The Topkapi Palace is one of the most popular sights in Istanbul, Turkey. Built in 1453 on top of a hill, it offers a overlooking views of the Bosphorus, Golden Horn and Sea of Marmara. This palace was inhabited by sultans until the 19th century. Today it’s a world-class museum displaying accumulated treasures of the sultans.

You can be a part of the extravagant lifestyle of the rulers of one of the world’s greatest empires. Now galleries exhibit the imperial collection of crystal, silver, Chinese porcelain and a priceless collection of miniatures from medieval manuscripts. The visitors can enter the gardens and courtyards, and take a guided tour of the harem, the treasury and rooms with weapons collection.

 
 Open every day except Tuesday

The town is somewhat isolated, but easy accessible by ferry from Boston. Provincetown is may be one of the most liberal places on the face of the earth, hospitable to gays and lesbians. In later years the gay community turned this spot into the hottest gay vacation destination. Many people visit the town for its world-famous parties. The clubs close at 1am but it’s not the end of the night… The main waterfront street has a nonstop carnival atmosphere.

Provincetown also has quiet dunes where you can walk without another soul in sight and an untamed coastline with glorious beaches. During the whales’ migratory season, between April and October, whale watching tours are available.

The popular attraction is the Pilgrim Monument which stands on top of the cliffs offers panoramic views of the harbor and the Cape Cod National Seashore. Also there are Art Association and Museum, home to four galleries showcasing works by a variety of American artists.

Grandfather Mountain is a mountain near Linville, North, U.S.A.  It is the highest peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains and is a truly rustic and fun adventure, at 5,964 feet above sea level. At the top enjoy 360° panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. The view above is of an old man with a long beard lying down.
 

In 1952, Morton opened the mountain for hiking and added wildlife habitats and mile high swinging bridge to complete the attraction. In 2008, the State of North Carolina purchased the property from the late Hugh Morton’s family.
 

Seven animal habitats offer close-up views of native wildlife including bears, cougars, otters, and eagles in natural settings.

Grandfather supports 16 distinct habitat types in less than 5,000 acres, including Red Spruce-Fraser Fir Forests, heath balds, northern hardwood forests and high elevation rocky summits. If you visit Grandfather from mid-April through mid-July, you will be treated to many showy wildflowers.

The Grandfather Mountain Marathon: The Highland Games will begin in the afternoon of Thursday July 9 Events that day will include opening ceremonies, a piping concert, sheep herding exhibition, the running of “The Bear”. Prior to the torchlight ceremony, over 900 runners will participate in a 5-mile footrace. Tickets are $5 dollars each day for children ages 5-12 with children under five free

This is one of most pristine natural regions of the world. Eagle Island Camp is hidden from the world, deep within Okavango Delta, Botswana. The area offers a myriad waterways, vast flood plains and birdlife and mammal sightings. As one of the world’s premier bird-watching locations, Eagle Island Camp is the place of your nature experience. There are 11 luxury tents, and 1 private suite, all luxuriously appointed. Each of them has spacious wooden decks overlooking the lagoon. Furnished with easy chairs and a hammock, they’re offering great views over the surrounding floodplains. 

Attractions are geared towards exploring the area’s scenic and wildlife but the activities are dependent on the water levels. Between June and September when the water is high, Eagle Island Camp offers bird and game viewing by mokoro (dugout canoe), motorboats and walking trails. Activities include: Safari, Wildlife Game, Canoeing, Fishing, Photography, Cruise and dusk excursions in the 14-seater Sundowner cruiser, Swimming. The flying is avaible if you would like to watch the animals from the air, there is a inclusive helicopter safari.

Known also as the Niagara of the Caribbean, it’s undoubtedly the most popular tourist attraction in Jamaica. Located in Ocho Rios, Dunn’s River Falls is a dramatic 600-feet drop of cascading water it’s one of national treasures in the island. They attract thousands of visitors every year for ….. a climbing….

It’s a true! Dunn’s River Falls are truly breathtaking cascading waterfalls offers 600 feet of climbing to its guests. If you are physically able to “climb” the falls it is a must –it’s an incredible cascading falls challenge. The visitors carefully climb up limestone cascades, hand-in-hand like a human daisy chain, guided by competent staff. The professional guides are very knowledgeable and will ensure your comfort and safety at all times.

Water shoes are required and are available for rent if you do not bring your own. The fee: admission to Dunns River Falls is $10.00, shoe rental is $5.00. For more information – click here

Biltmore House is a spectacular style mansion near Asheville, North Carolina, built by George Washington Vanderbilt .1895.  Biltmore House is the largest privately owned home in the United States at 175,000 square feet.

This magnificent French Renaissance chateau contains 250 rooms complete with 65 fireplaces, 34 bedrooms, an indoor pool, a bowling alley and more.

A Banquet Hall with a 70-foot ceiling, 65 fireplaces, an indoor pool, bowling alley, and priceless antiques.

The Biltmore Winery produces award-winning wines, offers self-guided tours, a Tasting Room, a Wine Shop and a Wine Bar for your enjoyment.

The gardens have been exceptional. There are 2300 roses in the Rose Garden, over 1000 azaleas, and a special treat for gardeners–wonderful garden shops in and around the estate’s greenhouses.

