Washington Monument

The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington. The monument, made of marble, granite, and sandstone, is both the world's tallest stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk in height standing 555 feet 5⅛ inches (169.294 m).There are other monumental columns which are taller. It is also the tallest structure in Washington D.C.. It was designed by Robert Mills, an architect of the 1840s. The actual construction of the monument began in 1848 but was not completed until 1884, almost 30 years after the architect's death.

This hiatus in construction happened because of co-option by the Know Nothing party, a lack of funds, and the intervention of the American Civil War. A difference in shading of the marble, visible approximately 150 feet (46 m), up, shows where construction was halted for a number of years. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848; the capstone was set on December 6, 1884, and the completed monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885. It officially opened October 9, 1888. Upon completion, it became the world's tallest structure, a title previously held by the Cologne Cathedral. The monument held this designation until 1889, when the Eiffel Tower was completed in Paris, France.

mong the Founding Fathers of the United States, George Washington earned the title "Father of the Country" in recognition of his leadership in the cause of American independence. Appointed as commander of the Continental Army in 1775, he molded a fighting force that won independence from Great Britain. In 1787, as president of the Constitutional Convention, he helped guide the deliberations to form a government that has lasted for more than 200 years. Two years later he was unanimously elected the President of the United States. Washington defined the Presidency and helped develop the relationships among the three branches of government.

He established precedents which successfully launched the new government on its course. He refused the trappings of power and veered from monarchical government and traditions and twice despite considerable pressure to do otherwise gave up the most powerful position in the Americas. Washington remained ever mindful of the ramifications of his decisions and actions. With this monument the citizens of the United States show their enduring gratitude and respect.

Maratha Empire

Pune is known to have existed as a town since 937 AD. Shivaji Raje,the founder of the Maratha Empire, lived in Pune as a boy, and later oversaw significant growth and development of the town during his reign. In 1730, Pune became an important political centre as the seat of the Peshwa, the prime minister of the Chhatrapati of Satara. After the town was annexed to British India in 1817, it served as a cantonment town and as the "monsoon capital" of the Bombay Presidency until the independence of India.

Today, Pune is known for its educational facilities, having more than a hundred educational institutes and nine universities. Pune has well-established Manufacturing, Glass, Sugar and Metal Forging industries since 1950-60s. Pune also has a growing industrial hinterland, with many information technology and automotive companies setting up factories in Pune district.

Additionally, Pune city is well known for various cultural activities like Classical Music, Sports, Literature, Foreign language learning and Administrative, Economics, Social Science studies. These activities and job opportunities attract migrants and students from all over India, and also attract students from Middle-East, Iran, Eastern Europe, South-East Asia which makes for a city of many communities and cultures. The city has poor public transport facilities and consequently most of the residents prefer to use their own vehicles

Petronas Twin Towers

The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia are twin towers and were the world's tallest buildings before being surpassed by Taipei 101. However, the towers are still the tallest twin buildings in the world. They were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004 if measured from the level of the main entrance to the structural top, the original height reference used by the US-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat from 1969 (three additional height categories were introduced as the tower neared completion in

The Petronas Twin Towers were the tallest buildings in the world until Taipei 101 was completed in 2004, as measured to the top of their structural components. Spires are considered integral parts of the architectural design of buildings, to which changes would substantially change the appearance and design of the building, whereas antennas may be added or removed without such consequences. The Petronas Twin Towers remain the tallest twin buildings in the world.

The Willis Tower and the World Trade Center towers were each constructed with 110 occupied floors – 22 more than the Petronas Twin Towers’ 88 floors. The Willis Tower and the World Trade Center’s roofs and highest occupied floors substantially exceeded the height of the roof and highest floors of the Petronas Twin Towers. The Willis Tower’s tallest antenna is 75 m (246 ft) taller than the Petronas Twin Towers’ spires.

However, in accordance to CTBUH regulations and guidelines, the antennas of the Willis Tower were not counted as part of its architectural features. Therefore, the Petronas Twin Towers exceed the official height of the Willis Tower by 10m, but the Willis Tower has more floors with occupied office space at a higher level.

