Unique and Amazing Places to Visit

A city is a large locality or populated area and permanent settlement are general terms used in statistics, archaeology, geography, landscape history or temporary community where people live or have lived, without being specific as to population, size or location. A settlement can range in size from a small number of houses or group of community to the largest of cities with surrounding urban areas. This term may apply as in hamlets, villages, towns and cities. A settlement based on practice or customary includes its constructed facilities such as roads, the process of converting common land into private land, field systems, boundary banks, ditches, ponds, parks and forests, wind and ater mills, a deep, wide trench, usually filled with water, manor houses and churches. A city must have sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing and transportation complex systems. The city must be unique or peculiar to other cities, that can attract more tourists and investors and will boosts the economy of the said city.

1)  Valletta, Malta

Valletta is the Malta‘s capital, also known as Il-Belt, in Maltese, meaning The City in English, located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,966. Valletta is the second southernmost capital of the EU member states after Nicosia, the capital and largest city on the island of Cyprus.Valletta architectural buildings comes from the 16th century onwards, built during the Knights of Hospitaller rule or known as the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. The city is originally Baroque in character, with Mannerist architecture and sculpture in Poland, Neo-Classical and Modern architecture elements in some chosen areas, although the city was left with major scars after the destruction of World War II. In 1980, the City of Valletta was officially recognized by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site. Valetta’s official name given by the Order of Saint John was Humilissima Civitas Valletta (meaning, The Most Humble City of Valletta), or in Italian language, Città Umilissima. The bastions (an angular structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of an artillery a military buildings), ravelins (a V -shaped outwork outside the main ditch and covering the works between two bastions) and curtains, along with the beauty of its Baroque palaces, gardens and churches, leading to Europe’s ruling houses to give Valetta its nickname Superbissima or Most Proud. The two natural harbors of Valletta peninsula, are the Grand Harbor and the Marsamxett. Maltese Carnival (il-Karnival ta’ Malta) is an important event and marked on the Maltese cultural calendar for five centuries, held during the week up to Ash Wednesday, and typically celebrated with fancy dress and grotesque mask competitions, colorful floats presided over by King Carnival or ir-Re tal-Karnival in Maltese, with lavish late-night parties, a colorful, parade, marching bands and costumed participants with great pleasure. The prickly pear also known as Opuntia ficus-indica or common English names for the plant and its fruit are Indian fig opuntia, barbary fig, cactus pear and prickly pear,  also grows widely on the islands of Malta, where it is enjoyed by the Maltese as a typical summer fruit (known as bajtar tax-xewk, literally ‘spiny figs), being used to produce the popular pink herbal liqueur known as bajtra.

Mdina, The Walled City

Mdna, Città Vecchia, or Città Notabile, in English, Notabile, or Imdina, is Malta‘s old capital. Mdina is a medieval walled town located in the center of the island and situated on a hill. Beyond the walls of the city, Punic remains was uncovered  suggest the importance of the general region to Malta’s Phoenician settlers. Mdina is commonly known as the Silent City by tourists and Maltese natives. The town is currently confined within its walls, and the population is just over three hundred, but it shares an edge or boundary with the Rabat village, which takes its name from the Arabic word for suburb, and has a population of over 11,000.

2) Guayaquil, Ecuador

Guayaquil officially Santiago de Guayaquil is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador, with around 3.75 million people in the metropolitan area, as well as the nation’s main port. The Guayaquil city is the capital of the Ecuadorian province of Guayas and the seat of the Guayaquil Canton, officially the Municipality of Guayaquil, is a canton in the Guayas Province center in western Ecuador, where the canton was named after its seat, the city of Guayaquil the most populous city in Ecuador, located on the western bank of the Guayas River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Guayaquil. The boardwalk overlooking Guayas River in Guayaquil port is called the Malecón 2000. The home to many Iguanas which some as big as 5 feet in length, located at 10 de Agosto Avenue and Chile Avenue is the  Parque Seminario also known as Parque de Las Iguanas or Iguana Park, where the local residents and visitors feed the iguanas mango slices bought from park vendors. The most famous place to dine in and shop is located in a traditional neighborhood, for restaurants, stores known as Urdesa, while Bahia is a popular marketplace for toys, clothing, electronic goods, DVDs, and CDs. In the northeast corner of the city center is the Las Peñas, a neighborhood and the artistic center of the city, where colorful houses or buildings can be seen. Several of the 400-year-old houses in the area, have been converted into art galleries where notable artists have studios in the area. The largest artisan market in the city known as Mercado Artesanal, consists of 240-shop building, covering the entire block of Baquerizo Avenue between Loja and Juan Montalvo streets, where several vendors sell indigenous crafts, jewellery, and paintings.

