Monday, August 31, 2009

Dubai festival city

Dubai Festival City is a large residential, business and entertainment development in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Touted as a "city-within-a-city", Dubai Festival City is the Middle East's largest mixed-use development: all elements for work, living, and leisure will be contained within the project. Once completed Festival City will comprise a series of residential communities, numerous hotels, malls, a golf course and other entertainment sites, and a full suite of public services, including schools.

Architects for the project are 5+Design and the developer for Dubai Festival City is Al Futtaim Group. Construction of the development, which is largely being carried out by Al Futtaim Carillion, began in 2003 and is expected to take 12 years. The project spans 3.8 kilometres (2.4 miles) of water frontage on the eastern bank of Dubai Creek and is 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) from Dubai International Airport. As of mid-2006, investments in the project had exceeded 11 billion AED (3 billion USD)

The Festival Waterfront Centre, is a retail power centre which includes IKEA, HyperPanda supermarket (first Panda hypermarket outside of Saudi Arabia, Plug-ins ElectroniX and Ace Hardware (the largest outside North America).

The shopping centre in Dubai Festival City, known as the Festival Centre, opened on 1 March 2007. The Festival Centre contains a pool of water with small fountains, a large glass ceiling, and many shops. The shops, stores and restaurants in the combined Festival Power Centre.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

The Glass House

Bangalore is one of the most important tourist centers of the Karnataka state. Central business district of Bangalore consists of places MG Road, Brigade Road, Commercial street, Vidhana Soudha etc. Bangalore has many lakes and parks. BMTC offers special buses for sightseeing in Bangalore, including Cauveri - a double-decker open roof bus

Hyder Ali commissioned the building of this garden in 1760 but his son, Tipu Sultan, completed it. Lal Bagh is a 240 acre garden and is located on the southern part of Bangalore. It holds a number of flower shows, especially on the Republic Day (26th January). The garden has over 1,000 species of flora.

The Glass House, modeled on London's Crystal Palace (now re-modelled with a different layout), is the center of attraction. Hyder Ali laid out these famous botanical gardens and his son added horticultural wealth to them by importing trees and plants from several countries.

The Lal Bagh Gardens were commissioned by the 18th century and over the years it acquired India's first lawn-clock and the subcontinent's largest collection of rare plants. The garden also has trees that are over 100 years old

The garden surrounds one of the towers erected by the founder of Bangalore, Kempe Gowda. Hyder Ali decided to create this garden on the lines of the Mughal Gardens that were gaining popularity during his time.

The park has some rare species of plants brought from Persia, Afghanistan and France. With an intricate watering system for irrigation, this garden is aesthetically designed, with lawns, flowerbeds, lotus pools and fountains. Most of the centuries old trees are labeled for easy identification. The Lal Bagh Rock, one of the oldest rock formations on earth, dating back to 3000 million years, is another attraction that brings the crowds

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Raffles Place

Raffles Place is a geographical location in Singapore, south of the mouth of the Singapore River. Located in the Downtown Core and the Central Area, it features some of the tallest buildings and landmarks of the country

The founder of modern Singapore, Sir Stamford Raffles, intended Singapore to become a "great commercial emporium". At the heart of this dream was Raffles Place. Charted by Garrison Engineer Lieutenant R.N. Philip Jackson's map of Raffles' 1822 Town Plan, Raffles Place was located on the south bank of the Singapore River.

Where a hill originally stood at Raffles Place, the soil of which was then used to reclaim the southern bank of the Singapore River to form Boat Quay. Known as Commercial Square then, Raffles Place was no more than a quiet green when it was first developed from 1823 to 1824. As the economy of Singapore grew, two- and four-storey buildings sprang up around the square, housing mercantile offices, banks and trading companies.

In 1858, Commercial Square was renamed Raffles Place. The sea came right up to the buildings on the south side of the square then, many of which were godowns with jetties that allowed cargo to be loaded and unloaded directly from boats. From 1857 to 1865, the land by the south side was reclaimed for commercial use.

