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Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

May 21, 2013, 4:06 am
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Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican balneario resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas. The 2010 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 255,725 making it the second largest city in the state of Jalisco. The City of Puerto Vallarta is the government seat of the Municipality of Puerto Vallarta which comprises the city as well as population centers outside of the city extending from Boca de Tomatlán to the Nayarit border (the Ameca River).

The city is located at 20°40′N 105°16′W. The municipality has an area of 502.19 square miles (1,300.7 km2). To the north it borders the southwest part of the state of Nayarit. To the east it borders the municipality of Mascota and San Sebastián del Oeste, and to the south it borders the municipalities of Talpa de Allende and Cabo Corriente.
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Salzburg, Austria

May 21, 2013, 4:07 am
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Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg.

Salzburg's "Old Town" (Altstadt) has internationally renowned baroque architecture and one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. Host to three universities and a large population of students, Salzburg is noted for its attractive setting and scenic Alpine backdrop.
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Villa in Autumn - Bagnoregio, Italy

May 21, 2013, 4:08 am
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Civita di Bagnoregio is a town in the Province of Viterbo in Central Italy, a frazione of the comune of Bagnoregio, 2 km (about 1 mile) W from it. It is about 145 km (90 mi) north of Rome.

The town is noted for its striking position atop a plateau of friable volcanic tuff overlooking the Tiber river valley, in constant danger of destruction as its edges fall off, leaving the buildings built on the plateau to crumble. As of 2004, there are plans to reinforce the plateau with steel rods to prevent further geological damage. The city is also much admired for its architecture, some spanning several hundred years. Civita di Bagnoregio owes much of its unaltered condition to its relative isolation: the town was able to withstand most intrusions of modernity as well as the destruction brought by two world wars. The population today varies from about 12 people in winter to over 100 in the summer.
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Tower Bridge, London

May 21, 2013, 4:09 am
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Tower Bridge (built 1886–1894) is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name.

The bridge consists of two towers tied together at the upper level by means of two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. The vertical component of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. The bridge's present colour scheme dates from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for the Queen Elizabeth II's silver jubilee. Originally it was painted a mid greenish-blue colour.
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Waterfall of Gods, Iceland

May 21, 2013, 4:10 am
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The Goðafoss (Waterfall of Gods)  is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Iceland. It is located in the Mývatn district of North-Central Iceland at the beginning of the Sprengisandur highland road. The water of the river Skjálfandafljót falls from a height of 12 meters over a width of 30 meters.

In the year 999 or 1000 the Lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði made Christianity the official religion of Iceland. After his conversion it is said that upon returning from the Alþingi, Þorgeir threw his statues of the Norse gods into the waterfall. Þorgeir's story is preserved in Ari Þorgilsson's Íslendingabók.
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Trump Tower, Dubai

May 21, 2013, 4:11 am
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The Palm Trump International Hotel & Tower was a proposed skyscraper hotel at the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. It was a joint venture between the Trump Organization and Dubai-based Nakheel, a government-owned company, and was announced on October 5, 2005. The hotel was expected to be a 300-room hotel. Construction work was suspended indefinitely on this and other prestigious building projects throughout Dubai in late 2008, largely as a result of the global credit crunch. The project was officially cancelled by Nakheel in February 2011, and will probably be replaced by a shopping mall on Palm Jumeirah Island.
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Alhambra - Granada, Spain

May 23, 2013, 4:05 am
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The decorations within the palaces typified the remains of Moorish dominion within Spain and ushered in the last great period of Andalusian art in Granada. With little of the Byzantine influence of contemporary Abassid architecture, artists endlessly reproduced the same forms and trends, creating a new style that developed over the course of the Nasrid Dynasty. The Nasrids used freely all the stylistic elements that had been created and developed during eight centuries of Muslim rule in the Peninsula, including the Calliphal horseshoe arch, the Almohad sebka (a grid of rhombuses), the Almoravid palm, and unique combinations of them, as well as innovations such as stilted arches and muqarnas (stalactite ceiling decorations). The isolation from the rest of Islam plus the commercial and political relationship with the Christian kingdoms also influenced building styles.

Columns and muqarnas appear in several chambers, and the interiors of numerous palaces are decorated with arabesques and calligraphy. The arabesques of the interior are ascribed to, among other sultans, Yusuf I, Mohammed V, and Ismail I, Sultan of Granada.
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Arcomagno - Calabria, Italy

May 23, 2013, 4:07 am
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Calabria is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro. The most populated city and the seat of the Calabrian Regional Council, however, is Reggio.