Quito, Ecuador

The city of Quito, formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador, also the capital of the Pichincha province, and the seat of Metropolitan District of Quito, known as the highest city in the world housing the administrative, judicial and legislative functions, with an elevation of 9,350 feet (2,800 meters above sea level). Quito is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the Pichincha eastern slopes, an active stratovolcano or a conical volcano in the Andes mountains. In the 2010 census, the population was recorded 2,239,191, and Quito is the second most populous city in Ecuador, after Guayaquil. Quito has a monument and museum marking, as the general location of the equator, known locally as la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world), as to avoid confusion, as the Spanish word for equator is ecuador. Quito has had an aerial tramway, known as the Telefériqo, since July 2005, from the city center to the hill known as Cruz Loma on the east side of the Pichincha volcano. The Aerial Tramway Station is situated at Cruz Loma (part of the Pichincha volcano complex at about 13,000 ft.) The aerial tramway ride takes tourists and locals to an altitude of about (13,500 ft). There are also popular trails for hiking and areas in Quito, where tourists can take pictures, however, the increased altitude and the wind on the mountain, is considerably very cold. In Ecuador, the popular subtropical perennial plant fruit Solanum quitoense, known as naranjilla or little orange, from northwestern South America, commonly called in Ecuador and Panama as lulo,(from Quechuan language or also known as people’s language or runa simi in Colombia. This nigthshade‘s species specific name means  from Quito. The naranjilla fruit has a citrus flavor, some locals eat it with salt, sometimes described as a combination of lime and rhubarb. The naranjilla juice is often used as drink and has green color.

3) Cusco, Peru

Cusco often spelled Cuzco is a city in southeastern Peru,near the Andes mountain range of Urubamba Valley, and also the capital of the Cuzco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. The Cuzco city had a population of 358,935 as of 2007. Cuzco is located on the eastern end of the Knot of Cuzco, its elevation is around 11,200 ft. Cuzco was declared by UNESCO in 1983 as a World Heritage Site, as the site of the historic capital of the Inca Empire. Cuzco is a major tourist destination and each year, it receives almost 2 million visitors, and designated by the Constitution of Peru, as the Historical Capital of Peru. The valley in the Andes of Peru, close to the Inca capital of Cuzco, and the Machu Picchu the ancient city, is called the Sacred Valley of the Incas or the Urubamba Valley, located in the present-day Peruvian region of Cusco. The ancient city of Machu Picchu or Machu Pikchu was built with polished dry-stone wall the classical Inca style and most familiar icon of the Inca civilization, often referred to as the Lost City of the Incas. Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007 in an Internet poll worldwide. The Yacón also called Peruvian ground apple, commonly called in Ecuador as jicama and in the Philippines it is called singkamas, thus, yacón is sometimes confused with this unrelated plant. Some companies have also used these yacon fruits and produce products such as Yacón syrup and Yacón tea. Both products are very popular among diabetic people and dieters. The tomate de arbol also called tamarillo, also known as the tree tomato. an egg-shaped edible fruit.

