Photos of the cities

Do you want to go around the world, but do not know where to start? Then you should see the most beautiful cities on Earth! They have an expression of the culture of every nation, originality, uniqueness and real life. Here are 10 of the most beautiful cities in the world from all over the world and continents. Each city has its own spirit and each city lives its own in something special life. So, let's start our journey! We present you our version of the list of the Most beautiful cities in the world.

ITALIAN PEARL - FLORENCE.

Florence is one of the oldest cities in Italy and the capital of the province of Tuscany. It was founded by Emperor Julius Caesar back in 59 BC. e. as a settlement for legionaries on the picturesque banks of the Arno River. Since ancient times, the city has been besieged by enemies more than once, but Florence has withstood everything and today it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, where more than 20 million tourists flock annually.

Florence has long been famous for its vineyards and leather products, by the way, leather accessories in Florence can be found in various stores and shops at a wide variety of prices. Today, the heart of Florence is entirely devoted to fashion and the high art of style. Many world famous brands have their representative offices in Florence, such as Gucci and Ferragamo.

Florence has about 80 museums and many exhibitions. On the streets of Florence, as if frozen picturesque paintings of the past in numerous sculptures and frescoes, found at almost every step! There is a workshop in which Michelangelo created the statue of David, and a house near which the great Dante created the “Divine Comedy”. The only thing you will not find in Florence in abundance is the noisy clubs with dancing, music and an abundance of alcoholic beverages.

LONDON - THE HEART OF UK

London is the huge beating heart of Great Britain. In addition, London is a city of fogs and rains. Small drizzle rain here is almost daily. Therefore, you should definitely take an umbrella with you when traveling to London, and it will not lie idle in your bag. But people in London are smiling and seem to be always in a good mood.

But, despite the fact that London, the city of rains and fogs, often meets residents and tourists with clouds and clouds, it is always happy for guests! On weekends, many people go to numerous parks in order to relax after a working week. On Friday evening, all the cafes of the Capital of the Old World are boiling with revival. But, by Sunday evening, everything calms down, as if by magic.

Many tourists, arriving in London, are sincerely surprised at how clean and fresh the air is here compared to other megacities. And, probably, all of them without exception know the main attractions of the city - Big Ben (the third highest clock tower in the world), Tower Bridge and the Tower itself (symbols of London and Great Britain), and, of course, the residence of the kings - Buckingham Palace. With a gorgeous garden broken around it.

ISTANBUL - AT THE JOINT OF EUROPE AND ASIA

The handsome Istanbul, Constantinople, Constantinople, the second Rome are all the names of the same ancient and amazingly beautiful city. Istanbul combines east and west, combining the subtle beauty of the east with the comfort of the west in the city. 

Istanbul is one of the most influential cities in Turkey, which once headed the lands of the Ottoman Empire. The city stands on the shores of the Bosphorus and the Sea of ​​Marmara. About 6.5 million people live here and it is the largest city in Turkey. In it, in one of the first cities in the world, a subway was built - in 1873 (after the London and New York subways). Another important fact remains that this city, like Rome, was once based on seven hills, so it is often called the second Rome.

The two most recognizable and significant sights of Istanbul is the Cathedral of St. Sophia and the blue mosque of Sultan Akhmet. Arriving in Istanbul, you should definitely look at these masterpieces of ancient Christian and Islamic architecture. St. Sofia was once the largest Christian cathedral, with a diameter of 31 meters. But Istanbul is not only an ancient city with many attractions. Istanbul has a wide variety of museums, libraries and universities. People come to Istanbul from all over the world, some on vacation, and some for good.

TOKYO - ETERNALLY YOUNG CITY

The capital of Japan is Tokyo, the fifth city in the world in terms of population. The number of inhabitants of the capital of the country of the rising sun exceeds 13 million. Tokyo is an eternally young city. It was founded relatively recently - in 1457 during the construction of Edo Castle, preserved in Tokyo to this day.

Tokyo is a high-tech city and the largest financial center, along with cities such as London and New York. A lot of high-tech industries are concentrated in it, and practically all electronic equipment of Japan is created on them. But the locals here, despite the rhythm of life of the metropolis, sacredly honor the traditions of their ancient culture.

In Tokyo, there is something to see, both in terms of modern architecture, and in terms of traditional. For example, on February 29, 2012, Tokyo completed the construction of the world's tallest television tower with the poetic name “Tokyo Sky Tree” or “Tokyo Sky Tree”. Its height is 634 meters! And lovers of traditional architecture will be interested to look at the Imperial Palace, founded in the 16th century and to this day serving the imperial family.

