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Isfahan (Es·fa·han (ĕs'fə-hän') or Is·fa·han is a city in central Iran. Located south of Tehran, it is considered by the locals to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. An ancient town and capital of Persia from 1598 to 1722, it was long noted for its fine carpets and silver filigree. Today textile and steel mills take over their place. Its architecture, tree-lined boulevards and relaxed pace make it one of the highlights of Iran's cities. The capital of Isfahan Province, and once the country's capital, the Persians call it Nesf-e-Jahan, meaning Half The World. The city is 430 km south of Tehran at the foothills of the Zagros mountain range. The city enjoys a temperate climate and regular seasons. Isfahan is located on the main north-south and east-west routes crossing Iran. It is similar to Denver, Colorado in terms of altitude and precipitation.

Heraklion (Greek Ηράκλειο, also transliterated as Heraklio, Iraklion or Irakleio) [1] is the major city and capital of the largest Greek island of Crete. Its Archaeological Museum holds the remains of the 3000-year old Minoan civilization, which grew aroud the nearby legendary palace of Knossos (of Minotaur fame), as well as Byzantine churches and a well-preserved Venetian wall and fortress from the 15th century. Heraklion (or Herakleion, Iraklio, Irakleion) is the capital of Crete and an industrialised city of around 155,000 residents. The modern city has been disfigured by a lack of any comprehensive planning or any serious commitment to preservation, which has resulted in a traffic-choked urban horror overlaying historical remains of potentially immense interest, but the knowledgeable visitor will still be able to trace the past under the ugly urban sprawl of the present. However, in recent years, things have began to change and efforts are being made to bring out the beauty of the city's rich cultural history. The core of the city is still enclosed and defined by the Venetian wall, which includes seven outjutting bastions. In the southernmost of these, the Martinengo Bastion, is the grave of Nikos Kazantzakis, standing on a windswept hilltop with its moving inscription, I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.

Crete (Greek: Kriti, occasionally spelled Krete in English) is the largest of the Greek islands and is in the Mediterranean Sea between the Sea of Crete and the Libyan Sea, south of the Peloponnese. Crete is approximately 260 km long and 60 km wide. Crete consists of four prefectures: Chania, Rethimno, Heraklion and Lasithi. If there was a beauty contest for Greek islands, Crete would surely be among the favorites. Indeed, some say there is no place on earth like Crete. This view is strongly supported by those fortunate enough to have visited the island. Crete, with a population of approximately 650,000, is not just sun, sea and sand; it is a quite distinct place full of vitality, warmth, hospitality, culture and of course an excellent infrastructure.

Bangkok (Thai: Krung Thep) is the capital of Thailand and by far its largest city with an estimated population of over 11 million. Bangkok is one of Asia’s most cosmopolitan cities. Created as the Thai capital in 1782 by the first monarch of the present Chakri dynasty, Bangkok is a national treasure house and Thailand’s spiritual, cultural, political, commercial, educational and diplomatic centre. Just under 14 degrees north of the Equator, Bangkok is a tropical metropolis that is also one of the most traveller-friendly cities in Asia. A furious assault on the senses, visitors are immediately confronted by the heat, the pollution and the irrepressible smile that accompanies many Thais. Despite the sensationalized international news reports and first impressions, the city is surprisingly safe (except from some petty crimes) and more organized than it initially appears, and full of hidden gems waiting to be discovered. The high relative humidity and warm temperature favor the growth of tropical plants — you'll find exotic orchids and delicious fruit everywhere. Bougainvillea and frangipani bloom practically everywhere. Thai cuisine is justifiably famous, varied, and affordable. Bangkok for many, represents the quintessential Asian capital. Saffron-robed monks, garish neon signs, graceful Thai architecture, spicy dishes, colourful markets, traffic jams, and the tropical climate come together in a happy coincidence. It is difficult to leave with lukewarm impressions of the city.