This new land became Collyer Quay. With a larger area designated for commerce, more businesses flocked to Raffles Quay, most notably retail stores and banks.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris is a Gothic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the "cathedra", or official chair, of the Archbishop of Paris, André Cardinal Vingt-Trois. Notre Dame de Paris is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in the world. It was restored and saved from destruction by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, one of France's most famous architects. The name Notre Dame means "Our Lady" in French, and is frequently used in the names of Catholic church buildings in Francophone countries.

Notre Dame de Paris was one of the first Gothic cathedrals, and its construction spanned the Gothic period. Its sculptures and stained glass show the heavy influence of naturalism, unlike that of earlier Romanesque architecture.

Notre Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress (arched exterior supports). The building was not originally designed to include the flying buttresses around the choir and nave. After the construction began and the thinner walls (popularized in the Gothic style) grew ever higher, stress fractures began to occur as the walls pushed outward. In response, the cathedral's architects built supports around the outside walls, and later additions continued the pattern.

The cathedral suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution in the 1790s, when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. During the 19th century, an extensive restoration project was completed, returning the cathedral to its previous state.

Monday, August 24, 2009

The Wild Wadi Water Park


The Wild Wadi Water Park is situated in Jumeirah, an area in Dubai, United Arab Emirates next to the Burj Al Arab and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. The water park is operated by Jumeirah International, a Dubai-based hotelier.

Wild Wadi is an outdoor water park with a heated/cooled wave pool, multiple water slides and two artificial surfing machines. In addition, the park has the largest water slide outside of North America. Another feature of the park is an 18 m (59 ft) waterfall that goes off every ten minutes. The water park also has two gift shops, three restaurants and two snack stands.

Jumeirah's portfolio includings the world-famous Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Emirates Towers, the third-highest hotel in the world. It also manages the Wild Wadi Water Park and runs both The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management and Jumeirah Hospitality. Whilst the majority of Jumeirah's hotels are based in Dubai, they are expanding aggressively overseas. As at February 2007, it has two properties in England and one in the United States. It also has hotels in development in Bermuda, China, Jordan, Qatar, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

The tourist Place in Portugal

Portugal attracts many tourists each year. In 2006, the country was visited by 12.8 million tourists.[1] Tourism is playing an increasingly important role in Portugal's economy contributing with about 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The main tourist areas are, by order of importance, the Greater Lisbon (Lisboa), the Algarve, Portuguese Islands (Ilhas Portuguesas: Madeira and Azores), Greater Porto and Northern Portugal (Porto e Norte) and Alentejo.

Lisbon is, after Barcelona, the European city attracting most tourists, with 7 million tourists sleeping in the city's hotels in 2006, the number grew 11.8% compared to previous year.[2] Lisbon in recent years surpassed the Algarve as the leading tourist region in Portugal. Porto and Northern Portugal, especially the urban areas north of Douro River, was the tourist destination which grew most (11.9%) in 2006.

Today, most tourists in Portugal are British, Spanish or German, travel in low cost airliners, and are not only in search of the beach and the sun, but mostly searching culture, city breaks, gastronomy, nautical tourism or travel in business.

Friday, August 21, 2009

The La Grande Arche de la Défense

The La Grande Arche de la Défense is a monument and building in the business district of La Défense to the west of Paris, France. It is usually known as the Arche de la Défense or simply as La Grande Arch

A national design competition was launched at the initiative of French president François Mitterrand. Danish architect Johann Otto von Spreckelsen (1929–1987) designed the winning entry to be a 20th century version of the Arc de Triomphe: a monument to humanity and humanitarian ideals rather than military victories. The construction of the monument, which was undertaken, began in 1982. After Spreckelsen's death in 1987, his associate, French architect Paul Andreu, completed the work in 1989/90.

At night

The Arche is almost a perfect cube (width: 108m, height: 110m, depth: 112m); it has been suggested that the structure looks like a four-dimensional hypercube (a tesseract) projected onto the three-dimensional world. It has a prestressed concrete frame covered with glass and Carrara marble from Italy and was built by the French civil engineering company Bouygues.

