentially free from Ottoman control, starting in the 16th century Algiers turned to piracy, repeated attempts were made by various nations to subdue the pirates that disturbed shipping in the western Mediterranean and engaged in slave raids as far north as Iceland. The United States fought two wars over Algiers attacks on shipping, among the notable people held for ransom was the future Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes, who was captive in Algiers almost five years, and who wrote two plays set in Algiers of the period
Algiers
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Clockwise: Buildings along the
Mediterranean coast of Algiers,
Martyrs Memorial,
Notre Dame d'Afrique,
Ketchaoua Mosque,
Casbah, the Grand Post Office and the
Ministry of Finance of Algeria
Algiers
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Old Algiers in the 16th century, with the Spanish-built Peñón of Algiers in the forefront.
Algiers
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Abraham Duquesne delivering Christian captives in Algiers after the bombing in 1683.
Algiers
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Historic map of Algiers by
Piri Reis
11.
Amsterdam
–
Amsterdam is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper,1,351,587 in the urban area, the city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe. Amsterdams name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the citys origin around a dam in the river Amstel, during that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned, the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered a world city by the Globalization. The city is also the capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the worlds 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit and 12th globally on quality of living for environment, the city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. After the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river, the earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27,1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks, the certificate describes the inhabitants as homines manentes apud Amestelledamme. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam, Amsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat. Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306, from the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam
12.
Ankara
–
Ankara, formerly known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of the Republic of Turkey. With a population of 4,587,558 in the center and 5,150,072 in its province. Ankara was Atatürks headquarters from 1920 and has been the capital of the Republic since its founding in 1923, the government is a prominent employer, but Ankara is also an important commercial and industrial city, located at the center of Turkeys road and railway networks. The city gave its name to the Angora wool shorn from Angora rabbits, the long-haired Angora goat, the area is also known for its pears, honey, and muscat grapes. Ankara is an old city with various Hittite, Phrygian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine. The historical center of town is a hill rising 150 m over the left bank of the Ankara Çayı, a tributary of the Sakarya River. The hill remains crowned by the ruins of the old citadel, as with many ancient cities, Ankara has gone by several names over the ages. It has been identified with the Hittite cult center Ankuwaš, although remains a matter of debate. In classical antiquity and during the period, the city was known as Ánkyra in Greek and Ancyra in Latin. Following its annexation by the Seljuk Turks in 1073, the city known in many European languages as Angora. The form Angora is preserved in the names of breeds of different kinds of animals. The oldest settlements in and around the city center of Ankara belonged to the Hattic civilization which existed during the Bronze Age and was gradually absorbed c, 2000–1700 BC by the Indo-European Hittites. In Phrygian tradition, King Midas was venerated as the founder of Ancyra, but Pausanias mentions that the city was far older. Persian sovereignty lasted until the Persians defeat at the hands of Alexander the Great who conquered the city in 333 BC, Alexander came from Gordion to Ankara and stayed in the city for a short period. After his death at Babylon in 323 BC and the subsequent division of his empire among his generals, Ankara, by that time the city also took its name Ἄγκυρα which, in slightly modified form, provides the modern name of Ankara. Other centers were Pessinos, todays Balhisar, for the Trocmi tribe, the city was then known as Ancyra. The Celtic element was probably relatively small in numbers, an aristocracy which ruled over Phrygian-speaking peasants. However, the Celtic language continued to be spoken in Galatia for many centuries
Ankara
–
From top to bottom and left to right:
Atatürk's Mausoleum,
Kızılay Square,
Kocatepe Mosque, A general view of the city centre,
Atakule Tower and
Ulus Square.
Ankara
Ankara
–
Alaca Höyük bronze standard on display at the
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara.
Ankara
–
The
Dying Galatian was a famous statue commissioned some time between 230–220 BC by King
Attalos I of
Pergamon to honor his victory over the
Celtic Galatians in
Anatolia. Roman marble copy of a
Hellenistic work of the late 3rd century BC, at the
Capitoline Museums, Rome.
13.
Athens
–
Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime. In 2015, Athens was ranked the worlds 29th richest city by purchasing power, Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a financial sector. The municipality of Athens had a population of 664,046 within its limits. The urban area of Athens extends beyond its administrative city limits. According to Eurostat in 2011, the Functional urban areas of Athens was the 9th most populous FUA in the European Union, Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery, Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι a plural, in earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη. It was possibly rendered in the later on, like those of Θῆβαι and Μυκῆναι. During the medieval period the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα, an etiological myth explaining how Athens has acquired its name was well known among ancient Athenians and even became the theme of the sculpture on the West pediment of the Parthenon. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the god of the seas, Poseidon had many disagreements, in an attempt to compel the people, Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, when Athena created the tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Different etymologies, now rejected, were proposed during the 19th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος or ἄνθος meaning flower, ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- to denote Athens as having fertile soil. In classical literature, the city was referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindars ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι. In medieval texts, variant names include Setines, Satine, and Astines, today the caption η πρωτεύουσα, the capital, has become somewhat common
Athens
–
From upper left: the
Acropolis, the
Hellenic Parliament, the
Zappeion, the
Acropolis Museum,
Monastiraki Square, Athens view towards the sea
Athens
–
Athena, patron goddess of Athens;
National Archaeological Museum
Athens
–
Acropolis of Athens, with
Odeon of Herodes Atticus seen on bottom left
14.
Atlanta
–
Atlanta is the capital of and the most populous city in the U. S. state of Georgia, with an estimated 2015 population of 463,878. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, home to 5,710,795 people, Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County, and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County. In 1837, Atlanta was founded at the intersection of two lines, and the city rose from the ashes of the American Civil War to become a national center of commerce. Atlantas economy is considered diverse, with dominant sectors that include logistics, professional and business services, media operations, Atlanta has topographic features that include rolling hills and dense tree coverage. Revitalization of Atlantas neighborhoods, initially spurred by the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, has intensified in the 21st century, altering the demographics, politics. Prior to the arrival of European settlers in north Georgia, Creek Indians inhabited the area, standing Peachtree, a Creek village located where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, was the closest Indian settlement to what is now Atlanta. As part of the removal of Native Americans from northern Georgia from 1802 to 1825, the Creek ceded the area in 1821. In 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western, the initial route was to run southward from Chattanooga to a terminus east of the Chattahoochee River, which would then be linked to Savannah. After engineers surveyed various possible locations for the terminus, the zero milepost was driven into the ground in what is now Five Points. A year later, the area around the milepost had developed into a settlement, first known as Terminus, and later as Thrasherville after a merchant who built homes. By 1842, the town had six buildings and 30 residents and was renamed Marthasville to honor the Governors daughter, later, J. Edgar Thomson, Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested the town be renamed Atlantica-Pacifica, which was shortened to Atlanta. The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29,1847, by 1860, Atlantas population had grown to 9,554. During the American Civil War, the nexus of multiple railroads in Atlanta made the city a hub for the distribution of military supplies, in 1864, the Union Army moved southward following the capture of Chattanooga and began its invasion of north Georgia. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered Atlanta to the Union Army, on November 11,1864, Sherman prepared for the Union Armys March to the Sea by ordering Atlanta to be burned to the ground, sparing only the citys churches and hospitals. After the Civil War ended in 1865, Atlanta was gradually rebuilt, due to the citys superior rail transportation network, the state capital was moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta in 1868. In the 1880 Census, Atlanta surpassed Savannah as Georgias largest city, by 1885, the founding of the Georgia School of Technology and the citys black colleges had established Atlanta as a center for higher education. In 1895, Atlanta hosted the Cotton States and International Exposition, during the first decades of the 20th century, Atlanta experienced a period of unprecedented growth. In three decades time, Atlantas population tripled as the city expanded to include nearby streetcar suburbs
Atlanta
–
From top to bottom left to right: Atlanta skyline seen from
Buckhead, the
Fox Theatre, the
Georgia State Capitol,
Centennial Olympic Park,
Millennium Gate, the
Canopy Walk, the
Georgia Aquarium,
The Phoenix statue, and the
Midtown skyline
Atlanta
–
Marietta Street, 1864
Atlanta
–
Atlanta in ruins during the Civil War, 1864
Atlanta
–
In 1907, Peachtree Street, the main street of Atlanta, was busy with streetcars and automobiles.
15.
Auckland
–
Auckland is a city in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the most populous area in the country. Auckland has a population of 1,495,000, which constitutes 32 percent of New Zealands population, a diverse and multicultural city, Auckland is home to the largest Polynesian population in the world. It has also been called Ākarana, the Māori pronunciation of Auckland, the Auckland urban area ranges to Waiwera in the north, Kumeu in the northwest, and Runciman in the south. It is not contiguous, the section from Waiwera to Whangaparāoa Peninsula is separate from its nearest neighbouring suburb of Long Bay, the surrounding hills are covered in rainforest and the landscape is dotted with dozens of dormant volcanic cones. The central part of the area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the few cities in the world to have harbours on two major bodies of water. The isthmus on which Auckland resides was first settled around 1350 and was valued for its rich, Māori population in the area is estimated to have peaked at 20,000 before the arrival of Europeans. After a British colony was established in 1840, the new Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson and he named the area Auckland for George Eden, Earl of Auckland, British First Lord of the Admiralty. It was replaced as the capital in 1865, but immigration to the new city stayed strong, today, Aucklands Central Business District is the major financial centre of New Zealand. Auckland is classified as a Beta World City because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, education and tourism. Aucklands landmarks such as the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Harbour Bridge, the Sky Tower, the isthmus was settled by Māori around 1350, and was valued for its rich and fertile land. Many pā were created, mainly on the volcanic peaks, Māori population in the area is estimated to have been about 20,000 people before the arrival of Europeans. As a result, the region had relatively low numbers of Māori when European settlement of New Zealand began, there is, however, nothing to suggest that this was the result of a deliberate European policy. Auckland was officially declared New Zealands capital in 1841 and the transfer of the administration from Russell in the Bay of Islands was completed in 1842. However, even in 1840 Port Nicholson was seen as a choice for an administrative capital because of its proximity to the South Island. After losing its status as capital, Auckland remained the city of the Auckland Province until the provincial system was abolished in 1876. Each of the four settlements had about 800 settlers, the men being fully armed in case of emergency but spent nearly all their time breaking in the land and establishing roads
Auckland
–
Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau (
Māori)
Auckland
–
Lower Queen Street in 1919
Auckland
–
The urbanised extent of Auckland (red), as of 2009
Auckland
–
Rangitoto Island (in the background) from
Achilles Point
16.
Austin
–
Austin is the capital of the U. S. state of Texas and the seat of Travis County. It is the 11th-most populous city in the U. S. and it is the fastest growing large city in the United States and the second most populous capital city after Phoenix, Arizona. As of the U. S. Census Bureaus July 1,2015 estimate and it is the cultural and economic center of the Austin–Round Rock metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 2,056,405 as of July 1,2016. In the 1830s, pioneers began to settle the area in central Austin along the Colorado River, in 1839, the site was officially chosen to replace Houston as the new capital of the Republic of Texas and was incorporated under the name Waterloo. Shortly thereafter, the name was changed to Austin in honor of Stephen F. Austin, the Father of Texas and the republics first secretary of state. The city subsequently grew throughout the 19th century and became a center for government and education with the construction of the Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas at Austin. After a lull in growth from the Great Depression, Austin resumed its development into a city and, by the 1980s, it emerged as a center for technology. A number of Fortune 500 companies have headquarters or regional offices in Austin, including Amazon. com, cisco, eBay, Google, IBM, Intel, Oracle Corporation, Texas Instruments, 3M, and Whole Foods Market. Dells worldwide headquarters is located in nearby Round Rock, a suburb of Austin, residents of Austin are known as Austinites. They include a mix of government employees, college students, musicians, high-tech workers, blue-collar workers. The city also adopted Silicon Hills as a nickname in the 1990s due to an influx of technology. In the late 1800s, Austin was known as the City of the Violet Crown because of the glow of light across the hills just after sunset. Even today, many Austin businesses use the term Violet Crown in their name, Austin is known as a clean-air city for its stringent no-smoking ordinances that apply to all public places and buildings, including restaurants and bars. The FBI ranked Austin as the second-safest major city in the U. S. for the year 2012, U. S. News & World Report named Austin the best place to live in the U. S. in 2017. Austin, Travis County and Williamson County have been the site of habitation since at least 9200 BC. When settlers arrived from Europe, the Tonkawa tribe inhabited the area, the Comanches and Lipan Apaches were also known to travel through the area. Spanish colonists, including the Espinosa-Olivares-Aguirre expedition, traveled through the area for centuries, in 1730, three missions from East Texas were combined and reestablished as one mission on the south side of the Colorado River, in what is now Zilker Park, in Austin. The mission was in area for only about seven months
Austin
–
Downtown skyline as seen from
Lady Bird Lake
Austin
–
An 1873 illustration of Edwin Waller's layout for Austin
Austin
–
Statue of the Goddess of Liberty on the
Texas State Capitol Grounds prior to installation on top of the rotunda
Austin
–
Bob Bullock Texas History Museum in Austin. Its mission is to "tell The Story of Texas".
17.
Baghdad
–
Baghdad is the capital of the Republic of Iraq. The population of Baghdad, as of 2016, is approximately 8,765,000 making it the largest city in Iraq, the second largest city in the Arab world, and the second largest city in Western Asia. Located along the Tigris River, the city was founded in the 8th century, within a short time of its inception, Baghdad evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center for the Islamic world. This, in addition to housing several key institutions, garnered the city a worldwide reputation as the Centre of Learning. Throughout the High Middle Ages, Baghdad was considered to be the largest city in the world with a population of 1,200,000 -3,000,000 people. The city was destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues. With the recognition of Iraq as an independent state in 1938, in contemporary times, the city has often faced severe infrastructural damage, most recently due to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the subsequent Iraq War that lasted until December 2011. In recent years, the city has been subjected to insurgency attacks. As of 2012, Baghdad was listed as one of the least hospitable places in the world to live, the site where the city of Baghdad developed has been populated for millennia. By the 8th century AD, several villages had developed there, including a Persian hamlet called Baghdad, the name is of Indo-European origin and a Middle Persian compound of Bagh god and dād given by, translating to Bestowed by God or Gods gift. In Old Persian the first element can be traced to boghu and is related to Slavic bog god, a similar term in Middle Persian is the name Mithradāt, known in English by its Hellenistic form Mithridates, meaning gift of Mithra. There are a number of locations in the wider region whose names are compounds of the word bagh, including Baghlan. The name of the town Baghdati in Georgia shares the same etymological origins, when the Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur, founded a completely new city for his capital, he chose the name Madinat al-Salaam or City of Peace. This was the name on coins, weights, and other official usage. By the 11th century, Baghdad became almost the exclusive name for the world-renowned metropolis, after the fall of the Umayyads, the first Muslim dynasty, the victorious Abbasid rulers wanted their own capital whence they could rule. They chose a site north of the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon, on 30 July 762, the caliph Al-Mansur commissioned the construction of the city, mansur believed that Baghdad was the perfect city to be the capital of the Islamic empire under the Abbasids. Mansur loved the site so much he is quoted saying, This is indeed the city that I am to found, where I am to live, and where my descendants will reign afterward. The citys growth was helped by its excellent location, based on at least two factors, it had control over strategic and trading routes along the Tigris, the abundance of water in a dry climate
Baghdad
–
Zumurrud Khaton tomb in Baghdad (built in 1202 AD), photo of 1932.
Baghdad
–
Panoramic view over the ancient city of
Babylon, located 85 km (53 mi) south of Baghdad.
Baghdad
–
Suq al-Ghazel (The Yarn Bazaar) Minaret in Baghdad,
Mesopotamia (
Iraq). This is the oldest
minaret in Baghdad. It belonged to the Caliph Mosque, built by Caliph Muktafi 901–907 AD.
18.
Baltimore
–
Baltimore is the largest city in the U. S. state of Maryland, and the 29th-most populous city in the country. It was established by the Constitution of Maryland and is not part of any county, thus, it is the largest independent city in the United States, with a population of 621,849 as of 2015. As of 2010, the population of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area was 2.7 million, founded in 1729, Baltimore is the second largest seaport in the Mid-Atlantic. Baltimores Inner Harbor was once the leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States. With hundreds of identified districts, Baltimore has been dubbed a city of neighborhoods, in the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner, later the American national anthem, in Baltimore. More than 65,000 properties, or roughly one in three buildings in the city, are listed on the National Register, more than any city in the nation. The city has 289 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the historical records of the government of Baltimore are located at the Baltimore City Archives. The city is named after Cecil Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, of the Irish House of Lords, Baltimore Manor was the name of the estate in County Longford on which the Calvert family lived in Ireland. Baltimore is an anglicization of the Irish name Baile an Tí Mhóir, in 1608, Captain John Smith traveled 210 miles from Jamestown to the uppermost Chesapeake Bay, leading the first European expedition to the Patapsco River. The name Patapsco is derived from pota-psk-ut, which translates to backwater or tide covered with froth in Algonquian dialect, a quarter century after John Smiths voyage, English colonists began to settle in Maryland. The area constituting the modern City of Baltimore and its area was first settled by David Jones in 1661. He claimed the area today as Harbor East on the east bank of the Jones Falls stream. In the early 1600s, the immediate Baltimore vicinity was populated, if at all. The Baltimore area had been inhabited by Native Americans since at least the 10th millennium BC, one Paleo-Indian site and several Archaic period and Woodland period archaeological sites have been identified in Baltimore, including four from the Late Woodland period. During the Late Woodland period, the culture that is called the Potomac Creek complex resided in the area from Baltimore to the Rappahannock River in Virginia. It was located on the Bush River on land that in 1773 became part of Harford County, in 1674, the General Assembly passed An Act for erecting a Court-house and Prison in each County within this Province. The site of the house and jail for Baltimore County was evidently Old Baltimore near the Bush River. In 1683, the General Assembly passed An Act for Advancement of Trade to establish towns, ports, one of the towns established by the act in Baltimore County was on Bush River, on Town Land, near the Court-House
Baltimore
–
Sixth Regiment fighting railroad strikers, July 20, 1877
Baltimore
Baltimore
–
The
Battle Monument commemorates the
Battle of Baltimore.
Baltimore
–
The
Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, looking west from
Pratt and
Gay streets
19.
Bandung
–
It is nations fourth largest city, and the third largest city by population, with over 2.4 million. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 kilometres south east of Jakarta, the city lies on a river basin surrounded by volcanic mountains. This topography provides a defense system, which was the primary reason for the Dutch East Indies governments plan to move the colony capital from Batavia to Bandung. The Dutch colonials first established tea plantations around the mountains in the century. The Dutch inhabitants of Bandung demanded establishment of a municipality, which was granted in 1906, luxurious hotels, restaurants, cafés and European boutiques were opened, hence the city was nicknamed Parijs van Java.5 million people. New skycrapers, high-rise buildings, bridges, gardens have been constructed, Bandung will be supporting as one of the host cities of 2018 Asian Games. Current international airport redevelopment is completed in 2016, to improve infrastructure, the construction of Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail and Bandung Metro Kapsul, a type of indigenous Automated People Mover will start in 2017. The new Bandung Kertajati International Airport also will be completed as early as 2018, Bandung, the capital of West Java province, located about 180 kilometres southeast of Jakarta, is the third largest city in Indonesia. Its elevation is 768 metres above sea level and is surrounded by up to 2,400 metres high Late Tertiary and Quaternary volcanic terrain. The basins main river is the Citarum, one of its branches, the Bandung Basin is an important source of water for potable water, irrigation and fisheries, with its 6,147 million m³ of groundwater being a major reservoir for the city. The northern section of Bandung is hillier than other parts of the city, long-term volcanic activity has created fertile andisol soil in the north, suitable for intensive rice, fruit, tea, tobacco and coffee plantations. In the south and east, alluvial soils deposited by the Cikapundung river predominate, Geological data shows that the Bandung Basin is located on an ancient volcano, known as Mount Sunda, erected up to 3, 000–4,000 metres during the Pleistocene age. Two large-scale eruptions took place, the first formed the basin, the lake drained away, for reasons which are the subject of ongoing debate among geologists. Bandung experiences tropical climate according to Köppen climate classification as the driest month precipitation total is below 60 millimetres. The wettest month is February with precipitation total 255.0 millimetres, the average temperature throughout the year tends to be cooler than most cities in Indonesia due to the altitude influence. The average temperature throughout the year only has little variation due to its location near the equator, the official name of the city during the colonial Dutch East Indies period was Bandoeng. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Dutch East Indies Company established plantations in the Bandung area, in 1786, a supply road connecting Batavia, Bogor, Cianjur, Bandung, Sumedang and Cirebon was constructed. Daendels built a road, stretching approximately 1,000 km from the west to the east coast of Java, in 1810, the road was laid down in Bandung and was named De Groote Postweg, the present-day location of Asia-Afrika Street
Bandung
–
From top, clockwise:
Gedung Sate, Great Mosque of Bandung, night skyline of the city, Pasoepati Bridge,
Merdeka Building
Bandung
–
Mount Tangkuban Perahu
Bandung
–
The
Dago Waterfall near Bandung, date 1920-1932
Bandung
–
Jalan Braga circa 1935-1938
20.
Bangalore
–
Bangalore /bæŋɡəˈlɔːr/, officially known as Bengaluru, is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of about 8.42 million and a population of about 8.52 million, making it the third most populous city. It is located in southern India on the Deccan Plateau and its elevation is over 900 m above sea level, the highest of Indias major cities. In 1638, the Marāthās conquered and ruled Bangalore for almost 50 years, after which the Mughals captured and it was captured by the British after victory in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, who returned administrative control of the city to the Maharaja of Mysore. The old city developed in the dominions of the Maharaja of Mysore and was capital of the Princely State of Mysore. In 1809, the British shifted their cantonment to Bangalore, outside the old city, and a grew up around it. Following Indias independence in 1947, Bangalore became the capital of Mysore State, the two urban settlements of Bangalore – city and cantonment – which had developed as independent entities merged into a single urban centre in 1949. The existing Kannada name, Bengalūru, was declared the name of the city in 2006. Bangalore is sometimes referred to as the Silicon Valley of India because of its role as the leading information technology exporter. Indian technological organisations ISRO, Infosys, Wipro and HAL are headquartered in the city, a demographically diverse city, Bangalore is the second fastest-growing major metropolis in India. Numerous state-owned aerospace and defence organisations, such as Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Aeronautics, the city also houses the Kannada film industry. The name Bangalore represents a version of the Kannada language name. It is the name of a village near kodegehalli and was copied by Kempegowda to the city of Bangalore, Bangalore was built on a venue earlier called as Shivanasamudram in the 16th century. The earliest reference to the name Bengalūru was found in a ninth-century Western Ganga Dynasty stone inscription on a vīra gallu, in this inscription found in Begur, Bengalūrū is referred to as a place in which a battle was fought in 890 CE. It states that the place was part of the Ganga Kingdom until 1004 and was known as Bengaval-uru, an apocryphal story recounts that the 12th century Hoysala king Veera Ballala II, while on a hunting expedition, lost his way in the forest. Tired and hungry, he came across an old woman who served him boiled beans. The grateful king named the place benda-kaal-uru, which evolved into Bengalūru. On 11 December 2005, the Government of Karnataka announced that it had accepted a proposal by Jnanpith Award winner U. R. Ananthamurthy to rename Bangalore to Bengalūru, on 27 September 2006, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike passed a resolution to implement the proposed name change
Bangalore
–
Clockwise from top:
UB City,
Infosys, Glass house at
Lal Bagh,
Vidhana Soudha,
Shiva statue,
Bagmane Tech Park ii
Bangalore
–
The Begur
Nageshwara Temple was built in Bangalore around c. 860, during the reign of the
Western Ganga Dynasty.
