Shabbat Square © Djampa/cc-by-sa-4.0

Theme Week Vienna - A city with a high quality of life

[caption id="attachment_150989" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Donau UNOcity © Omnidoom 999[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Vienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million (2.3 million within the metropolitan area, more than 25% of Austria's population), and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by population in the European Union. Vien...

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Theme Week United Arab Emirates - Emirate of Fujairah

[caption id="attachment_168476" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Al Bithnah Fort © Mike "fasmike" Che/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Fujairah is one of the seven emirates, and the only one of the seven that has a coastline solely on the Gulf of Oman and none on the Persian Gulf. The emirate of Fujairah covers approximately 1,166 km2, or about 1.5% of the area of the UAE, and is the fifth-largest emirate in the UAE. Its population is around 153,000 inhabitants; only the Emirate of Umm al-Quwain has fewer occupants. Fujai...

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The port city of Livorno

[caption id="attachment_160610" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Teatro Goldoni © Lucarelli[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Livorno is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009. The Venice district retains much of its original town planning and architectural features such as the bridges, narrow lanes, the noblemen's houses and a dense network of canals which once linked the port to its storehouse...

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Theme Week Oman - Salalah

[caption id="attachment_161721" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Downtown Salalah © StellarD/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Salalah, is the capital and seat of the wali (governor) of the southern Omani province of Dhofar. Its population is at around 200,000. Salalah is the second largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city in the Dhofar Province. Salalah is the birthplace of the Sultan, Qaboos bin Said al Said. Salalah attracts lots of people from other parts of Oman and GCC during the Khareef se...

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Theme Week China - Nanjing

[caption id="attachment_201019" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Qinhuai River and Fuzimiao with Kuiguang Pavilion and Great Spirit Screen © flickr.com - SQFP/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Nanjing, formerly romanized as Nanking and Nankin, is the capital of Jiangsu province and the second largest city in the East China region, with an administrative area of 6,600 km² (2,500 sq mi) and a total population of 8,270,500 as of 2016. The inner area of Nanjing enclosed by the city wall is Nanjing City, with an area of 55 km² (...

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Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" at the St. Martin’s Theatre

[caption id="attachment_163583" align="aligncenter" width="590"] St Martin's Theatre © flickr.com - Lisa/cc-by-sa-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in the West End of London in 1952, and has been running continuously since then. It has by far the longest initial run of any play in history, with its 25,000th performance taking place on 18 November 2012. The play is known for its twist ending, which the audience are traditionally asked not to reveal after...

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The Galápagos Islands

[caption id="attachment_153689" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Tourists at the Mann Beach with sealions © Iris Diensthuber[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Galápago Islands (official name: Archipiélago de Colón; other Spanish names: Islas de Colón or Islas Galápagos) are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, 972 km (525 nmi) west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part. The principal language on the islands is Spanish. The islands have a population of slightly over ...

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The Cloisters in Upper Manhattan

[caption id="attachment_165651" align="aligncenter" width="590"] The Cloisters © flickr.com - Brian Clift/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Cloisters is a museum in Upper Manhattan, New York City specializing in European medieval architecture, sculpture and decorative arts. Its early collection was built by the American sculptor, art dealer and collector George Grey Barnard, and acquired by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in 1925. Rockefeller extended the collection and in 1931 purchased land at Washington Heights and contracted...

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The seaside town of Weymouth

[caption id="attachment_161122" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Dorset Seafood Festival seen from Town Bridge © Edward Betts[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, England, situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey on the English Channel coast. The town is 13 kilometres (8 mi) south of Dorchester and 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of the Isle of Portland. The town's population is 53,000. The A354 road bridge connects Weymouth to Portland, which together form the borough of Weymouth a...

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Verdun in northeastern France

[caption id="attachment_153798" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Mondial center for peace, liberty and human rights © Fryderyk/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Verdun is a small city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc. Verdun was the site of a major battle of the First World War. One of the costliest battles of the war, Verdun exe...

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