including slum clearance and the development of gas and water works.
Birmingham was among the first English localities to have a municipal bank,
a comprehensive water-supply system, and development planning. The area of
the city was enlarged in 1891 and again in 1911 under the Greater
Birmingham scheme. Birmingham was severely damaged in World War II.
Subsequent rebuilding has resulted in modernization, especially of the city
center. Notable buildings include the town hall, built in 1834, modeled
after the temple of Castor and Pollux in Rome; the 18th-century baroque-
style Cathedral of St. Philip; and the 19th-century Cathedral of St. Chad,
the first Roman Catholic cathedral to be built in England after the
Reformation. Bull Ring, in the center of Birmingham, is the site of the
city's oldest market. The city library includes an excellent Shakespeare
collection. There is a museum and art gallery (noted for its pre-Raphaelite
collection) and a museum of science and industry. Annual music festivals
date from 1768. In the suburb of Edgbaston are the Univ. of Birmingham and
the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, a Roman Catholic shrine that was formerly
the parish house of John Henry Cardinal Newman. In the center of the city
is the Univ. of Aston.
3. Liverpool
Liverpool is the county district (1991 pop. 448,300), Merseyside, NW
England, on the Mersey River near its mouth. It is one of Britain's largest
cities. A large center for food processing (especially flour and sugar),
Liverpool has a variety of industries, including the manufacture of
electrical equipment, chemicals, and rubber. Its first wet dock was
completed by 1715; today, Liverpool's docks are more than 7 mi (11.3 km)
long. Once Britain's greatest port, Liverpool suffered extreme setbacks
with the advent of container ships, which it could not handle, and the
shift in Great Britain's trade focus from the United States to the European
Community. The city is connected by tunnel with Birkenhead across the
Mersey. Liverpool was once famous for its pottery, and its textile industry
was also prosperous; however, since World War II its cotton market has
declined considerably. In the mid-1980s, unemployment rose to 21% in the
metropolitan area, 28% in the city, and close to 60% among people under the
age of 27. In 1207, King John granted Liverpool its first charter. In 1644,
during the English Civil War, Liverpool surrendered to the royalists under
Prince Rupert after several sieges. Air raids during World War II caused
heavy damage and casualties. Liverpool Cathedral, designed by Sir George
Gilbert Scott, was begun in 1904 and completed in 1978. A Roman Catholic
cathedral was consecrated in 1967. St. George's Hall is an imposing
building in a group that includes libraries and art galleries. The Walker
Gallery has a fine collection of Italian and Flemish paintings, as well as
more modern works. The Univ. of Liverpool was incorporated in 1903. There
is a separate school of tropical medicine. The statesman William Gladstone,
the artist George Stubbs, and the members of the musical group the Beatles
were born in Liverpool.
4. Manchester
Its saw mills and paper mills date from before the Revolutionary War. The
city was also known for its production of grandfather clocks. Among its
more contemporary manufactures are automobile parts, soap, tools, and dairy
and paper products. Hartford's Bradley International Airport is located
nearby. 2 City (1990 pop. 99,567), Hillsboro co., S N.H., on both sides of
the Merrimack River; settled 1722, inc. as a city 1846. It is the largest
city in New Hampshire. Among its various manufactures are textiles, shoes,
and electrical and electronic products. The Amoskeag Falls on the Merrimack
provided power for the first textile mills. In 1838 textile interests
founded the city and established a huge textile-manufacturing company.
Until the depression of the 1930s and the moving of much of the textile
industry to the south, Manchester was heavily dependent on this industry.
The city is the seat of St. Anselm's College and the Currier Gallery of
Art. John Stark lived and is buried in Manchester. A state park and a
number of ski areas are in the vicinity.
II Sight of London
1. Westminster Palace or Houses of Parliament
Westminster Palace or Houses of Parliament is in Westminster, London. The
present enormous structure, of Neo-Gothic design, was built (1840–60) by
Sir Charles Barry to replace an aggregation of ancient buildings almost
completely destroyed by fire in 1834. The complex served as a royal abode
until the 16th cent., when it was adopted as the assembly place for the
House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Great Hall was built by
William II at the end of the 11th cent. The superbly constructed hammer-
beam roof spanning its width of 68 ft. (20.7 m), part of a subsequent
rebuilding of the hall by Richard II, was the finest extant example of
medieval open-timber work; it was burned by incendiary bombs in 1941.