4)  Pago Pago, American Samoa

Pago Pago is the capital of American Samoa with its population was 11,500 in 2000 according to census. The city’s tourism, entertainment, cuisine and tuna canning as its primary industries, and the city is served by Pago Pago International Airport. A strong earthquake struck near Samoa in the South Pacific and American Samoa, that triggered a tsunami into Pago Pago and surrounding areas, that caused severe damage to villages, buildings and vehicles and caused an unknown number of deaths and missing persons on September 29, 2009. The village is located in Pago Pago Harbor, on the Tutuila island, and Pago Pago is one of the many  along the Pago Pago Harbor, in the Urban agglomeration of Pago Pago located at the very eastern part or inside the embayment or Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment. The Pago Pago area includes a number of villages, such as Fagatogo, the legislative and judicial area, and Utulei, the executive area, the Rainmaker Mountain (also called as North Pioa Mountain) is the mountain located near Pago Pago, American Samoa on Tutuila Island. The Fatu or Flower Pot Rock in the Tutuila reef at the entrance to Pago Pago Harbor in American Samoa, and Tutuila, is the largest and the main island of American Samoa in the Samoan Islands archipelago, and the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific located at about 4,000 kilometers northeast of Brisbane, Australia and over 1,200 kilometers northeast of Fiji. In the mountainous regions of the island with its highest point at 653 m, where the World War II relics, coral reefs, beaches where the sporting activities such as scuba diving and snorkeling and hiking activities attracts more tourists for adventures. Samoa’s system for their heads or chiefs revolves based on the communal culture around family or ‘aiga kinship and extended family relationships. People born in American Samoa, including those born on Swains Island, are American nationals, but are not American citizens unless one of their parents is a U.S. citizen. The Samoans as U.S. nationals, or American Samoans may not vote in the presidential elections in the United States, but they are entitled to free and unrestricted entry into the United States. Tourists could experience the view Mt. Avala by taking an aerial tramway over the harbor, but on April 17 1980, a U.S. Navy plane, flying overhead as part of the Flag Day celebrations, struck the cable, the plane crashed into the Rainmaker Hotel wing. Although the aerial tramway was repaired, but was closed not long after, and the tram remains unusable, and according to Lonely Planet, there are plans to reopen it, but in December 2010 the cable was damaged by Tropical Cyclone Wilma, and fell into the harbor and has not been repaired. Another popular view is viewed from the top of the pass above Aua Village on the road to Afono.

Savaiʻi is the largest area at about 1700km and highest Mt Silisili, the highest peak in Samoa and the Samoa Islands at about 1,858 m, and also the biggest landmass in Polynesia outside Hawaii and New Zealand. The Savai’i island is also referred to by Samoans as Salafai, a classical Samoan term used in oratory and prose, a traditional poetry. The main entry point to the island, is located at the east end of Savai’i and the only township and Salelologa ferry terminal. The main highway with a tar sealed road serves as, connecting most of the villages with local buses reaching most settlements. The island is the largest shield volcano (type of volcano commonly built almost of fluid lava flows) with the recent eruptions in the 1900′s in the South Pacific. The main crops of the villages are cultivated plantations of taro, cocoa, koko, cocnuts popo, yams palai, ‘ava fruit, vegetables as well other native plants such as pandanus for weaving ‘ie toga fine mats and bark used for traditional tapa cloth. White Sunday is a holiday in Samoa, also celebrated in Tonga, that falls on the second Sunday in October, where Samoan women and children dress completely in white clothing. Some of the Samoan women, make their clothes with the two colors, red and blue of the Samoan flag. Men will wear white shirts with either white pants or the traditional ‘i.e. faitaga form of the lavalava, worn it no need to be white. The Alofaaga Blowholes, also known as the Taga Blowholes, are a natural feature located in the Palauli district, south west of Salelologa wharf in Samoa on the island of Savai’i. The main entrance to the blowholes is in the Taga village. The genus of monocots, Pandanus, screw pine, or Pandan with about 600 species.The pandanus tree are palm-like,dioecious also diecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics plants, are classified in the order Pandanales of family Pandanaceae. The female pandanus tree produces flowers and round fruits that are also bract or leaflike or scalelike plant part. The fruits are round, which resembles the fruit of the pineapple, commonly changes colors from green to bright orange or red as it matures. The Pandanus fruit of some species are edible, and are eaten by animals including bats, rats, crabs, elephants and monitor lizards, but the almost majority of species are dispersed primarily by water. Pandan leaves (Pandanus amaryllifolius) is used for handicrafts, Southeast Asian cooking to add a distinct aroma to rice and curry dishes such as nasi lemak, kaya or jam preserves, and desserts like the pandan cake. In Indian cuisine, the whole pandan leaf is added  to biryani, a kind of pilaf rice, made with ordinary rice (as act against with the premium-grade Basmati rice). Pandanus trees provide materials for housing, textiles and clothing, manufacture of carrying bags known as dilly bags (a traditional Australian Aboriginal bag, generally woven from the fibres of plant species of the Pandanus genus), fine mats or ‘ie toga, medication,religious uses, food, decorations and fishing.