Bangalore
–
Someshwara Temple dates from the
Chola era
21.
Bangkok
–
Bangkok is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres in the Chao Phraya River delta in Central Thailand, over 14 million people live within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, significantly dwarfing Thailands other urban centres in terms of importance. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam—later renamed Thailand—during the late 19th century, the city grew rapidly during the 1960s through the 1980s and now exerts a significant impact on Thailands politics, economy, education, media and modern society. The Asian investment boom in the 1980s and 1990s led many multinational corporations to locate their headquarters in Bangkok. The city is now a regional force in finance and business. It is a hub for transport and health care, and has emerged as a regional centre for the arts, fashion. The city is known for its vibrant street life and cultural landmarks. The historic Grand Palace and Buddhist temples including Wat Arun and Wat Pho stand in contrast with other tourist attractions such as the scenes of Khaosan Road. Bangkok is among the top tourist destinations. It is named the most visited city in MasterCards Global Destination Cities Index, Bangkoks rapid growth amidst little urban planning and regulation has resulted in a haphazard cityscape and inadequate infrastructure systems. The city has turned to public transport in an attempt to solve this major problem. Five rapid transit lines are now in operation, with more systems under construction or planned by the national government and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The history of Bangkok dates at least back to the early 15th century, because of its strategic location near the mouth of the river, the town gradually increased in importance. Bangkok initially served as a customs outpost with forts on both sides of the river, and became the site of a siege in 1688 in which the French were expelled from Siam. After the fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese Empire in 1767, the newly declared King Taksin established his capital at the town, in 1782, King Phutthayotfa Chulalok succeeded Taksin, moved the capital to the eastern banks Rattanakosin Island, thus founding the Rattanakosin Kingdom. The City Pillar was erected on 21 April, which is regarded as the date of foundation of the present city, Bangkoks economy gradually expanded through busy international trade, first with China, then with Western merchants returning in the early-to-mid 19th century. As the capital, Bangkok was the centre of Siams modernization as it faced pressure from Western powers in the late 19th century, Bangkok became the centre stage for power struggles between the military and political elite as the country abolished absolute monarchy in 1932
Bangkok
–
Clockwise from top:
Wat Benchamabophit (Marble Temple),
Giant Swing,
Wat Arun,
Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, view over
Lumpini Park area at night, and
Wat Phra Kaeo
Bangkok
–
Map of 17th-century Bangkok, from
Simon de la Loubère 's Du Royaume de Siam
Bangkok
–
The city's ceremonial name (partially visible) is displayed in front of the Bangkok City Hall. On the building is the BMA seal bearing an image of Indra riding Erawan.
Bangkok
–
The Bangkok city proper is highlighted in this satellite image of the lower Chao Phraya delta. Notice the built-up urban area along the Chao Phraya River, which extends northward and southward into Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan Provinces.
22.
Barcelona
–
Founded as a Roman city, in the Middle Ages Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. Barcelona has a cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre. Particularly renowned are the works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is located in Barcelona, the city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions and also many international sport tournaments. It is a cultural and economic centre in southwestern Europe, 24th in the world. In 2008 it was the fourth most economically powerful city by GDP in the European Union, in 2012 Barcelona had a GDP of $170 billion, it is leading Spain in both employment rate and GDP per capita change. In 2009 the city was ranked Europes third and one of the worlds most successful as a city brand, since 2011 Barcelona has been a leading smart city in Europe. During the Middle Ages, the city was known as Barchinona, Barçalona, Barchelonaa. Internationally, Barcelonas name is abbreviated to Barça. However, this refers only to FC Barcelona, the football club. The common abbreviated form used by locals is Barna, another common abbreviation is BCN, which is also the IATA airport code of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport. The city is referred to as the Ciutat Comtal in Catalan. The origin of the earliest settlement at the site of present-day Barcelona is unclear, the ruins of an early settlement have been excavated in the El Raval neighbourhood, including different tombs and dwellings dating to earlier than 5000 BC. The founding of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends, the first attributes the founding of the city to the mythological Hercules. In about 15 BC, the Romans redrew the town as a castrum centred on the Mons Taber, under the Romans, it was a colony with the surname of Faventia, or, in full, Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino or Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino. It enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens, the city minted its own coins, some from the era of Galba survive. Some remaining fragments of the Roman walls have incorporated into the cathedral. The cathedral, also known as the Basilica La Seu, is said to have founded in 343
Barcelona
–
Central business district,
Sagrada Família,
Camp Nou stadium,
The Castle of the Three Dragons,
Palau Nacional,
W Barcelona hotel and beach
Barcelona
–
A marble plaque in the Museu d'Història de la Ciutat de Barcelona, dated from around 110-130 AD and dedicated to the Roman colony of Barcino
Barcelona
–
Basilica of La Mercè (Mare de Déu de la Mercè)
Barcelona
–
Barcelona in 1563
23.
Baton Rouge
–
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U. S. state of Louisiana and its second-largest city. It forms the seat of East Baton Rouge Parish and is located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River. As the Capital City, Baton Rouge is the hub for Louisiana. The metropolitan area surrounding the city, known as Greater Baton Rouge, is also the second-largest in Louisiana, the urban area has around 594,309 inhabitants. Baton Rouge is an industrial, petrochemical, medical, research, motion picture. The Port of Greater Baton Rouge is the tenth largest in the United States in terms of tonnage shipped, the Baton Rouge area owes its historical importance to its strategic site upon the Istrouma Bluff, the first natural bluff upriver from the Mississippi River Delta. This allowed development of a business quarter safe from seasonal flooding, in addition, the city built a levee system stretching from the bluff southward to protect the riverfront and low-lying agricultural areas. The city is a rich center, with settlement by immigrants from numerous European nations. It was ruled by seven different governments, French, British, and Spanish in the era, West Floridian, United States territory and state, Confederate. Human habitation in the Baton Rouge area has been dated to 12000 –6500 BC based on evidence found along the Mississippi, Comite, earthwork mounds were built by hunter-gatherer societies in the Middle Archaic period, from roughly the 4th millennium BC. Eastern Muskogean began to diversify internally in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, at the time, the region appeared to be occupied by a collection of moderately-sized native chiefdoms interspersed with autonomous villages and tribal groups. French explorer Sieur dIberville led a party up the Mississippi River in 1699. The explorers saw a red pole marking the boundary between the Houma and Bayogoula tribal hunting grounds, see also Red Sticks for the ceremonial use of red sticks among the Muscogee. The location of the red pole was presumably at Scotts Bluff and it was reportedly a 30-foot-high painted pole adorned with fish bones. The settlement of Baton Rouge by Europeans began in 1721 when a military post was established by French colonists. Since European settlement, Baton Rouge has been governed by France, Britain, Spain, Louisiana, the Republic of West Florida, the Confederate States, and the United States. In 1755, when French-speaking settlers of Acadia in Canadas Maritime provinces were driven into exile by British forces, popularly known as Cajuns, the descendants of the Acadians maintained a separate culture. During the first half of the 19th century, the city grew steadily as the result of steamboat trade, Baton Rouge was incorporated in 1817
Baton Rouge
–
Baton Rouge waterfront
Baton Rouge
–
Capitol Building
Baton Rouge
–
Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville named Baton Rouge and lakes
Pontchartrain and
Maurepas in the early French colonial era.
Baton Rouge
–
Old Louisiana State Capitol
24.
Beijing
–
Beijing is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China and the worlds third most populous city proper. It is also one of the worlds most populous capital cities, the city, located in northern China, is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts. Beijing is the second largest Chinese city by population after Shanghai and is the nations political, cultural. It is home to the headquarters of most of Chinas largest state-owned companies, and is a hub for the national highway, expressway, railway. The citys history dates back three millennia, as the last of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, Beijing has been the political centre of the country for much of the past eight centuries. Beijing was the largest city in the world by population for much of the second millennium A. D, the city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, parks, gardens, tombs, walls and gates. Its art treasures and universities have made it centre of culture, encyclopædia Britannica notes that few cities in the world have served for so long as the political headquarters and cultural centre of an area as immense as China. Siheyuans, the traditional housing style, and hutongs, the narrow alleys between siheyuans, are major tourist attractions and are common in urban Beijing. The city hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics and was chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, many of Beijings 91 universities consistently rank among the best in China, of which Peking University and Tsinghua University are ranked in the top 60 universities in the world. Beijings Zhongguancun area is known as Chinas Silicon Valley and Chinas center of innovation. According to the 2016 InterNations Expat Insider Survey, Beijing ranked first in Asia in the subcategory Personal Finance Index, expats live primarily in urban districts such as Dongcheng and Chaoyang in the east, or in suburban districts such as Shunyi. Over the past 3,000 years, the city of Beijing has had other names. The name Beijing, which means Northern Capital, was applied to the city in 1403 during the Ming Dynasty to distinguish the city from Nanjing, the English spelling is based on the pinyin romanisation of the two characters as they are pronounced in Standard Mandarin. Those dialects preserve the Middle Chinese pronunciation of 京 as kjaeng, the single Chinese character abbreviation for Beijing is 京, which appears on automobile license plates in the city. The official Latin alphabet abbreviation for Beijing is BJ, the earliest traces of human habitation in the Beijing municipality were found in the caves of Dragon Bone Hill near the village of Zhoukoudian in Fangshan District, where Peking Man lived. Homo erectus fossils from the date to 230,000 to 250,000 years ago. Paleolithic Homo sapiens also lived more recently, about 27,000 years ago. Archaeologists have found neolithic settlements throughout the municipality, including in Wangfujing, the first walled city in Beijing was Ji, a city from the 11th to 7th century BC
Beijing
–
Clockwise from top:
Beijing CBD skyline,
Tiananmen,
Temple of Heaven,
National Center for the Performing Arts, and
Beijing National Stadium
Beijing
–
The museum at
Zhoukoudian
Beijing
–
The
Tianning Pagoda, built around 1120.
Beijing
–
Longevity Hill in Beijing where
Kublai Khan wrote his poem.
25.
Belfast
–
Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, the second largest on the island of Ireland, and the heart of the tenth largest Primary Urban Area in the United Kingdom. On the River Lagan, it had a population of 286,000 at the 2011 census and 333,871 after the 2015 council reform, Belfast was granted city status in 1888. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, and was an industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century. It has sustained a major aerospace and missiles industry since the mid 1930s, industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast Irelands biggest city at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, Belfast remains a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education, business, and law, additionally, Belfast city centre has undergone considerable expansion and regeneration in recent years, notably around Victoria Square. Belfast is served by two airports, George Best Belfast City Airport in the city, and Belfast International Airport 15 miles west of the city. Although the county borough of Belfast was created when it was granted city status by Queen Victoria in 1888, the site of Belfast has been occupied since the Bronze Age. The Giants Ring, a 5, 000-year-old henge, is located near the city, Belfast remained a small settlement of little importance during the Middle Ages. The ONeill clan had a presence in the area, in the 14th century, Cloinne Aodha Buidhe, descendants of Aodh Buidhe ONeill built Grey Castle at Castlereagh, now in the east of the city. Conn ONeill of the Clannaboy ONeills owned vast lands in the area and was the last inhabitant of Grey Castle, evidence of this period of Belfasts growth can still be seen in the oldest areas of the city, known as the Entries. Belfast blossomed as a commercial and industrial centre in the 18th and 19th centuries, industries thrived, including linen, rope-making, tobacco, heavy engineering and shipbuilding, and at the end of the 19th century, Belfast briefly overtook Dublin as the largest city in Ireland. The Harland and Wolff shipyards became one of the largest shipbuilders in the world, in 1886 the city suffered intense riots over the issue of home rule, which had divided the city. In 1920–22, Belfast became the capital of the new entity of Northern Ireland as the island of Ireland was partitioned, the accompanying conflict cost up to 500 lives in Belfast, the bloodiest sectarian strife in the city until the Troubles of the late 1960s onwards. Belfast was heavily bombed during World War II, in one raid, in 1941, German bombers killed around one thousand people and left tens of thousands homeless. Apart from London, this was the greatest loss of life in a raid during the Blitz. Belfast has been the capital of Northern Ireland since its establishment in 1921 following the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and it had been the scene of various episodes of sectarian conflict between its Catholic and Protestant populations. These opposing groups in conflict are now often termed republican and loyalist respectively. The most recent example of conflict was known as the Troubles – a civil conflict that raged from around 1969 to 1998
Belfast
–
Top: Skyline of Belfast Middle top left to right,
Queen's University Belfast,
Albert Memorial Clock, Belfast, The Boat,
Titanic Belfast Bottom left to right:
Belfast City Hall, view of Belfast with
Samson and Goliath.
Belfast
–
Belfast Castle
Belfast
–
Donegall Square in the early 1900s
Belfast
–
Aftermath of the Blitz in May 1941
26.
Belo Horizonte
–
Belo Horizonte is the sixth largest city in Brazil, the thirteenth largest city in South America and the eighteenth largest city in the Americas. The metropolis is anchor to the Belo Horizonte metropolitan area, ranked as the third most populous area in Brazil. Belo Horizonte is the capital of the state of Minas Gerais and it is the first planned modern city in Brazil. The region was first settled in the early 18th century, but the city as it is today was planned and constructed in the 1890s. The city features a mixture of contemporary and classical buildings, and is home to several modern Brazilian architectural icons, in planning the city, Aarão Reis and Francisco Bicalho sought inspiration in the urban planning of Washington, D. C. The city has employed notable programs in urban revitalization and food security, the city is built on several hills and is completely surrounded by mountains. There are several parks in the immediate surroundings of Belo Horizonte. The Mangabeiras Park, located 6 km south-east from the city centre in the hills of Curral Ridge, has a view of the city. It has an area of 2.35 km2, of which 0.9 km2 is covered by the native forest, the Jambeiro Woods nature reserve extends over 912 hectares, with vegetation typical of the Atlantic forest. More than one hundred species of birds inhabit the reserve, as well as ten different species of mammals, Belo Horizonte was one of the host cities of the 1950 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Additionally, the city shared the host of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, the term Grande BH denotes any of various definitions for the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte. The legally defined Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte consists of 34 municipalities in total, the intense process of urbanization that is taking place in the metropolitan region has made some of the political boundaries between municipalities in the region obsolete. Belo Horizonte lies on a region of contact between different geological series of the Proterozoic, the geology largely comprises various crystalline rocks, which give rise to the varied morphology of the landscape. The archean rocks members of Belo Horizonte complex and supracrustal sequences of the Paleoproterozoic is predominant, the metasedimentary rocks has its area of occurrence on the south of Ribeirão Arrudas pipeline, constituting about 30% of the area of Belo Horizonte. The characteristics of this area are lithological diversities and rugged topography, which has its maximum expression in the Serra do Curral, the hills of Belo Horizonte are part of the Espinhaço Mountains and belong to the larger Itacolomi mountain chain. The highest point in the municipality is in the Serra do Curral, Belo Horizontes latitude at 1955South places it in the tropical zone. Yearly temperatures average between 9 and 35 °C, the Köppen climate classification of the region is tropical savanna climate and it borders on a humid subtropical climate. Belo Horizonte is located about 300 kilometres from the sea, even though inter-seasonal differences are not as pronounced as they are in temperate places, there is a contrast between spring and summer, and between fall and winter
Belo Horizonte
–
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte
–
Praça Sete de Setembro (September 7th Square).
Belo Horizonte
–
Praça da Liberdade (Liberty Square) and Downtown Belo Horizonte.
Belo Horizonte
–
The city from the Mirante das Mangabeiras.
27.
Berlin
–
Berlin is the capital and the largest city of Germany as well as one of its constituent 16 states. With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Berlin is the second most populous city proper, due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one-third of the area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers. Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world, following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all-Germany. Berlin is a city of culture, politics, media. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations. Berlin serves as a hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination, significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics. Modern Berlin is home to world renowned universities, orchestras, museums and its urban setting has made it a sought-after location for international film productions. The city is known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts. Since 2000 Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene, the name Berlin has its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of todays Berlin, and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl-. All German place names ending on -ow, -itz and -in, since the Ber- at the beginning sounds like the German word Bär, a bear appears in the coat of arms of the city. It is therefore a canting arm, the first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920, the central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document,1237 is considered the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the right on the two important trade routes Via Imperii and from Bruges to Novgorod. In 1307, they formed an alliance with a common external policy, in 1415 Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440. In 1443 Frederick II Irontooth started the construction of a new palace in the twin city Berlin-Cölln
Berlin
Berlin
Berlin
Berlin
28.
Bilbao
–
Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the Basque Country as a whole. Bilbao is the tenth largest city in Spain, with a population of 345,141 As of 2015, Bilbao is also the main urban area in what is defined as the Greater Basque region. Bilbao is situated in the part of Spain, some 16 kilometres south of the Bay of Biscay, where the economic social development is located. Its main urban core is surrounded by two mountain ranges with an average elevation of 400 metres. This was due to its port activity based on the export of iron extracted from the Biscayan quarries, at the same time an extraordinary population explosion prompted the annexation of several adjacent municipalities. The official name of the town is Bilbao, as known in most languages of the world, there is no consensus among historians about the origin of the name. Generally accepted accounts state that prior to the 12th century the independent rulers of the territory, the symbols of their patrimony are the tower and church used in the shield of Bilbao to this day. One possible origin was suggested by the engineer Evaristo de Churruca and he said that it was a Basque custom to name a place after its location. For Bilbao this would be the result of the union of the Basque words for river and cove, the historian José Tussel Gómez argues that it is just a natural evolution of the Spanish words bello vado, beautiful river crossing. On the other hand, according to the writer Esteban Calle Iturrino, the first, where the present Casco Viejo is located, would be called billa, which means stacking in Basque, after the configuration of the buildings. The second, on the bank, where now Bilbao La Vieja is located, would be called vaho. From the union of these two derives the name Bilbao, which was written as Bilvao and Biluao, as documented in its municipal charter. An -ao ending is present in nearby Sestao and Ugao. Titles Bilbao holds the historic category of borough, with the titles of «Very noble and very loyal and it was the Catholic Monarchs who awarded the title «Noble borough» on 20 September 1475. Philip III of Spain, via a letter in 1603 awarded the borough the titles of «Very noble, after the Siege of Bilbao, during the First Carlist War, on 25 December 1836, the title of «Unbeaten» was added. Remains of an ancient settlement were found on the top of Mount Malmasín, burial sites were also found on Mounts Avril and Artxanda, dated 6,000 years old. Some authors identify the old settlement of Bilbao as Amanun Portus, cited by Pliny the Elder, or with Flaviobriga, ancient walls, which date from around the 11th century, have been discovered below the Church of San Antón. On 21 June 1511, Queen Joanna of Castile ordered the creation of the Consulate of Bilbao and this would become the most influential institution of the borough for centuries, and would claim jurisdiction over the estuary, improving its infrastructure
Bilbao
–
Clockwise from top: Panorama from mount
Artxanda,
Church of San Antón,
Bilbao Guggenheim Museum, a
fosterito, and the
Euskalduna Palace
Bilbao
–
First engraving of the city, made by
Franz Hohenberg in 1554 and first published in 1574. Many notable buildings can be seen, like the
Santiago Cathedral, and the
church of San Antón.
Bilbao
–
The
Battle of Luchana.
Bilbao
–
Bilbao in the 1950s.
29.
Birmingham
–
Birmingham is a major city and metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England lying on the River Rea, a small river that runs through Birmingham. It is the largest and most populous British city outside London, the city is in the West Midlands Built-up Area, the third most populous urban area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2,440,986 at the 2011 census. Birminghams metropolitan area is the second most populous in the UK with a population of 3.8 million and this also makes Birmingham the 8th most populous metropolitan area in Europe. By 1791 it was being hailed as the first manufacturing town in the world, perhaps the most important invention in British history, the industrial steam engine, was invented in Birmingham. From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz. The damage done to the infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive demolition. Today Birminghams economy is dominated by the service sector and its metropolitan economy is the second largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $121. 1bn, and its six universities make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London. Birmingham is the fourth-most visited city in the UK by foreign visitors, Birminghams sporting heritage can be felt worldwide, with the concept of the Football League and lawn tennis both originating from the city. Its most successful football club Aston Villa has won seven league titles, people from Birmingham are called Brummies, a term derived from the citys nickname of Brum. This originates from the citys name, Brummagem, which may in turn have been derived from one of the citys earlier names. There is a distinctive Brummie accent and dialect, Birminghams early history is that of a remote and marginal area. The main centres of population, power and wealth in the pre-industrial English Midlands lay in the fertile and accessible river valleys of the Trent, the Severn and the Avon. The area of modern Birmingham lay in between, on the upland Birmingham Plateau and within the wooded and sparsely populated Forest of Arden. Birmingham as a settlement dates from the Anglo-Saxon era, within a century of the charter Birmingham had grown into a prosperous urban centre of merchants and craftsmen. By 1327 it was the third-largest town in Warwickshire, a position it would retain for the next 200 years, by 1700 Birminghams population had increased fifteenfold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales. The importance of the manufacture of goods to Birminghams economy was recognised as early as 1538. Equally significant was the emerging role as a centre for the iron merchants who organised finance, supplied raw materials. The 18th century saw this tradition of free-thinking and collaboration blossom into the phenomenon now known as the Midlands Enlightenment
Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham
30.