Mysore

Mysore is the second largest city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the headquarters of the Mysore district and the Mysore division and lies about 146 km southwest of Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka. The name Mysore is an anglicised version of Mahishūru, which means the abode of Mahisha. Mahisha stands for Mahishasura, a demon from the Hindu mythology. The city is spread across an area of 128.42 km2 and is situated at the base of the Chamundi Hills.

Mysore is famous for the festivities that take place during the Dasara festival when the city receives a large number of tourists. Mysore also lends its name to the Mysore mallige, Mysore style of painting, the sweet dish Mysore Pak, Mysore Peta and the garment called the Mysore silk saree.

Until 1947, Mysore was the capital of the Kingdom of Mysore which was ruled by the Wodeyar dynasty, except for a brief period in the late 18th century when Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan took power. The Wodeyars were patrons of art and culture and have contributed significantly to the cultural growth of the city, which has led to Mysore earning the sobriquet Cultural capital of Karnataka.

According to Hindu mythology, the area around Mysore was known as Mahishūru and was ruled by a demon, Mahishasura. The demon was killed by the Goddess Chamundeshwari, whose temple is situated atop the Chamundi Hills. Mahishūru later became Mahisūru and finally came to be called Maisūru, its present name in the Kannada language.] The anglicised form of the name is Mysore. In December 2005, the Government of Karnataka announced its intention to change the English name of the city to Mysuru. This has been approved by the Government of India but the necessary formalities to incorporate the name change are yet to be completed.

South Bombay

South Bombay is a commonly used term, but the extent of this district is not commonly agreed upon. This article uses the term to denote the areas of Fort, Colaba, Malabar Hill, Nariman Point, Marine Lines, Kalbadevi, Pydhonie, Mahalaxmi, and Tardeo.

South Bombay was the center of terrorist attacks between the evening of Nov. 26th & 29th 2008. The situation is improving but significant damage led to the temporary closure of the Taj Mahal and Trident-Oberoi Hotels. These hotels re-opened on 21st December, 2008.

This district contains some of the oldest parts of the city. For long, this was the city. One of the seven islands that were joined to form Mumbai was called Bombay. This is where the British started on their long quest to build the docks and the city. They built Fort St. George, which no longer exists, but the area is still called "Fort". The Fort area contains many corporate offices and most of the administrative offices of the city and state governments.

Paradoxically, this district contains one of the newest areas of the city, Nariman Point, which was built on land and reclaimed between the 1940s and the 70s. This is Bombay's downtown, where the offices of India's topmost corporate houses are located.

Malabar Hill, the most affluent residential neighbourhood in the city is also located here. Most industrialists have their bungalows here. This is also where the official residences of Maharashtra's chief minister and Governor are located. The other famous location is Colaba, which used to be an island by itself, until it was connected to Bombay by a causeway. This area contains a naval base.

Tirupati Venkateswara Temple

The temple is the richest and the most visited place of worship in the world. The temple is visited by about 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily, while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual Brahmotsavam, the number of pilgrims shoots up to 500,000, making it one of the most visited holy place in the world.

According to the legend, the temple has a self-manifested idol murti of Lord Vishnu, with the Lord believed to have resided here for the entire Kali Yuga. In Sri Vaishnava tradition, the temple is considered one of the 108 Divya Desam sites.

The Tirumala hills comprising of the seven hills of Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri are the abode of the Tirumala Venkateswara temple. The hill town (Tirumala) and the temple (Venkateswara Temple) are located on the Seshadri or Seshachalam hill. The temple complex comprises a smaller traditional temple building along with a number of modern queue and pilgrim lodging sites.

The varied names ascribed to the main deity are Balaji, Srinivasa, Perumal, Venkateswara and Venkatachalapathy. The goddess Sri or Lakshmi (Vishnu's consort) resides on the chest of Venkateswara, and thus he is also known by the epithet Srinivasa (the one in whom Sri resides). Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Padmavathi reside on his either chests. The deity is considered the Kali yuga varada, that is 'the boon-granting Lord of Kali yuga' (the fourth and final age of the Hindu cycle of ages). The temple is held in particular reverence by the Vaishnava sect of southern India, known as the Sri Vaishnava.