Westminster Hall was the only portion of the palace to survive intact from
the fire of 1834 and now serves as the entrance of the building. In it the
House of Lords, sitting as the highest English court of law, met for
centuries. Among the numerous events of historic renown enacted there were
the deposition of Richard II, the sentencing of Charles I, and the trials
of Sir Thomas More and Warren Hastings. Damage inflicted during air raids
during World War II has since been completely repaired.
2. Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace is th e residence of British sovereigns from 1837,
Westminster metropolitan borough, London, England, adjacent to St. James's
Park. Built (1703) by the duke of Buckingham, it was purchased (1761) by
George III and was remodeled (1825) by John Nash; the eastern facade was
added in 1847. The great ballroom was added in 1856, and in 1913 Sir Aston
Webb designed a new front. The palace has nearly 600 rooms and contains a
collection of paintings, including many royal portraits, by noted artists.
3. Saint James's Palace
Saint James's Palace is in Westminster, London, England, on St. James's
Street and fronting on Pall Mall. Henry VIII built the palace and
established the park around it. It was the London royal residence after the
burning of Whitehall in 1697 until the time of Queen Victoria. Although the
palace is now seldom used except for certain ceremonials, the British court
is still designated as the Court of St. James.
4. National Gallery
London, one of the permanent national art collections of Great Britain. Its
building, in Greek style, stands in Trafalgar Square. It was designed and
erected (1832–38) by William Wilkins and was shared for 30 years with the
Royal Academy of Arts. In 1876 a new wing was added, designed by E. M.
Barry. The nucleus of the collection was formed in 1824 with 38 pictures
from J. J. Angerstein's collection. The gallery is rich in Italian
paintings of the 15th and 16th cent. and has fine collections of French,
Flemish, and Dutch masters. The National Portrait Gallery, whose collection
dates from 1858, has adjoined the National Gallery since 1896. Originally
controlled by the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery attained complete
independence in 1955 by an act of Parliament. An extension designed by
Robert Venturi was completed in the early 1990s.
5. Hyde Park
This is 615 acres (249 hectares) in Westminster borough, London, England.
Once the manor of Hyde, a part of the old Westminster Abbey property, it
became a deer park under Henry VIII. Races were held there in the 17th
cent. In 1730, Queen Caroline had the artificial lake, the Serpentine,
constructed. It curves diagonally through Hyde Park; in Kensington Gardens
the lake is called the Long Water. Distinctive features of the park are
Hyde Park Corner (near the Marble Arch), the meeting place of soapbox
orators, and Rotten Row, a famous bridle path.
III Kazakhstan
1. Astana - The new capital
Other names for Astana include Akmola, Aqmola, Tselinograd and Akmolinsk.
This city was originally founded as a fortress in 1824 and named Akmolinsk.
It was renamed Tselinograd (Russian for Virgin City) during the rule of
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. The main reason for this name change was
to promote more permanent agriculture in Northern Kazakstan during the
Virgin Lands Program. The cities name was again changed in 1991 to Aqmola,
when Kazakstan gained it's freedom. Because the name Aqmola sounded too
much like "White Grave", Nazerbayev changed the name to Astana (literally
"Capital") in 1998. Astana has been an important rail junction in Northern
Kazakstan. It is located along the Ishim River and they produce
agricultural machinery, chemicals and has meat-packing plants. Due to it's
location in Northern Kazakstan, there is speculation, that has been
officially denied, that the reason for the move of the capital to the north
is to exert a more Kazak influence on the more russified Northern
Kazakstan.
2. Almaty - The ”City of apples”
The “City of Apples,” Kazakhstan’s capital of Almaty -- a.k.a. Alma-Ata,
from 1922-1991 -- is a thoroughly Russian city, from its foundation back in
1854, as an imperial frontier outpost, to its decidedly orderly Soviet-
style architecture and street plan.
Situated near the Kyrgyzstan border at the foot of the Tian Shan ("the
mountains of heaven"), a magnificent range connected with the Himalayas,
Almaty is a popular destination for skiers, climbers and other mountain
sports enthusiasts.
Almaty is also renowned for its orchards, and it is indeed a city of trees,
with wide boulevards lined with leafy guardians. It’s a big city, sprawling
out over some 12.5 miles. Populated by about 1.5 million residents
(Kazakhstan’s total population is around 16 million), most of whom speak
Russian, Almaty’s growth has been exponential in this century, especially
after the Turk-Sib Railway was completed in 1930. That event catapulted the
population from 46,000 in 1926 to more than 220,000 in 1939.
Unlike many cities in Central Asia, Almaty itself does not have a long
history. It has the look of a new city, at least in part thanks to a pair
of earthquakes which twice leveled it -- first in 1887 and again in 1911,
leaving little standing. The city was originally known as Verny, though its
name was changed to Alma-Ata in 1921, then shortened to Almaty after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union.
