Istanbul is being transformed at full speed; it is a melting pot of cultures & a meeting point of continents. The city has already shed the skin of its history & invented itself anew numerous times, & perhaps this is now taking place again. To comprehend Istanbul, one must understand its history. Whoever strolls through its quarters today will constantly catch a glimpse of its history, tiny stones of a mosaic on which the inhabitants of Istanbul have been working for centuries & which will never be finished because they are constantly reinventing not only their city, but themselves. This book deals with 111 unusual mosaic stones from yesterday, today & tomorrow
- some of which glow in colourful splendour, while others emanate an uncanny fragrance.
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Liverpool`s unique history as an international port & a cultural melting pot has given it a character all its own. The city has produced music that conquered the world & is home to more historic buildings than any other British metropolis outside London. It features two magnificent cathedrals & many world famous museums. But beyond its renowned exterior is a labyrinth of places hidden & unknown. This deliciously offbeat guidebook will lead you to a different Liverpool: down tunnels, up skyscrapers, & into secret bars, speciality shops, & disused factories. You will see Balenciaga trainers & football trophies, rolling bridges & disappearing statues, Liver Birds & suitcases, extravagant cakes & cast-iron churches. Explore Britain`s first mosque. Wander a roof garden of wild flowers, where different species bloom each month of the year. Marvel at the world`s most expensive book or largest brick building (27 million bricks!). Relax in a hip tea bar with over 50 varieties of tea (loose leaf, naturally); or visit a place where you can drink Dandelion & Burdock with your fish & chips. Think you know Liverpool? Think again! Whether you`re a first-time tourist, a repeat visitor, or a long-time local, prepare to be charmed & surprised by 111 eccentric & unusual places you`d never expect to find in the city best known for football & the Fab Four. ...

Almost everybody knows Big Ben, the British Museum, Buckingham Palace, & the Tower Bridge. But the secret London which shapes the flair of the capital of the British Empire more than anything else is getting harder & harder to find. This guide elucidates unknown aspects of well-known places, but also explores the London unknown to foreigners &, in part, to natives, & its unique stories. Such as bars with noble origins going back for centuries; listed concrete fortresses; 300 year-old wine shops & synagogues; mosques & Buddhist temples; a tree planted in 1802, the lowest mighty branches of which are no higher than your head; a medieval cemetery for pariahs; a street lantern which has been lit for more than 100 years; the monument to 10, 000 Jewish children saved from the Nazis, & one for the Great Fire of 1666; the police den on Trafalgar Square; legal & illegal street art; a crypt in which skulls & bones are arranged in a checkerboard pattern; or the secluded place where Paul Mc Cartney concealed his firm. Unknown London from the Middle Ages until today
- brand new.
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” In Los Angeles, everyone is a star.”
- Denzel Washington. For more than a century, seekers of sun & celebrity from around the
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This beautiful & strong isl&, dubbed the ” European Caribbean”, sometimes despised for the gigantic hotel complexes on one beach, sports an enchanting splendour of picturesque & surprising spots in the natives` old Mallorca nearly unknown to tourists. This book shows
- besides curiosities about better-known sights
- locations where apartment houses hang over cliffs, for instance, or where to discover the tracks of the founder of San Francisco, where you can meet the devil, or particularly strong women, & where, perhaps for this reason, a church is standing on its head; where to find ancient Rome on the beach, where a bridge which is millions of years old arches over the sea, how the island`s dark underworld looks, in what kinds of dens people lived on Mallorca around 1, 000 B.C., where citizens are guarded by a grimacing face, where secret medieval orders left their traces, on which mountains three cloisters, as old as the hills, are stuck above each other like ”swallows` nests”, or
- speaking of cloisters
- in which one Frederic Chopin`s piano still stands today.



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The ultimate insider`s guide to Miami & the Keys; go off the beaten path to discover the hidden places, stories, & neighbourhoods that reveal Miami`s true character, history, & flavour. Miami & the Keys are the cultural & geographical gateways to the United States; where Latin America gracefully blends into North America, & land embraces the sea. This unusual guide leads you along the fulcrum that is Miami & the Keys, laden with world-class architecture, sandy beaches, pristine waters, nightclubs, & trendy hotels. Beneath the well-polished surface lies a history & culture that strays far from the conventional, bubbling up through unexpected places, like a coral fortress built for a spurned lover, a divey laundromat that serves the sweetest cafe con leche you`ve ever had, or an enclave of houses built on stilts in the midst of the ocean. Lose yourself in a glass rainforest. Glide over the mysterious waters of the Everglades. Visit your own desert isl&. Drink the sweet nectar of the Cuban coffee gods. Venture into the ”other” Miami, beyond the glitz & glamour, steeped in natural beauty & deep-seeded tradition. See why Ernest Hemingway called the Keys his home. Though teeming with tourists, there are still plenty of hidden gems to be unearthed, you just have to know where to look... ...

Milan
- the epicentre of Italian fashion, art, & finance
- awaits you at Expo 2015. 142 countries are participating in this

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Many people think that Munich means beer, beer, another beer
- & the Alps. They might also recognise a church, a castle or two,
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Now the political & cultural mecca controlling the pulse of India, the vibrant capital city of Delhi has been ruled by many powerful empires & seduced many powerful rulers over the centuries. With a history that stretches back to ancient times, there are stories, relics, & memories embedded in every crevice & corner of the metropolis. This unusual guidebook invites readers on an adventure beyond the well-mapped & best-known landmarks to explore Delhi`s most hidden pleasures & unravel its most shrouded mysteries. Walk the byzantine lanes of Old Delhi, offer alcohol to a god, savour a biryani made by the emperors` cooks, meet the sitar maker to the Beatles, visit India`s oldest toy shop, gaze upon the abandoned statue of a legendary queen, & experience the many cities within the city. From tales of perfumers, emperors, & quaint local characters to bustling streets, legend-filled ruins, & ever-changing landscapes, discover the true essence of one of the most fascinating & evolving cities on the planet. ...

The ultimate illustrated insider`s guide to New Orleans
- Birthplace of Jazz, home to the world famous Mardi Gras, champion of
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