With his conch he creates the cosmic sound from which the creation has manifested.And with his disc he destroys ignorance and ego in the beings,thus liberating them. Lord Venkateswara is believed by followers to be a very merciful deity form of Vishnu, being the fulfiller of every wish made to him by the devotees.

The Holy mantra chanted is Om Namo Venkateshaya. "The Venkateswara Suprabhatam", the morning recital of prayers and songs of awakening, is written by Prativadi Bhayankaram Annan of Kanchipuram. Several composers composed beautiful kirtans about Lord Venkateswara, the most notable amongst them being Tyagaraja and Annamacharya. Annamacharya is a legendary devotee of Lord Venkateswara and composed songs almost exclusively about the deity.

The central business district of Singapore

Host of the 117th IOC Session, Singapore made its first formal bid to host a multi-disciplinary sporting event of this magnitude. Positive factors in its bid included its high connectivity with the world, its youthfulness as an independent country, and its reputation for excellence and multi-racial harmony.

The city-state rolled out a high-publicity campaign which included being amongst the first to launch its official website, bid logo (despite IOC rules against bid logos) and a bid tagline "Blazing the Trail" on 16 October 2007 and getting the local population to support its bid, including an effort by students to collect 1 million signatures in support of the games.

The Logo-Making Competition for the Games attracted 1,500 participants and the winning design was unveiled on January 10, 2010. Entitled 'Spirit Of Youth', the official logo, according to the organizers, showcases passion for sports and the values of Olympism.

Singapore originally planned to use the National University of Singapore’s University Town for a high tech Youth Olympic Village. However the rapid increase in construction costs in 2008 resulted in the shifting of the Youth Olympic Village to Nanyang Technological University in Jurong West. Jurong West Sports and Recreation Centre will also feature prominently in the games.

There were concerns that the plan contained two new venues - the Olympic Village and equestrian complex. With concerns over delivering in time for the games, a construction expert reported the $423 million Olympic Village plan at the University was feasible. (There is a backup plan as well.) Similarly, the expert believed the equestrian venue could be delivered on time.

The budget is $75.5 million and has strong government support. The plan is also attractive because of its compactness in the Singapore city-state.

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and to have "changed the history of architecture." It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Seville Cathedral in 1520.

The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 A.D. on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and was in fact the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site. It was designed by two architects, Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The Church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 15m (49 foot) silver iconostasis.

It was the patriarchal church of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly one thousand years. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and Sultan Mehmed II ordered the building to be converted into a mosque.

The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels were removed, and many of the mosaics were eventually plastered over. The Islamic features — such as the mihrab, the minbar, and the four minarets outside — were added over the course of its history under the Ottomans. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by the Republic of Turkey.

For almost 500 years the principal mosque of Istanbul, Hagia Sophia served as a model for many of the Ottoman mosques such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque of Istanbul), the Şehzade Mosque, the Süleymaniye Mosque, the Rüstem Pasha Mosque, and the Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque.

Although it is sometimes referred to as Santa Sophia, the Greek name in full is Church of the Holy Wisdom of God. It was to this, the Holy Wisdom of God, that the Church was dedicated. So Santa Sophia should be understood as the italianate title of the church, Holy Wisdom; not as a reference to any saint named Sophia, but as a reference to the philosophical and theological concept of "Sophia".

Lotus Temple

The Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi, India, popularly known as the Lotus Temple due to its flowerlike shape, is a Bahá'í House of Worship and also a prominent attraction in Delhi. It was completed in 1986 and serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent. It has won numerous architectural awards and been featured in hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles

All Bahá'í Houses of Worship, including the Lotus Temple, share certain architectural elements, some of which are specified by Bahá'í scripture. `Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the religion, stipulated that an essential architectural character of a House of Worship be that it requires to have a nine-sided circular shape. Inspired by the lotus flower, its design is composed of 27 free-standing marble clad "petals" arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides.

