23 May 2022 | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union | Rubric: General , Theme Weeks , UNESCO World Heritage
Reading Time: 10 minutes
Historic centre of Riga, an UNESCO World Heritage Site © Diego Delso/cc-by-sa-3.0
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Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the
Baltic region of
Northern Europe . It is one of the
Baltic states ; and is bordered by
Estonia to the north,
Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east,
Belarus to the southeast, and shares a
maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of 64,589 km² (24,938 sq mi), with a population of 1.9 million. The country has a
temperate seasonal climate . Its capital and
largest city is
Riga .
Latvians belong to the ethno-linguistic group of the
Balts ; and speak
Latvian , one of the only two surviving
Baltic languages .
Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population.
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23 May 2022 | Author/Destination: Asia / Asien | Rubric: General
Reading Time: 6 minutes
© Jacklee/cc-by-sa-4.0
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Keong Saik Road is a one-way road located in
Chinatown within the
Outram Planning Area in Singapore. The road links
New Bridge Road to
Neil Road , and is intersected by
Kreta Ayer Road . Keong Saik Road was named in 1926 after the
Malacca -born Chinese businessman,
Tan Keong Saik , in remembrance to his contribution to the Chinese community.
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20 May 2022 | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union | Rubric: Environment , General , Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks , UNESCO World Heritage
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Glambecker Mühle © Uckermaerker/cc-by-sa-3.0
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The Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve, often shortened to Schorfheide, is a
biosphere reserve in the
German State of
Brandenburg near the
Polish border. The reserve was established on 1 October 1990 following the
German Reunification and is under the protection of the
UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme . It stretches over the
German districts of
Barnim ,
Uckermark ,
Märkisch-Oderland and
Oberhavel and incorporates an area of 1,291 square kilometres (498 sq mi). Notable towns are
Eberswalde ,
Joachimsthal and
Friedrichswalde . The core area of the reserve is formed by the Schorfheide forest, one of the largest cohesive woodlands in Germany.
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18 May 2022 | Author/Destination: North America / Nordamerika | Rubric: General
Reading Time: 10 minutes
South Gay Street © Brian Stansberry/cc-by-3.0
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Knoxville is a city in and the
county seat of
Knox County in the
U.S. state of
Tennessee . As of the
2020 United States census , Knoxville’s population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the
East Tennessee Grand Division and the state’s third largest city after
Nashville and
Memphis . Knoxville is the principal city of the
Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area , which had an estimated population of 869,046 in 2019. Knoxville is the home of the flagship campus of the
University of Tennessee , whose sports teams, the
Tennessee Volunteers , are popular in the surrounding area. Knoxville is also home to the headquarters of the
Tennessee Valley Authority , the
Tennessee Supreme Court ‘s courthouse for
East Tennessee , and the corporate headquarters of several national and regional companies. As one of the largest cities in the
Appalachian region, Knoxville has positioned itself in recent years as a repository of
Appalachian culture and is one of the gateways to the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park .
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16 May 2022 | Author/Destination: Asia / Asien | Rubric: General
Reading Time: 8 minutes
Park on the river © Cherubby/cc-by-sa-3.0
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Yiwu is a
county-level city under the jurisdiction of
Jinhua in Central
Zhejiang Province ,
East China . As of the 2020 census, the city had 1,859,390 inhabitants and its built-up (or metro) area, joined with that of the neighboring
Dongyang , was home to 2,947,340 inhabitants. The city is famous for its
light industry commodity trade and vibrant market and as a regional tourist destination.
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15 May 2022 | Author/Destination: Levant / Levante | Rubric: General , Union for the Mediterranean
Reading Time: 12 minutes
Al Nakba graffiti in Nazareth © PRA/cc-by-sa-4.0
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The Nakba (
lit. : “disaster”, “catastrophe”, or “cataclysm”), also known as the Palestinian Catastrophe, was the destruction of Palestinian society and homeland in 1948, and the permanent displacement of a majority of the
Palestinian Arabs . The term is also used to describe the ongoing persecution, displacement, and occupation of the Palestinians, both in the
occupied West Bank and the
Gaza Strip , as well as in
Palestinian refugee camps throughout the region. The foundational events of the Nakba took place during and shortly after the
1947–1949 Palestine war , including 78% of
Mandatory Palestine being
declared as Israel , the
exodus of 700,000 Palestinians , the related
depopulation and destruction of over 500 Palestinian villages and subsequent
geographical erasure , the denial of the
Palestinian right of return , the creation of permanent
Palestinian refugees and the “shattering of Palestinian society”. The most important long-term implications of the Nakba for the Palestinian people were the loss of their homeland, the fragmentation and marginalization of their national community, and their transformation into a
stateless people .
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13 May 2022 | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union | Rubric: Architecture , Berlin , General
Reading Time: 12 minutes
© Bärwinkel,Klaus/cc-by-3.0
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St. Nicholas Church (
German : St. Nikolaikirche) in Potsdam is a
Lutheran church under the
Evangelical Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia of the
Evangelical Church in Germany on the
Old Market Square (
Alter Markt ) in
Potsdam . The central plan building in the
Classicist style and dedicated to
Saint Nicholas was built to plans by
Karl Friedrich Schinkel in the years 1830 to 1837.
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11 May 2022 | Author/Destination: North America / Nordamerika | Rubric: General , Miami / South Florida
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Boardwalk © Tamanoeconomico/cc-by-sa-4.0
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Hollywood is a
city in southern
Broward County ,
Florida , United States, located between
Fort Lauderdale and
Miami . As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now the 12th-largest city in Florida. Hollywood is a principal city of the
Miami metropolitan area , which was home to an estimated 6,012,331 people at the 2015 census. The average temperature is between 68 and 83 °F (20 and 28 °C). Hollywood is a relatively small city that retains an old laid-back Florida feel to it compared to the larger cities in the area.
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9 May 2022 | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union | Rubric: General
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Batsi © flickr.com – linmtheu/cc-by-2.0
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Andros is the northernmost
island of the
Greek Cyclades archipelago , about 10 km (6 mi) southeast of
Euboea , and about 3 km (2 mi) north of
Tinos . It is nearly 40 km (25 mi) long, and its greatest breadth is 16 km (10 mi). It is for the most part
mountainous , with many fruitful and well-watered
valleys . The municipality, which includes the island Andros and several small, uninhabited islands, has an area of 380 km² (146.719 sq mi). The largest towns are
Andros (town) , Gavrio, Batsi, and Ormos Korthiou.
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