DUBAI - THE ULTIMATE CITY OR THE CITY OF “TOMORROW”

If there is a diamond-like city in the Middle East, then this is Dubai. Today, Dubai is a chic city of the United Arab Emirates with bold architectural solutions made by leading architects of the World. The city is intertwined with small ancient and very cozy streets with ancient mosques. And the symbol of modern Dubai is the seven-star Parus Hotel, built on an artificial island, 300 meters from the coast.

Half a century ago, Dubai was not at all so magnificent. The town, located on the shores of the Persian Gulf, existed thanks to the extraction of pearls. Everything was exchanged for him: food, clothes, tools, etc. But, by a lucky chance, in 1996 oil was found here and a stream of investments went into the city. There are no taxes in Dubai. Due to this, many companies have their main offices here. In the city you will find many shops and boutiques. Every year in Dubai, a shopping festival is held with discounts reaching up to 70 percent!

All the attractions of Dubai are simply impossible to get around in one day, there are so many of them. For example: the world's tallest 124-story skyscraper Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Aquarium (with a capacity of 10,000,000 liters and with a population of more than 33,000 individuals); Wild Wadi Waterpark, made in accordance with the fabulous travel story of Sinbad the traveler, is an unforgettable place for young tourists. See all photos of the cities

Both in the past and in the present there was not and there is no simple, unambiguous answer to the question of what is considered a city, what is its concrete historical meaning, does it have a stable function and program. When defining it, there is some kind of convention. Usually, either a whole set of indicators is set at once, or one decisive one is specified (number of population, functions, sectoral employment, etc.) and on their basis all settlements are divided into cities and non-towns - villages. In the languages ​​of the peoples of the world there are various etymological terms for the name of this special social organism - “city”, “policy”, “urbs”, “city”, “town”, “medina”, “shahr”, “nagara”, “bandari” etc. The linguistic and semantic characteristics of the concept of “city” and its terminological name have evolved over many centuries, from the inception of the city and during the entire subsequent evolution.

The problem of cities of different concrete historical types - the oldest, ancient, medieval (feudal and the city under the Asian method of production), modern (capitalist, socialist, colonial, Third World), post-modern, etc. - has long been the subject of scientific knowledge. At first, the city was studied, as it were, along the way, along with other phenomena and processes to which general comprehensive works on history, economics, culture, geography, architecture, and art were devoted. And only from the end of the 19th century. the city becomes an independent and full-fledged object of study as a subject of the historical process and action. Since the 1920s, the city has been a phenomenon of close and comprehensive knowledge of the emerging scientific discipline: the sociology of the city, urban sociology or urban studies.

Exploring the city has a long history and tradition. Information about him is already contained in archaic spiritual and symbolic texts - the "holy books" of the Old Testament time. They narrate about the construction of the first cities and their special plan, about Babylon - sinful and earthly and its opposite Jerusalem, city of the Living God, Heavenly Jerusalem. A lot of valuable material about the city - interesting judgments and theoretical generalizations are found in the writings of the philosophers of Ancient Greece and Rome (Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, Seneca, etc.), medieval Christian theologians (Blessed Augustine, Nikolai Kuzansky, etc.), Arab Muslim thinkers ( Farabi, Ibn-Khaldun and others) and in the numerous works of the humanist reformers of the Renaissance and Enlightenment. In the days of modern and postmodern, diverse knowledge arises not only about the city, but also about urbanization processes, scientific methods of cognition, various theories, paradigms, projects - “garden city”, “radiant city”, “industrial city”, “global city” are developed etc.

There is nothing special and specific in that the centers of urban culture and centers of "primary agriculture" appeared in the East. This is due to a very favorable natural and geographical environment, initially manifested in a local form - climate, natural landscape complexes, fertility of alluvial soils, etc. As well as natural-historical circumstances, proper sociocultural - an early, fairly well-developed division of labor with a relatively high technological equipment of agriculture, cattle breeding and production of goods, the presence of a strictly hierarchical social organization of society.

Urban and rural settlements were located in areas where natural and geographical conditions, terrain and climate, natural fertility of the soil were most favorable and optimally suitable for agriculture - the very first form of production in all any well-established societies. The principle of reverence for agriculture was illuminated by traditional ideology (religion), supported by customary law, and subsequently legally enshrined in legislative acts of class-class agrarian societies. Some of the unsettled ideals of understanding of the world and the attitudes of traditional societies regarding land and agriculture, to this day, retain their attractiveness and special privilege in a number of developing countries that continue to be agrarian and semi-agrarian.