While all current Bahá'í Houses of Worship have a dome, they are not regarded as an essential part of their architecture. Bahá'í scripture also states that no pictures, statues or images be displayed within the House of Worship and no pulpits or altars be incorporated as an architectural feature (readers may stand behind simple portable lecture stands).

The nine doors of the Lotus Temple open onto a central hall, capable of holding up to 2,500 people. The central hall is slightly more than 40 meters tall and its surface is made of white marble. The House of Worship, along with the nine surrounding ponds and the gardens around comprise 26 acre (105,000 m²; 10.5 ha).

Petronas Twin Towers

The Petronas Twin Towers were the tallest buildings in the world until Taipei 101 was completed in 2004, as measured to the top of their structural components.Spires are considered integral parts of the architectural design of buildings, to which changes would substantially change the appearance and design of the building, whereas antennas may be added or removed without such consequences. The Petronas Twin Towers remain the tallest twin buildings in the world.

The Willis Tower and the World Trade Center towers were each constructed with 110 occupied floors – 22 more than the Petronas Twin Towers’ 88 floors. The Willis Tower and the World Trade Center’s roofs and highest occupied floors substantially exceeded the height of the roof and highest floors of the Petronas Twin Towers.

The Willis Tower’s tallest antenna is 75 m (246 ft) taller than the Petronas Twin Towers’ spires. However, in accordance to CTBUH regulations and guidelines,[2] the antennas of the Willis Tower were not counted as part of its architectural features.[5] Therefore, the Petronas Twin Towers exceed the official height of the Willis Tower by 10m, but the Willis Tower has more floors with occupied office space at a higher level.

Hammerfest kommune

Hammerfest is a city and municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The municipality encompasses parts of three islands: Kvaløya, Sørøya, and Seiland. Hammerfest was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. The law required that all cities should be separated from their rural districts, but because of low population, and very few voters, this was impossible to carry out for Hammerfest in 1838.

The rural district of Hammerfest was separated from the city on 1 January 1852, but it was merged back into the city on 1 January 1992. The construction of the large liquefied natural gas site on Melkøya just off Hammerfest, which will process natural gas from Snøhvit, is the most expensive construction project in the history of North Norway.

This project has resulted in an economic boom and new optimism in Hammerfest in recent years, a stark contrast to the economic downhill and negative population growth most other municipalities in Finnmark are experiencing.After the opening of natural gas production on Melkøya there have been some problems with significant smoke and soot pollution in the initial production phases. Snøhvit is Europe's first export facility for liquefied natural gas.

Hammerfest offers sport and commercial fishing, both sea and freshwater, as well as scuba diving. The northernmost glacier on the Norwegian mainland is a popular hiking destination. The town is a popular starting point for northern tours. There is a daily boat to the North Cape One chain of the Struve Geodetic Arc, now on the World Heritage List, is located at Fuglenes in Hammerfest.

Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu formerly Jesselton, is the capital of Sabah state in Malaysia. It is also the capital of the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park lies on one side and Mount Kinabalu, which gave the city its name, is nearby.

Kota Kinabalu proper has a population of 579,304, while the larger urban area has an estimated population of 700,000. It is the largest urban centre in Sabah and the sixth largest in Malaysia.
Kota Kinabalu is often known as K.K. within Malaysia and internationally. It is a major tourist destination and a popular gateway for travellers visiting Sabah and Borneo.

Kinabalu National Park is located about 90 kilometres from the city and there are many tourist attractions in and around the city. Kota Kinabalu is also one of the major industrial and commercial centres of East Malaysia. These two factors combine to make Kota Kinabalu one of the fastest growing cities in Malaysia.

Historic Centre of Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany and has a population of 367,569. The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture.

A centre of medieval European trade and finance, the city is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance; in fact, it has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. It was long under the de facto rule of the Medici family. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.

