Did You Know? Lisbon’s name comes from Olissipo, which is based on Phoenician words for enchanting port. Lisbon is north of San Francisco The melancholy music called fado originated 200 years ago in Lisbon’s brothels and taverns. Lisbon is said to be built on seven hills. The Vasco de Gama
Did You Know? John F. Kennedy’s Fitzgerald forbears came from Bruff in County Limerick. Eamon de Valera, prime minister and then president of Ireland, was reared in Limerick but born in the U.S. St. John’s Cathedral, at 280 feet, has the tallest spire in Ireland. Frank McCourt’s autobiographical “Angela’s Ashes”
Did You Know ... ? Lima's Acho bullring is the oldest in the Americas (1760s). An economic boom in the mid-19th century was fueled by guano (bird droppings). The catacombs at the San Francisco Monastery are thought to hold up to 75,000 bodies. Close to a third of Peru's population
Did You Know? Nintendo is headquartered in Kyoto. Kyoto was on the first list of targets for America’s atomic bombs in 1945. Japan boasts more than 100 types of native cherry blossoms. Nijo Castle’s security system relied on floorboards that were built to squeak under foot. Kyoto and Tokyo are
Did You Know? The 1993 epic, "Schindler’s List," was filmed on location in Krakow's Kazimierz district. Pope John Paul II was born near Krakow, in Wadowice (1920). The Nazis wired Krakow for destruction; the resistance cut the wires. Jagiellonian University houses Copernicus' instruments. Krakow boasts Europe’s largest market square (9.88
Did You Know? Spanish Town is the oldest continuously occupied city in the Western Hemisphere, from about 500 A.D. Kingston is the largest English-speaking city in the Americas south of Florida. The city’s Hope Gardens, at 2,000 acres, is the largest botanical garden in the Caribbean. Port Royal, once a
Did You Know ... ? The city’s St. Francis Abbey Brewery produces 700 kegs of cider, beer and ale per hour. Princess Diana descended from the Butlers who owned Kilkenny Castle for centuries. The city’s streets were once paved with the distinctive black Kilkenny marble. “Gulliver’s Travels” author Jonathan Swift
Did You Know? The world's largest diamond (3,106 carats) was found outside of Pretoria (1905). Johannesburg has produced about 40% of the world's gold. Pretoria’s founders considered several names for the city, including Pretoriusdorp, Pretorium and Pretoriusstad. The world’s first jet service operated between London and Johannesburg (British Airways/1952). George
Did You Know….? In their very earliest days, Moslems faced Jerusalem to pray. The Temple Mount encompasses 35 acres, about 16% of the Old City. The city is surrounded on three sides — north, east, south — by the West Bank. The Old City walls, extending two and a half
Did You Know …? Istanbul is the only city in the world that sits on two continents (Asia and Europe). The nearly 550-year-old Grand Bazaar has 80 streets, 4,000 shops and 22 entrances. Istanbul, when called Constantinople, was named for the Roman Emperor Constantine. The city’s Tunel is the world’s