5) Seville, Spain

Seville is a city in Spain, the capital and largest city of the Andalusia‘s autonomous community and the Seville province, located on the plain of the River Guadalquivir. The Seville city inhabitants are called as sevillanos for male and sevillanas for female or hispalenses, after the name of the city Hispalis, Roman name. Seville has about 703,000 municipal population as of 2011, and about 1.5 million, metropolitan population making it as the 4th largest city in Spain and in the European Union’s 3oth most populous municipality. The Seville’s old name is known as Spal. Seville has the hottest summer in the European continent after the Cordoba City also in Andalusia. The Alcázar Royal Palace, the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See better known as Seville Cathedral, and the General Archive of the Indies (Archivo General de Indias) are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One of the most outstanding example of Regionalist Revival Architecture, in Seville, a bizarre and noble conceived mixture of diverse historic styles, such as Art Deco and lavishly ornamented with typical glazed tiles are the famous Plaza de España (Spain Square) in Parque de Maria Luisa (Maria Luisa Park). The Metropol Parasol is a wooden structure located at La Encarnacion square, in the Seville old quarter of Spain, popularly known as Las Setas de la Encarnación (Incarnación’s mushrooms), was designed and completed in April 2011, by the German architect Jürgen Mayer-Hermann. The Metropol Parasol structure consists of six parasols in the form of giant mushrooms (Las setas in Sapnish), whose design is inspired by the vaults of the Cathedral of Seville and the ficus trees growing in nearby Plaza de Cristo de Burgos. One of the most important traditional events of the city of Seville and also the most important Holy Week in Spain is the Holy Week in Seville.

6)  Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, recognized as a global city because of its importance in finance, commerce,entertainment and media, arts, international trade, tourism and education. Lisbon is known as one of the oldest city in Western Europe and the oldest cities in the world, marked earlier by hundred of years to other modern European capitals such as London, Paris and Rome. Lisbon enjoys a Mediterranean climate, and among the European metropolises, it has the warmest winters, with average temperatures during the day at 15 °C (59 °F) and at night time at about 8 °C (46 °F) from December to February. The region was inhabited by Pre-Celtic tribes, during the Neolithic period who built religious and funerary monuments, megaliths, domens and menhirs or standing stone, which still existed in areas in Lisbon’s periphery. The Moorish castle of Castle of São Jorge occupying a commanding hilltop overlooking the Portuguese city’s historic center of Lisbon and Tagus River.  Santa Maria de Belém, or just Belém a name derived from Bethlehem in Portuguese word, is Lisbon’s municipality civil parish, in central Portugal. Belém’s  Jerónimos Monastery or Hieronymites Monastery and the Belém Tower are attractions in the parish, which is also home to the Portuguese pastry or pasteis de Belem (pastéis de nata or pastel de nata). Belém Tower or the Tower of St Vincent a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a secured tower located in Santa Maria de Belem civil parish in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal. The indoor arena in Lisbon is known as the MEO Arena (formerly Pavilhão Atlântico), which can accommodate 20,000 people and was built during the Expo ’98 in 1998, used during the holiday and the feast of Saint Anthony of Lisbon on June 13, also known as Saint Anthony of Padua, known as a wealthy Portuguese bohemian who was canonized and named Doctor of the Church who spent his life preaching to the poor. In the mid-1800′s, the mosaic Portuguese pavement (Calçada Portuguesa) was first developed in Lisbon, and this kind of art spread to other Portuguese Speaking countries, and remained one of the most having a wide range examples of the technique, in almost walkways and even many streets being created with different style. The city of Lisbon was considered the most livable in Portuguese terms, in a living conditions survey published by Expresso every year. The fruit,  Passiflora edulis with its common names as passion fruit in the UK and US, in Australia and New Zealand it is known as passionfruit and in South Africa it is called purple granadilla, is a vine passion flower species that is native to Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina especially in Corrientes and Misiones provinces.

