Zaanse Schans is a neighbourhood of Zaandam, near Zaandijk in the municipality of Zaanstad in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It has a collection of well-preserved historic windmills and houses. Zaanse Schans is one of the popular tourist attractions of the region and an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage. The neighbourhood is a popular tourist location with approximately 900,000 visitors every year.

The windmills were built after 1574.

Zaanse Schans

References sources : wikipedia

Osaka Castle () is a Japanese castle in Ch-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
Originally called Ozakaj, it is one of Japan's most famous castles, and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Osaka Castle is situated on a plot of land roughly one kilometer square. It is built on two raised platforms of landfill supported by sheer walls of cut rock, using a technique called Burdock piling, each overlooking a moat. The central castle building is five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside, and built atop a tall stone foundation to protect its occupants from sword-bearing attackers.

The Castle grounds, which cover approximately 60,000 square meters (15 acres) contain thirteen structures which have been designated as Important Cultural Assets by the Japanese government, including the Toyokuni Shrine, dedicated to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

The castle is open to the public, and is easily accessible from Osakajken Station on the JR West Osaka Loop Line. It is a popular spot during festival seasons, and especially during the cherry blossom bloom (hanami), when the sprawling castle grounds are covered with food vendors and taiko drummers. The large indoor arena Osaka-jo Hall is also located within the grounds of the castle park.

References sources : wikipedia

Majorca (Spanish and Catalan: Mallorca) is the largest island of Spain. It is located in the Mediterranean Sea and part of the Balearic Islands archipelago. The name derives from Latin insula maior, "larger island"; later Maiorica.

The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca (in the municipality of Palma). The anthem of Majorca is La Balanguera.

Like the other Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Formentera, and Minorca, the island is a popular tourist destination. In Germany, the United Kingdom and to a lesser extent, Ireland, where package tourism to the island started in May 1952, Majorca has remained a popular destination.

Mallorca

References sources : wikipedia

The Allianz Arena is a football stadium in the north of Munich, Germany. The two professional Munich football clubs FC Bayern Mnchen and TSV 1860 Mnchen have played their home games at Allianz Arena since the start of the 2005/06 season. Both clubs had previously played their home games at the Munich Olympic Stadium since 1972, where FC Bayern Mnchen played all of their games and TSV 1860 Mnchen most of their games.

The large financial services provider, Allianz purchased the rights to name the stadium for 30 years. During the 2006 World Cup it was known as FIFA World Cup Stadium Munich.
The stadium will be the venue for the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final.

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References sources : wikipedia

Fir is the modern capital of the Greek Aegean island, Santorini. It is a traditional settlement. "Fir", actually, is a different pronunciation of "Thira", the ancient name of the island itself.

Fira is a town of white-washed houses built on the edge of the 400 m high caldera on the western edge of the semi-circular island of Thera. The two main museums of interest are the Santorini Archeological Museum, 30 m east of the cable car entrance, and the Museum of Prehistoric Thera at the southeast corner of the White Orthodox Cathedral (with the Greek name meaning Metamorphosis), built on the site of the Ypapanti Church, destroyed in the 1956 earthquake.

Access to Fira is mainly by roads on its eastern side, climbing from its port via the Z-shaped footpath on foot or on donkeys, or by riding the steep cable car from its lower terminal by the port. The central square of Fira is called Plateia Theotokopoulou, with a bus and taxi station, banks and pharmacies.

The narrow paths, lined with all kinds of souvenir shops, jewelry shops, and restaurants linking the upper cable car terminal and the central square, are packed with tourists during the Summer seasons.

The view from Fira is magnificent, with a nice panoramic view of the 18 km long caldera from southern Cape Akrotiri to northern Cape Ag. Nikolaos, plus the volcanic island Nea Kameni at the center with Thirassia Island in the distant west on blue Aegean water. Big cruise ships can usually be seen anchoring in the small harbor between Nea Kameni and Fira.

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References sources : wikipedia

Bilbao (Basque: Bilbo) is the largest city in the Basque Country and the capital of the province of Biscay, Spain. The city has 353,168 inhabitants (2007) and is the most financially and industrially active part of Greater Bilbao, the zone in which almost half of the Basque Countrys population lives. Greater Bilbaos 953,152 inhabitants are spread along the length of the Nervin River, whose banks are home also to numerous businesses and factories, which during the industrial revolution brought heightened prosperity to the region.

