UK
Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two Wor ......more... | Portugal
Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades, repressive gov ......more... |
Belfast
Unless you approach Belfast from the sea you cannot help but come upon the city suddenly because of its fine setting: a 'Hibernian Rio' as one writer has called it, ringed by high hills, sea lough and river valley.
A village in the 17th century, this robust northern metropolis of nearly half a million people - a third of Northern Ireland's popu ... ...more... | Faro
TFaro is the capital of the district, with a medieval wall and a large number of monuments: Cathedral (Roman-Gothic origin), Nossa Senhora da Assuncão Convent (Renaissance), São Francisco Church (16-18th centuries) and many more.
Situated on the extreme South of Portugal, this part of the territory was the last to be conquered from the Moors b ... ...more... |
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