Florence was originally established by Julius Caesar in 59 BC as a settlement for his veteran soldiers. It was named Florentia and built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated at the Via Cassia, the main route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre.

The Emperor Diocletian made Florentia the seat of a bishopric around the beginning of the 4th century AD. In the ensuing two centuries, the city experienced turbulent periods of Ostrogothic rule, during which the city was often troubled by warfare between the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines, which may have caused the population to fall to as few as 1,000 people. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century.

Conquered by Charlemagne in 774, Florence became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to grow again and commerce prospered. In 854, Florence and Fiesole were united in one county.

Birmingham's skyline

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the most populous of the English Core Cities Group, and it is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500

The City of Birmingham forms part of the larger West Midlands conurbation, which has a population of 2,284,093 (2001 census) and includes several neighbouring towns and cities, such as Solihull, Wolverhampton and the towns of the Black Country.

The city was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution in England, a fact which led to Birmingham being known as "the workshop of the world" or the "city of a thousand trades". Although Birmingham's industrial importance has declined, it has developed into a national commercial centre, being named as the third-best place in the United Kingdom to locate a business, and the 21st best in Europe by Cushman & Wakefield in 2007.

It is also the fourth-most visited city by foreign visitors in the UK. In 2007, Birmingham was ranked as the 55th-most livable city in the world and the second most livable in the UK, according to the Mercer Index of worldwide standards of living.

People from Birmingham are known as 'Brummies', a term derived from the city's nickname of 'Brum'. This comes in turn from the city's dialect name, Brummagem,[8] which may have been derived from one of the city's earlier names, 'Bromwicham'. There is a distinctive Brummie dialect and accent, both of which differ from the adjacent Black Country.

National Parks and Wildlife

Karnataka in all has 21 wildlife sanctuaries and 5 National parks. Well known among them are Bandipur National Park in Mysore District, Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore district, Nagarhole National Park in Mysore District and Kodagu district, Kudremukh National Park in Dakshina Kannada and Chickmagalur district, Dandeli & Anshi National Park in Uttara Kannada district, Gudavi and Mandegadde bird sanctuaries and Sharavati WLS in Shimoga District, Biligirirangan Hills WLS in Chamarajanagar district, Rangantittu Bird Sanctuary in Mandya district, Brahmagiri wildlife sanctuary and Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary in Kodagu district. Interior dry areas have their own unique wildlife.

There are twenty one wildlife sanctuaries and five national parks in all.

Recently, the government of India has proposed to the UNESCO to include important ecosystems in the Western Ghats as a World Heritage Site. Two subclusters of natural areas occurring in the list are entirely in the Karnataka region covering several wildlife sanctuaries and some reserve forests. Fragile and exotic ecosystems like Kudremukh NP, Brahmagiri WLS, Pushpagiri WLS, Agumbe, Talakaveri WLS, Someshvara WLS figure in this list. As such, the Western Ghats that run south-north through the Karnataka is considered as one among the twenty five bio-diversity hotspots of the world.

The Niligiri Biosphere Reserve (also a designated UNESCO Biosphere reserve) is located at the junction of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerela. Nagarahole National Park WLS and Bandipur National Park and Nugu WLS in Karnataka are included in this biosphere reserve.

The state is home to the largest concentration of Asian Elephants along Kabini River in Nagarahole and Bandipur parks. These two parks are also hold among the most viable population of the highly endangered Indian Tiger. Rannebennur Blackbuck sanctuary in Davangere district is home to one of the largest populations of blackbuck anywhere in India. The Doraji wildlife sanctuary and areas in Karnataka like Bellary district, Chitradurga are strongholds of the sloth bear.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Garden City of Bangalore

Bangalore is the residence to a large number of superb gardens and parks that simply emphasize the beauty of this city and hence it is called as the “Garden City”. Besides the numerous gardens, Bangalore also has some fine historical sites and other places of interest that are worth watching. If you are on a tour to Bangalore, make certain that you have ample time in hand because there is no end to the things to watch in Bangalore. The tourist attractions abound in this place and thus draw hordes of tourists each year by their enduring charm.