It is bounded to the north by the region of Basilicata, to the south-west by the region of Sicily, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the Ionian Sea. The region covers 15,080 km2 (5,822 sq mi) and has a population of just over 2 million. The demonym of Calabria in English is Calabrian. In ancient times the name Calabria was used to refer to the southern part of Apulia, the peninsula of Salento (also known as the "heel" of Italy).
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ArcelorMittal Orbit - Stratford, London

May 23, 2013, 4:08 am
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The ArcelorMittal Orbit is a 115-metre-high (377 ft) sculpture and observation tower in the Olympic Park in Stratford, London. It is Britain's largest piece of public art, and is intended to be a permanent lasting legacy of London's hosting of the 2012 Summer Olympics, assisting in the post-Olympics regeneration of the Stratford area. Sited between the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre, it allows visitors to view the whole Olympic Park from two observation platforms.

Orbit was designed by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond of engineering Group Arup. Announced on 31 March 2010, it was expected to be completed by December 2011. The project came about after Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell decided in 2008 that the Olympic Park needed "something extra". Designers were asked for ideas for an "Olympic tower" at least 100 metres (330 ft) high, and Orbit was the unanimous choice from proposals considered by a nine-person advisory panel.
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Autumn in Cypress Gardens, Florida

May 23, 2013, 4:10 am
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Cypress Gardens was an American theme park near Winter Haven, Florida that operated from 1936 to 2009.

Billed as Florida's first commercial tourist theme park, Cypress Gardens opened on January 2, 1936 as a botanical garden planted by Dick Pope Sr. and his wife Julie. Over the years it became one of the biggest attractions in Florida, known for its water ski shows, gardens, and Southern Belles.
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Colonial Architecture at Hotel Florida in Havana, Cuba

May 23, 2013, 4:11 am
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Built in 1836 and turned into a hotel in 1885, the Florida is stately and elegant, but be aware that a couple of the rooms don't have any windows. However, if you do get one of the window rooms or one of the suites, you may find it hard to head out and explore the city. The rooms are decorated with a mix of imitation and real antique furnishings, wrought-iron beds, checkerboard marble floors, and tasteful framed prints. The entrance is right on the busy Calle Obispo, and it's possible to miss it amid all the hustle and bustle. The tranquil central courtyard provides immediate relief, surrounded by soaring stone columns connected by high arches.

[Source]
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Garajonay National Park, Spain

May 23, 2013, 4:13 am
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Garajonay National Park is located in the center and north of the island of La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands (Spain). It was declared a national park in 1981 and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. It occupies 40 km2 (15 sq mi) and it extends into each of the municipalities on the island.

The park is named after the rock formation of Garajonay, the highest point on the island at 1,484 m (4,869 feet). It also includes a small plateau whose altitude is 790-1,400 m above sea level.
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Emperor Akbar’s Mausoleum - Agra, India

May 23, 2013, 4:14 am
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The Tomb of Akbar the Great is an important Mughal architectural masterpiece, built 1605-1613, set in 48 Ha (119 acres) of grounds in Sikandra, a suburb of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.

The south gate is the largest, with four white marble chhatri-topped minarets which are similar to (and pre-date) those of the Taj Mahal, and is the normal point of entry to the tomb. The tomb itself is surrounded by a walled enclosure 105 m square. The tomb building is a four-tiered pyramid, surmounted by a marble pavilion containing the false tomb. The true tomb, as in other mausoleums, is in the basement.

The buildings are constructed mainly from a deep red sandstone, enriched with features in white marble. Decorated inlaid panels of these materials and a black slate adorn the tomb and the main gatehouse. Panel designs are geometric, floral and calligraphic, and prefigure the more complex and subtle designs later incorporated in Itmad-ud-Daulah's Tomb.
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Warwick, Bermuda

May 23, 2013, 4:16 am
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Warwick Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named for Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick (1587-1658).

It is located in the central south of the island chain, occupying part of the main island to the southeast of the Great Sound, the large expanse of water which dominates the geography of western Bermuda, and also a number of islands which lie within that sound. It is joined to Southampton Parish in the southwest, and to Paget Parish in the northeast. As with most of Bermuda's parishes, it covers just over 2.3 square miles (about 6.0 km² or 1500 acres).
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Golden Temple - Punjab, India

May 23, 2013, 4:18 am
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The Harmandir Sahib and informally referred to as the Golden Temple is a prominent Sikh Gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. It was built by the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan, in the 16th Century. In 1604, Guru Arjan completed the Adi Granth, the holy scripture of Sikhism, and installed it in the Gurdwara.