Birmingham, Alabama
–
Birmingham is the most populous city in the U. S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Jefferson County. The citys population was 212,237 in the 2010 United States Census, the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of about 1,128,047 according to the 2010 Census, which is approximately one quarter of Alabamas population. Birmingham was founded in 1871, during the post-Civil War Reconstruction period and it was named for Birmingham, England, one of the UKs major industrial cities. The Alabama city annexed smaller neighbors and developed as an industrial and railroad center, based on mining, the new iron and steel industry. Most of the settlers who founded Birmingham were of English ancestry. From its founding through the end of the 1960s, Birmingham was an industrial center of the southern United States. Its growth from 1881 through 1920 earned its nicknames as The Magic City and its major industries were iron and steel production, plus a major component of the railroading industry. Rails and railroad cars were manufactured in Birmingham. The two primary hubs of railroading in the Deep South have been nearby Atlanta and Birmingham, since the 1860s, the economy has diversified since industrial restructuring in the latter half of the 20th century. Banking, telecommunications, transportation, electrical transmission, medical care, college education. Except for coal mining, the industry has declined in the Birmingham area, Birmingham ranks as one of the most important business centers in the Southeastern United States and as one of the largest banking centers in the nation. In higher education, Birmingham has been the location of the University of Alabama School of Medicine, since that time it has also gained the University of Alabama at Birmingham, one of three main campuses of the University of Alabama System. It is also home to three institutions, Samford University, Birmingham-Southern College, and Miles College. In total, the Birmingham area has major colleges of medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, pharmacy, law, engineering, the city has three of the states five law schools, Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham School of Law, and Miles Law School. Birmingham is also the headquarters of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and Southeastern Conference, Birmingham was founded on June 1,1871, by the Elyton Land Company, whose investors included cotton planters, bankers and railroad entrepreneurs. It sold lots near the crossing of the Alabama & Chattanooga and South & North Alabama railroads. The first business at that crossroads was the trading post and country store operated by Marre, the site of the railroad crossing was notable for its proximity to nearby deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone – the three main raw materials used in making steel. Birmingham is the only place worldwide where significant amounts of all three minerals can be found in close proximity, from the start the new city was planned as a center of industry
Birmingham, Alabama
–
From top left: Downtown from
Red Mountain; Torii in the
Birmingham Botanical Gardens;
Alabama Theatre;
Birmingham Museum of Art; City Hall; Downtown Financial Center.
Birmingham, Alabama
–
Child labor at Avondale Mills in Birmingham, 1910, photo by
Lewis Hine
Birmingham, Alabama
–
Panorama of Birmingham, Alabama in 1916
Birmingham, Alabama
–
16th Street Baptist Church, now a National Historic Landmark
31.
Boston
–
Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Boston is also the seat of Suffolk County, although the county government was disbanded on July 1,1999. The city proper covers 48 square miles with a population of 667,137 in 2015, making it the largest city in New England. Alternately, as a Combined Statistical Area, this wider commuting region is home to some 8.1 million people, One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U. S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education, through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the original peninsula. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing over 20 million visitors per year, Bostons many firsts include the United States first public school, Boston Latin School, first subway system, the Tremont Street Subway, and first public park, Boston Common. Bostons economic base also includes finance, professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology, the city has one of the highest costs of living in the United States as it has undergone gentrification, though it remains high on world livability rankings. Bostons early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the renaming on September 7,1630 was by Puritan colonists from England who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest of fresh water. Their settlement was limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 5000 BC, in 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colonys first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history, over the next 130 years, the city participated in four French and Indian Wars, until the British defeated the French and their Indian allies in North America. Boston was the largest town in British America until Philadelphia grew larger in the mid-18th century, Bostons harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812. Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Bostons merchants had found alternatives for their investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the economy, and the citys industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. Boston remained one of the nations largest manufacturing centers until the early 20th century, a network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a network of railroads furthered the regions industry. Boston was a port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies
Boston
–
From top to bottom, left to right: the
Boston skyline viewed from the
Bunker Hill Monument; the
Museum of Fine Arts;
Faneuil Hall;
Massachusetts State House;
The First Church of Christ, Scientist;
Boston Public Library; the
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum;
South Station;
Boston University and the
Charles River;
Arnold Arboretum;
Fenway Park; and the
Boston Common
Boston
–
State Street, 1801
Boston
–
View of Boston from
Dorchester Heights, 1841
Boston
–
Scollay Square in the 1880s
32.
Greater Bridgeport
–
Greater Bridgeport is the metropolitan area centered on the city of Bridgeport in the U. S. state of Connecticut. The area is located in Southwestern Connecticut and consists of the city of Bridgeport and five other adjacent towns – Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Stratford, the Bridgeport area has a population of more than 305,000. Greater Bridgeport is part of the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk metropolitan statistical area, which consists of all of Fairfield County, the estimated 2015 county population was 948,053. The region consists of the six towns indicated in the introduction, the Bridgeport Labor Market Area includes the core region above and also extends northeast into Milford and the Lower Naugatuck Valley for a total of 13 towns. The urbanized areas of Stamford and Bridgeport are contiguous and considered by the U. S. Census Bureau as an urban core. The MSA associated with Bridgeport is the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk MSA and consists of the entirety of Fairfield County with 23 towns, while statistically similar in terms of population and extent to the NECTA definition, the MSA includes the city of Danbury and its suburbs, and excludes the Valley region. Gold Coast for the urbanized area centered on the city of Stamford Lower Naugatuck River Valley which is part of the Bridgeport Labor Market Area
Greater Bridgeport
–
Southwestern Connecticut
33.
Brisbane
–
Brisbane is the capital of and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland, and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbanes metropolitan area has a population of 2.35 million, the Brisbane central business district stands on the original European settlement and is situated inside a bend of the Brisbane River, about 15 kilometres from its mouth at Moreton Bay. The demonym of Brisbane is Brisbanite, one of the oldest cities in Australia, Brisbane was founded upon the ancient homelands of the indigenous Turrbal and Jagera peoples. A penal settlement was founded in 1824 at Redcliffe,28 kilometres north of the business district. The city was marred by the Australian frontier wars between 1843 and 1855, and development was set back by the Great Fire of Brisbane. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a colony from New South Wales in 1859. During World War II, Brisbane played a role in the Allied campaign. Today, Brisbane is well known for its distinct Queenslander architecture which forms much of the built heritage. It also receives attention for its damaging flood events, most notably in 1974 and 2011. Several large cultural, international and sporting events have held at Brisbane, including the 1982 Commonwealth Games, World Expo 88, the final Goodwill Games in 2001. Prior to white settlement, the Brisbane area was inhabited by the Turrbal and they knew the area that is now the central business district as Mian-jin, meaning place shaped as a spike. The Moreton Bay area was explored by Matthew Flinders. On 17 July 1799, Flinders landed at what is now known as Woody Point, in 1823 Governor of New South Wales Sir Thomas Brisbane instructed that a new northern penal settlement be developed, and an exploration party led by John Oxley further explored Moreton Bay. Oxley discovered, named, and explored the Brisbane River as far as Goodna,20 kilometres upstream from the Brisbane central business district, Oxley recommended Red Cliff Point for the new colony, reporting that ships could land at any tide and easily get close to the shore. The party settled in Redcliffe on 13 September 1824, under the command of Lieutenant Henry Miller with 14 soldiers and 29 convicts. However, this settlement was abandoned after a year and the colony was moved to a site on the Brisbane River now known as North Quay,28 km south, chief Justice Forbes gave the new settlement the name of Edenglassie before it was named Brisbane. Non-convict European settlement of the Brisbane region commenced in 1838, German missionaries settled at Zions Hill, Nundah as early as 1837, five years before Brisbane was officially declared a free settlement. The band consisted of ministers Christopher Eipper and Carl Wilhelm Schmidt and lay missionaries Haussmann, Johann Gottried Wagner, Niquet, Hartenstein, Zillman, Franz, Rode, Doege and they were allocated 260 hectares and set about establishing the mission, which became known as the German Station
Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane
34.
Bristol
–
Bristol is a city and county in South West England with a population of 449,300 in 2016. The district has the 10th largest population in England, while the Bristol metropolitan area is the 12th largest in the United Kingdom, the city borders North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, with the cities of Bath and Gloucester to the south-east and north-east, respectively. Iron Age hill forts and Roman villas were built near the confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon, Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373, when it became a county of itself. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities after London in tax receipts, Bristol was surpassed by the rapid rise of Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham in the Industrial Revolution. Bristol was a place for early voyages of exploration to the New World. On a ship out of Bristol in 1497 John Cabot, a Venetian, in 1499 William Weston, a Bristol merchant, was the first Englishman to lead an exploration to North America. At the height of the Bristol slave trade, from 1700 to 1807, the Port of Bristol has since moved from Bristol Harbour in the city centre to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth and Royal Portbury Dock. Bristols modern economy is built on the media, electronics and aerospace industries. The city has the largest circulating community currency in the U. K. - the Bristol pound, which is pegged to the Pound sterling. It is connected to London and other major UK cities by road, rail, sea and air by the M5 and M4, Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway mainline rail stations, and Bristol Airport. The Sunday Times named it as the best city in Britain in which to live in 2014 and 2017, the most ancient recorded name for Bristol is the archaic Welsh Caer Odor, which is consistent with modern understanding that early Bristol developed between the River Frome and Avon Gorge. It is most commonly stated that the Saxon name Bricstow was a calque of the existing Celtic name, with Bric a literal translation of Odor. Alternative etymologies are supported with the numerous variations in Medieval documents with Samuel Seyer enumerating 47 alternative forms. The Old English form Brycgstow is commonly used to derive the meaning place at the bridge, utilizing another form, Brastuile, Rev. Dr. Shaw derived the name from the Celtic words bras, or braos and tuile. The poet Thomas Chatterton popularised a derivation from Brictricstow linking the town to Brictric and it appears that the form Bricstow prevailed until 1204, and the Bristolian L is what eventually changed the name to Bristol. Iron Age hill forts near the city are at Leigh Woods and Clifton Down, on the side of the Avon Gorge, a Roman settlement, Abona, existed at what is now Sea Mills, another was at the present-day Inns Court. Isolated Roman villas and small forts and settlements were scattered throughout the area. Bristol was founded by 1000, by about 1020, it was a centre with a mint producing silver pennies bearing its name
Bristol
–
Bristol
Bristol
Bristol
–
Black and white etching showing the towers of
St Stephen's Church,
St Augustine the Less Church and
Bristol Cathedral, published c.1850
Bristol
–
West front of Bristol Cathedral
35.
Brussels
–
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the region of Flanders or Wallonia. The region has a population of 1.2 million and an area with a population of over 1.8 million. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, the secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are also located in Brussels. Today, it is considered an Alpha global city, historically a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards. Today, the majority language is French, and the Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. All road signs, street names, and many advertisements and services are shown in both languages, Brussels is increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages. The most common theory of the origin of Brussels name is that it derives from the Old Dutch Broekzele or Broeksel, meaning marsh, Saint Vindicianus, the bishop of Cambrai made the first recorded reference to the place Brosella in 695 when it was still a hamlet. The origin of the settlement that was to become Brussels lies in Saint Gaugericus construction of a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580. The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel, Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven gained the County of Brussels around 1000 by marrying Charles daughter, as it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. The Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant at about this time, in the 13th century, the city got its first walls. After the construction of the city walls in the early 13th century, to let the city expand, a second set of walls was erected between 1356 and 1383. Today, traces of it can still be seen, mostly because the small ring, Brabant had lost its independence, but Brussels became the Princely Capital of the prosperous Low Countries, and flourished. In 1516 Charles V, who had been heir of the Low Countries since 1506, was declared King of Spain in St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and it was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V abdicated in 1555. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant. In 1695, during the Nine Years War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery, together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels
Brussels
–
A
collage with several views of Brussels, Top: View of the
Northern Quarter business district, 2nd left: Floral carpet event in the
Grand Place, 2nd right:
Brussels City Hall and
Mont des Arts area, 3rd:
Cinquantenaire Park, 4th left:
Manneken Pis, 4th middle:
St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, 4th right:
Congress Column, Bottom:
Royal Palace of Brussels
Brussels
–
Charles of Lorraine founded what would become Brussels c. 979
Brussels
–
Grand Place after
the 1695 bombardment by the French army
Brussels
–
Episode of the
Belgian Revolution of 1830,
Wappers (1834)
36.
Bucharest
–
Bucharest is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, at 44°25′57″N 26°06′14″E, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 60 km north of the Danube River, Bucharest was first mentioned in documents in 1459. It became the capital of Romania in 1862 and is the centre of Romanian media, culture and its architecture is a mix of historical, interbellum, communist-era and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the citys elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of Little Paris. Although buildings and districts in the city centre were heavily damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes. In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic, in 2016, the historical city centre was listed as endangered by the World Monuments Watch. According to the 2011 census,1,883,425 inhabitants live within the city limits, the urban area extends beyond the limits of Bucharest proper and has a population of about 1.9 million people. Adding the satellite towns around the area, the proposed metropolitan area of Bucharest would have a population of 2.27 million people. According to Eurostat, Bucharest has an urban zone of 2,183,091 residents. According to unofficial data, the population is more than 3 million, Bucharest is the sixth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits, after London, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, and Paris. Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania and is one of the industrial centres. The city has big convention facilities, educational institutes, cultural venues, traditional shopping arcades, the Romanian name București has an uncertain origin. Tradition connects the founding of Bucharest with the name of Bucur, who was a prince, an outlaw, a fisherman, in Romanian, the word stem bucurie means joy, and it is believed to be of Dacian origin. Other etymologies are given by scholars, including the one of an Ottoman traveler, Evliya Çelebi. A native or resident of Bucharest is called a Bucharester, Bucharests history alternated periods of development and decline from the early settlements in antiquity until its consolidation as the national capital of Romania late in the 19th century. First mentioned as the Citadel of București in 1459, it became the residence of the famous Wallachian prince Vlad III the Impaler, the Ottomans appointed Greek administrators to run the town from the 18th century. A short-lived revolt initiated by Tudor Vladimirescu in 1821 led to the end of the rule of Constantinople Greeks in Bucharest, the Old Princely Court was erected by Mircea Ciobanul in the mid-16th century. Under subsequent rulers, Bucharest was established as the residence of the royal court
Bucharest
–
Clockwise, from top:
Palace of the Parliament (Palatul Parlamentului) •
Romanian Athenaeum (Ateneul Român) •
Palace of Justice (Palatul Justiției) •
Grozăvești Bridge (Podul Grozăvești) •
Victory Avenue (Calea Victoriei)
Bucharest
–
Early 18th century woodcut (1717)
Bucharest
–
Ottoman massacre of
Greek irregulars in Bucharest (August 1821)
Bucharest
–
I.C. Brătianu Boulevard in the 1930s
37.
Budapest
–
Budapest is the capital and most populous city of Hungary, one of the largest cities in the European Union and sometimes described as the primate city of Hungary. It has an area of 525 square kilometres and a population of about 1.8 million within the limits in 2016. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the Danube river with the unification of Buda and Óbuda on the west bank, the history of Budapest began with Aquincum, originally a Celtic settlement that became the Roman capital of Lower Pannonia. Hungarians arrived in the territory in the 9th century and their first settlement was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241–1242. The re-established town became one of the centres of Renaissance humanist culture by the 15th century, following the Battle of Mohács and nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule, the region entered a new age of prosperity, and Budapest became a global city after its unification in 1873. It also became the co-capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a power that dissolved in 1918. Budapest was the point of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Hungarian Republic of Councils in 1919, the Battle of Budapest in 1945. Budapest is an Alpha- global city, with strengths in arts, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, services, research, and tourism. Its business district hosts the Budapest Stock Exchange and the headquarters of the largest national and international banks and it is the highest ranked Central and Eastern European city on Innovation Cities Top 100 index. Budapest attracts 4.4 million international tourists per year, making it the 25th most popular city in the world, further famous landmarks include Andrássy Avenue, St. It has around 80 geothermal springs, the worlds largest thermal water system, second largest synagogue. Budapest is home to the headquarters of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, the European Police College, over 40 colleges and universities are located in Budapest, including the Eötvös Loránd University, Central European University and Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Budapest is the combination of the city names Buda and Pest, One of the first documented occurrences of the combined name Buda-Pest was in 1831 in the book Világ, written by Count István Széchenyi. The origins of the names Buda and Pest are obscure, according to chronicles from the Middle Ages, the name Buda comes from the name of its founder, Bleda, brother of the Hunnic ruler Attila. The theory that Buda was named after a person is also supported by modern scholars, an alternative explanation suggests that Buda derives from the Slavic word вода, voda, a translation of the Latin name Aquincum, which was the main Roman settlement in the region. There are also theories about the origin of the name Pest. One of the states that the word Pest comes from the Roman times. According to another theory, Pest originates from the Slavic word for cave, or oven, the first settlement on the territory of Budapest was built by Celts before 1 AD
Budapest
Budapest
–
From top, left to right:
Hungarian Parliament,
Fisherman's Bastion,
Sándor Palace guard,
Heroes' Square,
National Theatre,
St. Stephen's Basilica and
Széchenyi Chain Bridge by night
Budapest
Budapest
38.
Buenos Aires
–
Buenos Aires is the capital and most populous city of Argentina. The city is located on the shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata. The city of Buenos Aires is neither part of Buenos Aires Province nor the Provinces capital, rather, in 1880, after decades of political infighting, Buenos Aires was federalized and removed from Buenos Aires Province. The city limits were enlarged to include the towns of Belgrano and Flores, the 1994 constitutional amendment granted the city autonomy, hence its formal name, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Its citizens first elected a chief of government in 1996, previously, Buenos Aires is considered an alpha city by the study GaWC5. Buenos Aires quality of life was ranked 81st in the world and one of the best in Latin America in 2012 and it is the most visited city in South America, and the second-most visited city of Latin America. Buenos Aires is a top tourist destination, and is known for its preserved Spanish/European-style architecture, Buenos Aires held the 1st Pan American Games in 1951 as well as hosting two venues in the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Buenos Aires will host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and the 2018 G20 summit, Buenos Aires is a multicultural city, being home to multiple ethnic and religious groups. Several languages are spoken in the city in addition to Spanish, contributing to its culture, the hill was known to them as Buen Ayre, as it was free of the foul smell prevalent in the old city, which is adjacent to swampland. During the siege of Cagliari, the Aragonese built a sanctuary to the Virgin Mary on top of the hill, in 1335, King Alfonso the Gentle donated the church to the Mercedarians, who built an abbey that stands to this day. In the years after that, a story circulated, claiming that a statue of the Virgin Mary was retrieved from the sea after it miraculously helped to calm a storm in the Mediterranean Sea, the statue was placed in the abbey. Spanish sailors, especially Andalusians, venerated this image and frequently invoked the Fair Winds to aid them in their navigation, a sanctuary to the Virgin of Buen Ayre would be later erected in Seville. Pedro de Mendoza called the city Holy Mary of the Fair Winds, mendoza’s settlement soon came under attack by indigenous people, and was abandoned in 1541. For many years, the name was attributed to a Sancho del Campo, a second settlement was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay, who sailed down the Paraná River from Asunción. Garay preserved the name chosen by Mendoza, calling the city Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María del Buen Aire. The short form Buenos Aires became the common usage during the 17th century, the usual abbreviation for Buenos Aires in Spanish is Bs. As. It is common as well to refer to it as B. A. or BA /ˌbiːˈeɪ/ bee-AY), while BA is used more by expats residing in the city, the locals more often use the abbreviation Baires, in one word. Seaman Juan Díaz de Solís, navigating in the name of Spain, was the first European to reach the Río de la Plata in 1516 and his expedition was cut short when he was killed during an attack by the native Charrúa tribe in what is now Uruguay
Buenos Aires
–
From the top, left to right:
Central Business District skyline, the
Palace of the Argentine National Congress,
Puente de la Mujer, Tango dancers in
San Telmo,
Casa Rosada, the
Metropolitan Cathedral,
Cabildo, the
Obelisco,
Teatro Colón,
La Recoleta Cemetery, the
Planetario within
Parque Tres de Febrero, and
Caminito.
Buenos Aires
–
Aldus verthoont hem de stadt Buenos Ayrros geleegen in Rio de la Plata, painting by a Dutch sailor who anchored at the port around 1628.
Buenos Aires
–
Santiago de Liniers, 1st Count of Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires
–
Depiction of
Juan de Garay and the second founding of Buenos Aires, 1580
39.
Busan
–
Busan, officially Busan Metropolitan City, romanized as Pusan before 2000, is South Koreas second most-populous city after Seoul, with a population of approximately 3.6 million. The population of the area, including the adjacent cities of Gimhae. The city is located on the southeastern-most tip of the Korean peninsula, located within South Koreas largest industrial area, The Southeast Economic Zone, the city is the cultural, educational and economic center of the region. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth busiest seaport by cargo tonnage. The most densely built up areas of the city are situated in a number of narrow valleys between the Nakdong River and the Suyeong River, with mountains separating most of the districts, administratively, it is designated as a Metropolitan City. The Busan metropolitan area is divided into 15 major administrative districts, Busan was the host city of the 2002 Asian Games and the APEC2005 Korea. It was also one of the host cities for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, on November 14,2005, the city authorities officially announced its bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics Games. After Pyeongchangs successful bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics, Busan is considering bidding to host the 2028 or 2032 Summer Olympics, Busan has Koreas largest beach and longest river, and is home to the worlds largest department store, the Shinsegae Centum City. Geochilsan-guk existed in the second and 3rd and 4th centuries as a chiefdom of Jinhan and it was absorbed by Silla and renamed Geochilsan-gun. The word Geochilsan means rough mountain, probably referring to Hwangbyeongsan, the mounded burials of Bokcheon-dong were built along the top of a ridge that overlooks a wide area that makes up parts of modern-day Dongnae-gu and Yeonje-gu. Archaeologists excavated more than 250 iron weapons and ingots from Burial No,38, a wooden chamber tomb at Bokcheon-dong. In 757, Geochilsan-gun was again renamed Dongnae, which it is still called, from the beginning of the 15th century, the Korean government designated Busan as a trading port with the Japanese and allowed their settlement. Other Japanese settlements in Ulsan and Jinhae diminished later, but the Busan settlement, called Waegwan at the time, after the war, diplomatic relations with the new shogunate in Japan were established in 1607, and Busan Waegwan was permitted to be reconstructed. The Japanese settlement, though relocated into Choryang later, continued to exist until Korea was exposed to modern diplomacy in 1876, in 1876, Busan became the first international port in Korea. During the Japanese rule, Busan developed into a hub trading port with Japan, Busan was the only city in Korea to adopt the steam tramway before electrification was introduced in 1924. During the Korean War, Busan was one of two cities in South Korea not captured by the North Korean army within the first three months of the War. As a result, the city became a camp site for Koreans during the war. As Busan was one of the few areas in Korea that remained under the control of South Korea throughout the Korean War, UN troops established a defensive perimeter around the city known as the Pusan Perimeter in the summer and autumn of 1950
Busan
–
Montage of Busan
Busan
–
Gwangan Bridge
Busan
–
Busan at night
Busan
–
Panorama of Busan from
Busan Tower
40.