Addresses in Bangkok use the Thai addressing system, which may be a little confusing to the uninitiated. Large roads such as Silom or Sukhumvit are thanon, often abbreviated Th or glossed Road/Avenue, while the side streets branching off from them are called soi. Sois are numbered, with even numbers on one side and odd ones on the other. Thus, an address like 25 Soi Sukhumvit 3 means house/building number 25 on the 3rd soi of Sukhumvit Road. While the soi numbers on each side will always advance upward, the numbers often do not advance evenly between sides - for example, Soi 55 could be across from soi 36. Many well-known sois have an additional name, which can be used instead of the number. Soi 3 is also known as Soi Nana, so the address above might thus also be expressed as 25 Soi Nana. The extension /x is used for new streets created between existing streets, as seen in Sukhumvit's soi pattern 7, 7/1, 7/2, 9, 11. Note that some short alleys are called trok (ตรอก) instead of soi. To make things a little more complex, some large sois like Soi Ekamai (Sukhumvit Soi 63) and Soi Ari (Phahonyothin Soi 7) have their own sois. In these cases an address like Soi Ari 3 means the 3rd soi off Soi Ari, and you may even spot addresses like 68/2 Soi Ekamai 4, Sukhumvit 63 Road, meaning 2nd house beside house 68, 4th soi off Ekamai, the 63rd soi of Sukhumvit. In many sois the house numbers are not simply increasing, but may spread around. To further bewilder the tourist who doesn't read Thai, the renderings of Thai street names in the Latin alphabet are not consistent. The road running towards the (former) airport from the Victory Monument may be spelled Phahon Yothin or Pahon Yothin or Phahonyothin or Phaholyothin depending on which street sign or map you consult. It's all the same in Thai, of course, only the romanisation varies. And if that's not confusing enough, most of the larger streets tend to change names altogether every few kilometers. Sukhumvit is called Sukh

Phuket (ภูเก็ต) [1], pronounced (roughly) poo-get, is Thailand's largest island. It is 48 km in length, 21 km at its widest, and is in Southern Thailand, on the west-facing Andaman Sea coastline, suspended from the southern tip of Phang Nga Province by a pair of short but substantial road bridges. Only a few of Phuket's cities are not on the beach. Phuket Town - The administrative center of the province, and the island's main population center. Has the cheapest accommodation, but no beaches. Chalong Bay - On the east coast, home to Phuket's most popular yacht anchorage and the primary gateway to the islands off Phuket.

Dallas,the third largest city in Texas and the center of the state's largest metropolitan area, is in the north central portion of the state. This populous city is home to the Dallas Cowboys and you'll regularly be reminded of the city's mass enthusiasm for the team. A shopper's paradise, Dallas has more shopping centers per capita than any other city in the US. Many non-natives often have a hard time sizing up Dallas, and indeed, the entire Metroplex. Dallas does not fit many of the typical Texan stereotypes (Western, laid-back, casual), but it also doesn’t often live up to some of the more notorious stereotypes of its own (pretentious, unfriendly, sterile). The truth is, like in many things, somewhere in between. Dallas is a wonderful place with a great deal to offer and an immense and diverse set of attractions, food and people. From the ultra-modern and posh Uptown and Victory developments, to the old-world elegance and upper-crust attitude of Turtle Creek, to the “real life” feel of largely-suburban North Dallas, it is virtually impossible to neatly categorize Dallas beyond this: it is one of the largest cities in America, and a metro area where more and more people are choosing to work and live every year. With that in mind, you should enjoy visiting Dallas for all the same reasons why others choose to live there.

Bremen is a city in northern Germany, population 500,000+. Bremen was once a member of the medieval Hanseatic League and is still one of the most important cities in northern Germany. Together with the city of Bremerhaven on the North Sea it forms Germany's smallest state. Bremen has a more than 1200 years of history, and was most of the time an independent city state.

Jerusalem is a holy city to three religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), whilst being the modern capital of the State of Israel and the country`s largest city. The City of Gold, as it has come to be known in Hebrew, is a fascinatingly unique place where the first century rubs shoulders with the twenty-first century, each jostling for legitimacy and space, and where picturesque old neighborhoods nestle against glistening office towers and high-rise apartments. It is one of those places which has to be seen to be believed. In addition to many secular Israelis and foreigners, Jerusalem is considered home by large numbers of adherents to three of the four Middle Eastern monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Adherents of these faiths have tended historically to congregate in various neighborhoods of the city, with considerable overlap.