Lagos, Portugal

Lagos is a municipality at the Bensafrim River’s mouth, in the Barlavento region of Alagarve, southern Portugal along the Atlantic Ocean, one of the most visited cities in the Algarve and Portugal, due to its various tourist-friendly beaches, bars, restaurants, and hotels, famous for its parties during summer nightlife. Lagos was classified as the number 1 travel destination, on a list of “15 destinations on the rise” in the world in 2012 by TripAdvisor, a travel website. In the study of food and culture, the local specialties of Lagos is the baked cookies called Dom rodrigos and morgados made from local products, such as eggs, figs and almonds. Lagos is also famous for producing wine and is famous for its moscatel wine and also for the aguardente de medronho, a strong alcoholic spirit liqueur made of berries of strawberry tree, or Arbutus unedo (occasionally cane apple) a small tree in the family Ericaceae or an evergreen shrub, native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe, north to western France and Ireland, especially in South West Ireland, known as either Irish strawberry tree or Killarney strawberry tree. 

7) Venice, Italy

Venice is a city in northeastern Italy, situated on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges, located in the marshy Venetian Lagoon stretching along the shoreline, between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Venice is famous for the artworks and architecture, and is listed as a World Heritage Site, along with Venetian Lagoon. The name Venice is derived from the ancient Veneti inhabitants during the 10th century BC, and the Republic of Venice is the capital and a historical city. Venice has been called with various names such as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City and City of Canals. Venice was described in The New York Times by Luigi Barzini, as “undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man”. Acqua alta is the Veneto term used for the exceptional tide peaks that occur periodically in the northern Adriatic Sea, which the peaks reach the Venetian Lagoon, causing partial flooding of Venice and Chioggia, and flooding also occurs elsewhere around the northern Adriatic, such as at Grado and Trieste, but much lesser floods often and to a lesser degree. The annual festival of the Carnival of Venice, held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival of Venice ends with Lent, forty days before Easter on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday or Martedi Grasso), the day before Ash Wednesday. 

8)  Bruges, Belgium

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the West Flanders province in the Flemish region of Belgium, located in the northwest of the country. Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam, it is sometimes referred to as The Venice of the North. Bruges’ port, plays an important role for the economy of Bruges and was the chief commercial city of the world once. Bruges is famous for producing Bobbin lace, a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of thread, which are wound on bobbins (a spindle or cylinder, with or without rim, where wire, thread, yarn or film is wound to manage them). Soursop is the fruit of Annona muricata, an evergreen tree with a broadleaf, flowering plant native to Mexico, Cuba, Central America, the Caribbean and primarily Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela in northern South America. Soursop is also produced and found in some parts of Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Soursop is in the same genus as the chirimova and the same family as the pawpaw, with flavor described as a combination of pineapple, strawberry, sour citrus flavor with a contrast of an underlying creamy flavor of banana or coconut.

9) Jaipur, India, The Pink City

Jaipur is the popular tourist destination in India and Rajasthan, also the largest city, also known as the Pink City of India, and capital of the Rajasthan Indian state of in Northern India founded on November 18,1727 by the ruler of Amber, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, after whom the city has been named. The city today has a population of 3.1 million. The city is unusual and unique among pre-modern Indian cities in the regularity of its streets, and the division of the city into six sectors by broad streets. The urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets.The Palace quarter encloses the palace complex of Hawa Mahal, formal gardens, and a small lake, the residence of the King Sawai Jai Singh II, the Nahargarh Fort, crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. One of the Jaipur World Heritage Sites is the observatory Jantar Mantar, included on the tourist circuit of the Golden Triangle, along with Delhi and Agra. The Jal Mahal or Water Palace is a palace located in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake in Jaipur city, also located in Ujjain and Mathura. The Jantar Mantar is a collection of architectural astronomical instruments, built by Sawai Jai Singh who was a Rajput king serving Emperor Aurangzeb and later Mughals. The King title and Sawai was bestowed on him by Emperor Mohammad Shah.

Hawa Mahal Palace of Winds” or “Palace of the Breeze”), is a palace in Jaipur, India. Built of red and pink sandstone, the palace is situated on the main thoroughfare in the heart of Jaipur’s business centre. It forms part of the City Palace, and extends to the Zenana or women’s chambers, the chambers of the harem. It is particularly striking when viewed early in the morning, lit with the golden light of sunrise.