The nearly-completed Arche was inaugurated in July 1989, with grand military parades that marked the biecentennial of the French revolution. It completed the line of monuments that forms the Axe historique running through Paris. The Arche is turned at an angle of 6.33° on this axis however, a peculiarity which has been explained by several theories. In particular, the architect is said to have wanted to emphasise the depth of the monument, while the specific angle was chosen to create symmetry with the similarly-skewed Louvre at the other end of the Axe. However, it seems the most important reason was mundanely technical: with a métro station, an RER station, and a motorway all situated directly underneath the Arche, the angle was the only way to accommodate the structure's giant foundations.
View of the north facade

In addition, the Arche is placed so that it forms a secondary axe (axis) with the two highest buildings in Paris, the Tour Eiffel and the Tour Montparnasse.

The two sides of the Arche house government offices. The roof section, exploited by Stephane Cherki, is an exhibition centre. The vertical structure visible in the photograph is the lift scaffolding. Impressive views of Paris are to be had from the lifts taking visitors to the roof.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Raffles Place

The founder of modern Singapore, Sir Stamford Raffles, intended Singapore to become a "great commercial emporium". At the heart of this dream was Raffles Place. Charted by Garrison Engineer Lieutenant R.N. Philip Jackson's map of Raffles' 1822 Town Plan, Raffles Place was located on the south bank of the Singapore River.

Where a hill originally stood at Raffles Place, the soil of which was then used to reclaim the southern bank of the Singapore River to form Boat Quay. Known as Commercial Square then, Raffles Place was no more than a quiet green when it was first developed from 1823 to 1824. As the economy of Singapore grew, two- and four-storey buildings sprang up around the square, housing mercantile offices, banks and trading companies.

In 1858, Commercial Square was renamed Raffles Place. The sea came right up to the buildings on the south side of the square then, many of which were godowns with jetties that allowed cargo to be loaded and unloaded directly from boats. From 1857 to 1865, the land by the south side was reclaimed for commercial use. This new land became Collyer Quay. With a larger area designated for commerce, more businesses flocked to Raffles Quay, most notably retail stores and banks.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The Sydney Opera House


The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre on Bennelong Point in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, who in 2003 received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour.

The Concert Hall is within the western group of shells, the Opera Theatre within the eastern group. The scale of the shells was chosen to reflect the internal height requirements, rising from the low entrance spaces, over the seating areas and up to the high stage towers. The minor venues (Drama Theatre, Playhouse, and The Studio) are located beneath the Concert Hall, as part of the western shell group.

A much smaller group of shells set to one side of the Monumental Steps houses the Bennelong Restaurant. Although the roof structures of the Sydney Opera House are commonly referred to as shells (as they are in this article), they are in fact not shells in a strictly structural sense, but are instead precast concrete panels supported by precast concrete ribs.

The Sydney Opera House is an expressionist modern design, with a series of large precast concrete 'shells', each taken from a hemisphere of the same radius, forming the roofs of the structure, set on a monumental podium.

The building covers 1.8 hectares (4.5 acres) of land, and is 183 metres (605 ft) long and 120 metres (388 ft) wide at its widest point. It is supported on 588 concrete piers sunk up to 25 metres below sea level. Its power supply is equivalent to that of a town of 25,000 people, and is distributed by 645 kilometres (401 Miles)of electrical cable.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The Science Centre Singapore

The Science Centre Singapore, previously known as Singapore Science Centre is a scientific institution in Jurong East, Singapore, specialising in the promotion of scientific and technological education for the general public. With over 850 exhibits spread over eight exhibition galleries, it sees over a million visitors a year today, and over 17 million visitors up to the year 2003 when it celebrated its silver jubilee.

The Science Centre was born out of a governmental initiative in hiving off the scientific-related exhibits from the then National Museum of Singapore into a separate institution so that the latter could specialise in its artistic and historical collections. This idea was first mooted in 1969 by the Science Council of Singapore, and was subsequently approved by the government, who was keen to promote scientific education in the rapidly modernising country keen to tap into the technological sector.