In the middle of the various tourist attractions in Bangalore, The Vidhan Soudha or the State Secretariat, which was built in the year 1954, is the focal attraction of this city. This particular building is simply a modern architectural marvel and is a fine combination of customary Dravidian and modern styles. There are many neo-classical styled government buildings that are located near the Vidhan Soudha in the Cubbon Park which is one more attraction of this town.

One of the most famous and the most significant of the tourist attractions is the The Government Museum of Bangalore that is one of oldest museums in India and also the Visvesvaraya Technological and Industrial Museum which occupy an vital place in the list of attractions of the city. Located in the southern part of the city are the Lal Bagh Botanical grounds that holds a number of flower shows. There is also the 18th-century Tipu Sultan's Fort and Palace that is an important place of tourist interest and is most attractive to the historians.

World Travel and Tourism Council

World Travel and Tourism Council is the forum for business leaders in the travel and tourism industry. It addresses challenges and opportunities that affect all sectors of the industry globally. It works to raise awareness of travel and tourism as one of the world's largest industries, employing approximately 231 million people and generating over 10.4 per cent of world GDP.

It is firmly committed to realizing Indian tourism industry's potential for growth and ensuring maximum and sustainable benefits for everyone involved. According to the WTTC, tourism accounted for 9.9 per cent of global GDP, 11.0 per cent of the total world exports and 8.4 per cent of global employment in the year 2008.

Thus, Indian travel and tourism industry has been on rise and is gaining popularity amongst travelers all over the world.It is an engine of growth for Indian economy and helps to promote sustained development of infrastructure, such as airports, railways and roads, leading to connectivity of various tourist destinations.

Besides, improvement and expansion of existing and new tourism products such as cultural and heritage tourism, rural tourism, adventure tourism, health and healing tourism, etc; promotion of 'Incredible India' campaigns; as well as active participation of State Governments therein establishes India's competitive advantage in the sector.

This has enhanced the foreign exchange earnings of the country as well as improved its trade relations with other nations. All such measures and incentives, undertaken by public and private sectors, are a source of several investment opportunities in the industry.

Kodaikanal Hill Station

Here is a story Lieutenant Ward, an Englishman, who climbed up from the Kunnavan village of Vellagavi to Kodaikanal in 1821 to survey the area on the hilly ranges of Palani. In 1834, the Madurai collector climbed the hill from Devadanapatti and built a small bungalow at the head of Adukkam pass near Shenbaganur.

In 1836, Dr.Wite visited Kodaikanal and recorded his observations, and these were very useful to botanists later. In 1845, American Missionaries built the first two bungalows “Sunnyside” and “Shelton”. Later, six American families came up the hill and stayed for the first time in Kodaikanal. Following this, the British also built houses here. The hill station Kodaikanal was created to serve the needs of the British and Europeans in India.

Southern India (chennai beach)

Chennai, the largest city in southern India situated on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, developed after 1639 when the British East India Corporation recognized a fort and trading post at the small fishing rural community of Chennai.

Over the past three and a half centuries, the small fishing village has grown into a bustling city which is especially known for its spaciousness which is lacking in other Indian cities, This characteristic is exemplified by the long esplanade called the Marina and which is lined by impressive buildings which remind the casual visitor of the long and inseparable association the city has had with the British.

Even elsewhere in the city, one cannot fail to notice the dominant British influence in the form of old cathedrals, buildings in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, wide tree lined avenues.

Perfume Making

Non-native Invasive Freshwater Plants

Big Floating Bladderwort

General Information

Big floating bladderwort (Utricularia inflata) also known as swollen bladderwort is a member of a fascinating group of freely floating, rootless, carnivorous aquatic plants. It is native to the southeastern United States, where some states list it as endangered. The PLANTS database shows that Washington is the only western state where big floating bladderwort has been introduced. Where present, in western Washington lakes, it forms dense beds of floating plants and lake residents consider the plant a nuisance.

