Nicosia, Cyprus

Nicosia, Cyprus
https://goo.gl/maps/G5uxevTqfTU2

.
Nicosia is the capital of the Republic of Cyprus is also its cultural heartbeat. Overlooked by most visitors, reduced to a day-tour jaunt from beach resorts, Nicosia (or Lefkosia, as it’s officially known) is a curious and fascinating mix of vibrant street life, confronting division and rich history.
.
Nearly everything of interest lies within the snowflake-shaped Venetian walls. Inside the Old City, the lively, contemporary cafe and bar scene punches well above its weight for a city so small, while a bundle of museums and a series of looping lanes lined with colonial-era buildings, churches and mosques reveal an evocative history. Meanwhile, if you brush up against the sandbag and oil-barrel barriers of the Green Line (the UN Buffer Zone) you’ll get a sense of the surreal and sad present-day state of limbo for the world’s last divided capital.
.
#earthimages #earthimage #upintheair #abovetheclouds #satelliteimage #satelliteimages #EarthOverhead #overview #overvieweffect #nicosia #cyprus #unitednations ##history #venetianwalls #Lefkosia #greenline

Also in Around the Globe

Monopoli, Italy

Sitting on Puglia's Adriatic coast around 30km south of Bari, Monopoli is a lovely town for a day trip, possibly in combination with Polignano a Mare just up the coast, mixing a dip in the sea with a good lunch and a wander around the old town centre.

Like so many towns on the Adriatic, Monopoli's history has been thoroughly influenced by its east-facing position and its fortified sea-front walls and castle tell many a story.

Parking in or around Piazza XX Settembre, location of a colourful street market, head east towards the cathedral. To find it just look upwards and you are sure to see its elegantly conceived bell tower thrusting into the sky. Built in 1693, the tower is over 60 metres high, completely dominating the town below.

Tunis, Tunisia

In Tunisia's capital, the term 'living history' really does apply. Here, waves of colonisation have endowed the city's fabric and culture with an intoxicatingly rich and complex flavour that becomes apparent wherever you explore.

Take the magnificent medieval medina, sidelined by the French after colonisation but coming into its own in the 21st century, as boutique hotels open and arty cafes lure locals back to the neighbourhoods their grandparents grew up in. And consider the historic settlement of Carthage, once colonised by Phoenicians and Romans but now the province of upwardly mobile locals, whose sophisticated lives play out among the ruins.

Ed Dueim, Sudan

Ed Dueim is on the west bank of the White Nile, between Khartoum and Kosti. It is home to the University of Bakht, which lies to the north of the town. The university has played an important role in promoting education throughout Sudan. It is known for its two-year course called Al Sanatain, which prepared teachers to teach school, attracting students from all regions of Sudan and neighbouring countries.