The Science Centre Observatory is situated 15.27 m above mean sea level. It is one of the few observatories in the world located next to the Equator. Its unique position allows constellations in both the northern and southern celestial hemispheres to be observed and thus opens up more vistas in the sky for observers. The Observatory is endowed with a range of sophisticated facilities as well as a classroom for astronomy lessons, slide shows and public talks.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Roman Colosseum


The Colosseum , originally the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio or Colosseo), is an elliptical amphitheatre in the center of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started between 70 and 72 under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus[2], with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign (81–96). The name "Amphitheatrum Flavium" derives from both Vespasian's and Titus's family name (Flavius, from the gens Flavia).

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators,the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. As well as the gladiatorial games, other public spectacles were held there, such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

It has been estimated that about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals died in the Colosseum games.
Although in the 21st century it stays partially ruined due to damage caused by devastating earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome and its breakthrough achievements in earthquake engineering. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession around the various levels of the amphitheatre.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises

The Circle Line is the collective name given to two sightseeing ferry operations in Manhattan:

* Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises which circles Manhattan from its base at Pier 83 in Manhattan
* Circle Line Downtown operates out of Pier 16, South Street Seaport. The company name is Circle Line Harbor Cruises, LLC which is a wholly own subsidiary of Circle Line Statue of Liberty.

The two companies split in 1981 from the parent Circle Line company and now have different officers and directors.

Circumnavigation of Manhattan became possible in 1905 with the construction of the Harlem Ship Canal, the first regularly scheduled trip being the Tourist captained by John Roberts in 1908.

On June 15, 1945 Frank Barry, Joe Moran and other partners merged several sightseeing boats to form the Circle Line operating out of Battery Park.

In 1955 it began operating at its current Pier 83 location. In 1962 it bought the Hudson River Day Line.

In 1981 the two companies split.

In 1988 the 42nd Street company bought World Yachts operating upscale dining cruises from Chelsea Piers. In 1998 the 42nd Street company also launched The Beast, a speedboat ride which takes tourists around the Statue of Liberty and goes 45 mph.

In 2007, the United States National Park Service said it was going to terminate Circle Line Liberty franchise and give a 10-year contract to Hornblower Yachts which provides service to Alcatraz. [1] It was noted in the announcement that since 1953 Circle Line has transported 70 million people to Liberty Island. Among the items cited in the transfer was a newer fleet (although Hornblower will have to buy the Circle Line boats) and the possibility of new service to Gateway National Recreation Area. The New York Times reported on December 8, 2007 that the price of the circle line boats to be sold to Hornblower was in arbitration, forcing Hornblower to bring in new boats

Thursday, August 13, 2009

San Francisco

The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,976.[8] It is the second most densely populated major city in the U.S.[10] and is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the larger San Francisco Bay Area, a region of more than seven million people.[11][12] The city is located at the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, with the Pacific Ocean to the west and San Francisco Bay to the north and east.

In 1776, the Spanish established a fort at the Golden Gate and a mission named for Francis of Assisi. The California Gold Rush in 1848 propelled the city into a period of rapid growth, transforming it into the largest city on the West Coast at the time. After being devastated by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later.

During World War II, Francisco was the send-off point for many soldiers to the Pacific Theater. After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, massive immigration, liberalizing attitudes, and other factors gave rise to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a liberal bastion in the United States.

Today, San Francisco is a popular international tourist destination renowned for its chilly summer fog, steep rolling hills, eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture and its famous landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, the cable cars, and Chinatown.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The History of Downtown Core

The Downtown Core is a 266-hectare urban planning area in the south of the city-state of Singapore. The Downtown Core surrounds the mouth of the Singapore River and southeastern portion of its watershed, and is part of the Central Area, Singapore's central business district.

It is one of the most dense areas in Singapore, even more than other divisions in the Central Area, to the extent that much of it is filled with skyscrapers.

As its name implies,it forms the economic core of Singapore, including key districts such as Raffles Place and key administrative buildings such as the Parliament House, the Supreme Court and City Hall as well as numerous commercial buildings and cultural landmarks.

The mouth of the Singapore River contained the old harbour for the Port of Singapore, so naturally, the city grew around it. As a fledgling colony, the area which is now known as the Downtown Core was the financial, administrative and commercial centre of the colony.