Cairo
–
Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt. Cairo has long been a center of the political and cultural life. Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab world, as well as the worlds second-oldest institution of higher learning, Al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city, with a population of 6.76 million spread over 453 square kilometers, Cairo is by far the largest city in Egypt. An additional 9.5 million inhabitants live in proximity to the city. Cairo, like many other mega-cities, suffers from high levels of pollution, Cairos metro, one of only two in Africa, ranks among the fifteen busiest in the world, with over 1 billion annual passenger rides. The economy of Cairo was ranked first in the Middle East in 2005, Egyptians often refer to Cairo as Maṣr, the Egyptian Arabic name for Egypt itself, emphasizing the citys importance for the country. In Coptic the city is known as Kahire, meaning Place of the Sun, possibly referring to the ancient city of Heliopolis, the location of the ancient city is the suburb of Ain Shams. The ancient Egyptian name for the area is thought to be Khere-Ohe, The Place of Combat, sometimes the city is informally referred to as Kayro. The area around present-day Cairo, especially Memphis, had long been a point of Ancient Egypt due to its strategic location just upstream from the Nile Delta. However, the origins of the city are generally traced back to a series of settlements in the first millennium. Around the turn of the 4th century, as Memphis was continuing to decline in importance and this fortress, known as Babylon, remained the nucleus of the Roman, and, later, the Byzantine, city and is the oldest structure in the city today. It is also situated at the nucleus of the Coptic Orthodox community, many of Cairos oldest Coptic churches, including the Hanging Church, are located along the fortress walls in a section of the city known as Coptic Cairo. Following the Muslim conquest in 640 AD the conqueror Amr ibn As settled to the north of the Babylon in an area became known as al-Fustat. Originally a tented camp Fustat became a permanent settlement and the first capital of Islamic Egypt, in 750, following the overthrow of the Ummayad caliphate by the Abbasids, the new rulers created their own settlement to the northeast of Fustat which became their capital. This was known as al-Askar as it was laid out like a military camp, a rebellion in 869 by Ahmad ibn Tulun led to the abandonment of Al Askar and the building of another settlement, which became the seat of government. This was al-Qattai, to the north of Fustat and closer to the river, Al Qattai was centred around a palace and ceremonial mosque, now known as the Mosque of ibn Tulun. In 905 the Abbasids re-asserted control of the country and their returned to Fustat
Cairo
–
Cairo القاهرة al-Qāhirah
Cairo
–
Louis Comfort Tiffany (American, 1848-1933). On the Way between Old and New Cairo, Citadel Mosque of Mohammed Ali, and Tombs of the Mamelukes, 1872. Oil on canvas.
Brooklyn Museum
Cairo
–
A rendition of
Fustat from A. S. Rappoport's History of Egypt
Cairo
–
Cairo map 1847
41.
Calgary
–
Calgary is a city in the Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated at the confluence of the Bow River and the Elbow River in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, the city anchors the south end of what Statistics Canada defines as the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The city had a population of 1,239,220 in 2016, making it Albertas largest city, also in 2016, Calgary had a metropolitan population of 1,392,609, making it the fourth-largest census metropolitan area in Canada. The Calgary CMA is home to the second-highest number of head offices in Canada among the countrys 800 largest corporations. In 1988, Calgary became the first Canadian city to host the Winter Olympic Games, Calgary was named after Calgary on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. In turn, the name originates from a compound of kald and gart, similar Old Norse words, meaning cold and garden, alternatively, the name might be Gaelic Cala ghearraidh, meaning beach of the meadow, or Gaelic for either clear running water or bay farm. The Calgary area was inhabited by people whose presence has been traced back at least 11,000 years. Before the arrival of Europeans, the area was inhabited by the Blackfoot, Blood, Peigan, in 1787, cartographer David Thompson spent the winter with a band of Peigan encamped along the Bow River. He was a Hudsons Bay Company trader and the first recorded European to visit the area, John Glenn was the first documented European settler in the Calgary area, in 1873. The site became a post of the North-West Mounted Police, the NWMP detachment was assigned in 1875 to protect the western plains from US whisky traders, and to protect the fur trade. Originally named Fort Brisebois, after NWMP officer Éphrem-A, Brisebois, it was renamed Fort Calgary in 1876 by Colonel James Macleod. When the Canadian Pacific Railway reached the area in 1883, over a century later, the Canadian Pacific Railway headquarters moved to Calgary from Montreal in 1996. Calgary was officially incorporated as a town in 1884, and elected its first mayor, in 1894, it was incorporated as The City of Calgary in what was then the North-West Territories. The Calgary Police Service was established in 1885 and assumed municipal, local duties from the NWMP, the Calgary Fire of 1886 occurred on November 7,1886. Fourteen buildings were destroyed with losses estimated at $103,200, although no one was killed or injured, city officials drafted a law requiring all large downtown buildings to be built with Paskapoo sandstone, to prevent this from happening again. After the arrival of the railway, the Dominion Government started leasing grazing land at minimal cost, as a result of this policy, large ranching operations were established in the outlying country near Calgary. Already a transportation and distribution hub, Calgary quickly became the centre of Canadas cattle marketing and meatpacking industries. By the late 19th century, the Hudsons Bay Company expanded into the interior and established posts along rivers that later developed into the cities of Winnipeg, Calgary
Calgary
–
From top left:
Scotiabank Saddledome and
Downtown Calgary,
SAIT Polytechnic,
Calgary Stampede,
Canada Olympic Park,
Lougheed House,
Stephen Avenue,
Calgary Zoo
Calgary
–
Calgary as it appeared circa 1885
Calgary
–
Downtown Calgary in 2010.
Calgary
–
Ice fog is common over ice-free currents of the
Bow River when temperatures drop to −17 °C (1 °F).
Hoar frost forms on vegetation. January 9, 2015 −20 °C (−4 °F), 10:00 am
42.
Cambridge
–
Cambridge is a university city and the county town of Cambridgeshire, England, on the River Cam about 50 miles north of London. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, its population was 123,867, there is archaeological evidence of settlement in the area in the Bronze Age and in Roman Britain, under Viking rule, Cambridge became an important trading centre. The first town charters were granted in the 12th century, although city status was not conferred until 1951, the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209, is one of the top five universities in the world. The university includes the Cavendish Laboratory, Kings College Chapel, the citys skyline is dominated by the last two buildings, along with the spire of the Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church, the chimney of Addenbrookes Hospital and St Johns College Chapel tower. Anglia Ruskin University, evolved from the Cambridge School of Art, Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology Silicon Fen with industries such as software and bioscience and many start-up companies spun out of the university. More than 40% of the workforce has a higher education qualification, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, one of the largest biomedical research clusters in the world, is soon to be home to AstraZeneca, a hotel and the relocated Papworth Hospital. Parkers Piece hosted the first ever game of Association football, the Strawberry Fair music and arts festival and Midsummer Fairs are held on Midsummer Common, and the annual Cambridge Beer Festival takes place on Jesus Green. The city is adjacent to the M11 and A14 roads, settlements have existed around the Cambridge area since prehistoric times. The earliest clear evidence of occupation is the remains of a 3, the principal Roman site is a small fort Duroliponte on Castle Hill, just northwest of the city centre around the location of the earlier British village. The fort was bounded on two sides by the lines formed by the present Mount Pleasant, continuing across Huntingdon Road into Clare Street, the eastern side followed Magrath Avenue, with the southern side running near to Chesterton Lane and Kettles Yard before turning northwest at Honey Hill. It was constructed around AD70 and converted to use around 50 years later. Evidence of more widespread Roman settlement has been discovered including numerous farmsteads, evidence exists that the invading Anglo-Saxons had begun occupying the area by the end of the century. Their settlement—also on and around Castle Hill—became known as Grantebrycge, Anglo-Saxon grave goods have been found in the area. During this period, Cambridge benefited from good trade links across the hard-to-travel fenlands, by the 7th century, the town was less significant and described by Bede as a little ruined city containing the burial site of Etheldreda. Cambridge was on the border between the East and Middle Anglian kingdoms and the settlement slowly expanded on both sides of the river, the arrival of the Vikings was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 875. Viking rule, the Danelaw, had been imposed by 878 Their vigorous trading habits caused the town to grow rapidly. During this period the centre of the town shifted from Castle Hill on the bank of the river to the area now known as the Quayside on the right bank. In 1068, two years after his conquest of England, William of Normandy built a castle on Castle Hill, like the rest of the newly conquered kingdom, Cambridge fell under the control of the King and his deputies
Cambridge
–
King's College Chapel, seen from
the Backs
Cambridge
–
St Bene't's Church, the oldest standing building in Cambridge.
Cambridge
–
Peterhouse was the first college to be founded in the University of Cambridge.
Cambridge
–
Cambridge in 1575
43.
Campinas
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Campinas is a Brazilian municipality in São Paulo State, part of the countrys Southeast Region. According to the 2010 Census, the population is 1,080,999, making it the fourteenth most populous Brazilian city. The citys metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Campinas, contains twenty municipalities with a population of 2,976,433 people. The city was founded on July 14,1774, by Barreto Leme and it was initially a simple outpost on the way to Minas Gerais and Goiás serving the Bandeirantes who were in search of precious minerals and Indian slaves. In the first half of the 19th century, Campinas became a population center, with many coffee, cotton. The construction of a railway linking the city of São Paulo to Santos seaport, in the second half of the 19th century, with the abolition of slavery, farming and industrialization attracted many foreign immigrants to replace the lost manpower, mainly from Italy. Coffee became an important export and the city became wealthy, and the Casa de Saúde de Campinas, and the most important Brazilian research center in agricultural sciences, the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas, which was founded by Emperor Pedro II. Campinas was the birthplace of opera composer Carlos Gomes and of the President of the Republic Campos Salles and it was home for 49 years to Hércules Florence, reputed as one of the early inventors of photography, photocopying and the mimeograph. It is located at 22°54′21″S, 47°03′39″W and is at a distance of 96 kilometres northwest of São Paulo. Its neighboring cities are Paulínia, Jaguariúna and Pedreira, north, Morungaba, Itatiba and Valinhos in the east, Itupeva, Indaiatuba and Monte Mor, south, most of the original vegetation of the city was devastated. There are also several projects to combat the destruction of riparian forests located on the river london. This is the now second largest urban forest of Brazil, behind only the Tijuca Forest, the city also has large forests, such as Jequitibás Wood, Forest Grove and the Germans of Guarantees. If it were not for the effects of the citys altitude its climate would be truly tropical. Winters are generally dry and mild, and summers rainy with warm to hot temperatures, the warmest month is February, with an average temperature of 24 °C, an average maximum of 29.1 °C and average minimum of 19.0 °C. The coldest month, July, sees respective temperatures of 17.8 °C, fall and spring are transitional seasons. The average annual rainfall is 1424.5 mm and the driest month in August, in January, the rainiest month, the average is 280.3 mm. In recent years, however, the hot, dry days during the winter have been frequent, often surpassing 30 °C. In August 2010, for example, the rainfall in Campinas was only 0 mm, the lowest temperature recorded in the city was −1.5 °C on June 25,1918
Campinas
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Images from top, left to right: Metropolitan Cathedral, an avenue in Campinas's downtown, an old railway station, Mogiana Palace, a monument to the heroes of
Constitutionalist Revolution (in Saudade Cemetery), a bus terminus, Central area of Campinas as seen from Torre do Castelo, a belvedere.
Campinas
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Maps of railways in Campinas in 1929
Campinas
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Regatas Club in Cambuí neighborhood.
Campinas
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View of Campinas during a
storm.
44.
Campo Grande
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Campo Grande is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul in the Center-West region of the country. The city is nicknamed Cidade Morena because of the colour of the regions soil. It has a population of 796,252, according to a 2011 IBGE estimate, the region where the city is located was in the past a waypoint for travellers who wanted to go from São Paulo or Minas Gerais to northern Mato Grosso by land. In the early 1900s a railway was completed connecting Campo Grande to Corumbá, on the Bolivian border, also in the beginning of the 20th century, the Western Brazilian Army Headquarters was established in Campo Grande, making it an important military center. With a population growth from 140,000 people in 1970 to 750,000 people in 2008, Campo Grande is the third largest urban center of the Center-West region, and the 23rd largest city in the country. In 1977, the State of Mato Grosso was split into two, and Campo Grande became the capital of the new state of Mato Grosso do Sul, comprising the southern portion of the former state. By that time, Campo Grande had long surpassed the latters capital city of Cuiabá in population, which is unusual in Brazil, where most capitals are also the states largest cities. Campo Grande started as a village founded in 1877 by farmers José Antônio Pereira and Manoel Vieira de Sousa. In the end of 1877, the built the villages first church. The roughly aligned houses formed the first street, known as Rua Velha and this street ended where today one finds a square in honor of the immigrants that later came to the city. The city started to develop relatively fast because of its privileged climate and these factors drew people from other regions of the country, especially the South, the Southeast and the Northeast regions. The settlement was recognized as a municipality by the State Government on August 26,1899. Campo Grande has a tropical climate, semi-humid, hot. Under the Köppen climate classification Campo Grande features a wet and dry climate. January is the warmest and rainiest month, with highs of 29 °C. July brings on sunny days but cooler temperatures, with highs of 25 °C. Occasional near-freezing temperatures can occur on winters coldest nights, the vegetation in Campo Grande and Central Brazil is a tropical savanna called Cerrado that varies from pure grassland to a nearly closed canopy of medium height trees overlying grass. Since forest is the climax vegetation there, several theories have been given to explain the types of grassland present
Campo Grande
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Campo Grande
Campo Grande
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Flag
Campo Grande
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Morada dos Baís.
Campo Grande
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Campo Grande is the state's most important educational centre.
45.
Campos dos Goytacazes
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Campos dos Goytacazes is a municipality located in the northern area of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with a population of 472,300 inhabitants. Campos dos Goytacazes has an area of 4,032 km², which makes it the largest municipality in the state by area and its name comes from the geographical characteristic of the region, very flat with fields and from the Goytacazes Indians, which inhabited the region. Campos, as the city is known, is a macro region of the Northern Fluminense. The city has a tropical climate, the municipality contains part of the 21,444 hectares Desengano State Park, created in 1970. The citys distance to Rio de Janeiro city, which is the capital of the state, is 286 kilometres, bR-101 is the access highway of the city of Campos. Regular air services are operated from its airport Bartolomeu Lysandro and it is the easternmost municipality in Rio de Janeiro. Colonization of the started in the 16th century, and the village of São Salvador de Campos de Goytacazes was founded on May 29,1677. On March 28,1835 the village was promoted to city status, citys economy is based on oil extraction. The GDP for the city was R$58,011,293, the per capita income for the city was R$122,693. Portuguese language is the national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English and Spanish are part of the high school curriculum. The city in the 1950s was the second largest of the state of Rio de Janeiro, the reasons behind these reductions are the crash that the economy of the town, based on oil, suffered in 1954, something similar that happened in Detroit with the auto industries. According to the 2010 census, whites represent 70. 4% of population, brown or mulatos 20%, other races represent 3. 5% of the population. There are at least three clubs in the city, Americano, Campos, Goytacaz and Rio Branco. The derby between Americano and Goytacaz is known as Goyta-cano, Campos Prefecture Official Website Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer
Campos dos Goytacazes
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Campos dos Goytacazes
Campos dos Goytacazes
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Ferreira Machado Hospital
46.
Cape Town
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Cape Town is a coastal city in South Africa. It is the second-most populous urban area in South Africa after Johannesburg and it is also the capital and primate city of the Western Cape province. As the seat of the Parliament of South Africa, it is also the capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality, the city is famous for its harbour, for its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region, and for such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. As of 2014, it is the 10th most populous city in Africa and it is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, reflecting its role as a major destination for immigrants and expatriates to South Africa. The city was named the World Design Capital for 2014 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, in 2014, Cape Town was named the best place in the world to visit by both the American New York Times and the British Daily Telegraph. Located on the shore of Table Bay, Cape Town was first developed by the Dutch East India Company as a station for Dutch ships sailing to East Africa, India. Jan van Riebeecks arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa, Cape Town quickly outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope, becoming the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony. Until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the development of Johannesburg, Cape Town was the largest city in South Africa, the earliest known remnants in the region were found at Peers Cave in Fish Hoek and date to between 15,000 and 12,000 years ago. It was later renamed by John II of Portugal as Cape of Good Hope because of the optimism engendered by the opening of a sea route to India. Vasco da Gama recorded a sighting of the Cape of Good Hope in 1497, in the late 16th century, Portuguese, French, Danish, Dutch and English but mainly Portuguese ships regularly stopped over in Table Bay en route to the Indies. They traded tobacco, copper and iron with the Khoikhoi in exchange for fresh meat, the settlement grew slowly during this period, as it was hard to find adequate labour. This labour shortage prompted the authorities to import slaves from Indonesia, many of these became ancestors of the first Cape Coloured communities. Some of these, including grapes, cereals, ground nuts, potatoes, apples and citrus, had an important, the Dutch Republic being transformed in Revolutionary Frances vassal Batavian Republic, Great Britain moved to take control of its colonies. Britain captured Cape Town in 1795, but the Cape was returned to the Dutch by treaty in 1803, British forces occupied the Cape again in 1806 following the Battle of Blaauwberg. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814, Cape Town was permanently ceded to Britain and it became the capital of the newly formed Cape Colony, whose territory expanded very substantially through the 1800s. With expansion came calls for independence from Britain, with the Cape attaining its own parliament. Suffrage was established according to the non-racial, but sexist Cape Qualified Franchise, the discovery of diamonds in Griqualand West in 1867, and the Witwatersrand Gold Rush in 1886, prompted a flood of immigrants to South Africa
Cape Town
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Clockwise from top: Cape Town CBD,
Strand,
Clifton beach,
Table Mountain,
Port of Cape Town,
Cape Town City Hall
Cape Town
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Coat of arms
Cape Town
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Arrival of
Jan van Riebeeck in
Table Bay by
Charles Bell
Cape Town
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View of Table Bay with ships of the
Dutch East India Company, c. 1683
47.
Caracas
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Caracas, officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital, the center of the Greater Caracas Area, and the largest city of Venezuela. Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the part of the country. Terrain suitable for building lies between 760 and 910 m above sea level, the valley is close to the Caribbean Sea, separated from the coast by a steep 2, 200-metre-high mountain range, Cerro El Ávila, to the south there are more hills and mountains. Libertador holds many of the government buildings and is the Capital District, the Distrito Capital had a population of 2,013,366 as of 2011, while the Metropolitan District of Caracas was estimated at 3,273,863 as of 2013. The Metropolitan Region of Caracas has an population of 5,243,301. Businesses that are located in the city include service companies, banks and it has a largely service-based economy, apart from some industrial activity in its metropolitan area. The Caracas Stock Exchange and Petróleos de Venezuela are headquartered in Caracas, PDVSA is the largest company in Venezuela. Caracas is also Venezuelas cultural capital, with restaurants, theaters, museums. Some of the tallest skyscrapers in Latin America are located in Caracas, in 2015, Venezuela and its capital, Caracas, had the highest per capita murder rates in the world, with 119 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Most murders and other violent crimes go unsolved, at the time of the founding of the city in 1567, the valley of Caracas was populated by indigenous peoples. Francisco Fajardo, the son of a Spanish captain and a Guaiqueri cacica, fajardos settlement did not last long. It was destroyed by natives of the led by Terepaima. This was the last rebellion on the part of the natives, on 25 July 1567, Captain Diego de Losada laid the foundations of the city of Santiago de León de Caracas. The foundation −1567 – I take possession of land in the name of God. In 1577 Caracas became the capital of the Spanish Empires Venezuela Province under Governor Juan de Pimentel, during the 17th century, the coast of Venezuela was frequently raided by pirates. With the coastal mountains as a barrier, Caracas was relatively immune to such attacks, encountering little resistance, the invaders sacked and set fire to the town after a failed ransom negotiation. As the cocoa cultivation and exports under the Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas grew in importance, in 1777, Caracas became the capital of the Captaincy General of Venezuela. José María España and Manuel Gual led a revolution aimed at independence
Caracas
Caracas
Caracas
Caracas
48.
Casablanca
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Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco, located in the central-western part of the country bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It is the largest city in the Maghreb, as well as one of the largest and most important cities in Africa, Casablanca is Moroccos chief port and one of the largest financial centers on the continent. The 2012 census recorded a population of about 4 million in the prefecture of Casablanca, Casablanca is considered the economic and business center of Morocco, although the national political capital is Rabat. The leading Moroccan companies and international corporations doing Moroccan business have their headquarters, recent industrial statistics show Casablanca retains its historical position as the main industrial zone of the country. The Port of Casablanca is one of the largest artificial ports in the world, Casablanca also hosts the primary naval base for the Royal Moroccan Navy. The original name of the city was Anfa, in Berber language, after the Portuguese took control of Anfa in the 15th century AD, they rebuilt it, changing the name to Casa Branca. It derives from the Portuguese word combination meaning White House, the present name, which is the Spanish version, came when the Portuguese kingdom was integrated in personal union to the Spanish kingdom. During the French protectorate in Morocco, the name remained Casablanca, in the 18th century, an earthquake destroyed most of the town. It was rebuilt by the Sultan who changed the name into the local Arabic which is Ad-dar Al Baidaa, the city is still nicknamed Casa by many locals and outsiders to the city. In many other cities with a different dialect, it is called Ad-dar Al-Bida, a famous boulevard inside Casablanca City is called Anfa Boulevard. Anfa is generally considered the old original city of Casablanca. The area which is today Casablanca was founded and settled by Berbers by at least the seventh century BC and it was used as a port by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. In his book Description of Africa, Leo Africanus refers to ancient Casablanca as Anfa and he believed Anfa was the most prosperous city on the Atlantic Coast because of its fertile land. Barghawata rose as an independent state around this time, and continued until it was conquered by the Almoravids in 1068. Following the defeat of the Barghawata in the 12th century, Arab tribes of Hilal and Sulaym descent settled in the region, mixing with the local Berbers, during the 14th century, under the Merinids, Anfa rose in importance as a port. The last of the Merinids were ousted by a revolt in 1465. The Portuguese used the ruins of Anfa to build a fortress in 1515. The town that grew up around it was called Casa Branca, as Portugal broke ties with Spain in 1640, Casablanca came under fully Portuguese control once again
Casablanca
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Casablanca in 1572, still called Anfa on this painting, by the time the Portuguese renamed it "Casa Branca" which would eventually became Casablanca
Casablanca
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Casablanca الدار البيضاء (Arabic) Anfa / ⴰⵏⴼⴰ (Berber)
Casablanca
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Casablanca in 1930
Casablanca
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Architecture of Casablanca, influenced by French styles
49.