We recommend a visit. There are also several wonderful restaurants.

It is “De Vrouwe van Stavoren Hotel” in the Netherlands. The hotel converted four of the giant old wine casks into four modest two-person rooms. This must be a great experience no matter if you love French wines or not. Once filled with 14,500 liters of Beaujolais wine from the French chateau today they’re transformed into rooms with standard facilities. All the hotel rooms are well-equipped, most with en-suite bathroom and shower, television, etc. The room will cost you from €74 to €119 a night.

Shinkansen is the first high-speed rail network, operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Built in 1964, it serves as the core of Japan’s rail transportation network. Since the initial Shinkansen ran at 210 km/h. Test run speeds have been 443 km/h in 1996 and up to a world record of 581 km/h in 2003. This network has carried over 6 billion passengers without a single major accident.

The Arrabida Bridge is an arch bridge over the River Douro, Portugal. Built in 1963, its engineer and constructor is Edgar Cardoso. The bridge is 70 m above the water and spans 252 m. It carries a roadway 25 m wide and 615m long, which is the major access to the Oporto city. The reinforced-concrete arch is 52m tall and the plate rises up to 70m above water level. Arrabida Bridge was for sometime the widest single span concrete bridge in the world. Today this construction is 9th longest concrete arch bridge in the world. And now, I am leaving you to enjoy with the amazing photos of this spectacular bridge….

Sala Silvermine is one of the most unusual hotels of the world. It is situated in the middle of Sweden, 120 km from Stockholm. 155m underground it is not so much a hotel because there’s only bedroom and the underground staff consists of one butler, who prepares the guest’s breakfast and dinner.

Sala Silvergruva is one of the best preserved mines in the world. Ones produced to more than 3 tons of silver a year, today is one developed and entertaining show mine in Sweden. There are a dozen different tours, completed above ground by a small mining museum dedicated to the history of the silver mine. Also there is a Conference Hall, which seats 60 people and is used for parties, conferences or weddings. It is furnished with pine furniture and decorated with lambskins and candle light. It is even possible to stay underground for the night.

It’s a really strange building located in Suwon, South Korea, only 40km of Seoul. It’s the “first appearance largest toilet sculptures” organized and owned by Sim Jae-duck, chairman of the World Association of toilet. Today, around 40% of the world’s population doesn’t get to use hygienic toilets and he used this symbol of disease to bring forth the reality of two million people.

This toilet-shaped house costs $1.6 million and spreads over 420 sq m. In the center of the house is a glass-walled bathroom which features a device producing mist to make sure users do not feel too exposed. The glass structure offers four deluxe toilets—one of which includes a misting device that helps users “feel more secure” and electronic motion sensors that lift and lower the lid when needed. Also you can rent the house for an absurd $50,000 a day.

Boyoma Falls also known as Stanley Falls consists of seven cataracts, each of them is 15m high. The falls extend for 100 km along of the Lualaba River, Congo. At the bottom of the falls, the Lualaba becomes the Congo River, which is the fifth-longest river in the world, and the second longest in Africa (4,375m). The total fall in the river’s elevation is about 61 m, and the seventh and largest cataract is 730 m wide. It has a total drop of 61 meters. It currently holds the record of water-flow, its average being 600,000 cubic feet a second. Its peak record is currently 1,834,000 cubic feet a second.

This is the highest falls in India, located at an altitude of 1500 meter on Western Ghat Mountains. Western Ghats are a 1600 km long chain of mountains which give birth to almost all the major rivers of south India. These rivers provide drinking and irrigation water for more than 250 million people. The best time to visit is between the months of August and December.

Colca Canyon is located in the Andes Mountain, in southern Peru. The Canyon has a depth of 3,400 m and is the second deepest canyon in the world. It is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the USA, though the walls aren’t as sheer.

The most popular reason for a visit to the Colca Canyon is to see the majestic Andean Condors – the largest flying land bird. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere, the Condors wingspan can measure up to 2.9m and they can weigh up to 10.4 kg.

The Colca Canyon also is perfect for Adventure Sports including mountain biking, trekking, and rafting. Its rapids are widely respected for their degree of difficulty, specially down the stretch between Cabanaconde and Tapay. The Colca can be rafted from May to October and features Class II-IV rapids. Tours set out from Chivay.

Luis Barrag?n is easily the most influential architect of the 20th century in Mexico. Born in Guadalajara, he created an architectural style that combined modernism with the colonial and pre-Hispanic architecture. The works of Luis Barragan have had an important impact especially on the design of garden and urban design.

The Luis Barragan’s masterpiece is the House in the suburbs of Mexico City. Built in 1948 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004. Beyond its stark facade, the Barragan House is a showplace for his use of color, form, light, and shadow.

The house has a total area of 1,161 m2, consists of a ground floor and two upper storeys. The back of the House opens onto the garden creating tranquility away from the urban surroundings. Barragan believed that the garden was just as important as the building itself. This unique building is currently listed with Sotheby’s Realty at a price of $9.95 million.

Today the house is a museum honoring the Barragan’s work. Visitors may tour the living areas, design studio and garden areas, but photographs of it are hard to come by. The Museum is open: Monday to Friday from 10 to 14:00 hrs and 16:00 to 18:00 hrs, and Saturday from 10:00 hrs a 13:00 hrs.