Abkhazia is a political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus whose status is disputed. It considers itself an independent state (the Republic of Abkhazia). This is recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, South Ossetia and Transnistria (the last two are entities with a limited recognition). The Georgian government and the majority of the world’s governments consider Abkhazia a part of Georgia’s territory.
Kazakhstan’s only seaport on the Caspian Sea. Aktau has a block address system–the streets of the city have no names, and all addresses in Aktau consist of three numbers: the microdistrict (block) number, the building number and the apartment number. This is because the town was settled first to be the camp of the workers of oil industry from other parts of the country.
Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, beside the border with Armenia.
The rarely visited islands off the coast of Guinea-Bissau in Western Africa.
Carrara is notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. Many sculptures of the Renaissance, such as Michelangelo’s David, were carved from Carrara marble.
The canal was mooted in classical times and an abortive effort was made to build it in the 1st century AD. Construction finally got underway in 1881 but was hampered by geological and financial problems that saw the original builders going bankrupt. It was completed in 1893, but due to the canal’s narrowness, navigational problems and periodic closures to repair landslips from its sheer walls, it failed to attract the level of traffic anticipated by its operators. It is now used mainly for tourist traffic.
Darra Adam Khel is a town in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The town consists of one main street lined with shops, with some alleys and side streets containing workshops. Darra Adam Khel is devoted entirely to the production of weapons. In Darra, almost three-fourths of the people are in the gun trade. Pen pistols and walking stick guns are popular here, but heavier ordinances like anti-aircraft guns are also manufactured. Around 400-700 guns are made in Darra each day and the number is rising with the adoption of more tools.
Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean. Several groups claim that the military base on Diego Garcia has been used by the U.S. government for transport of prisoners involved in the controversial extraordinary rendition program.
Dominion of Melchizedek is a micronation known for facilitating large scale banking fraud in many parts of the world.
Duino Castle. Where Rainer Maria Rilke wrote his Duino Elegies.
United States Air Force Lockheed T-33 reconnaissance plane forced down in December, 1957, on display in Gjirokastër, Albania.
The Isole di Brissago are a group of two islands located in the Swiss part of Lake Maggiore close to Ronco sopra Ascona and Brissago, both in the Distretto di Locarno of Canton Ticino. In the 19th century they were the property of an Anglo-Irishman of the St. Leger family, Richard Fleming, who was married to a Russian-born lady, Antonietta, who developed the gardens at great expense. After the death of her husband, the writer James Joyce visited the island and stayed at her house.
Izu Islands are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. The residents of the islands are required to carry gas masks with them at all times, but need not wear them constantly. Raid alarms go off if there is a dramatic increase in the levels of sulfur in the air.
Kalyazin appeared in the 12th century as a sloboda, or the settlement for people relieved from paying taxes. The town’s importance grew significantly with the foundation of the Makaryevsky monastery on the opposite bank of the Volga in the 15th century. This abbey used to be the most conspicuous landmark of Kalyazin and comprised numerous buildings of historic interest, including a refectory from 1525. In 1940 the monastery and most of the old town were flooded during the construction of the Uglich Reservoir. After that, the town was effectively relocated to a new, higher spot.
Khinalug is among the most ancient and continuously inhabited places in the world, with history of over 5,000 years. Before the conversion to Christianity of Caucasian Albania in the 3rd century and Islam in the 7th century, the people of Khinalug were followers of the prophet Zoroaster, who established Zoroastrianism. Because of the high altitude and remoteness of Khinalug it managed to survive and withstand many invasions and therefore many historical sites in Khinalug are still intact and are considered holy places of Zoroastrianism.
Lake Nyos is a crater lake in the Northwest Province of Cameroon, located about 200 miles (322 km) northwest of Yaoundé. Nyos is a deep lake high on the flank of an inactive volcano in the Oku volcanic plain along the Cameroon line of volcanic activity. On August 21, 1986, a limnic eruption occurred at Lake Nyos which triggered the sudden release of about 1.6 million tonnes of CO2; this cloud rose at nearly 100 kilometres (62 mi) per hour. The gas spilled over the northern lip of the lake into a valley running roughly east-west from Cha to Subum, and then rushed down two valleys branching off it to the north, displacing all the air and suffocating some 1,700 people within 25 kilometres (16 mi) of the lake, mostly rural villagers, as well as 3,500 livestock. The worst affected villages were Cha, Nyos, and Subum. Scientists concluded from evidence that a 300-foot (91 m) fountain of water and foam formed at the surface of the lake.
Today Orford Ness on the Suffolk coast is known as an internationally renowned nature reserve, but its history is shrouded in secrecy and tales of military testing.
Rhodesia was an unrecognised state located in Southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965.
The Schynige Platte Railway is a mountain railway in the Bernese Oberland area of Switzerland. An impressively varied natural landscape unfolds on the journey: fertile forests, Alpine pastures and breathtaking views of the Bernese Oberland with Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. Then a sudden change of scenery to the almost overwhelming view of the glistening giants of the Bernese Oberland, directly opposite, the imposing peaks of the Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau.
Amazing trees grow on these islands. Socotra is considered the “jewel” of biodiversity in the Arabian sea.
Tetiaroa is a private atoll in the Windward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. Once the vacation spot for Tahitian royalty, the atoll is widely known for having been purchased by Marlon Brando. The only inhabitant is Simon Teihotu Brando, one of the many sons of Marlon Brando.
Ubari is an oasis city in southwestern Libya.
Varosha is a quarter in the Cypriot city of Famagusta. Prior to theTurkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, it was the modern tourist area of Famagusta. Its inhabitants fled during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and has remained abandoned ever since.
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of 12 miles (19 km) in the North Pacific Ocean. Access to the island is restricted, and all current activities on the island are managed by the United States Air Force. There is also a missile facility operated by the United States Army.