In 1823, Singapore was reorganised according to the Raffles Plan of Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles, which specified elements like the Commercial Square (now Raffles Place) and the European Town as well as various other commercial and administrative entities located between them. This area later became the Downtown Core.


Tuesday, August 11, 2009

The Eiffel Tower

The most well-known landmark in the world is the Eiffel Tower. It announces to all that observe it: This is Paris. It dominates the skyline of Paris and is a very significant landmark of building construction history.

effiel

Not anything like it had ever been built like the Eiffel Tower. It is a 984-foot (300-meter) loom of wrought iron and open-lattice. The Eiffel Tower was the tallest arrangement in the world until the Chrusler Building was over in New York City in 1930. Otis Elevator Company had intended glass-walled elevators, which climbed the legs of the tower to get to the first and second platforms. From the second floor to the third platform, which is near the top, four balanced elevators go up and down in the region. If you looked on a clear day, from the top platform, the view stretches for 50 miles (80 kilometers). On the first height are three-glass-confined structure, there are two height. They both contain one restaurant: Le Parisian on the lower level and La Belle France on the higher level. The third part is teh Salle (hall) Gustave Eiffel, where there is space for business, conferences, expositions, cultural events, and social meetings. There is a souvenir shop and a snack bar situated on the smaller second floor. Even from this level, it is very possible that an excellent view of Paris can be seen without having to go to the pinnacle.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Central Park

Central Park is a large public, urban park in the heart of New York City and is host to approximately twenty-five million visitors each year. Central Park has been a National Historic Landmark since 1963.

20th century

Following the completion of the park, it quickly slipped into decline. One of the major reasons for this was the lack of interest of Tammany Hall, the political machine which was the largest political force in New York at the time.

Around the turn of the 20th century, the park faced several new challenges. Cars had been invented and were becoming commonplace, bringing with them their burden of pollution. Also, the general mental view of the people was beginning to change. No longer were parks to be used only for walks and picnics in an idyllic environment, but now also for sports, and similar recreation. Following the dissolution of the Central Park Commission in 1870 and Andrew Green's departure from the project and the death of Vaux in 1895, the maintenance effort gradually declined, and there were few or no attempts to replace dead trees, bushes and plants or worn-out lawn. For several decades, authorities did little or nothing to prevent vandalism and the littering of the park.

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Tokyo Disneyland theme park

Tokyo Disneyland theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. It was the first Disney park to be built outside of the United States and was opened on April 15, 1983. The park was constructed by Walt Disney Imagineering in the same style as Disneyland in California and the Magic Kingdom in Florida. It is owned by The Oriental Land Company, which licenses the theme from The Walt Disney Company. It, along with its companion park, Tokyo DisneySea, are the only Disney parks not owned by The Walt Disney Company.

There are seven themed areas, each complementing each other yet unique in their style. Made up of the World Bazaar, the four classic Disney lands: Adventureland, Westernland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, and two mini lands, Critter Country and Mickey's Toontown, the park is noted for its huge open spaces to accommodate the massive crowds the park receives on even moderate attendance days. In 2007, Tokyo Disneyland hosted approximately 13.9 million guests, ranking it as the third-most visited theme park in the world, behind its American sister parks, the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland.

Tokyo Disneyland began celebrating the 25th Anniversary of its grand opening in April 2008, with special events, entertainment and merchandise expected to continue into 2009.

Friday, August 07, 2009

The Niagara Falls

The Niagara Falls is big waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the global border between the Canadian region of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. The falls are 17 miles (27 km) north-northwest of Buffalo, New York and 75 miles (120 km) south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario, between the twin city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York.

Niagara Falls is calm of two major sections separated by Goat Island: Horseshoe Falls, the bulk of which lies on the Canadian side of the edge, and American Falls on the American side. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American face, separated from the main falls by Luna Island.

Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciations (the last ice age), and water from the newly-formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. While not very high, the Niagara Falls are very wide. More than six million cubic feet (168,000 m³) of waterfalls over the crest line every minute in high flow,[1] and almost 4 million cubic feet (110,000 m³) on average. It is the most powerful waterfall in North America.

