Santorini, Greece

Location (via Google Maps): Santorini, Greece

Coordinates: 36° 25' 12" N, 25° 25' 54" E. Find With Google Earth.

Santorini (Greek: Σαντορίνη) is a small, circular archipelago of volcanic islands located in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from Greece's mainland.

The name Santorini was given to it by the Latin empire in the thirteenth century, and is a reference to Saint Irene. Before then it was known as Kallístē (Καλλίστη, "the most beautiful one"), Strongýlē (Στρογγύλη, "the circular one"), or Thēra (Thira, Greek Θήρα [ˈθira]).

Santorini is essentially what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion, destroying the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island, and leading to the creation of the current geological caldera.

It is the most active volcanic centre in the South Aegean Volcanic Arc, though what remains today is chiefly a water-filled caldera.

The island is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history: the Minoan eruption (sometimes called the Thera eruption), which occurred some 3,600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization. The eruption left a large caldera surrounded by volcanic ash deposits hundreds of feet deep and may have led indirectly to the collapse of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, 110 km (68 mi) to the south, through the creation of a gigantic tsunami. Another popular theory holds that the Thera eruption is the source of the legend of Atlantis. Learn more...

The Island of Spinalonga

The Island of Rhodes

Sparrow Hills, Moscow, Russia

Location (via Google Maps): Sparrow Hills, Moscow, Russia

Coordinates: 55° 42' 53" N, 37° 32' 50" E. Find With Google Earth.

Sparrow Hills is a hill on the right bank of the Moscow River and one of highest points in Moscow with an altitude up to 220 m (60–70 m above the river level).

The observation platform, which gives a good panoramic view of the city, is situated on a steep bank 85 m above the river (200 m above the sea level). The Luzhniki Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremony for the 1980 Summer Olympics took place, is right below across the Moskva River. Learn more...

The places on the view from above marked with the numbers are:

1. The observation platform.
2. The Moscow State University.
3. The Luzhniki Stadium.

Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, Russia

Location (via Google Maps): Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, Russia

Coordinates: 55° 45' 37" N, 37° 37' 7" E. Find With Google Earth.

The Bolshoi Theatre (Great Theatre) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by famed architect Joseph Bove, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are each one of the oldest and greatest ballet and o pera companies of the world, respectively. The Theatre is the parent company of The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, a world-leading school of ballet. Learn more...

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow, Russia

Location (via Google Maps): The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow, Russia

Coordinates: 55° 44' 40" N, 37° 36' 20" E. Find With Google Earth.

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is the tallest Eastern Orthodox Church in the world. It is situated in Moscow, on the bank of the Moskva River, a few blocks west of the Kremlin.

When the last of Napoleon's soldiers left Moscow, Tsar Alexander I signed a manifesto, December 25, 1812, declaring his intention to build a Cathedral in honor of Christ the Saviour "to signify Our gratitude to Divine Providence for saving Russia from the doom that overshadowed Her" and as a memorial to the sacrifices of the Russian people.

The Cathedral had taken many years to build. It was consecrated on May 26, 1883.

After the Revolution and, more specifically, the death of Lenin, the prominent site of the cathedral was chosen by the Soviets as the site for a monument to socialism known as the Palace of Soviets. On December 5, 1931, by order of Stalin's minister Kaganovich, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was dynamited and reduced to rubble.

With the end of the Soviet rule, the Russian Orthodox Church received permission to rebuild the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in February 1990. A temporary cornerstone was laid by the end of the year. The lower church was consecrated to the Saviour's Transfiguration in 1996, and the completed Cathedral of Christ the Saviour was consecrated on the Transfiguration day, August 19, 2000. Learn more...

The Moscow Kremlin, Moscow, Russia

Location (via Google Maps): The Moscow Kremlin, Moscow, Russia

Coordinates: 55° 45' 6" N, 37° 37' 4" E. Find With Google Earth.

Moscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia.

The Moscow Kremlin usually referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River (to the south), Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square (to the east) and the Alexander Garden (to the west). It includes four palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. The complex serves as the official residence of the President of Russia. Learn more...

The places on the view from above marked with the numbers are:

1. The Moscow Kremlin.
2. The Red Square.
3. Saint Basil's Cathedral.
4. The State Historical Museum of Russia.
5. The Main Department Store.
6. The Alexander Garden.
7. The Moskva River.

The Fortezza Castle, Rethymno, Crete, Greece

Coordinates: 35° 22' 0" N, 24° 28' 0" E. Find With Google Earth.

Fortezza Castle is a museum and Venetian castle in Rethymno, Greece. It is the one of the biggest and best standing castles in Crete. Learn more...

The Old Venetian Port, Rethymno, Crete, Greece

Coordinates: 35° 22' 0" N, 24° 28' 0" E. Find With Google Earth.