Changchun
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Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, and is located in the northeast of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a sub-provincial city, according to the 2010 census of China, Changchun had a total population of 7,674,439 under its jurisdiction. The citys urbanized area, comprising 5 districts and 4 development areas, had a population of 3,815,270 in 2010 as the Shuangyang, the name of the city means long spring in Chinese. Between 1932 and 1945, Changchun was renamed Hsinking by the Japanese as it became the capital of the Japanese puppet state Manchukuo, after the foundation of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949, Changchun was established as the provincial capital of Jilin in 1954. Known locally as Chinas City of Automobiles, Changchun is an important industrial base with a focus on the automotive sector. Because of its key role in the automobile industry, Changchun was sometimes referred to as the Detroit of China. Apart from this aspect, Changchun is also one of four National Garden Cities awarded by the Ministry of Construction of P. R. China in 2001 due to its high urban greening rate, Changchun was initially established on imperial decree as a small trading post and frontier village during the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor in the Qing dynasty. Trading activities mainly involved furs and other products during this period. In 1800, the Jiaqing Emperor selected a small village on the east bank of the Yitong River, at the end of 18th century peasants from overpopulated provinces such as Shandong and Hebei began to settle in the region. In 1889, the village was promoted into a city known as Changchun Fu, in May 1898, Changchun got its first railway station, located in Kuancheng, part of the railway from Harbin to Lüshun, constructed by the Russian Empire. After Russias loss of the southernmost section of this branch as a result of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, an epidemic of pneumonic plague occurred in surrounding Manchuria from 1910 to 1911. It was the worst-ever recorded outbreak of plague which was spread through the Trans-Manchurian railway from the border trade port of Manzhouli. This turned out to be the beginning of the pneumonic plague pandemic of Manchuria and Mongolia which ultimately claimed 60,000 victims. The Treaty of Portsmouth formally ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05 and saw the transfer, the guiding ideology of the overall design was to build a high standard colonial city with sophisticated facilities, multiple functions and large scale. Accordingly, nearly 7 million Yen on average was allocated on a basis for urban planning. The two helped forming two intersections with the prototypes, which led to two circles of South and West. The two sub-civic centres served as axis on which eight radial roads were blazed that took the shape of a sectoral structure and this kind of radial circles and the design concept of urban roads were at that time quite advanced and scientific
Changchun
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Clockwise from top: panoramic view from Ji Tower, Former Manchukuo State Department, Statue on cultural square,
Changchun Christian Church, Soviet martyr monument.
Changchun
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The South Manchuria Railway office of Changchun
Changchun
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City planning map of Changchun
Changchun
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Hsinking Master Plan Map (1934)
50.
Changzhou
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Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province of China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, Jinling, Changzhou is part of the highly developed Yangtze Delta region of China extending from Shanghai going northwest, which now has more than 36,000,000 inhabitants. Its total population was 4,592,431 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,290,918 lived in the area made up of 5 urban districts. The agglomeration is now part of the Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou metropolitan area which has now more than 36,000,000 inhabitants, only second in China after the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone. The Ruins of Yancheng, comprise the remains of a city located in the Wujin district of Changzhou that was founded over 3000 years ago at the beginning of the Western Zhou dynasty. The earliest record of a settlement on the site of modern Changzhou is as a commandery founded in 221 BC at the beginning of the Qin Dynasty, during the interregnum between the Sui and Tang, the city of Piling was the capital of Shen Faxings short-lived Kingdom of Liang. Changzhou got its present name meaning ordinary prefecture in 589, following construction of the Grand Canal in 609, Changzhou became a canal port and transshipment point for locally-grown grain, and has maintained these roles ever since. The rural counties surrounding Changzhou are noted for the production of rice, fish, tea, silk, bamboo, during the Taiping Rebellion of the 1850s, one of five palaces housing the leaders of the so-called Kingdom of Celestial Peace was constructed in Changzhou. Today the ruins of the Kings Palace can be found near the Peoples No.1 Hospital, in the 1920s, Changzhou started to attract cotton mills. The cotton industry got a boost in the late 1930s when businesses began relocating outside of Shanghai due to the Japanese occupation, unlike many Chinese cities, Changzhou continued to prosper even during the upheavals of the Cultural Revolution of 1966–76. Today it is an important industrial center for textiles, food processing, engineering, Changzhou has a wide range of temperature differences throughout the year. The prefecture-level city of Changzhou administers seven county-level divisions, including five districts, the city also has a number of prominent secondary schools, including the Changzhou Senior High School of Jiangsu Province. Changzhous traditional role has been that of a center and in particular a distribution center for agricultural produce. The city began to develop a cotton industry in the 1920s, and cotton mills were established in the late 1930s. The city has remained a center and the most important location in Jiangsu Province for weaving. It also has large food-processing plants as well as flour-milling, rice-polishing, after 1949 it also developed as a centre of the engineering industry. Qishuyan, some 10 kilometres southeast of Changzhou, has one of the largest locomotive, other engineering works in Changzhou produce diesel engines, generators, transformers along with agricultural and textile machinery. At the time of the Great Leap Forward in 1958 a steel plant was built to provide raw material for heavy industry
Changzhou
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Changzhou 常州市
Changzhou
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Tianning Temple with Tianning Pagoda
Changzhou
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Comb Lane
51.
Charlotte, North Carolina
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Charlotte /ˈʃɑːrlət/ is the largest city in the state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County and the second-largest city in the southeastern United States, just behind Jacksonville, Charlotte is the third-fastest growing major city in the United States. In 2014 the estimated population of Charlotte according to the U. S. Census Bureau was 809,958, the Charlotte metropolitan area ranks 22nd-largest in the U. S. and had a 2014 population of 2,380,314. The Charlotte metropolitan area is part of a sixteen-county market region or combined statistical area with a 2014 U. S. Census population estimate of 2,537,990, residents of Charlotte are referred to as Charlotteans. It is listed as a global city by the Globalization. Charlotte Douglas International Airport is an international hub, and was ranked the 23rd-busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic in 2013. Charlotte has a subtropical climate. The city is located several miles east of the Catawba River and southeast of Lake Norman, Lake Wylie and Mountain Island Lake are two smaller man-made lakes located near the city. The Catawba Native Americans were the first to settle Mecklenburg County and were first recorded in European records around 1567, by 1759 half the Catawba tribe had been killed by smallpox. At the time of their largest population, Catawba people numbered 10,000, Mecklenburg County was initially part of Bath County of New Hanover Precinct, which became New Hanover County in 1729. The western portion of New Hanover split into Bladen County in 1734, Mecklenburg County formed from Anson County in 1762. Further apportionment was made in 1792, with Cabarrus County formed from Mecklenburg and these areas were all part of one of the original six judicial/military districts of North Carolina known as the Salisbury District. The area that is now Charlotte was settled by people of European descent around 1755, Thomas Polk, who later married Thomas Spratts daughter, built his house by the intersection of two Native American trading paths between the Yadkin and Catawba rivers. One path ran north–south and was part of the Great Wagon Road, within decades of Polks settling, the area grew to become Charlotte Town, incorporating in 1768. The crossroads, perched atop the Piedmont landscape, became the heart of Uptown Charlotte, in 1770, surveyors marked the streets in a grid pattern for future development. The east–west trading path became Trade Street, and the Great Wagon Road became Tryon Street, in honor of William Tryon, the intersection of Trade and Tryon—commonly known today as Trade & Tryon, or simply The Square—is more properly called Independence Square. While surveying the boundary between the Carolinas in 1772, William Moultrie stopped in Charlotte Town, whose five or six houses were very ordinary built of logs, local leaders came together in 1775 and signed the Mecklenburg Resolves, more popularly known as the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. While not a declaration of independence from British rule, it is among the first such declarations that eventually led to the American Revolution
Charlotte, North Carolina
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Clockwise:
UNC Charlotte,
Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture,
Duke Energy Center, Charlotte's skyline, First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte, Charlotte Main Library and
NASCAR Hall of Fame building
Charlotte, North Carolina
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View of the Old Court House, Charlotte, 1888.
Charlotte, North Carolina
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Uptown Charlotte's skyline
Charlotte, North Carolina
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Little Sugar Creek Greenway in winter
52.
Chengdu
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Chengdu, formerly romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which has served as capital of Chinas Sichuan province. It is one of the three most populous cities in Western China, as of 2014 the administrative area houses 14,427,500 inhabitants, with an urban population of 10,152,632. At the time of the 2010 census, Chengdu was the 5th-most populous agglomeration in China, with 10,484,996 inhabitants in the area including Xinjin County. The surrounding Chengdu Plain is also known as the Country of Heaven and its prehistoric settlers included the Sanxingdui culture. It was the capital of Liu Beis Shu during the Three Kingdoms Era, after the fall of Nanjing to the Japanese in 1937, Chengdu briefly served as the capital of China. It is now one of the most important economic, financial, commercial, cultural, transportation, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is one of the 30 busiest airports in the world, and Chengdu Railway Station is one of the six biggest in China. Chengdu also hosts many international companies and more than 12 consulates, more than 260 Fortune 500 companies have established branches in Chengdu. In 2006, China Daily named it Chinas 4th-most-livable city, the name Chengdu is attested in sources going back to shortly after its founding. The present spelling is based on pinyin romanization, its Postal Map romanization was Chengtu and its former status as the seat of the Chengdu Prefecture prompted Marco Polos spellings Sindafu, Sin-din-fu, &c. and the Protestant missionaries romanization Ching-too Foo. Although the official name of the city has remained constant, the area has sometimes taken other names. The city logo adopted in 2011 is inspired by the Golden Sun Bird excavated from the Jinsha Ruins, archaeological discoveries at the Sanxingdui and Jinsha sites have established that the area surrounding Chengdu was inhabited over four thousand years ago. At the time of Chinas Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, in the early 4th century BC, the ninth king of Shus Kaiming dynasty relocated from nearby Pi County, giving his new capital the name Chengdu. Shu was conquered by Qin in 316 BC and the settlement refounded by the Qin general Zhang Yi, under the Han, the brocade produced at Chengdu became fashionable and was exported throughout China. A Brocade Official was established to oversee its quality and supply, after the fall of the Eastern Han, Liu Bei ruled Shu, the southwestern of the Three Kingdoms, from Chengdu. His minister Zhuge Liang called the area the Land of Abundance, under the Tang, Chengdu was considered the second most prosperous city in China after Yangzhou. Both Li Bai and Du Fu lived in the city, Li Bai praised it as lying above the empyrean. The citys present Caotang was constructed in 1078 in honor of an earlier, more humble structure of that name erected by Du Fu in 760, the Taoist Qingyang Gong was built in the 9th century. Chengdu was the capital of Wang Jians Former Shu from 907 to 925, the Later Shu was founded by Meng Zhixiang in 934, with its capital at Chengdu
Chengdu
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Clockwise from top:
Anshun Bridge,
Jinli,
Chengdu Panda Base, and
Sichuan University.
Chengdu
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The archaeological site of
Jinsha is a major discovery in Chengdu in 2001.
Chengdu
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The
Dujiangyan Irrigation System built in 256 BC still functions today.
Chengdu
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Huangchengba in 1911
53.
Chennai
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Chennai /ˈtʃɛnnaɪ/, formerly known as Madras /məˈdrɑːs/ or /-ˈdræs/) is the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, it is one of the biggest cultural, economic, according to the 2011 Indian census, it is the sixth-largest city and fourth-most populous urban agglomeration in India. The city together with the adjoining regions constitute the Chennai Metropolitan Area, Chennai is among the most visited Indian cities by foreign tourists. It was ranked 43rd most visited city in the world for year 2015, the Quality of Living Survey rated Chennai as the safest city in India. Chennai attracts 45 percent of tourists visiting India, and 30 to 40 percent of domestic health tourists. As such, it is termed Indias health capital, as a growing metropolitan city in a developing country, Chennai confronts substantial pollution and other logistical and socio-economic problems. Chennai has the third-largest expatriate population in India at 35,000 in 2009,82,790 in 2011, tourism guide publisher Lonely Planet named Chennai as one of the top ten cities in the world to visit in 2015. Chennai is ranked as a city in the Global Cities Index and was ranked the best city in India by India Today in the 2014 annual Indian city survey. In 2015 Chennai was named the hottest city by the BBC, National Geographic ranked Chennais food as second best in the world, it was the only Indian city to feature in the list. Chennai was also named the ninth-best cosmopolitan city in the world by Lonely Planet, the Chennai Metropolitan Area is one of the largest city economies of India. Chennai is nicknamed The Detroit of India, with more than one-third of Indias automobile industry being based in the city, in January 2015, it was ranked third in terms of per capita GDP. Chennai has been selected as one of the 100 Indian cities to be developed as a city under PM Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. The name Madras originated even before the British presence was established in India, the name Madras is said to have originated from a Portuguese phrase mae de Deus which means mother of god, due to Portuguese influence on the port city. According to some sources, Madras was derived from Madraspattinam, a north of Fort St George. However, it is whether the name was in use before the arrival of Europeans. The British military mapmakers believed Madras was originally Mundir-raj or Mundiraj, Madras might have also been derived from the word Madhuras meaning juice of honey or sugarcane in Sanskrit. The nativity of name Chennai, being of Telugu origin is clearly proved by the historians. The first official use of the name Chennai is said to be in a deed, dated 8 August 1639
Chennai
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Clockwise from top right:
Chennai Central,
Marina Beach,
Madras High Court,
TIDEL Park,
Ripon Building,
San Thome Basilica,
Kapaleeshwarar Temple,
Classical dance Bharata Natyam and
Valluvar Kottam.
Chennai
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Clive House at
Fort St. George, Madras said to be the first English settlement in
India during 1609
Chennai
–
Surrender of the City of Madras in 1746 to de La Bourdonnais, by Jacques François Joseph Swebach
54.
Chicago
–
Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the third-most populous city in the United States. With over 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the state of Illinois, and it is the county seat of Cook County. In 2012, Chicago was listed as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Chicago has the third-largest gross metropolitan product in the United States—about $640 billion according to 2015 estimates, the city has one of the worlds largest and most diversified economies with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. In 2016, Chicago hosted over 54 million domestic and international visitors, landmarks in the city include Millennium Park, Navy Pier, the Magnificent Mile, Art Institute of Chicago, Museum Campus, the Willis Tower, Museum of Science and Industry, and Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicagos culture includes the arts, novels, film, theater, especially improvisational comedy. Chicago also has sports teams in each of the major professional leagues. The city has many nicknames, the best-known being the Windy City, the name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of the Native American word shikaakwa, known to botanists as Allium tricoccum, from the Miami-Illinois language. The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as Checagou was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir, henri Joutel, in his journal of 1688, noted that the wild garlic, called chicagoua, grew abundantly in the area. In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by a Native American tribe known as the Potawatomi, the first known non-indigenous permanent settler in Chicago was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African and French descent and arrived in the 1780s and he is commonly known as the Founder of Chicago. In 1803, the United States Army built Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed in 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes had ceded additional land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the Treaty of Chicago in 1833, on August 12,1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 4,000 people, on June 15,1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as U. S. The City of Chicago was incorporated on Saturday, March 4,1837, as the site of the Chicago Portage, the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicagos first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and the Illinois, the canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River. A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad, manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy. The Chicago Board of Trade listed the first ever standardized exchange traded forward contracts and these issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the national stage
Chicago
–
Clockwise from top:
Downtown Chicago, the
Chicago Theatre, the
'L',
Navy Pier,
Millennium Park, the
Field Museum, and the
Willis Tower.
Chicago
–
Traditional
Potawatomi costume on display at the
Field Museum
Chicago
–
A 1903 painting of Chicago in 1833
Chicago
–
An artist's rendering of the
Great Chicago Fire of 1871
55.
Chittagong
–
Chittagong /tʃɪtəɡɒŋ/ is a major coastal seaport city and financial centre in southeastern Bangladesh. The city has a population of more than 2.5 million while the area has a population of 4,009,423 at the 2011 Census. It is the capital of a district and division. The city is located on the banks of the Karnaphuli River between the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the Bay of Bengal, much of Chittagong Division is located within the ecological Indo-Burma zone on the boundary of the India Plate and Burma Plate. This makes Chittagong the crossroads of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, the port city has been known by various names in history, including Chatigaon, Chatigam, Chattagrama, Islamabad, Chattala, Chaityabhumi and Porto Grande De Bengala. The natural harbour of Chittagong is an ancient gateway to the region of Bengal and it was noted as one of the largest Eastern ports by the Roman geographer Ptolemy in the 1st century. As part of the seafaring tradition of the Bengali people, coastal Chittagong was settled and ruled by Indian. Arab traders saw well-developed currency, banking and shipping in Chittagong during the 9th century, early cosmopolitan Muslims established dominance over the port as an entrepot of maritime trade, while Arakan, Bengal and Tripura competed for control of the wider hinterland. Muslim conquest took place in the 14th century, Chittagong became the principal port of the Bengal Sultanate. It was used by several leading medieval global explorers, including Ibn Battuta, later, Mrauk U, with assistance from Portuguese trading posts, gained control of the area. The Mughal conquest of Chittagong reestablished Bengali control and ushered an era of stability, the city was renamed as Islamabad. This diverse history is reflected in the rural Chittagonian dialect of Bengali, ceded to the British East India Company in 1760, Chittagong became the chief port of Eastern Bengal and Assam under the British Raj, as well as a hub of railways. A notable anti-colonial uprising took place in 1930 and it was an important base for Allied Forces during the Burma Campaign in World War II. Rapid industrialization followed the war, as Chittagong became part of East Pakistan, during Bangladesh’s liberation war in 1971, Chittagong was site of the country’s declaration of independence. Modern Chittagong is an important economic hub in South Asia and it is home to the Chittagong Stock Exchange and many of Bangladeshs oldest and largest companies. The Port of Chittagong is the largest international seaport on the Bay of Bengal and it is the largest base of the Bangladesh Navy. However, despite having a high and growing urban per capita GDP in South Asia and being one of the fastest growing cities in the world, it has a poverty rate of 11. 3%, as of 2010. Chittagong is reputed as a clean city, but still confronts substantial logistical
Chittagong
–
1.
Jamuna Bhaban in
Agrabad 2. Ocean City Mall 3.
HSBC Chittagong 4. Nasirabad skyline 5.
Patenga seafront
Chittagong
–
The medieval Kadam Mubarak Mosque
Chittagong
–
Dutch VOC ships in Chittagong, 1702
Chittagong
–
The first steam engine in Bangladesh at the
Central Railway Building
56.
Chongqing
–
Chongqing, formerly transliterated as Chungking, is a major city in Southwest China and one of the Five national central cities in China. Administratively, it is one of Chinas four direct-controlled municipalities, the municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the sub-provincial city administration that was part of Sichuan Province. Chongqings population as of 2015 is just over 30 million with a population of 18.38 million. The official abbreviation of the city, Yu, was approved by the State Council on 18 April 1997 and this abbreviation is derived from the old name of a part of the Jialing River that runs through Chongqing and feeds into the Yangtze River. Chongqing was also a Sichuan province municipality during the Republic of China administration, Chongqing has a significant history and culture and serves as the economic centre of the upstream Yangtze basin. It is a manufacturing centre and transportation hub, a July 2012 report by the Economist Intelligence Unit described it as one of Chinas 13 emerging megacities. Tradition associates Chongqing with the State of Ba, the Ba people supposedly established Chongqing during the Spring and Autumn period after moving from their first capital Yicheng in Hubei under pressure from Chu. This new capital was first named Jiangzhou, in 316 BC, however, the state of Ba was conquered by the State of Qin. Jiangzhou subsequently remained under Qin Shi Huangs rule during the Qin Dynasty, the successor of the Qin State, and under the control of Han Dynasty emperors. Jiangzhou was subsequently renamed during the Southern and Northern Dynasties to Chu Prefecture, then in 581 AD to Yu Prefecture, the name Yu however survives to this day as an abbreviation for Chongqing, and the city centre where the old town stood is also called Yuzhong. It received its current name in 1189, after Prince Zhao Dun of the Southern Song Dynasty described his crowning as king, in his honour, Yu Prefecture was therefore renamed Chongqing subprefecture marking the occasion of his enthronement. In 1362, Ming Yuzhen, a peasant rebelling leader, established the Daxia Kingdom at Chongqing for a short time, in 1621, another short-lived kingdom of Daliang was established by She Chongming with Chongqing as its capital. The Manchus later conquered the province, and during the Qing Dynasty, immigration to Chongqing, in 1890, the British Consulate General was opened in Chongqing. The following year, the city became the first inland commerce port open to foreigners, the French, German, US and Japanese consulates were opened in Chongqing in 1896–1904. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, it was Generalissimo Chiang Kai-sheks provisional capital, the city was also visited by Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Supreme Commander of SEAC which was itself headquartered in Ceylon, modern day Sri Lanka. Chiang Kai Shek as Supreme Commander in China worked closely with Stilwell, the Japanese Air Force heavily bombed it. Due to its mountainous environment, many people were saved from the bombing, due to the bravery, contributions and sacrifices made by the local people during World War II, Chongqing became known as the City of Heroes. Many factories and universities were relocated from eastern China to Chongqing during the war, in late November 1949 the Nationalist KMT government fled the city
Chongqing
–
Clockwise from top:
Jiefangbei CBD Skyline, The Temple of the White Emperor,
E'gongyan Bridge,
Qutang Gorge, and the
Great Hall of the People.
Chongqing
–
A street scene in Chongqing, c. 1944
Chongqing
–
A night view of Chongqing Central Business District from across the Yangtze river
Chongqing
–
View of Chongqing from hills across the
Yangtze river
57.
Cincinnati
–
Cincinnati is a city in the U. S. state of Ohio that serves as county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the side of the confluence of the Licking with the Ohio River. With a population of 298,550, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and its metropolitan statistical area is the 28th-largest in the United States and the largest centered in Ohio. The city is part of the larger Cincinnati–Middletown–Wilmington combined statistical area. In the 19th century, Cincinnati was an American boomtown in the heart of the country, it rivaled the larger cities in size. Throughout much of the 19th century, it was listed among the top 10 U. S and it was by far the largest city in the west. By the end of the 19th century, with the shift from steamboats to railroads drawing off freight shipping, trade patterns had altered and Cincinnatis growth slowed considerably. Cincinnati is home to two sports teams, the Cincinnati Reds, the oldest franchise in Major League Baseball. The University of Cincinnati, founded in 1819, is one of the 50 largest in the United States, Cincinnati is known for its historic architecture. In the late 1800s, Cincinnati was commonly referred to as Paris of America, due mainly to such ambitious projects as the Music Hall, Cincinnatian Hotel. The original surveyor, John Filson, named it Losantiville, in 1790, Arthur St. Ethnic Germans were among the early settlers, migrating from Pennsylvania and the backcountry of Virginia and Tennessee. General David Ziegler succeeded General St. Clair in command at Fort Washington, after the conclusion of the Northwest Indian Wars and removal of Native Americans to the west, he was elected as the mayor of Cincinnati in 1802. Cincinnati was incorporated as a city in 1819, exporting pork products and hay, it became a center of pork processing in the region. From 1810 to 1830 its population tripled, from 9,642 to 24,831. Completion of the Miami and Erie Canal in 1827 to Middletown, Ohio further stimulated businesses, the city had a labor shortage until large waves of immigration by Irish and Germans in the late 1840s. The city grew rapidly over the two decades, reaching 115,000 persons by 1850. Construction on the Miami and Erie Canal began on July 21,1825, the first section of the canal was opened for business in 1827. In 1827, the canal connected Cincinnati to nearby Middletown, by 1840, during this period of rapid expansion and prominence, residents of Cincinnati began referring to the city as the Queen City
Cincinnati
–
Downtown Cincinnati from
Devou Park in
Covington, Kentucky
Cincinnati
–
Cincinnati in 1812 with a population of 2,000
Cincinnati
–
Cincinnati in 1841 with the Miami and Erie Canal in the foreground.