A major seaport and industrial centre, the city is located on the Estuary of Bilbao, the city's suburbs extending to the Bay of Biscay. The population of the city of Bilbao proper was 353,168 in 2007. The population of the urban area of Greater Bilbao ( the conurbation) was 953,152 as of 2007 estimates. Population of the metropolitan area (urban area plus satellite towns) was 950,155 as of 2007 estimates, ranking as the fifth-largest metropolitan area of Spain. As of 2008, the mayor of Bilbao is Iaki Azkuna.

Bilbao

References sources : wikipedia

Petergof or Peterhof (Dutch/German for "Peter's Court"), known as Petrodvorets () from 1944 to 1992, is a municipal town within Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland.

The town hosts one of two campuses of Saint Petersburg State University. A series of palaces and gardens, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great, and sometimes called the "Russian Versailles", is also situated there. The palace-ensemble along with the city center is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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References sources : wikipedia

The Cathedral of Santa Eulalia (in Catalan, La Seu, the bishop's "seat" or cathedra) is the Gothic cathedral seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona, Spain. (Though sometimes inaccurately so called, the famous Sagrada Famlia is not a cathedral). The cathedral was constructed throughout the 13th to 15th centuries, with the principal work done in the 14th century. The cloisters enclosing the Well of the Geese (Fuente de las Ocas) were completed about 1450. The neo-Gothic faade was constructed over the nondescript exterior that is common to Catalan churches in the 19th century.
The cathedral was constructed over the crypt of a former Visigothic chapel, dedicated to Saint James, which was the proprietary church of the Viscounts of Barcelona, one of whom, Mir Gerberto, sold it in 1058 to bishop Guisleberto. Its site faced the Roman forum of Barcelona.

It is a hall church, vaulted over five aisles, the outer two divided into chapels. The transept is truncated. The east end is a chevet of nine radiating chapels connected by an ambulatory. The high altar is raised, allowing a clear view into the crypt.

The cathedral is dedicated to Eulalia of Barcelona, co-patron saint of Barcelona, a young virgin who, according to Catholic tradition, suffered martyrdom during Roman times in Barcelona. One story is that she was exposed naked in the public square and a miraculous snowfall in mid-spring covered her nudity. The enraged Romans put her into a barrel with knives stuck into it and rolled it down a street (according to tradition, the one now called 'Baixada de Santa Eulalia'). The body of Saint Eulalia is entombed in the cathedral's crypt.

Catedral de Santa Eulalia de Barcelona 131514Fuente de las Ocas145019

References sources : wikipedia

The Burj Al Arab (known as "Arab Sail") is a luxury hotel located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. At 321 m (1,053 ft), it is the third tallest building in the world used exclusively as a hotel. The Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island 280 m (920 ft) out from Jumeirah beach, and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. It is an iconic structure, designed to symbolize Dubai's urban transformation and to mimic the sail of a ship.

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References sources : wikipedia

Burj Khalifa ("Khalifa Tower"), known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 828 m (2,717 ft). Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010. The building is part of the 2 km2 (490-acre) flagship development called Downtown Burj Khalifa at the "First Interchange" along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district.

The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill of Chicago. Adrian Smith, who started his own firm in 2006, was the chief architect, and Bill Baker was the chief structural engineer for the project. The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea, who also built the Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Towers. Major subcontractors included Belgian group Besix and Arabtec from the UAE. Turner Construction Company was chosen as the construction project manager. Under UAE law, the Contractor and the Engineer of Record, Hyder Consulting, is jointly and severally liable for the performance of Burj Khalifa.
The total cost for the Burj Khalifa project was about US$1.5 billion; and for the entire new "Downtown Dubai", US$20 billion. Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the Chairman of Emaar Properties, speaking at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 8th World Congress, said in March 2009 that the price of office space at Burj Khalifa had reached US$4,000 per sq ft (over US$43,000 per m2) and that the Armani Residences, also in Burj Khalifa, were selling for US$3,500 per sq ft (over US$37,500 per m2).

The project's completion coincided with a worldwide economic slump and overbuilding, and it has been described as "the latest ... in [a] string of monuments to architectural vacancy." With Dubai itself mired in a deep financial crisis that forced it to seek repeated billion-dollar bailouts from its oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi, the opening ceremony and surprise renaming of the tower to Burj Khalifa, after UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has been viewed by observers as an "attempt to boost confidence in Dubai by showing who is backing Dubai".

2004921--Skidmore, Owings and MerrillSOMAdrian Smith200720076201014158282,717169

References sources : wikipedia