Delhi

Delhi also known as the National Capital Territory of India, is India’s metropolitan region that includes the national capital city, New Delhi, the second most populous city with a population of 22 million in 2011, and the largest city in terms of area in India, including the neighboring cities of Baghpat, Gurgaon, Sonepat, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida and other towns nearby almost 22.2 million residents. The 17th century fort complex called Red Fort, locally known as Lal Qila, lies along the Yamuna River, which fed the moats, a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle or walls, constructed by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in the Old Delhi walled city, now known as Delhi, India, serving as the residence of the Mughal Emperors. A Hindu Temple complex in Delhi, India known as  Akshardham, also referred to as Delhi Akshardham or Swaminarayan Akshardham, with displays ancient traditional Hindu architecture and Indian culture, spirituality. The Chandni Chowk, a 17th-century market, is one of the most popular Delhi’s shopping areas for jewellery and Zari or saris. The greetings in India, Namaste in Hindi, Namaskar in Marathi, Namaskara in Kannada, Namaskaram in Telugu and Malayalam, Vanakkam in Tamil, Nomoshkaar in Bengali and Nomoskar in Assamese, a common greetings or salutation, thous for some modern Indians, they considered this gesture as an old fashioned trend. The common fruits in India are papaya, Jackfruits, mango, and unique fruits such as Bael (Aegle marmelos), also known as Bengal quince, golden apple,stone apple, wood apple, bili, is a species of tree native to India, also called in Kannada as Belada Hannu, in Telugu as Bilva, and Maredu. The tropical fruit-bearing small tree or shrub with its scientific name as Malpighia emarginata , with common names include acerola, Barbados cherry, West Indian cherry, and wild crepemyrtle, native to South America, Southern Mexico, and Central America, but now also being cultivated and grown as far north as Texas and in subtropical areas of Asia, such as India.

10) Istanbul, Turkey

The largest city in Turkey is Istanbul, and the second largest city in the world, constituting their economic, cultural, and historical heart. Although Ankara is established as the capital of the Republic of Turkey, most palaces and imperial mosques are still visible and standing at the hills of Istanbul as reminders of the city’s previous central role. Istanbul as the biggest city, its historic center remained, partially listed as a World Heritage Site of UNESCO, but its cultural and entertainment places can be found at the Golden Horn, across the city’s natural harbor, in the Beyoğlu district, Istanbul is considered a global city, one of the fastest-growing metropolitan economies in the world. Istanbul bid five times in 20 years for the Summer Olympics. A historical mosque in Istanbul is known as The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the adorning blue tiles covering the walls of its interior. One of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, covering 3,000 shops and 61 streets is the famous Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, which attracts around 250,000 daily or more. The hamams or Turkish baths, is the famous variant of the Romans sauna and steam bath or Russian bath or banya, characterized by focusing on water fro steam baths, were places of Ottoman society. However, some of these bath houses has been converted to cafes or preserved areas for unused historical relics, in modern Istanbul. The most popular Turkish baths among tourists and local Turks, is the Cağaloğlu Hamam, have been continuously operated for hundreds of years. The Turkish bath as a method of cleansing and relaxation became popular in Western Europe during the Victorian era. Fruits in Turkey, often grow in the backyards are known as Cornus mas, Cornelian cherry, European cornel or Dogwood, in Turkish they call it Kızılcık, in Albanian as Thana, Zoğal in Azerbaijani. The Cornelian berries when ripe it has a resemblance to coffee berries, and ripen in mid to late summer. In Eastern Europe , Iran and Turkey, the Cornelian berry is edible, but the unripe fruit is used as astringent, a substance or a chemical compound that tends to shrink or constrict tissues of the body, usually locally after topical medication, and the two common examples are calamine lotion and witch hazel. The Cornelian cherry in Turkey and Iran, commonly eaten with salt as a snack in summer, and traditionally drunk in a cold drink called kizilcik şerbeti or Şerbet or Sharbat or Sherbet in Turkish.