But the city’s site has a smoother history -- an early Silk Road oasis,
Almatu, destroyed by the Mongols, once stood in the area where Almaty was
founded. Today’s Almaty reflects some of its trading roots. As a modern
city seen as a crossroads between East and West, it bustles with trading
consortiums and businesses seeking to bridge the continental gap. The city
also boasts several important museums, including the State Museum of the
Arts, which showcases Kazak artworks, and the Museum of Kazak Musical
Instruments, featuring harmoniously exhibited displays of traditional music-
makers such as bagpipes, the three-stringed "kobiz," and wooden harps.
3. Semy - Nuclear zone
Another name for Semy has been Semipalatinsk. Semey was originally
established as a fortress in 1718 in a location close by it's current
location. In 1778 it was moved to it's current location along the Irtysh
River. Semey is perhaps best known for the nuclear testing that was done
nearby. This was the major nuclear testing sight for the Soviet Union. Much
of the testing was done above ground, causing the spread of radiation
throughout the area. Reservoirs were even made using a nuclear explosion to
provide water for the residents. Over 470 nuclear bombs were exploded here
between 1949 and 1989. Semey is only 93 miles (150 km) from where most of
the testing occurred. Because of the lack of environmental concerns, many
of the citizens of Semey suffer some form of radiation poisoning.
4. Baykonur - Space center
Other ways Baykonur is known is Baikonur, Leninsk, or Tyuratam. Baykonur
has long been known as a place upon where the Soviets' heroes left this
earth and became the first in space. It is from this launching point in
central Kazakstan that Sputnik was launched in October 4, 1957. It is also
from here that the first person to orbit the earth, Yuri Gagarin, started
the "Space Race" with the United States.Baykonur has been the foundation of
the Soviet space program. While there were two other launching pads,
Plesetsk (Northern Russia) and Kasputin (Central Russia) , this was the
primary launching point for manned missions. Currently, Russia has agreed
to lease Baykonur from the independent country of Kazakstan for 20 years at
$115 million in annual rent.
5. Atyrai - Caviar capital
Other names for Atyrai include Atyraь and Guryev. This city was founded as
a Russian military base on the east bank of the Ural River in 1645. It has
grown to expand on both sides of the river, leaving half of the city in
Europe and the other half in Russia. Today, it is known for its oil
refineries (from the rich oil deposits in the Caspian Sea) and for
providing much of the caviar for the former Soviet Union.
6. Aqtau - Jewel of the Caspian Sea
Another name for Aqtau was Shevkenko. Aqtau did not begin it's existence
until 1963. I was originally built as a "Soviet Model" of how cities should
be built. It has wide, straight streets and sandy beaches. It was called
Shevkenko for awhile because of a poet who was exiled there as a political
prisoner. Aqtau means "white mountain" in Kazak, so named after the vast,
flat steppes surrounding the city! It has become somewhat of a tourist
location because of it's location along the Caspian Sea. Just don't plan on
taking a bath while you are there as the water comes out of the tap brown.
Currently, there is very little industry still in Aqtau. The main industry
is oil. A few foreign oil companies have established offices in Aqtau as
they extract oil from the steppe of Mangistau Oblast. It is far from any
other cities with few ways to travel to them. Most of the cities supplies
are freighted in by air.
7. Kyzl Orda - The heart of Kazakhstan
Other names for Kyzl Orda include Qyzylorda, Ak-Mechet and Perovsk. Kyzl
Orda is a truly Kazakstan city. It was originally founded as the far
western fortress Ak-Mechet for the Kokand khanate (state). In 1853, Russian
forces took it over and renamed it Perovsk. From 1925 until 1929, Kyzl Orda
was the capital of the Kazak Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR).
Today, Kyzl Orda is the capital of the Kyzl Orda Oblast (or state). Located
along the Syrdariya River, it is a fertile rice growing area. Unlike many
of the other areas along the Syrdariya, they are unable to grow cotton
because of their northern latitude. The climate of Kyzl Orda has also under
gone a change since the Soviets took power. Talking to Kazaks who have
lived there for many years, they have noticed that the winters are colder
and the summers hotter. Much of this may be attributable to the shrinking
of the Aral Sea.
Of the cities in Kazakstan, Kyzl Orda is one of the most Kazak cities. Over
90% of the population speaks Kazak as the mother tongue and it is one of
the few large cities in Kazakstan that one can get around in using only
Kazak.
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