Cincinnati
–
Cincinnati in 1862, a lithograph in
Harper's Weekly.
58.
Cleveland
–
Cleveland is a city in the U. S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the states second most populous county. The city proper has a population of 388,072, making Cleveland the 51st largest city in the United States, Greater Cleveland ranked as the 32nd largest metropolitan area in the United States, with 2,055,612 people in 2016. The city is the center of the Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area, the city is located on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border. Clevelands economy has diversified sectors that include manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, Cleveland is also home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Residents of Cleveland are called Clevelanders, Cleveland has many nicknames, the oldest of which in contemporary use being The Forest City. Cleaveland oversaw the plan for what would become the downtown area, centered on Public Square, before returning home. The first settler in Cleaveland was Lorenzo Carter, who built a cabin on the banks of the Cuyahoga River, the Village of Cleaveland was incorporated on December 23,1814. In spite of the swampy lowlands and harsh winters, its waterfront location proved to be an advantage. The area began rapid growth after the 1832 completion of the Ohio, growth continued with added railroad links. Cleveland incorporated as a city in 1836, in 1836, the city, then located only on the eastern banks of the Cuyahoga River, nearly erupted into open warfare with neighboring Ohio City over a bridge connecting the two. Ohio City remained an independent municipality until its annexation by Cleveland in 1854, the citys prime geographic location as a transportation hub on the Great Lakes has played an important role in its development as a commercial center. Cleveland serves as a point for iron ore shipped from Minnesota. In 1870, John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in Cleveland, other manufacturers located in Cleveland produced steam-powered cars, which included White and Gaeth, as well as the electric car company Baker. Because of the significant growth, Cleveland was known as the Sixth City during this period, by 1920, due in large part to the citys economic prosperity, Cleveland became the nations fifth largest city. The city counted Progressive Era politicians such as the populist Mayor Tom L. Johnson among its leaders, many prominent Clevelanders from this era are buried in the historic Lake View Cemetery, including President James A. Garfield, and John D. Rockefeller. In commemoration of the centennial of Clevelands incorporation as a city, conceived as a way to energize a city after the Great Depression, it drew four million visitors in its first season, and seven million by the end of its second and final season in September 1937. The exposition was housed on grounds that are now used by the Great Lakes Science Center, following World War II, the city experienced a prosperous economy. In sports, the Indians won the 1948 World Series, the hockey Barons became champions of the American Hockey League, as a result, along with track and boxing champions produced, Cleveland was dubbed City of Champions in sports at this time
Cleveland
Cleveland
Cleveland
Cleveland
59.
Columbus, Ohio
–
Columbus is the capital and largest city of the U. S. state of Ohio. It is the 15th-largest city in the United States, with a population of 850,106 as of 2015 estimates and this makes Columbus the fourth-most populous state capital in the United States, and the third-largest city in the Midwestern United States. It is the city of the Columbus, Ohio, Metropolitan Statistical Area. With a population of 2,021,632, it is Ohios third-largest metropolitan area, Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County. The city proper has also expanded and annexed portions of adjoining Delaware County, named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and assumed the functions of state capital in 1816. As of 2013, the city has the headquarters of five corporations in the U. S, fortune 500, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, American Electric Power, L Brands, Big Lots, and Cardinal Health. In 2012, Columbus was ranked in BusinessWeeks 50 best cities in America. In 2013, Forbes gave Columbus an A rating as one of the top cities for business in the U. S. and later that included the city on its list of Best Places for Business. Columbus was also ranked as the No.1 up-and-coming tech city in the nation by Forbes in 2008, and the city was ranked a top-ten city by Relocate America in 2010. In 2007, fDi Magazine ranked the city no.3 in the U. S. for cities of the future, and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was rated no.1 in 2009 by USA Travel Guide. The area including modern-day Columbus once comprised the Ohio Country, under the control of the French colonial empire through the Viceroyalty of New France from 1663 until 1763. In the 18th century, European traders flocked to the area, the area found itself frequently caught between warring factions, including American Indian and European interests. In the 1740s, Pennsylvania traders overran the territory until the French forcibly evicted them, in the early 1750s, the Ohio Company sent George Washington to the Ohio Country to survey. Fighting for control of the territory in the French and Indian War became part of the international Seven Years War, during this period, the region routinely suffered turmoil, massacres, and battles. The 1763 Treaty of Paris ceded the Ohio Country to the British Empire, after the American Revolution, the Ohio Country became part of the Virginia Military District, under the control of the United States. Colonists from the East Coast moved in, but rather finding a empty frontier, they encountered people of the Miami, Delaware, Wyandot, Shawnee. The tribes resisted expansion by the fledgling United States, leading to years of bitter conflict, the decisive Battle of Fallen Timbers resulted in the Treaty of Greenville, which finally opened the way for new settlements. By 1797, a surveyor from Virginia named Lucas Sullivant had founded a permanent settlement on the west bank of the forks of the Scioto River
Columbus, Ohio
–
Images, from top left to right:
Downtown Columbus, Ohio Statehouse Capitol Square, University Hall (Ohio State University),
Short North,
Nationwide Arena, Santa Maria replica
Columbus, Ohio
–
Old City Hall, completed in 1872 and burned in 1921
Columbus, Ohio
–
The Great Southern Hotel, located in downtown Columbus was completed in 1897
Columbus, Ohio
–
Legendary Columbus native
James Thurber, subject of
TIME Magazine's July 9, 1951, cover
60.
Copenhagen
–
Copenhagen, Danish, København, Latin, Hafnia) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. Copenhagen has an population of 1,280,371. The Copenhagen metropolitan area has just over 2 million inhabitants, the city is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand, another small portion of the city is located on Amager, and is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road, originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century. Beginning in the 17th century it consolidated its position as a centre of power with its institutions, defences. After suffering from the effects of plague and fire in the 18th century and this included construction of the prestigious district of Frederiksstaden and founding of such cultural institutions as the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Later, following the Second World War, the Finger Plan fostered the development of housing, since the turn of the 21st century, Copenhagen has seen strong urban and cultural development, facilitated by investment in its institutions and infrastructure. The city is the cultural, economic and governmental centre of Denmark, Copenhagens economy has seen rapid developments in the service sector, especially through initiatives in information technology, pharmaceuticals and clean technology. Since the completion of the Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen has become integrated with the Swedish province of Scania and its largest city, Malmö. With a number of connecting the various districts, the cityscape is characterized by parks, promenades. Copenhagen is home to the University of Copenhagen, the Technical University of Denmark, the University of Copenhagen, founded in 1479, is the oldest university in Denmark. Copenhagen is home to the FC København and Brøndby football clubs, the annual Copenhagen Marathon was established in 1980. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, the Copenhagen Metro serves central Copenhagen while the Copenhagen S-train network connects central Copenhagen to its outlying boroughs. Serving roughly 2 million passengers a month, Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, is the largest airport in the Nordic countries, the name of the city reflects its origin as a harbour and a place of commerce. The original designation, from which the contemporary Danish name derives, was Køpmannæhafn, meaning merchants harbour, the literal English translation would be Chapmans haven. The English name for the city was adapted from its Low German name, the abbreviations Kbh. or Kbhvn are often used in Danish for København, and kbh. for københavnsk. The chemical element hafnium is named for Copenhagen, where it was discovered, the bacterium Hafnia is also named after Copenhagen, Vagn Møller of the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen named it in 1954. Excavations in Pilestræde have also led to the discovery of a well from the late 12th century, the remains of an ancient church, with graves dating to the 11th century, have been unearthed near where Strøget meets Rådhuspladsen
Copenhagen
–
From upper left:
Christiansborg Palace,
Frederik's Church,
Tivoli Gardens and
Nyhavn.
Copenhagen
–
Reconstruction of Copenhagen c. 1500
Copenhagen
–
The
Tøjhus Arsenal (
1604)
Copenhagen
–
The
Børsen, former stock exchange (completed
1640)
61.
Coventry
–
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. Historically part of Warwickshire, Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and it is the second largest city in the West Midlands region, after Birmingham, with a population of 345,385 in 2015. Coventry is 95 miles northwest of central London,19 miles east-south-east of Birmingham,24 miles southwest of Leicester and 11 miles north of Warwick. Coventry Cathedral was built after the destruction of the 14th century cathedral church of Saint Michael by the German Luftwaffe in the Coventry Blitz of 14 November 1940, Coventry motor companies have contributed significantly to the British motor industry. The city has two universities, Coventry University in the city centre and the University of Warwick on the southern outskirts. The Romans founded a settlement in Baginton, next to the River Sowe, and another formed around a Saxon nunnery, founded c. AD700 by St Osburga, that was later left in ruins by King Canutes invading Danish army in 1016. Earl Leofric of Mercia and his wife Lady Godiva built on the remains of the nunnery, in time, a market was established at the abbey gates and the settlement expanded. By the 14th century, Coventry was an important centre of the cloth trade, the bishops of Lichfield were often referred to as bishops of Coventry and Lichfield, or Lichfield and Coventry. Coventry claimed the status of a city by ancient prescriptive usage, was granted a charter of incorporation in 1345, the plays that William Shakespeare witnessed in Coventry during his boyhood or teens may have influenced how his plays, such as Hamlet, came about. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Coventry became one of the three main British centres of watch and clock manufacture and ranked alongside Prescot, in Lancashire, in the late 19th century, Coventry became a major centre of bicycle manufacture. The industry energised by the invention by James Starley and his nephew John Kemp Starley of the Rover safety bicycle, by the early 20th century, bicycle manufacture had evolved into motor manufacture, and Coventry became a major centre of the British motor industry. Jaguar is owned by the Indian company, Tata Motors, with many of the citys older properties becoming increasingly unfit for habitation, the first council houses were let to their tenants in 1917. With Coventrys industrial base continuing to soar after the end of the Great War a year later, numerous private and council housing developments took place across the city in the 1920s and 1930s. The development of a southern by-pass around the city, starting in the 1930s and being completed in 1940, Coventry suffered severe bomb damage during the Second World War. There was a massive Luftwaffe air raid, part of the Coventry Blitz, firebombing on this date led to severe damage to large areas of the city centre and to Coventrys historic cathedral, leaving only a shell and the spire. More than 4,000 houses were damaged or destroyed, along with three quarters of the citys industrial plants. More than 800 people were killed, with injured and homeless. Aside from London, Hull and Plymouth, Coventry suffered more damage than any other British city during the Luftwaffe attacks, following the raids, the majority of Coventrys historic buildings could not be saved as they were in ruinous states or were deemed unsafe for any future use
Coventry
–
Skyline of Coventry city centre
Coventry
–
A 1972
Hillman Avenger Tiger, produced in Coventry by Chrysler Competitions Department.
Coventry
–
Coventry precinct with spire of ruined cathedral in the background.
Coventry
–
North
62.
Curitiba
–
Curitiba is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. The citys population numbered approximately 1,879,355 people as of 2015, making it the eighth most populous city in the country, and the largest in Brazils South Region. The Curitiba Metropolitan area comprises 26 municipalities with a population of over 3.2 million. Curitiba is an important cultural, political, and economic centre in Latin America, the city sits on a plateau at 932 metres above sea level. It is located 105 kilometres west of the seaport of Paranaguá and is served by the Afonso Pena International, the city hosts the Federal University of Paraná, established in 1912. In the 1700s Curitiba possessed a favorable location between cattle-breeding country and marketplaces, leading to a successful trade and the citys first major expansion. Later, between 1850 and 1950, it grew due to logging and agricultural expansion in the Paraná State, in the 1850s waves of European immigrants arrived in Curitiba, mainly Germans, Italians, Poles and Ukrainians, contributing to the citys economic and cultural development. Nowadays, only numbers of foreign immigrants arrive, primarily from Middle Eastern. The biggest expansion occurred after the 1960s, with urban planning that changed the population size from some hundreds of thousands to more than a million people. Curitibas economy is based on industry and services and is the fourth largest in Brazil, economic growth occurred in parallel to a substantial inward flow of Brazilians from other cities of the country, as approximately half of the citys population was not born in Curitiba. According to US magazine Readers Digest, Curitiba is the best Brazilian Big City in which to live. One theory is that the name Curitiba comes from the Tupi words kurí tyba, another version, also using words from the Tupi language, is that it originates in the combination of kurit and yba. The Portuguese who founded a settlement on the site in 1693 named it Vila da Nossa Senhora da Luz dos Pinhais, the name was changed to Curitiba in 1721. Curitiba officially became a town in 1812, spelling its name as Curityba and this was used in press and state documents. A state decree in 1919 settled the dispute by adopting Curitiba, as of 2013 the mayor was Gustavo Fruet, who replaced Luciano Ducci. The City Council of Curitiba has 38 councillors elected since 2004, Curitiba is divided into nine regional governments, who manage the municipalitys 75 districts. The Rua da Cidadania is the symbol of administrative decentralization, it is a reference point, several units are annexed to public transport terminals. Their nuclei offer services in the local, state and federal areas, Jaime Lerner is perhaps Curitibas best-known mayor
Curitiba
–
From the top, clokside: Curitiba skyline from Barigui Park; 24 Hours Street; Paço da Liberdade;
The Botanical Garden of Curitiba, Oscar Niemeyer Museum; Palace Avenue building.
Curitiba
–
Aerial view of Batel and Água Verde neighbourhoods
Curitiba
–
The Curitiba City Hall
Curitiba
–
Map of Curitiba in 1894 (Portuguese edition).
63.
Daegu
–
Daegu is the principal city of the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province. The two areas combined are referred to as Daegu-Gyeongbuk, with a total population of over 5 million. Daegu is located in south-eastern Korea about 80 kilometres from the seacoast, near the Geumho River and its mainstream, the Daegu basin, where the city lies, is the central plain of the Yeongnam region. In ancient times, there was a proto-country named Jinhan, to which the current Daegu area belonged, Later Daegu was part of the Silla Kingdom which unified the Korean Peninsula. During the Joseon Dynasty period, the city was the capital of Gyeongsang-do which was one of the eight provinces of the country. Daegu was a motor of Korea during the 1960s–1980s period and was especially known for its electronics industry. The humid subtropical climate of Daegu is ideal for producing high quality apples, thus the nickname, Daegu is also known as Textile City. Textiles used to be the industry of the city. With the establishment of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone, Daegu is currently focusing on fostering fashion, Daegu was the host city of the 22nd World Energy Congress of 2013, the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the 2003 Summer Universiade. It also hosted four matches in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Daegu hosts World Masters Indoor Championships on March 19–25,2017. More than 4600 athletes worldwide including 101 athletes from the USA will compete, archaeological investigations in the Greater Daegu area have revealed a large number of settlements and burials of the prehistoric Mumun Pottery Period. In fact, some of the earliest evidence of Mumun settlement in Gyeongsangdo have been excavated from Siji-dong and Seobyeon-dong, Dongcheon-dong is one of the substantial Mumun agricultural villages that have been excavated. The Dongcheon-dong site dates back to the Middle Mumun and contains the remains of many prehistoric pit-houses, megalithic burials have also been found in large numbers in Daegu. It was absorbed into the kingdom of Silla no later than the fifth century, the vestiges of the wall can be seen, and relics have been excavated in the current Dalseong Park. Silla succeeded in unifying the Korean peninsula by defeating the other kingdoms of Baekje and Koguryo in the late 7th century, shortly thereafter, in 689, Sillas King Sinmun considered moving the capital from Gyeongju to Daegu but was unable to do so. The city was given its current name in 757, in the late 1990s archaeologists excavated a large scale fortified Silla site in Dongcheon-dong, Buk-gu. The site at Locality 2 consists of the remains of 39 raised-floor buildings enclosed by a formidable ditch-and-palisade system, the excavators hypothesize that the fortified site was a permanent military encampment or barracks. Archaeologists also uncovered a large Silla village dating to the 6th to 7th centuries AD at Siji-dong, during the Later Three Kingdoms period, 892–936, Daegu was initially aligned with Hubaekje
Daegu
–
Daegu 대구시
Daegu
–
Reliquary from 8th century Silla,
Daegu National Museum
Daegu
–
Daegu in the 18th century
Daegu
–
Daegu City Hall
64.
Daejeon
–
Daejeon is South Koreas fifth-largest metropolis. Daejeon had a population of over 1.5 million in 2010, located in the central region of South Korea, Daejeon serves as a hub of transportation and is at the crossroads of major transport routes. The capital Seoul is about 50 minutes away by high-speed train, Daejeon is one of South Koreas administration hubs with the Daejeon Government Complex. The Korean administration in the 1980s decided to relocate some of its functions from Seoul, Korea Railroad Corporation, Korea Water Resources Corporation, and Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation are also headquartered in the city. Daejeon has earned its name as Asias Silicon Valley and high technology city, the city hosted the Taejon Expo 93 and the International Mathematical Olympiads in 2000. Several important research institutes are based in the city, Daedeok Innopolis is composed of 28 government-funded research institutions, as well as 79 private research institutes with as many as 20,000 researchers. In addition, Daejeon established the World Technopolis Association in 1998 with the view of realizing regional development through international cooperation with world science cities. The WTA has grown to have 67 members from 32 countries, human beings first settled in the Daejeon region during the Stone Age. During the Joseon Kingdom period, it remained occupied by the Hoideok-hyeon and Jinjam-hyeon of Gongju Mokha, in 1895, most of the area was made part of Hoideok-gun and Jinjam-gun, excluding some parts that belonged to Gongju-gun. The Daejeon area was known as Hanbat, a native Korean term for large field. Daejeon simply means the thing in Hanja. Historically, Daejeon was a village without many residents. However, in 1905, the Gyeongbu Railway began operations from Seoul to Busan, in 1926 under the rule of the Japanese government, the Honam Railway was built between Mokpo and Daejeon, transforming the latter into a major transportation hub. Because of its location and proximity to means of transportation, Daejeon grew quickly, in 1932, the capital of Chungnam province was moved from Gongju to Daejeon. During the Korean War, the city was the site of a major conflict. Since then, changes have made to the citys boundaries. Its official names have evolved, as well, among the boundary modifications include one that effectively made the nearby town of Daedeok a part of the city in 1983. Then, in the late 1980s, Daejeon was elevated to the status of Special City, in 1995, all South Korean Special Cities were again renamed as Metropolitan Cities, which is reflected in the current official name of Daejeon, Daejeon Metropolitan City
Daejeon
–
Daejeon 대전시
Daejeon
–
National Government Complex, Daejeon.
Daejeon
–
Walking path along the Gap river
Daejeon
–
Daejeon City Hall
65.
Dalian
–
Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning Province, China. It is the southernmost city of Northeast China and at the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, Dalian is the provinces second largest city and has sub-provincial administrative status, only the provincial capital is larger. The Shandong Peninsula lies southwest across the Bohai Strait, Korea lies across the Yellow Sea to the east, today, a financial, shipping and logistics centre for Northeast Asia, Dalian has a significant history of being used by foreign powers for its ports. Dalian was previously known as both Dalniy and Dairen, however the city was better known as Port Arthur and Ryojun from the original Port Arthur, now the citys Lüshunkou district. In 2012, Dalian ranked 82nd in the Global City Competitiveness Index, in 2006, Dalian was named Chinas most livable city by China Daily. Modern Dalian originated from Qingniwa or Qingniwaqiao, a fishing village. Russia built a town for the Kwantung Leased Territory after assuming control in 1898. After the Russo-Japanese War, Japan occupied the Kwantung Leased Territory, English sources called the city Dairen in this period, from the Japanese. In 1981, the State Council again renamed the city, from Lüda to Dalian, in the Qin and Han periods, Chinese expanded their territories into northern Korea through the Dalian region, then under the jurisdiction of Liaodong county. During the Sixteen Kingdoms era, the kingdom of Goguryeo controlled this region, in the early Tang Dynasty, the Dalian region was part of Andong Prefecture in Jili state, during the Liao Dynasty, it was part of Dong Jing Tong Liaoyang county. Dalian was named Sanshan in the period of Wei Jin, San Shanpu in the Tang Dynasty, Sanshan Seaport in the Ming Dynasty, and Qingniwakou during the Qing Dynasty. In the 1880s, Jinzhou, the north of downtown within Dalian, now Jinzhou District, was a town and centre for political intrigue. The Qing government built bridges and heavily fortified the peninsula, mining camps on the northern coast of Dalian Bay became the small town of Qingniwa or Qingniwaqiao, near what became downtown Dalian. The British occupied Qingniwa in 1858, but it returned to Chinese control in the 1880s, Port Arthur at the peninsulas tip took its English name from Royal Navy Lieutenant William C. Arthur, but Chinese called it Lüshun, in April 1895, China conceded defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, ceding Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan and Penghu, and making many other concessions in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. For Russia the region of the peninsula was of particular interest as one of the few areas in the region that had the potential to develop ice-free ports. The Russians built a commercial port city, which they wanted to become the Paris of the Far East. Linked to the Trans-Siberian Railways branch line from Harbin, Dalniy became Russias primary port-city in Asia, Russia spent more than 10 million golden rubles building the new ice-free port city
Dalian
–
Clockwise from top: Dalian skyline (Qingniwa
CBD), Citibank at
Zhongshan Square, Dalian International Conference Center, Tiaoyue Bridge at
Xinghai Square
Dalian
–
Zhongshan Square, then Ōhiroba, ca. 1940. It was initially built in 1898 as Nikolayevskaya Square.
Dalian
–
An old clock on a heritage building near the port
Dalian
–
Dalian Hotel, formerly
Yamato Hotel, was built in 1914
66.