For 28 years, a nearly insurmountable barrier kept people from fleeing East Germany. But then, the dramatic night of November 9, 1989, saw the fall of the Wall that divided Germany. Today, it is difficult to imagine what was bitter reality just a few decades ago. For the first time, a realistic computer animation reveals the vast security system of Germany's inner border and the Berlin Wall, both of which were recreated virtually in the greatest detail. The animation is part of the DVD Walled in! What the Cold War frontier in divided Germany was really like which can be purchased at DW's online store http://store.dw-world.de.

Berlin is a relatively young city by European standards, dating to the thirteenth century, and it has always had a reputation as a place filled with people from elsewhere. Someone who has lived in Berlin for ten years will see themselves as a true Berliner, looking down on the person who has only been there for five. It may seem tough to find someone born and raised here! This is part of Berlin's charm: it never gets stuck in a rut. A certain uneasy detente still exists between some former residents of East and West Berlin (and Germany). Wessi evolved as a derogatory nickname for a West German; its corollary is Ossi. The implication here is that after reunification, the West Germans automatically assumed the way they do things is the right way, and the way the Easterners should start doing it, too. Westerners got a reputation for being arrogant. They saw the Easterners as stubborn Communist holdouts only interested in a handout from the rich West. Consider a shirt for sale in a shop inside the Alexanderplatz Deutsche Bahn station: Gott, schütze mich vor Sturm und Wind/und Wessies die im Osten sind (God, protect me from the storm and wind, and Wessies who are in the East). Another such stereotype is reflected by the short poem: Der Ossi ist schlau und stellt sich dumm, beim Wessi ist es andersrum (The Ossi is sly and pretends to be simple-minded, and with the Wessi, it relates the other way around). However, most of the younger generation do not share such biases.

Tour of Berlin, Germany. What a wonderful city.

Berlin is full of history. It's architecture is realy wonderful.

Overflying Berlin and landing at Berlin Tegel Airport.

The foundation of Berlin was very multicultural. The surrounding area was populated by Germanic Swabian and Burgundian tribes, as well as Slavic Wends in pre-Christian times, and the Wends have stuck around. Their modern descendants are the Sorbian Slavic-language minority who live in villages southeast of Berlin near the Spree River. In the beginning of the 13th century, two towns (Berlin and Cölln) developed on each side of the river Spree (today the Nikolaiviertel and the quarter next to it beyond the river). As the population grew, the towns merged and Berlin became a center for commerce and agriculture. This area stayed small (about 10,000 inhabitants) up to the late 17th century, because of the 30 years' war in the beginning of the 17th century, which led to death of about half of the population. Since the the late 17th century, when large numbers of French Huguenots fled religious persecution, Berlin has welcomed religious, economic and other asylum seekers. 1701 Berlin became the capital of Prussia and in 1710 Berlin and surrounding former autonomous cities were merged to a bigger Berlin. In 1871 Berlin became the capital of the new founded German Reich and a few years later, it became a city with more than one million inhabitants because of the immensely growing industry. Shortly after the first World War, in 1920, the last of the annexations of surrounding cities of Berlin led to the foundation of the Berlin as we know it now. After the coming into power of the National Socialists, Berlin became the capital of the so called Third Reich and the domicile and office of Hitler (though the triumph of Hitler and his companions started in the south of Germany). WW II led to destruction of most of central Berlin, thus many of the buildings which we see nowadays are reconstructed or planned and built after the war, which led to a very fragmented cityscape in most parts of the inner town. Berlin was divided into four sectors (West Berlin into the French, American a

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states (Länder) of the Federal Republic of Germany. Berlin is the largest city in Germany and has a population of 4.5 million within its metropolitan area and 3.4 million from 190 countries within the city limits. Berlin is best known for its historical associations as the German capital, for its internationality and tolerance, for its lively nightlife, for its many cafes, clubs, and bars, for its street art, and for its numerous museums, palaces, and other sites of historic interest. Berlin's architecture is quite varied. Although badly damaged in the final years of World War II and broken apart during the Cold War, Berlin has reconstructed itself greatly, especially with the reunification push after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It is now possible to see representatives of many different historic periods in a short time within the city center, from a few surviving medieval buildings near Alexanderplatz, to the ultramodern glass and steel structures in Potsdamer Platz. Because of its tumultuous history, Berlin remains a city with many distinctive neighborhoods.