Rethymno (also Rethimno, Rethymnon, Rethymnon, and Rhithymnos) is the capital of Rethymno Prefecture in the island of Crete.

Today's old town (palia poli) is almost entirely built by Venetians. It is one of the best preserved old towns in Crete. The town still maintains its old aristocratic appearance, with its buildings dating from the 16th century, arched doorways, stone staircases, Byzantine and Hellenic-Roman remains, small Venetian harbor and narrow streets. Learn more...

The Island of Spinalonga, Greece

Coordinates: 35° 16' 20" N, 25° 44' 55" E. Find With Google Earth.

The island of Spinalonga (official name: Kalidon) is located at the eastern section of Crete, near the town of Elounda. The name of the island, Spinalonga, is Venetian, meaning "long thorn", and has roots in the period of Venetian occupation.

The Spinalonga fortress was built by the Venetians in XVIth century. In 1579, the General Previsor of Crete Luca Michiel put the foundation stone of the fortifications. Following the Turkish occupation of Crete in 1669, only the fortresses of Gramvousa , Souda and Spinalonga remained in Venetian hands. The Venetians kept control of the island until the Ottoman Empire took possession of it in 1715.

The island was subsequently used as a leper colony, from 1903 to 1957. It is notable for being one of the last active leper colonies in Europe.

Today, the unoccupied island is one of the main tourist attractions in Crete. In addition to the abandoned leper colony and the fortress, Spinalonga is known for its small pebble beaches. The island can easily be accessed from Elounda and Agios Nikolaos. Tourist boats depart from both towns on a daily basis. Learn more...

Lake Voulismeni, Agios Nikolaos, Crete, Greece

Coordinates: 35° 11' 26" N, 25° 43' 2" E. Find With Google Earth.

Lake Voulismeni (Limni Voulismeni) is a former sweetwater small lake, later connected to the sea, located at the centre of the town of Agios Nikolaos on the Greek island of Crete It has a circular shape of a diameter of 137 m and depth 64 m. The locals refer to it as just "the lake". The lake connects to the harbour of the town by a channel dug in 1870. A panoramic view of the lake can be seen from a small park situated above it.

According to legend, the goddess Athena bathed in it. Every year at midnight turning to Orthodox Christian Easter day, the majority of the population of the town gathers around the lake to celebrate with fireworks, and firecrackers thrown by the people attending that highlight event.

It was reported that the German army during their withdrawal from the area at WW2, disposed parts of their weaponry and/or vehicles into the deep lake.

A local urban legend has it that the lake is bottomless. That notion is potentially based on its impressively disproportional high depth compared to its width or/and on locals noticing disturbances at the surface or also the level of the water during the Santorini (Thera) earthquake of 1956. Because of the latter, many assume a possible geological relation of the two locations, but this claim has not been substantiated by known scientific surveys to date.

Source: en.wikipedia.org.

Knossos, Crete, Greece

Coordinates: 35° 17' 52.66" N, 25° 9' 47.36" E. Find With Google Earth.

Knossos (alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Gnossus), is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan civilization and culture. It is also a tourist destination today, as it is near the main city of Heraklion and has been substantially, if imaginatively "restored", making the site more comprehensible to the visitor than a field of unmarked ruins.

The city of Knossos remained important through the Classical and Roman periods, but its population shifted to the new town of Handaq (modern Heraklion) during the 9th century AD. By the 13th century, it was called Makryteikhos 'Long Wall'; the bishops of Gortyn continued to call themselves Bishops of Knossos until the 19th century.[1] Today, the name is used only for the archaeological site situated in the suburbs of Heraklion. Learn more...

Cathedral of St. Minas, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Coordinates: 35° 20' 15.69" N, 25° 7' 52.01" E.

The Cathedral and of Saint Minas is the large and impressive church, situated on Saint Catherine square, in the town of Heraklion. It is one of the largest cathedrals in Greece.

Venetian Medieval Fortress Rocca al Mare at the Harbour of Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Coordinates: 35° 20' 0" N, 25° 8' 0" E. Find With Google Earth.

Heraklion or Iraklion is the largest city and capital of Crete. It is also the fourth largest city in Greece. For centuries Heraklion was known as Candia.

The biggest monument of the city is the Venetian medieval fortress Rocca al Mare (also known as Koules, Turkish for "tower") located at the port. Learn more...

Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, Greece

The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes is a palace in the town of Rhodes, on the island of Rhodes in Greece. The palace was built in the 14th century by the Knights of Rhodes (now officially known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta), who occupied Rhodes from 1309 to 1522. After the island was captured by the Ottoman Empire, the palace was used as a fortress.

The original palace was largely destroyed by an ammunition explosion in 1856. When the Kingdom of Italy occupied Rhodes in 1912, the Italians rebuilt the palace in a grandiose pseudo-medieval style as a holiday residence for Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, and later for Benito Mussolini, whose name can still be seen on a large plaque near the entrance.