11)  Havana, Cuba

The capital city, major port, leading commercial center and province of Cuba is Havana, which makes it as the largest city by area and populous city, with its population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. Every year, Havana attracts over a million tourists. The flowing in tourism was due in large part to Cuba’s proximity to the United States, where restrictive ban on alcohol and other pastimes. In 1961, tourism in Cuba dropped drastically, due to the deterioration of United States and Cuba relations and the import and export of the trade embargo and did not return to anything close to its pre-revolution levels until 1989. Fidel Castro and the revolutionary government in general, opposed any considerable tourism industry development, linking to the scandalous activities involving sex, alcohol, or drugs and criminal activities of past years. However, Fidel Castro changed his stance in the late 1970s and the Cuban government passed a foreign investment code which opened a number of sectors, tourism included, to foreign capital in 1982. For the last 20 years, Havana has been a popular health tourism destination, numerous foreign patients travel to Havana for a wide range of treatments such as eye-surgery, neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease and orthopaedics. Seeking for medical treatment in Cuba, particularly in Havana, for retinitis pigmentosa,(an inherited, degenerative eye disease that causes severe vision impairment leading often to blindness) often known as night blindness, has attracted many patients from Europe and North America which many of these patients are from Latin America. Havana has a tropical savanna climate. 

12) Beijing, China

Beijing sometimes called as Peking is one of the most populous cities in the world and the capital of the People’s Republic of China, and the second largest Chinese city by urban population after Shanghai and is the country’s political, cultural and educational center. Beijing is the last of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, and has been the political center of the country for the past eight centuries, and China’s largest state-owned companies headquarters, and is a major hub for the national highway, expressway, railway and high-speed trail networks. The second busiest airport by passenger traffic is the Beijing Capital International Airport. Beijing city is famous for its valuable and historical  palaces, temples, gardens, tombs, walls and gates, art treasures and universities became a center of culture and art in China. The Tiananmen, or Gate of Heavenly Peace, is Beijing’s famous monument, is often referred to as the front entrance to the Forbidden City. However, the first entrance to the Forbidden City proper is the famous Meridian Gate, while Tiananmen was the entrance to the Imperial City, within the location of Forbidden City. Tiananmen is located to the north of Tiananmen Square, across the Chang’an Avenue street from the plaza. The opera house in Beijing is known as the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), with the center, an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake, that can accommodate seats for 5,452 people. Beijing National Stadium, named officially the National Stadium also known as the Bird’s Nest is a stadium in Beijing, China, was designed for use throughout the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2008.

The 12th century Pagoda of Tianning Temple is located in the Guang’anmen district of Beijing, China.

The Great Wall of China is a wall series to protect Chinese Empire or strengthen against attack by numerous nomadic groups or military incursions, by many warlike forces of group of people, and the wall was built and was made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China.

13)  Macau, China

Macau also spelled Macao, is one of the two Special Administrative Regions of the People’s Republic of China, the other one is Hong Kong. Macau lies from across from Hong Kong to the east, on the western side of the Pearl River Delta, bordered by Guangdong Province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south. The Macau territory’s economy is heavily dependent on gambling, tourism, and manufacturing. Macao is a former Portuguese colony, was administered by Portugal from the mid-16th century until late 1999, was the last remaining European colony in Asia. The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is responsible for the defense of the territory and foreign affairs, under the one country, two systems policy, while Macau maintains its own legal system, police force, monetary system, custom policy and immigration policy. Macau is one of Asia’s few regions with very high HDI ranking 23rd or 24th category in 2007′s Human Development Index (with very high HDI category includes Japan as the highest in Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Brunei). The name Macau is may be derived from the name of temple built in 1448, known as A-Ma Temple dedicated to Matsu, the goddess of seafarers and fishermen. The chief executive is the head of the  government in Macau, appointed by the central government upon the recommendation of an election committee. Macau was made the world’s top casino market by its Gambling revenue, surpassing Las Vegas in the United States. Macau is also known as the Las Vegas of Asia. Macau also ramped up show and entertainments in the early 2010, in addition to gambling business, including the famous show House of Dancing Water, concerts, industry trade shows and international art crossovers. The unit of currency in Macau is known the pataca, a Portuguese word, which is currently a fixed exchange rate to the Hong Kong dollar at a rate of HK$1 = MOP1.03. The name pataca was applied to the Mexican dollars that were the main circulating coin in the wider region in the second half of the 19th century. Macau’s Statue of Guanyin, a blend between the traditional images of Holy Mary and the bodhisattva Guanyin. The famous tower located in the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the Republic of China, known as the Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre also known as Macau Tower, that measures 338 m (1,109 ft) in height from the ground level to the highest point. the Macau Tower’s 233 meters tethered skyjump or skywalk and Bungee jump by AJ Hackett (entrepreneur from New Zealand who introduced and popularized the bungee jumping, an extreme sport) from the tower’s outer rim, is the second highest commercial skyjump in the world, after Las Vegas’ 260 meters’ Stratosphere skyjump.

14) Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto is a city located in Honshu, Japan, the central part of the island, with a population close to 1.5 million. Kyoto was formerly the imperial capital of Japan for more than one thousand years, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, also a major part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area, one of the oldest and famous metropolis with remarkable and unique temples, parks, bustling business districts, markets, from regal estates to the tightly-packed neighborhoods. A commercial park located in Arashiyama in Kyoto, is called the Iwatayama Monkey Park. Kyoto is famous for its traditional festivals, first is the Aoi Matsuri commonly known as hollyhocks or Alcea, are annual, biennial or perennial plants usually celebrated on May 15, as taking an erect, unbranched form of the plant. From July 1 to July 31, two months later is the Gion Matsuri Festival known as one of the 3 great festivals of Japan, reaching the highest point in a massive parade on July 17. Kyoto marks the Obon or Bon Festival, lasts for three days, a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors, with the Gozan no Okuribi more commonly known as Daimonji, celebrated on August 16, with lighting fires on mountains to guide the spirits home. The October 22 Jidai Matsuri, Festival of the Ages, celebrates Kyoto’s illustrious past. Maiko is an apprentice geisha in western Japan, especially in Kyoto. The Maiko’s jobs during feasts in Japan, consist of performing songs, dances, and playing the shamisen (three-stringed Japanese instrument) for visitors. Maiko are commonly aged 15 to 20 years old and become geisha after learning how to dance the traditional Japanese dance and learning Kyō-kotoba (dialect of Kyoto), regardless of their origins. Kiyomizu-dera officially Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera is an independent Buddhist temple in eastern Kyoto.

15)  New Orleans, United States

New Orleans is a United States major port and the largest city and metropolitan area located in the southeastern of Louisiana, which sits near the Mississippi River.The Orleans Parish and the city are coterminous, named after Orléans, a city located in Center France on the Loire River, and is well known for its multilingual heritage and cross cultural traditions and distinct French Creole architecture. New Orleans is also famous for its music particularly as the birthplace of jazz, cuisine, and its festivals annual celebrations, most famous for the Mardi Gras and Jazz & Heritage Festival. The New Orleans city is often referred to as the most unique in America. The city of New Orleans was declared off-limits to residents while efforts to clean up New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and in September 2005, the approach of Hurricane Rita that caused repopulation efforts to be postponed, and the Lower Ninth Ward was again flooded. Hurricanes becomes a severe threat to the area, and the city of New Orleans, particularly at risk because of its low elevation, and because it is surrounded by water from the north, east, and south, and Louisiana’s sinking coast. New Orleans experiences snowfall only on rare occasions, such as the snowfall in 2004′s Christmas Eve Snowstorm and again on December 25′s Christmas day, when a combination of rain, sleet, and snow fell on the city, leaving some bridges icy. On December 11, 2008 morning, was the last significant snow fall in New Orleans. Along with Jazz Fest, in New Orleans is the Voodoo Fest or Voodoo Experience and the Essence Music Festival are both large music festivals featuring local and international artists. A new festival was created in 2007, an annual festival they named The Running of the Bulls New Orleans. The Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is characterized as a set of spiritual folkways which originated from the African diaspora traditions. Today, Voodoo is a major tourist attraction of the New Orleans city, today, with voodoo shops selling charms, gris-gris, candles, and powders cater to both tourists and practitioners and the famous voodoo dolls. The funeral traditions in New Orleans, Louisiana is popularly known as the, Jazz funeral a common name for a funeral tradition with music.