P'yŏngyang' (Pyeongyang), with about 2,750,000 inhabitants, is the capital city of North Korea. It is situated on the Taedong River in the northwest of the country. Nearly all visitors arrive either by plane or train. Sunan International Airport (IATA: FNJ) is 24 km north of Pyongyang and, as of 2009, has scheduled services only to Beijing. There is a (supposedly) weekly flight to Vladivostok, but in fact it's hardly more than a glorified charter, as it goes only if there's enough passengers to fill the elderly Tu-134. The Air China Beijing flights depart/arrive on Monday and Friday afternoons, with an additional service on Wednesday afternoons in summer (from April 1st). Note that Pyongyang airport does not have ILS, so if the weather is bad, flights are sometimes cancelled, or even turned back. If you are in a position to be able to, the tickets to Bejing are almost half price from Pyongyang. They are on sale in the Youth Hotel, in the Air China office, which is situated about 10km north-east of the city. Furthermore, they give a 30kg baggage allowance for free. Trains from China arrive at Pyongyang's main central train station. Foreigners have to exit via the side door at the far end of the station from the gates. Don't join the scrum with the Koreans, as you won't be allowed to leave via the same door. If you have transported anything via freight on the train, you'll have to go back the next day to pick it up. The customs office is around the back of the building, and is shut from 12 to 2PM. At other times, it's not very busy. At all. There are no charges for collecting customs-cleared goods, and the bureaucracy is fairly simple, especially after the chaos at Beijing railway station.

Visitors to North Korea will need to be accompanied by an accredited guide or guides, who will arrange where you can visit. This is true of package tourists (the only way tourists can get in). However, personal visitors of foreign residents in Pyongyang are free to go around by themselves, unless explicitly told not to by Korean authorities. This can happen, but is not always the case. Residents are usually free to wander around. However, they cannot use buses. The subway system CAN be used, despite rumours to the contrary. There are two routes, and all the stations are open to foreigners. Despite being old, the trains run quite efficiently, and are phenomenally cheap (5 won a ride, any distance- there are roughly 5000 won to a euro on the black market). The biggest drawback to this form of transport is that the subway is only on the west side of the river, while Munsu dong, where all foreign residents live, is on the east side. Taxis can be taken, but Koreans usually are very nervous about accepting foreigners. One exception might be the Koryo hotel, situated near the railway station. Expect the driver to check with the hotel that he is allowed to take you first. Around €5 will cover a medium distance one way ride.

Seoul is the capital of South Korea. With a population of over 10.5 million, Seoul is by far South Korea's largest city and one of East Asia's financial and cultural epicenters. With over 10 million people, a figure that doubles if you include neighboring cities and suburbs, Seoul is the largest city in South Korea and the unquestioned economic, political and cultural hub of the country. By some measures, it is the second largest urban agglomeration on the planet, after Greater Tokyo. Founded in the 14th century, Seoul was the capital of Korea before its occupation by the Japanese and subsequent division following World War II. Since 1948, Seoul has been the capital of South Korea. Occupied twice during the Korean War by Communist forces, the city was extensively rebuilt and today is one of Asia's modern metropolises. Seoul suffers from a partly unwarranted reputation for pollution and traffic jams. These days, strict emissions laws have brought the pollution under control and, while traffic jams do still snarl up Seoul's streets at rush hour, the extensive subway network means that the traveler can easily shortcut through it almost all of the time. With beautiful palaces, great food and a hopping nightlife, Seoul is a frenetic way to experience the Asia of old and new.

Mazar-e Sharif officially called Mazari Sharif and also Mazar-i-Sharif, Mazar-e Sharif, Mazar-e-Sharif, even Mazar Sharif or just Mazar is a city in Afghanistan and the capital of Balkh Province. It has a population of nearly 200,000 people. With a population of more than 300,000, Mazar-e Sharif is the 4th largest city in Afghanistan. It was founded in the 12th century after a local mullah dreamt of the secret site where Ali bin Talib, the Prophet's cousin and the fourth caliph of Islam, had been buried (outside of Afghanistan most Muslims believe that Ali is buried in Najaf, Iraq). A shrine, which was later rebuilt as the Blue Mosque, was constructed on the site and the town of Mazar grew around it. The town, however, continued to live in the shadow of its larger neighbor, Balkh, until that city was abandoned due to disease in the mid 19th century. As a result, Mazar assumed the role of capital of the region - a position it has maintained ever since.