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
–
Residents of the area refer to it as the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, DFW, or The Metroplex. It is the economic and cultural hub of the commonly called North Texas or North Central Texas and is the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States. The 2015 official estimate U. S. Census has the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex at 7,102,796, making it the largest metropolitan area in the South. During the 12-month period from July 2008 to July 2009, the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area gained 146,530 new residents, the areas population has grown by about one million since the 2000 US census. The metroplex encompasses 9,286 square miles of area,8,991 sq mi is land, while 295 sq mi is water, making it larger in area than the U. S. states of Rhode Island. It also has the fourth largest gross metropolitan product in the United States, the NTC copyrighted the term Southwest Metroplex in 1972 as a replacement for the previously-ubiquitous North Texas, which studies had shown lacked identifiability outside the state. In fact, only 38 percent of a group identified Dallas and Fort Worth as part of North Texas, with the Texas Panhandle also a perceived correct answer. No population estimates are released for census-designated places, which are marked with an asterisk and these places are categorized based on their 2010 census population. Places designated principal cities by the Office of Management and Budget are italicized. The racial makeup of the MSA was 50. 2% White,15. 4% African American,0. 6% Native American,5. 9% Asian,0. 1% Pacific Islander,10. 0% from other races, and 2. 4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 27. 5% of the population, the median income for a household in the MSA was $48,062, and the median income for a family was $55,263. Males had an income of $39,581 versus $27,446 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $21,839, the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK Combined Statistical Area is made up of 20 counties in north central Texas and one county in southern Oklahoma. The statistical area includes two areas and seven micropolitan areas. As of the 2010 Census, the CSA had a population of 6,817,483, the CSA definition encompasses 14,628 sq mi of area, of which 14,126 sq mi is land and 502 sq mi is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 5,487,956 people,2,006,665 households, and 1,392,540 families residing within the CSA. The racial makeup of the CSA was 70. 41% White,13. 34% African American,0. 59% Native American,3. 58% Asian,0. 08% Pacific Islander,9. 62% from other races, and 2. 39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20. 83% of the population and it is home to the fourth-largest Muslim population in the country
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
–
Downtown Dallas, Texas in March 2009
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
–
Downtown Fort Worth, Texas in June 2010
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
–
Northern Dallas metropolitan area at night – astronaut photo, courtesy NASA (2012)
67.
Dar es Salaam
–
Dar es Salaam is the largest city of Tanzania and the largest city in eastern Africa by population, as well as a regionally important economic centre. It is Tanzanias most prominent city in arts, fashion, media, music, film and it is Tanzanias leading financial centre with the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange being the countrys first and most important stock exchange market. Dar es Salaam is the largest and most populous Swahili-speaking city in the world, the city is the leading arrival and departure point for most tourists who visit tourism areas in Tanzania like the national parks for safaris and the islands of Zanzibar. The region had a population of 4,364,541 as of the official 2012 census, although Dar es Salaam lost its status as the nations capital to Dodoma in 1974, it remains the focus of the permanent central government bureaucracy. In the 19th century, Mzizima was a fishing village on the periphery of Indian Ocean trade routes. In 1865 or 1866, Sultan Majid bin Said of Zanzibar began building a new city very close to Mzizima, the name is commonly translated as abode/home of peace, based on the Arabic dar, and the Arabic es salaam. Dar es Salaam fell into decline after Majids death in 1870, German East Africa was captured by the British during World War I and became Tanganyika, with Dar es Salaam the administrative and commercial centre. Under British indirect rule, separate European and African areas developed at a distance from the city centre, the citys population also included a large number of south Asians. After World War II, Dar es Salaam experienced a period of rapid growth, political developments, including the formation and growth of the Tanganyika African National Union, led to Tanganyika attaining independence from colonial rule in December 1961. Dar es Salaam continued to serve as its capital, even when in 1964 Tanganyika, in 1973, however, provisions were made to relocate the capital to Dodoma, a more centrally located city in the interior. The relocation process has not yet completed, and Dar es Salaam remains Tanzanias primary city. In 1967, the Tanzanian government declared the Ujamaa policy, that set Tanzania into a socialist path, the move slowed down the potential growth of the city as the government encouraged people not to move in cities but stay in Ujamaa socialist villages. But by 1980s the Ujamaa policy proved to be a failure into combating increasing poverty, hunger and this led to the 1980s liberalization policy that virtually ended socialism and its spirit within the Tanzanias government. The move led to increasing migration of rural dwellers from rural areas into cities with Dar es Salaam becoming the city in receiving migrants from rural areas. Until the late 1990s, Dar es Salaam was not put into the category as Africas leading cities like Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos. The CBD skyline hosts tall buildings, among them the 35-floor PSPF Tower, finished in 2015, Dar es Salaam is located at 6°48 South, 39°17 East, on a natural harbour on the eastern coast of Africa, with sandy beaches in some areas. Administratively, the Dar es Salaam region is divided into five districts, Ilala, Kinondoni, Ubungo, Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in Tanzania. With a population increase of 5.6 percent per year from 2002 to 2012, the city is the third fastest growing in Africa, after Bamako and Lagos
Dar es Salaam
–
Dar es Salaam city skyline
Dar es Salaam
–
Dar es Salaam in 1930s
Dar es Salaam
–
Dar es Salaam Cenotaph
Dar es Salaam
–
Bank of Tanzania
68.
Delhi
–
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi or NCT, is a city and a union territory of India. It is bordered by Haryana on three sides and by Uttar Pradesh to the east, the NCT covers an area of 1,484 square kilometres. According to 2011 census, Delhis city population was about 11 million, Delhis urban area is now considered to extend beyond the NCT boundary to include an estimated population of over 26 million people making it the worlds second largest urban area. As of 2016 recent estimates of the economy of its urban area have ranked Delhi either the top or second most productive metro area of India. Delhi is the second wealthiest city after Mumbai in India, with a wealth of $450 billion. Delhi has been inhabited since the 6th century BC. Through most of its history, Delhi has served as a capital of various kingdoms and it has been captured, ransacked and rebuilt several times, particularly during the medieval period, and modern Delhi is a cluster of a number of cities spread across the metropolitan region. New Delhi is jointly administered by the government of India and the local government of Delhi. Delhi is also the centre of the National Capital Region, which is a unique interstate regional planning area created by the National Capital Region Planning Board Act of 1985, Delhi ranks among the cities with the worst air pollution in the world. There are a number of myths and legends associated with the origin of the name Delhi, one of them is derived from Dhillu or Dilu, a king who built a city at this location in 50 BC and named it after himself. The coins in circulation in the region under the Tomaras were called dehliwal, according to the Bhavishya Purana, King Prithiviraja of Indraprastha built a new fort in the modern-day Purana Qila area for the convenience of all four castes in his kingdom. He ordered the construction of a gateway to the fort and later named the fort dehali, another theory suggests that the citys original name was Dhillika. The people of Delhi are referred to as Delhiites or Dilliwalas, the city is referenced in various idioms of the Northern Indo-Aryan languages. Dilli dilwalon ka shehr or Dilli Dilwalon ki meaning Delhi belongs to the large-hearted/daring, aas-paas barse, Dilli pani tarse, literally meaning it pours all around, while Delhi lies parched. An allusion to the sometimes semi-arid climate of Delhi, it refers to situations of deprivation when one is surrounded by plenty. The area around Delhi was probably inhabited before the second millennium BC, the city is believed to be the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata. According to Mahabharata, this land was initially a huge mass of forests called Khandavaprastha which was burnt down to build the city of Indraprastha, the earliest architectural relics date back to the Maurya period, in 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka was discovered near Srinivaspuri. Remains of eight cities have been discovered in Delhi
Delhi
–
From top clockwise:
Lotus temple,
Humayun's Tomb,
Connaught Place,
Akshardham temple and
India Gate.
Delhi
–
The ancient
Yogmaya Temple, claimed to be one of the five temples of the Mahabharata era in Delhi.
Delhi
–
The
iron pillar of Delhi, is said to have been fashioned at the time of
Chandragupta Vikramaditya (375–413) of the
Gupta Empire.
69.
Denver
–
Denver, officially the City and County of Denver, is the capital and most populous municipality of the U. S. state of Colorado. Denver is in the South Platte River Valley on the edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Denver downtown district is immediately east of the confluence of Cherry Creek with the South Platte River, Denver is nicknamed the Mile-High City because its official elevation is exactly one mile above sea level, making it the highest major city in the United States. The 105th meridian west of Greenwich, the reference for the Mountain Time Zone. Denver is ranked as a Beta- world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. With a 2015 estimated population of 682,545, Denver ranks as the 19th-most populous U. S. city, and with a 2. 8% increase in 2015, the city is also the fastest-growing major city in the United States. The 10-county Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated 2015 population of 2,814,330 and ranked as the 19th most populous U. S. metropolitan statistical area. The 12-city Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area had an estimated 2015 population of 3,418,876, which ranks as the 16th most populous U. S. metropolitan area. Denver is the most populous city of the 18-county Front Range Urban Corridor, Denver is the most populous city within a 500-mile radius and the second-most populous city in the Mountain West after Phoenix, Arizona. In 2016, Denver was named the best place to live in the USA by U. S. News & World Report and this was the first historical settlement in what was later to become the city of Denver. The site faded quickly, however, and by the summer of 1859 it was abandoned in favor of Auraria, Larimer named the townsite Denver City to curry favor with Kansas Territorial Governor James W. Denver. Larimer hoped the name would help make it the county seat of Arapaho County but, unbeknownst to him. The location was accessible to existing trails and was across the South Platte River from the site of seasonal encampments of the Cheyenne, the site of these first towns is now the site of Confluence Park near downtown Denver. Larimer, along with associates in the St. Charles City Land Company, sold parcels in the town to merchants and miners, Denver City was a frontier town, with an economy based on servicing local miners with gambling, saloons, livestock and goods trading. In the early years, land parcels were often traded for grubstakes or gambled away by miners in Auraria, in May 1859, Denver City residents donated 53 lots to the Leavenworth & Pikes Peak Express in order to secure the regions first overland wagon route. Offering daily service for passengers, mail, freight, and gold, in 1863, Western Union furthered Denvers dominance of the region by choosing the city for its regional terminus. The Colorado Territory was created on February 28,1861, Arapahoe County was formed on November 1,1861, Denver City served as the Arapahoe County Seat from 1861 until consolidation in 1902. In 1867, Denver City became the territorial capital, with its newfound importance, Denver City shortened its name to Denver
Denver
–
Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Denver Skyline,
Colorado State Capitol,
Red Rocks Amphitheatre,
Sports Authority Field at Mile High, RTD Light Rail train Downtown.
Denver
–
Former
Kansas Territorial Governor
James W. Denver visited his namesake city in 1875 and in 1882.
Denver
–
The "Bronco Buster", a variation of
Frederic Remington 's "
Bronco Buster "
western sculpture at the Denver capitol grounds, a gift from J.K. Mullen in 1920
Denver
–
"Pioneer Mothers of Colorado" statue at
The Denver Post building
70.
Detroit
–
Detroit is the most populous city in the U. S. state of Michigan, the fourth-largest city in the Midwest and the largest city on the United States–Canada border. It is the seat of Wayne County, the most populous county in the state, the municipality of Detroit had a 2015 estimated population of 677,116, making it the 21st-most populous city in the United States. Roughly one-half of Michigans population lives in Metro Detroit alone, the Detroit–Windsor area, a commercial link straddling the Canada–U. S. Border, has a population of about 5.7 million. Detroit is a port on the Detroit River, a strait that connects the Great Lakes system to the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The Detroit Metropolitan Airport is among the most important hubs in the United States, the City of Detroit anchors the second-largest economic region in the Midwest, behind Chicago, and the thirteenth-largest in the United States. Detroit and its neighboring Canadian city Windsor are connected through a tunnel and various bridges, Detroit was founded on July 24,1701 by the French explorer and adventurer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and a party of settlers. During the 19th century, it became an important industrial hub at the center of the Great Lakes region, with expansion of the American automobile industry in the early 20th century, the Detroit area emerged as a significant metropolitan region within the United States. The city became the fourth-largest in the country for a period, in the 1950s and 1960s, suburban expansion continued with construction of a regional freeway system. A great portion of Detroits public transport was abandoned in favour of becoming a city in the post-war period. Due to industrial restructuring and loss of jobs in the auto industry, between 2000 and 2010 the citys population fell by 25 percent, changing its ranking from the nations 10th-largest city to 18th. In 2010, the city had a population of 713,777 and this resulted from suburbanization, corruption, industrial restructuring and the decline of Detroits auto industry. In 2013, the state of Michigan declared an emergency for the city. Detroit has experienced urban decay as its population and jobs have shifted to its suburbs or elsewhere, conservation efforts managed to save many architectural pieces since the 2000s and allowed several large-scale revitalisations. More recently, the population of Downtown Detroit, Midtown Detroit, paleo-Indian people inhabited areas near Detroit as early as 11,000 years ago. In the 17th century, the region was inhabited by Huron, Odawa, Potawatomi, for the next hundred years, virtually no British, colonist, or French action was contemplated without consultation with, or consideration of the Iroquois likely response. When the French and Indian War evicted the Kingdom of France from Canada, the 1798 raids and resultant 1799 decisive Sullivan Expedition reopened the Ohio Country to westward emigration, which began almost immediately, and by 1800 white settlers were pouring westwards. By 1773, the population of Detroit was 1,400, by 1778, its population was up to 2,144 and it was the third-largest city in the Province of Quebec
Detroit
–
From top to bottom, left to right:
Downtown Detroit skyline and the
Detroit River,
Fox Theatre,
Dorothy H. Turkel House in
Palmer Woods,
Belle Isle Conservatory,
The Spirit of Detroit,
Fisher Building,
Eastern Market,
Old Main at
Wayne State University,
Ambassador Bridge, and the
Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit
–
Ste. Anne de Détroit, founded in 1701 by French colonists, is the second-oldest continuously operating
Catholic parish in the United States. The present church was completed in 1887.
Detroit
–
A 4
p.m. change of work shift at the Ford Motor Company assembly plant in
Highland Park, Michigan, 1910s
Detroit
–
Looking south down
Woodward Avenue, with the Detroit skyline in the distance, July 1942
71.
Dhaka
–
Dhaka is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the worlds most populated cities, with a population of 17 million people in the Greater Dhaka Area and it is also the 3rd most densely populated city in the world. Located in a district and division, it lies along the east bank of the Buriganga River in the heart of the Bengal delta. The city is a microcosm of the country, with diverse religious. Dhaka is the economic, cultural and political center of Bangladesh and its name was romanized as Dacca until the current spelling was adopted in 1983. It is the largest city in the Bengal region and it is also a major city of South Asia and among the OIC states. The old city of Dhaka was the Mughal capital of Bengal, the citys name was Jahangir Nagar in the 17th century. It was a commercial center and the hub of the worldwide muslin. The city hosted two important caravansaries of the subcontinent, the Bara Katra and Choto Katra, located on the riverfront of the Buriganga, the Mughals decorated the city with well-laid out gardens, tombs, mosques, palaces and forts. Dhaka became known as the City of Mosques in Bengal and it was also described as the Venice of the East. The old city was home to various Eurasian merchant groups, at the height of its medieval glory, Dhaka was regarded as one of the wealthiest and most prosperous cities in the world. It was central to the economy of Mughal Bengal, which generated 50% of Mughal GDP, modern Dhaka developed from the late 20th century under the administration of East Pakistan. Between 1905 and 1912, it was the capital of British Eastern Bengal, in 1947, after the region became known as Pakistan, it became the administrative capital of the eastern wing of Pakistan. It was declared as the capital of Pakistan in 1962. In 1971, it became the capital of an independent Bangladesh, the city has endured periods of famine, war and natural calamities. It continues to confront challenges faced by growing metropolises in developing countries, including poverty, Dhaka is home to thousands of Bangladeshi businesses and the offices of many international corporations. The Dhaka Stock Exchange is one of the largest in South Asia in terms of trading volume and it hosts several major arts festivals, including the annual Ekushey Book Fair, the Dhaka Literature Festival and the biannual Dhaka Art Summit. The city has the largest number of cycle rickshaws and is known as the Rickshaw Capital of the World, Dhakas highly popular cuisine features distinctive biryanis, kebabs and bakarkhanis as a legacy of its rule by the Mughals and the Nawabs of Dhaka
Dhaka
–
1.
National Parliament 2.
Motijheel financial district 3.
Rose Garden 4.
Khan Mohammad Mridha Mosque 5.
Ramna 6.
Supreme Court of Bangladesh 7.
RAJUK Bhaban 8. Dhaka City Center
Dhaka
–
Ruins of
Lalbagh Fort
Dhaka
–
A Bengali woman wearing
muslin in Dhaka in 1789
Dhaka
–
Old High Court of Dacca
72.
Doha
–
Doha is the capital city and most populous city of the State of Qatar. Doha has a population of 1,351,000 in a city proper with the close to 1.5 million. The city is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf in the east of the country and it is Qatars fastest growing city, with over 50% of the nations population living in Doha or its surrounding suburbs, and it is also the economic center of the country. Doha was founded in the 1820s as an offshoot of Al Bidda and it was officially declared as the countrys capital in 1971, when Qatar gained independence. As the commercial capital of Qatar and one of the emergent financial centers in the Middle East, Doha is considered a city by the Globalization. Doha accommodates Education City, a devoted to research and education. The city was host to the first ministerial-level meeting of the Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization negotiations. It was also selected as host city of a number of sporting events, including the 2006 Asian Games, in December 2011, the World Petroleum Council held the 20th World Petroleum Conference in Doha. Additionally, the city hosted the 2012 UNFCCC Climate Negotiations and is set to host a number of the venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In May 2015, Doha was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, La Paz, Durban, Havana, Beirut, the name Doha may have originated from the Arabic Ad-Dawḥa, the big tree. The reference might be to a prominent tree that stood at the site where the fishing village arose. Alternatively, it may have derived from dohat — Arabic for bay or gulf — referring to the Doha Bay area surrounding the Corniche. The city of Doha was formed after seceding from another local settlement known as Al Bidda, the earliest documented mention of Al Bidda was made in 1681, by the Carmelite Convent, in an account which chronicles several settlements in Qatar. In the record, the ruler and a fort in the confines of Al Bidda are alluded to, carsten Niebuhr, a European explorer who visited the Arabian Peninsula, created one of the first maps to depict the settlement in 1765 in which he labelled it as Guttur. David Seaton, a British political resident in Muscat, wrote the first English record of Al Bidda in 1801 and he refers to the town as Bedih and describes the geography and defensive structures in the area. He stated that the town had recently settled by the Sudan tribe. Seaton attempted to bombard the town with his warship, but returned to Muscat upon finding that the waters were too shallow to position his warship within striking distance. In 1820, British surveyor R. H. Colebrook, who visited Al Bidda and he wrote, The same year, an agreement known as the General Maritime Treaty was signed between the East India Company and the sheikhs of several Persian Gulf settlements
Doha
–
Clockwise from top:
Qatar University,
Museum of Islamic Art,
Doha Skyline,
Souq Waqif,
The Pearl
Doha
–
Satellite view of Doha
Doha
–
Trigonometrical plan of Al Bidda, 1823.
Doha
–
Doha in January 1904
73.
Dongguan
–
Dongguan is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, China. It is part of the Pearl River Delta megacity with more than 44.78 million inhabitants at the 2010 census spread over nine municipalities across an area of 17,573 square kilometres, Dongguans city administration is considered especially progressive in seeking foreign direct investment. Dongguan ranks behind only Shenzhen, Shanghai and Suzhou in exports among Chinese cities and it is also home to one of the worlds largest, though largely empty, shopping malls, the New South China Mall. The majority of the population speak Mandarin due to migrants from parts of the country. Although the earliest traces of habitation in the area stretch back 5,000 years. In 1839, at the outset of the First Opium War, large quantities of seized opium were destroyed in Humen, several of the major battles of the war were fought in this area. During the Second World War, the city served as the base for resistance against the Japanese occupation. Dongguan earned city status in 1985, and was upgraded to city status three years later. During this period the city changed its focus from a town into a manufacturing hub. The city ranked 13th in Forbes Chinas listing of the most innovative mainland cities, geographically, the city is mostly hilly to the east and flat in the west, with 115.98 kilometres of shoreline. It is positioned in the middle of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen economic corridor, of Dongguans total area, 27% is water, 25% forest land, and 13% arable land, while 35% of its land area has been fully developed. Dongguan had an estimated 6,949,800 inhabitants at the end of 2008, at the 2010 Census the population had expanded to 8,220,237. The number reached 8.29 million by the end of 2012, Dongguan is the hometown for many overseas Chinese, the family origin of over 700,000 people in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau and over 200,000 nationals living abroad. Dongguan has no county level but instead is divided into 32 towns, Dongguan has a humid subtropical climate, with abundant sunshine. It lies just south of the Tropic of Cancer, the average temperature is 23.3 °C throughout the year with average rainfall of 2,042.6 millimetres. Many foreign travellers to Dongguan fly into Hong Kong, which gives visa on arrival to citizens of over 170 countries, after landing, visitors must apply for a visa to enter mainland China. One can travel from Hong Kong to Dongguan by bus, ferry, Dongguan serves as one of the regional railway hubs in Guangdong, where the Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway, Guangzhou-Meizhou-Shantou Railway and the Beijing-Kowloon Railway converge. Rail services in and out of the city call at Dongguan railway station there are direct train services to Guangzhou East railway station in Guangzhou
Dongguan
–
From top left, clockwise:
Guanyin mountain,
Humen Bridge,
Keyuan, Dongguan Avenue
Dongguan
–
Guan Yin Shan (Kuan Yin Mountain) in Dongguan, China
Dongguan
–
Humen Pearl River Bridge
Dongguan
–
Shanghai Beijing
74.
Dubai
–
Dubai is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the countrys legislature. The city of Dubai is located on the northern coastline. Dubai will host World Expo 2020, Dubai has emerged as a global city and business hub of the Middle East. It is also a transport hub for passengers and cargo. By the 1960s, Dubais economy was based on revenues from trade and, to an extent, oil exploration concessions. Oil revenue first started to flow in 1969, Dubais oil revenue helped accelerate the early development of the city, but its reserves are limited and production levels are low, today, less than 5% of the emirates revenue comes from oil. The emirates Western-style model of business drives its economy with the main revenues now coming from tourism, aviation, real estate, Dubai was recently named the best destination for Muslim travellers by Salam Standard. Dubai has recently attracted attention through many innovative large construction projects and sports events. The city has become iconic for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the worlds tallest building, Dubai has been criticised for human rights violations concerning the citys largely South Asian and Filipino workforce. As of 2012, Dubai was the 22nd most expensive city in the world, in 2014, Dubais hotel rooms were rated as the second most expensive in the world, after Geneva. Dubai was rated as one of the best places to live in the Middle East by U. S. global consulting firm Mercer, Many theories have been proposed as to the origin of the word Dubai. One theory suggests the word was used to describe the souq, another theory states that the name came from a word meaning money, as people from Dubai were commonly believed to be rich due to the thriving trading centre of the location. An Arabic proverb says Daba Dubai, meaning They came with a lot of money, according to Fedel Handhal, a scholar on the UAEs history and culture, the word Dubai may have come from the word daba, referring to the slow flow of Dubai Creek inland. The poet and scholar Ahmad Mohammad Obaid traces it to the same word, an inhabitant or native of the city is a Dubaian. Although stone tools have been found at archaeological sites, little is known about the UAEs early inhabitants as only a few settlements have been found. Many ancient towns in the area were trading centres between the Eastern and Western worlds, the remnants of an ancient mangrove swamp, dated at 7000 BC, were discovered during the construction of sewer lines near Dubai Internet City. The area was covered with sand about 5,000 years ago as the coast retreated inland, pre-Islamic ceramics have been found from the 3rd and 4th centuries
Dubai
–
Clockwise from the top: skyline with
Burj Khalifa;
Burj Al Arab; satellite image showing
Palm Jumeirah and
The World Islands;
Dubai Marina; and
Sheikh Zayed road.