The Niagara Falls is renowned both for their beauty and as a precious source of hydroelectric power. Managing the balance between recreational, commercial, and manufacturing uses has been a challenge for the stewards of the falls as the 1800s.

Thursday, August 06, 2009

The Crossroads of the World Times Square

Times Square is a main intersection in Manhattan, a borough of New York City, at the connection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretch from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. The Times Square area consists of the blocks between Sixth and Eighth Avenues from east to west, and West 40th and West 53rd street from south to north, making up the western fraction of the profitable area of Midtown Manhattan.

Previously named Linacre Square, Times Square was renamed after the Times Building (now One Times Square) in April 1904. Times Square, from time to time known as the "Crossroads of the World," has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and has become a symbol of New York City. Times Square is principally defined by its spectaculars, animated, digital advertisements.

The junction of Broadway and 42nd Street, at the south-east corner of Times Square, is the Eastern last stop of the Lincoln Highway, the first road crossways the United States of America.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Mariamman Theppakulam

Mariamman Theppakulam was built in 1636.This huge tank also known as the Mariamman tank is at the eastern end of the city and is almost equal in area to that of the Meenakshi Amman temple. There is a mandapam in the centre of the tank enshrining Lord Vigneswara.

This idol was found here when earth was being dug for the Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal. A tank was created in this area with the Ganesha idol. This tank is fed with water from the Vaigai through an ingenious system of underground channels. A colorful float festival is held on Thai Poosam day (in January/February) to celebrate the birth anniversary of Tirumalai Nayakar. Thiruparamkundram.jpg Various temple deities are taken in decorated floats.

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

The History of Red Fort

The Red Fort was at first referred to as "Qila-i-Mubarak" (the blessed fort), because it was the house of the royal family. The layout of the Red Fort was prearranged to retain and integrate this site with the Salimgarh Fort. The fortress palace is an important focal point of the medieval city of Shahjahanabad.

The preparation and aesthetics of the Red Fort represent the zenith of Mughal creativity which prevailed during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan. This Fort has had many developments added on after its construction by Emperor Shahjahan. The significant phases of development were under Aurangzeb and later Mughal rulers. Important physical changes were carried out in the overall settings of the site after the First War of Independence during British Rule in 1857. After Independence, the site experienced a few changes in terms of addition/alteration to the structures. During the British period the Fort was mainly used as a cantonment and even after Independence, significant parts of the Fort remain under the control of the Indian Army until the year 2003.

The Red Fort was the fortress for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's new assets, Shahjahanabad, the seventh greatcity in the Delhi site. He enthused his capital from Agra in a move designed to bring prestige to his reign, and to provide ample opportunity to apply his ambitious building schemes and interests.

Monday, August 03, 2009

The Deccan Odyssey Luxury trains

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation Ltd in association with Indian Railways - Ministry of Tourism has launched a Super Deluxe luxury train "The Deccan Odyssey". The train has been benchmarked against the best luxury trains in the world like the Blue Train of South Africa, The Orient Express of Europe and the Eastern and Oriental of South East Asia.

The Deccan Odyssey's sheer luxury is a sight to behold. Everything in the train reflects the ways of Indian Royalty. The plush interiors, an awesome cuisine and grate sites to see makes the journey memorable. This luxurious train transports its guests on a remarkable sojourn of a land shining in legions grandeur - serene beaches, magnificent forts - palaces and experiencing divine tales etched in colossal rocks. A weeklong royal journey is through some of the best places in Maharashtra namely Mumbai, Sindhudurg, Tarkarli, Goa, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Ellora, Chandrapur (Tadoba Wildlife), Wardha (Sevagram), Ajanta and Nasik.

The objective of running "The Deccan Odyssey" train is primarily to showcase the best of tourism assets of Maharashtra like pristine beauty of Konkan coast, the art, the culture, the wildlife, the heritage (including world heritage sites of Ajanta - Ellora) of Maharashtra as well as Maharashtra's local arts, crafts and cuisine.