On 10 February 1947, the Treaty of Peace with Italy, one of the Paris Peace Treaties, determined than the recently-established Italian Republic would transfer the Dodecanese the Kingdom of Greece. In 1948, Rhodes and the rest of the Dodecanese were transfered as previously agreed. The Greeks converted the palace to a museum. Learn more...

Rhodes, The Island Of Rhodes, Greece

Coordinates: 36° 26' 0" N, 28° 13' 0" E. Find With Google Earth.

Rhodes is the principal city of the Greek island of Rhodes, in southeastern Aegean Sea and the capital of the Dodecanese prefecture. Rhodes has been famous since antiquity as the site of Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The citadel of Rhodes, built by the Hospitalliers, is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe which in 1988 was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The City of Rhodes is a popular international tourist destination. Learn more...

Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, Italy

Coordinates: 45° 25' 51" N, 12° 20' 4" E. Find With Google Earth.

The Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (Basilica of St Mary of Health/Salvation), commonly known simply as the Salute, is a famous church in Venice, placed scenically at a narrow finger of land which lies between the Grand Canal and the Bacino di San Marco on the lagoon, visible as one enters the Piazza San Marco from the water. While it has the status of a minor basilica, its decorative and distinctive profile and location make it among the most photographed churches in Italy. Learn more...

Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy

Coordinates: 45° 26' 2.4" N, 12° 20' 16.8" E. Find With Google Earth.

Piazza San Marco, often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal square of Venice, Italy.

A remark often attributed to Napoleon (but perhaps more correctly to Alfred de Musset) calls the Piazza San Marco "The drawing room of europe". It is one of the few great urban spaces in a Europe where human voices prevail over the sounds of motorized traffic, which is confined to Venice's waterways. It is the only urban space called a piazza in Venice; the others, regardless of size, are called campi.

As the central landmark and gathering place for Venice, Piazza San Marco is extremely popular with tourists, photographers, and Venetian pigeons.

The Piazza originated in the 9th century as a small area in front of the original St Mark's Basilica. It was enlarged to its present size and shape in 1177, when the Rio Batario, which had bounded it to the west, and a dock, which had isolated the Doge's Palace from the square, were filled in. The rearrangement was for the meeting of Pope Alexander III and the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

The Piazza has always been seen as the centre of Venice. It was the location of all the important offices of the Venetian state, and has been the seat of the archbishopric since the 19th century. It was also the focus for many of Venice's festivals. It is a greatly popular place in Italy even today. Learn more...

Venice, Italy

Coordinates: 45° 26' 0" N, 12° 19' 0" E. Find With Google Earth.

Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venezsia) is a city in northern Italy, the capital of region Veneto, and has a population of 271,251 (census estimate January 1, 2004). Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area (population 1,600,000). Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", and "The City of Light". It is considered by many one of the more beautiful cities in the world.

The city stretches across 118 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers. The population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of the whole Comune of Venezia; around 62,000 in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico); 176,000 in Terraferma (the Mainland), mostly in the large frazione of Mestre and Marghera; and 31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon. Learn more...

Mount Vesuvius, Italy

Coordinates: 40° 49' 14" N, 14° 25' 47" E. Find With Google Earth.

Mount Vesuvius (Italian: Monte Vesuvio, Latin: Mons Vesuvius) is an active stratovolcano east of Naples, Italy. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting.

Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. It has erupted many times since and is today regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people now living close to it and its tendency towards explosive eruptions. It is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world. Learn more...

Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums (Italian: Musei Vaticani) are the public art and sculpture museums in the Vatican City, which display works from the extensive collection of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Julius II founded the museums in the 16th century. The Sistine Chapel and the Stanze della Segnatura decorated by Raphael are on the visitor route through the Vatican Museums. As of November 2006, it was visited by more than 4,000,000 people for the year. Learn more...

St. Peter's Basilica and Saint Peter's Square, Vatican

Coordinates: 41° 54' 8" N, 12° 27' 23" E. Find With Google Earth.

The Basilica of Saint Peter (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri), officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly called Saint Peter's Basilica, is one of four major basilicas of Rome (Basilica of St. John Lateran, St. Peter's, Santa Maria Maggiore and St. Paul outside the Walls). It is the most prominent building inside the Vatican City and built on the ruins of Old Saint Peter's Basilica. Its dome is also a dominant feature of the Roman skyline. Saint Peter's is also incidentally the patriarchal basilica of Constantinople, whereas the Lateran Basilica is the patriarchal basilica of Rome. Possibly the largest church building in Christianity[1], it covers an area of 2.3 ha (5.7 acres) and has a capacity of over 60,000 people. Learn more...

Saint Peter's Square, or Saint Peter's Piazza (Italian: Piazza San Pietro), is located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica. Learn more...