Dubai
–
Al Bastakiya, Dubai
Dubai
–
The
Al Ras district in
Deira, Dubai in the 1960s
Dubai
–
The
Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area at night
75.
Dublin
–
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle
Dublin
–
Clockwise from top:
Samuel Beckett Bridge,
Trinity College,
Custom House,
Dublin Castle,
O'Connell Bridge, and
Convention Centre Dublin.
Dublin
–
Father Mathew Bridge, formerly Dublin Bridge, is understood to be near the ancient "Ford of the Hurdles" (Baile Átha Cliath), the original crossing point on the River Liffey.
Dublin
–
Dublin Castle was the fortified seat of
British rule in Ireland until 1922.
Dublin
–
Henrietta Street, developed in the 1720s, is the earliest Georgian Street in Dublin.
76.
Durban
–
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Durbans metropolitan municipality ranks third among the most populous areas in South Africa after Johannesburg. It is also the second most important manufacturing hub in South Africa after Johannesburg and it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa and it is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism because of the citys warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches. It is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal which is the 2nd most populous province in South Africa and it has the highest number of dollar millionaires added per year of any South African city with the number rising 200% between 2000 and 2014. In May 2015, Durban was officially recognised as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, Doha, La Paz, Havana, Beirut, archaeological evidence from the Drakensberg mountains suggests that the Durban area has been inhabited by communities of hunter-gatherers since 100,000 BC. He named the area Natal, or Christmas in Portuguese, accompanying Farewell was an adventurer named Henry Francis Fynn. Fynn was able to befriend the Zulu King Shaka by helping him to recover from a wound he suffered in battle. As a token of Shakas gratitude, he granted Fynn a 30-mile strip of coast a hundred miles in depth. During a meeting of 35 European residents in Fynns territory on 23 June 1835, it was decided to build a town and name it dUrban after Sir Benjamin dUrban. The Voortrekkers established the Republic of Natalia in 1838, with its capital at Pietermaritzburg, piet Retief, leader of the Voortrekkers in Natal, negotiated with the Zulu King, Dingane, in order to obtain land for their farming purposes. After negotiations were concluded, Dingane however reneged and had Retief, thereafter the Zulus attacked and killed more than 500 Voortrekkers at Retiefs laager. The Voortrekkers retaliated and broke Dinganes power at the Battle of Blood River, the force arrived on 4 May 1842 and built a fortification that was later to be The Old Fort. On the night of 23/24 May 1842 the British attacked the Voortrekker camp at Congella, the attack failed, and the British had to withdraw to their camp which was put under siege. A local trader Dick King and his servant Ndongeni were able to escape the blockade and rode to Grahamstown, the reinforcements arrived in Durban 20 days later, the Voortrekkers retreated, and the siege was lifted. Fierce conflict with the Zulu population led to the evacuation of Durban, a British governor was appointed to the region and many settlers emigrated from Europe and the Cape Colony. The British established a sugar industry in the 1860s. Farm owners had a difficult time attracting Zulu labourers to work on their plantations, as a result of the importation of Indian labourers, Durban has the largest Asian community on the African continent, and has the largest Indian population outside of India
Durban
Durban
Durban
Durban
77.
Edinburgh
–
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 local government council areas. Located in Lothian on the Firth of Forths southern shore, it is Scotlands second most populous city and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The 2014 official population estimates are 464,990 for the city of Edinburgh,492,680 for the authority area. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is home to the Scottish Parliament and it is the largest financial centre in the UK after London. Historically part of Midlothian, the city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, literature, the sciences and engineering. The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582 and now one of four in the city, was placed 17th in the QS World University Rankings in 2013 and 2014. The city is famous for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe. The citys historical and cultural attractions have made it the United Kingdoms second most popular tourist destination after London, attracting over one million overseas visitors each year. Historic sites in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and the Canongate, Edinburghs Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999. It appears to derive from the place name Eidyn mentioned in the Old Welsh epic poem Y Gododdin, the poem names Din Eidyn as a hill fort in the territory of the Gododdin. The Celtic element din was dropped and replaced by the Old English burh, the first documentary evidence of the medieval burgh is a royal charter, c. 1124–1127, by King David I granting a toft in burgo meo de Edenesburg to the Priory of Dunfermline. In modern Gaelic, the city is called Dùn Èideann, the earliest known human habitation in the Edinburgh area was at Cramond, where evidence was found of a Mesolithic camp site dated to c.8500 BC. Traces of later Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements have found on Castle Rock, Arthurs Seat, Craiglockhart Hill. When the Romans arrived in Lothian at the end of the 1st century AD, at some point before the 7th century AD, the Gododdin, who were presumably descendants of the Votadini, built the hill fort of Din Eidyn or Etin. Although its location has not been identified, it likely they would have chosen a commanding position like the Castle Rock, Arthurs Seat. In 638, the Gododdin stronghold was besieged by forces loyal to King Oswald of Northumbria and it thenceforth remained under their jurisdiction. The royal burgh was founded by King David I in the early 12th century on land belonging to the Crown, in 1638, King Charles Is attempt to introduce Anglican church forms in Scotland encountered stiff Presbyterian opposition culminating in the conflicts of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. In the 17th century, Edinburghs boundaries were defined by the citys defensive town walls
Edinburgh
–
Clockwise from top-left: View from
Calton Hill,
Old College,
Old Town from Princes Street,
Edinburgh Castle,
Princes Street from Calton Hill
Edinburgh
–
Edinburgh, showing Arthur's Seat, one of the earliest known sites of human habitation in the area
Edinburgh
–
Edinburgh in the 17th century
Edinburgh
–
A painting showing Edinburgh characters (based on
John Kay 's caricatures) behind
St Giles' Cathedral in the late 18th century
78.
Edmonton
–
Edmonton /ˈɛdməntən/ is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, the city anchors the north end of what Statistics Canada defines as the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The city had a population of 932,546 in 2016, making it Albertas second-largest city, also in 2016, Edmonton had a metropolitan population of 1,321,426, making it the sixth-largest census metropolitan area in Canada. Edmonton is North Americas northernmost city with a population over one million. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian, Edmontons historic growth has been facilitated through the absorption of five adjacent urban municipalities and a series of annexations ending in 1982. Known as the Gateway to the North, the city is a point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta. Edmonton is a cultural, governmental and educational centre and it hosts a year-round slate of festivals, reflected in the nickname Canadas Festival City. It is home to North Americas largest mall, West Edmonton Mall, in 1754, Anthony Henday, an explorer for the Hudsons Bay Company, may have been the first European to enter the Edmonton area. By 1795, Fort Edmonton was established on the north bank as a major trading post for the Hudsons Bay Company. The new forts name was suggested by John Peter Pruden after Edmonton, London, the home town of both the HBC deputy governor Sir James Winter Lake, and Pruden. In 1876, Treaty 6, which includes what is now Edmonton, was signed between the Aboriginal peoples in Canada and Queen Victoria as Queen of Canada, as part of the Numbered Treaties of Canada. The agreement includes the Plains and Woods Cree, Assiniboine, and other governments of First Nations at Fort Carlton, Fort Pitt. The area covered by the treaty represents most of the area of the current provinces of Saskatchewan. The arrival of the CPR and the C&E Railway helped bring settlers and entrepreneurs from eastern Canada, Europe, U. S. the Edmonton areas fertile soil and cheap land attracted settlers, further establishing Edmonton as a major regional commercial and agricultural centre. Some people participating in the Klondike Gold Rush passed through South Edmonton/Strathcona in 1897, in November 1905, the Canadian Northern Railway arrived in Edmonton, accelerating growth. During the early 1900s, Edmontons rapid growth led to speculation in real estate, in 1912, Edmonton amalgamated with the City of Strathcona, south of the North Saskatchewan River, as a result, the city extended south of the North Saskatchewan River for the first time. Just prior to World War I, the boom ended, many impoverished families moved to subsistence farms outside the city, while others fled to greener pastures in other provinces. Recruitment to the Canadian army during the war contributed to the drop in population
Edmonton
–
From top left:
Downtown Edmonton,
Fort Edmonton Park,
Legislature Building,
Law Courts,
Rexall Place,
High Level Bridge,
Muttart Conservatory
Edmonton
–
Jasper Avenue in Edmonton, ca.1907
Edmonton
–
Panorama of Edmonton's downtown skyline.
Edmonton
–
Streambed in Hawrelak Park
79.
Fortaleza
–
Fortaleza is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza, the motto of Fortaleza, present in its coat of arms is the Latin word Fortitudine, which in Portuguese means strength, value, courage. Fortaleza in 2013 was the twelfth richest city in the country in GDP and second in the Northeast and it also has the third richest metropolitan area in the North and Northeast regions. It is an important industrial and commercial center of Brazil, the nations largest municipal purchasing power. According to the Ministry of Tourism, the city reached the marks of second most desired destination of Brazil, the BR-116, the most important highway of the country, starts in Fortaleza. The municipality is part of the Common Market of Mercosur Cities, residents of the city are known as Fortalezenses. Fortaleza is one of the three leading cities in the Northeast region together with Recife and Salvador, the city was one of the host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Additionally, Fortaleza was one of the host cities of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, Fortalezas history began on February 2,1500, when Spaniard Vicente Pinzón landed in Mucuripes cove and named the new land Santa Maria de la Consolación. Because of the Treaty of Tordesillas, the discovery was never officially sanctioned, colonisation began in 1603, when the Portuguese Pero Coelho de Souza constructed the Fort of São Tiago and founded the settlement of Nova Lisboa. After a victory over the French in 1612, Martins Soares Moreno expanded the Fort of São Tiago, in 1630 the Dutch invaded the Brazilian Northeast and in 1637 they took the Fort of São Sebastião and ruled over Ceará. In battles with the Portuguese and natives in 1644 the fort was destroyed, under captain Matthias Beck the Dutch West Indies Company built a new fortress by the banks of river Pajeú. Fort Schoonenborch officially opened on August 19,1649, Fortaleza was officially founded as a village 1726, becoming the capital of Ceará state in 1799. During the 19th century, Fortaleza was consolidated as a centre in Ceará. In 1824, the city was targeted by the revolutionaries of Confederation of the Equator, between the years 1846 and 1877, the city went through a period of enrichment, economic and infrastructural improvement. In 1922, Fortaleza reached its first hundred thousand inhabitants with the annexation of the cities of Messejana and Parangaba, in 1954, the first university in the city was created, the Universidade Federal do Ceará. In 1983 DIF I started to integrate the territory of the new city of Maracanaú, in the 1980s, Fortaleza exceeded Recife in population terms, becoming the second most populous city in Northeastern Brazil, with 2,571,896 inhabitants. Fortaleza has a tropical climate, specifically a tropical wet and dry climate, with high temperatures. However, these conditions are relieved by pleasant winds blowing from the ocean
Fortaleza
–
Fortaleza
Fortaleza
–
Plan of Fort Schoonenborch in 1649.
Fortaleza
–
Fortaleza in 1910.
Fortaleza
–
Passeio Público in 1919.
80.
Foshan
–
Foshan, formerly romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province in southeastern China. The entire prefecture covers 3,848.49 km2 and has a population around 7.2 million. It forms part of the side of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone. Foshan is regarded as the home of the Cantonese forms of Chinese opera, kung fu, lion dancing, fóshān is the pinyin romanization of the citys Chinese name 佛山, based on its Mandarin pronunciation. The Postal Map spelling Fatshan derives from the same names local Cantonese pronunciation, other romanizations include Fat-shan and Fat-shun. The town grew up around a monastery founded nearby that was destroyed in 1391, the towns nicknames include the Hometown of Cantonese Opera, of Lingnan Kung Fu, of Lingnan Lion Dancing, and of Lingnan Dragon Boat Racing. Foshan remained a settlement on the Fen River for most of Chinas history. It grew up around a Tang-era Buddhist monastery that was destroyed in 1391, the Foshan Ancestral Temple, a Taoist temple to the Northern God that was rebuilt in 1372, became the new focus of the community by the 15th century. By the early Ming, Foshan had grown one of the four great markets in China, primarily on the strength of its local ceramics. Under the Qing, its harbor on the Fen River was limited to ships of a thousand tons burden, by the 19th century, it was considered the Birmingham of China, with its steel industry responsible for the consumption of the majority of the provinces iron production. It was connected to Guangzhou and Sanshui by rail in the early 20th century, the Ancestral Temple was converted into the Foshan Municipal Museum upon the victory of the Communists in the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Foshan remained primarily focused on ceramic and steel production until the 1950s, on 26 June 1951 it left Nanhai County to become a separate county-level city and, in 1954, it was made the seat of the prefectural government. In 1983, Foshan was promoted to a city with its former core becoming the new Chancheng District. On 8 December 2002, Shunde and Nanhai joined its urban core as a full district, Shunde has gone on to obtain an unusual autonomous status in 2009, placing its oversight in the hands of the provincial government rather than the prefectural one. Foshan lies on the Fen River in the making up the west side of the Pearl River Delta. Guangzhou lies 25 kilometers to the northeast, Zhongshan to the southeast, Jiangmen to the south, Qingyuan to the west, Foshan experiences a humid subtropical climate. The prefecture-level city of Foshan administers five county-level divisions, all of which are districts, the five districts are, Chancheng, Nanhai, Sanshui, Gaoming and Shunde. These are further divided into 64 township-level divisions, including 37 towns and 27 subdistricts, Foshan is close to Guangzhou and considers its link with Guangzhou very important
Foshan
–
Clockwise from top right: Zumiao of Foshan, Qingyun Tower in Shunfengshan Park, Statue of
Guanyin on top of Xiqiaoshan, & Downtown Foshan in
Chancheng District
Foshan
–
Foshan railway station
Foshan
–
Statue of
Guan Yin on Mount Xiqiao, in Nanhai
Foshan
–
Foshan University's front gate
81.
Frankfurt
–
The city is at the centre of the larger Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, which has a population of 5.8 million and is Germanys second-largest metropolitan region after Rhine-Ruhr. Since the enlargement of the European Union in 2013, the centre of the EU is about 40 km to the east of Frankfurts CBD. Frankfurt is culturally and ethnically diverse, with half of the population. A quarter of the population are foreign nationals, including many expatriates, Frankfurt is an alpha world city and a global hub for commerce, culture, education, tourism and traffic. Its the site of many global and European headquarters, Frankfurt Airport is among the worlds busiest. Automotive, technology and research, services, consulting, media, Frankfurts DE-CIX is the worlds largest internet exchange point. Messe Frankfurt is one of the worlds largest trade fairs, major fairs include the Frankfurt Motor Show, the worlds largest motor show, the Music Fair, and the Frankfurt Book Fair, the worlds largest book fair. Frankfurt is home to educational institutions, including the Goethe University, the UAS, the FUMPA. Its renowned cultural venues include the concert hall Alte Oper, Europes largest English Theatre and many museums, Frankfurts skyline is shaped by some of Europes tallest skyscrapers. In sports, the city is known as the home of the top football club Eintracht Frankfurt, the basketball club Frankfurt Skyliners, the Frankfurt Marathon. Its the seat of German sport unions for Olympics, football, Frankfurt is the largest financial centre in continental Europe. It is home to the European Central Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is one of the worlds largest stock exchanges by market capitalization and accounts for more than 90 percent of the turnover in the German market. Frankfurt is considered a city as listed by the GaWC groups 2012 inventory. Among global cities it was ranked 10th by the Global Power City Index 2011, among financial centres it was ranked 8th by the International Financial Centers Development Index 2013 and 9th by the Global Financial Centres Index 2013. Its central location within Germany and Europe makes Frankfurt a major air, rail, Frankfurt Airport is one of the worlds busiest international airports by passenger traffic and the main hub for Germanys flag carrier Lufthansa. Frankfurter Kreuz, the Autobahn interchange close to the airport, is the most heavily used interchange in the EU, in 2011 human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Frankfurt as seventh in its annual Quality of Living survey of cities around the world. According to The Economist cost-of-living survey, Frankfurt is Germanys most expensive city, Frankfurt has many high-rise buildings in the city centre, forming the Frankfurt skyline. It is one of the few cities in the European Union to have such a skyline and because of it Germans sometimes refer to Frankfurt as Mainhattan, the other well known and obvious nickname is Bankfurt
Frankfurt
–
Collage of Frankfurt, clockwise from top of left to right: Facade of the
Römer and
Frankfurt Cathedral, statue of
Charlemagne in
Frankfurt Historical Museum, view of Frankfurt skyline and
Main River
Frankfurt
–
The legend of the Frankenfurt (ford of the Franks)
Frankfurt
–
Frankfurt in 1612
Frankfurt
–
Frankfurt in 1872
82.
Fuzhou
–
Fuzhou, formerly romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic. Fuzhous core counties lie on the bank of the estuary of Fujians largest river. All along its border lies Ningde, and Ningdes Gutian County lies upriver. Fuzhous counties south of the Min border on Putian, Quanzhou, Fuzhou is listed as No.20 in China Integrated City Index 2016s total ranking, a study conducted by National Development and Reform Commission. Fuzhou in Chinese means 有福之州” （yǒufúzhīzhōu）, the mountains name was then combined with -zhou, meaning settlement or prefecture, in a manner similar to many other Chinese cities. During the Warring States period, area of Fuzhou was sometimes referred to as Ye, the citys name was changed numerous times between the 3rd and 9th centuries before finally settling on Fuzhou in 948. In Chinese, the city is referred to by the poetic nickname Rongcheng, literally. In older English publications, the name is romanized as Foochow, Foo-Chow, Fuchow, Fūtsu, Fuh-Chow, Hock Chew. The remains of two Neolithic cultures—the Huqiutou Culture, from around 5000 BC, and the Tanshi Mountain Culture, in 306 BC, the Yue Kingdom fell to the state of Chu. Their major centre was not at Fuzhous modern location, but further up the Min watershed near Wuyishan City, the First Emperor of Qin unified ancient China in 221 BC and desired to bring the southern and southeast regions under Chinese rule. The Qin dynasty organized its territory into Commanderies —roughly equivalent to a province or prefecture—and the Fujian area was organized as Minzhong Commandery, the area seems to have continued mostly independent of Chinese control for the next century. The Han dynasty followed the short-lived Qin, and Emperor Gaozu of Han declared both Minyue and neighboring Nanyue to be autonomous vassal kingdoms, in 202 BC, Emperor Gaozu enfeoffed a leader named Wuzhu as King of Minyue, and a walled city called Ye was built. The founding of Ye in 202 BC has become the founding date of the city of Fuzhou. In 110 BC, the armies of Emperor Wu of Han defeated the Minyue kingdoms armies during the Han–Minyue War and annexed its territory and people into China. Many Minyue citizens were relocated into the Jiangnan area. The area was eventually re-organized as a county in 85 BC, during the Three Kingdoms Period, southeast China was nominally under the control of Eastern Wu, and the Fuzhou area had a shipyard for the coastal and Yangtze River fleets. In 282, during the Jin dynasty, two lakes known simply as the East Lake and West Lake were constructed in Ye
Fuzhou
–
"Fuzhou" calligraphy. "Fuzhou" literally means "Blessed Settlement" or "Blessed District".
Fuzhou
Fuzhou
–
Foochow Mosque in Fuzhou.
Fuzhou
83.
Glasgow
–
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, and third largest in the United Kingdom. Historically part of Lanarkshire, it is now one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and it is situated on the River Clyde in the countrys West Central Lowlands. Inhabitants of the city are referred to as Glaswegians, Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become the largest seaport in Britain. From the 18th century the city grew as one of Great Britains main hubs of transatlantic trade with North America. Glasgow was the Second City of the British Empire for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries Glasgow grew in population, reaching a peak of 1,128,473 in 1939. The entire region surrounding the conurbation covers about 2.3 million people, at the 2011 census, Glasgow had a population density of 8, 790/sq mi, the highest of any Scottish city. Glasgow hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games and is well known in the sporting world for the football rivalry of the Old Firm between Celtic and Rangers. Glasgow is also known for Glasgow patter, a dialect that is noted for being difficult to understand by those from outside the city. Glasgow is the form of the ancient Cumbric name Glas Cau. Possibly referring to the area of Molendinar Burn where Glasgow Cathedral now stands, the later Gaelic name Baile Glas Chu, town of the grey dog, is purely a folk-etymology. The present site of Glasgow has been settled since prehistoric times, it is for settlement, being the furthest downstream fording point of the River Clyde, the origins of Glasgow as an established city derive ultimately from its medieval position as Scotlands second largest bishopric. Glasgow increased in importance during the 10th and 11th centuries as the site of this bishopric, reorganised by King David I of Scotland and John, there had been an earlier religious site established by Saint Mungo in the 6th century. The bishopric became one of the largest and wealthiest in the Kingdom of Scotland, bringing wealth, sometime between 1189 and 1195 this status was supplemented by an annual fair, which survives as the Glasgow Fair. Glasgow grew over the following centuries, the first bridge over the River Clyde at Glasgow was recorded from around 1285, giving its name to the Briggait area of the city, forming the main North-South route over the river via Glasgow Cross. The founding of the University of Glasgow in 1451 and elevation of the bishopric to become the Archdiocese of Glasgow in 1492 increased the towns religious and educational status and landed wealth. Its early trade was in agriculture, brewing and fishing, with cured salmon and herring being exported to Europe, Glasgow was subsequently raised to the status of Royal Burgh in 1611. The citys Tobacco Lords created a water port at Port Glasgow on the Firth of Clyde. By the late 18th century more than half of the British tobacco trade was concentrated on Glasgows River Clyde, at the time, Glasgow held a commercial importance as the city participated in the trade of sugar, tobacco and later cotton
Glasgow
–
Clockwise from top-left: View of
Glasgow Science Centre, Duke of Wellington statue outside
Gallery of Modern Art,
Royal Exchange Square, cityscape view from
The Lighthouse, Gilbert Scott Building of
University of Glasgow,
Finnieston Crane,
Glasgow City Chambers
Glasgow
–
The
seal or signet of
Jocelin,
Bishop of Glasgow, founder of the burgh of Glasgow.
Glasgow
–
Shipping on the Clyde,
Atkinson Grimshaw, 1881.
Glasgow
–
Glasgow University in the 1890s