There are four doors to get into the Harmandir Sahib, which symbolize the openness of the Sikhs towards all people and religions. The present day Gurdwara was rebuilt in 1764 by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia with the help of other Sikh Misls. In the early nineteenth century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh secured the Punjab region from outside attack and covered the upper floors of the Gurdwara with gold, which gives it its distinctive appearance and its English name.
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La Muralla Roja - Calpe, Alicante, Spain

May 23, 2013, 4:20 am
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The Red Wall in Calpe in Spain is a building designed by architect Ricardo Bofill Levi located in the La Manzanera. Its construction was completed in 1973 but, in the words of the architect, the design started ten years ago. The configuration of the building, evoking the constructivist aesthetic, generates a series of interconnected courtyards where you can access to housing. In the covered terraces spread solariums, swimming pool and sauna.

Its composition corresponds to a geometric plan based on the Greek cross type are collected in different ways, leaving the service towers at the intersection of the crosses. In itself it is a clear reference to the Mediterranean and Arab architecture, particularly North African adobe towers and casbah . The criteria applied to building a diverse color range starts the purpose of giving a relief given to the different architectural elements according to their structural function.
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Melnik, Bulgaria

May 23, 2013, 4:21 am
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Melnik is a town in Blagoevgrad Province, southwestern Bulgaria, in the southwestern Pirin Mountains, about 440 m above sea level. The town is an architectural reserve and 96 of its buildings are cultural monuments. With a population of 385, it is the smallest town in Bulgaria, retaining its city status today for historical reasons.

According to archaeological evidence, the first to settle in the area were the Thracian tribe Medi to which the famous rebel Spartacus belonged. Centuries later, the presence of the Romans left the town one of its landmarks — the Ancient Roman bridge, which is still preserved. The Slavs who later came in these parts named the settlement Melnik after the sand formations surrounding it on all sides (the Bulgarian word "mel" means "white clay, chalk"). Melnik became a part of the First Bulgarian Empire under the rule of Khan Presian I (836-852) and prospered greatly in the period. Melnik became the capital of an independent feudal principality ruled by Despot Alexius Slav, a descendant of the Asen dynasty, in 1209, and passed through an economic and cultural upsurge during his reign. The town continued to flourish under Tsar Ivan Asen II because of the duty-free trade with Venetian-ruled Dubrovnik.
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Qutb Minar Complex, Delhi

May 23, 2013, 4:22 am
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The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutab or Qutub, is an array of monuments and buildings at Mehrauli in Delhi, India. The construction of Qutb Minar was intended as a Victory Tower, to celebrate the victory of Mohammed Ghori over Rajput king, Prithviraj Chauhan, in 1192 AD, by his then viceroy, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who later became the first Sultan of Delhi of Mamluk dynasty. After the death of the commissioner, the Minar was added upon by his successor Iltutmish (aka Altamash) and much later by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, a Tughlaq dynasty, Sultan of Delhi in 1368 AD. The complex initially housed a complex of twenty-seven ancient Hindu and Jain temples which were destroyed and their material used in the construction of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque next to the Qutb Minar, in the Qutb complex, built on the ruins of Lal Kot Fort built by Tomar Rajput ruler, Anangpal in 739 AD and Qila-Rai-Pithora, Prithviraj Chauhan's city, the Rajput king, whom Ghori's Afghan armies had earlier defeated and killed, at the Second Battle of Tarain.
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Houses in Sichuan, China

May 23, 2013, 4:24 am
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Sichuan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the southwest of the country. The capital is Chengdu, a key economic centre of Western China.

Throughout its prehistory and early history, the region and its vicinity in the Yangtze River region was the cradle of unique local civilizations which can be dated back to at least the 15th century B.C.E and coinciding with the later years of the Shang Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty in north China. Sichuan was referred to in ancient Chinese sources as Ba-Shu by combining the names two independent states within the Sichuan Basin — the kingdoms of Ba and Shu. Ba included Chongqing and the land in eastern Sichuan along the Yangtze and some tributary streams, while Shu included today's Chengdu, its surrounding plain and adjacent territories in western Sichuan.
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Staircase at the Art Gallery of Toronto

May 23, 2013, 4:25 am
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The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is an art museum in Toronto's Downtown Grange Park district, on Dundas Street West between McCaul Street and Beverley Street. Its collection includes more than 80,000 works spanning the 1st century to the present day. The gallery has 45,000 square metres (480,000 sq ft) of physical space, making it one of the largest galleries in North America.

Significant collections include the largest collection of Canadian art, an expansive body of works from the Renaissance and the Baroque eras, European art, African and Oceanic art, and a modern and contemporary collection. The photography collection is a large part of the collection, as well as an extensive drawing and prints collection. The museum contains many significant sculptures, such as in the Henry Moore sculpture centre, and represents other forms of art like historic objects, miniatures, frames, books and medieval illuminations, film and video art, graphic art, installations, architecture, and ship models.
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