Distribution

The big floating bladderwort infestation in Washington appears to be limited to western Washington. As of 2008, Ecology botanists report big floating bladderwort from 17 western Washington water bodies, mostly in Mason, Kitsap, and Thurston Counties. We do not know who originally introduced this species to Washington, but its interesting spoke-like flowering structure and showy yellow flowers, may have made it attractive as water garden plant or aquarium plant. It is also popular with people who cultivate carnivorous plants. People have observed big floating bladderwort in isolated ponds where it is unlikely that boats visit. This leads us to speculate that species might be spreading by waterfowl.

Growth Habit

Big floating bladderwort is an impressive freely floating plant that obtains its nutrients from the water and from tiny creatures that it captures in its seed-like bladders. These bladders are actually traps that use a vacuum to capture small invertebrates that trigger a trap door. Once inside the bladder, the plant secretes enzymes to digest the prey, providing the plant with nutrients

In Washington, big floating bladderwort flowers from June to July. When in flower, the plant forms a very distinctive wheel-like floating platform that supports a yellow snapdragon-like flower. These flowers extend about six inches above the water surface. Washington's native bladderworts do not have this floating wheel to support their flowers, but when not in flower Washington’s native bladderworts (we have several native species and some rare species) and big floating bladderwort are similar in appearance.

Big floating bladderwort reproduces from small fragments and from seed. A Florida botanist reports that when plants become stranded on mud, they can produce long threadlike branches with each bearing a tiny tuber at its tip. When not in flower, swollen bladderwort floats below the water's surface.

Management

There are no concerted efforts by lake residents to manage big floating bladderwort in Washington. Its dense growth habit apparently doesn’t interfere with recreational use as much as weeds such as Eurasian watermilfoil or Brazilian elodea. A fluridone treatment in Lake Limerick, Mason County, appeared to control this species for about two years and some bladderwort species are susceptible to herbicides. Grass carp will consume big floating bladderwort, although it did not appear to be a preferred species in Silver Lake, Cowliz County, Washington. Lake Limerick residents have their lake manager or sometimes students hand pull bladderworts from the lake.

Identification

Washington is also home to several native bladderwort species and people can readily distinguish all bladderwort species from other aquatic plants by the small, round, seed-like structures (bladders) that are interspersed throughout the green foliage. However, when not flowering, identifying native bladderwort plants from big floating bladderwort is very difficult

Look for

• Lacy underwater foliage with seed like bladders
• Yellow snapdragon-like flowers
• A spoke-like structure supporting the flower stalk

Black-chested Eagle

With a total length of c.25-30 in (about 62-80 cm) and weighing around 70 oz (2 kg), it is a huge eagle-like "buzzard" ("hawk" in American terminology). It is rather long- and broad-winged, with a wingspan of about 70–80 in (175–200 cm), and the slightly tapering tail is short by comparison and colored black, with grey tips in fresh plumage. The adult has a white underside, sometimes with fine blackish stripes; its upperparts are dark grey with a blackish, brownish or bluish hue. The feathers of the neck and the lowest dark feathers of the breast are somewhat elongated. Adults have an ash-grey-and-white zone on the wings, the silvery white seen clearly from afar. The female is distinguished by a reddish-cinnamon hue to the upper- and underwing secondaries and is considerably larger than the male.

The immature plumage is reminiscent of that of the Great Black Hawk (Buteogallus urubitinga). Its upperparts are deep brown, sometimes almost black, and it has no light wing patch. The underside is white or light buff with heavy dark streaks on the breast and dark bars on the belly and thighs. It does not acquire the full adult plumage until 4–5 years old.

It is not very vocal, calling usually in flight and when close to the nest. Some calls resemble a wild human laugh, others are a curlew-like whistle. Occasionally flying birds give a high-pitched vocalization "kukukukuku".

The Black-chested Eagle-buzzard is readily identified in flight by its short wedge-shaped tail scarcely protruding from its long, broad wings. It is usually easy to make out the generally white underparts with the dark chest-band and tail if the birds are adult. Yet as this bird is usually encountered in the wild when it soars, you are less likely to see its grey upperparts.