TRAVEL TUESDAY 548 - MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA

“Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown. Through them we pass out into adventure and sunshine, to them, alas! we return.” - E. M. Forster

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Flinders Street Station is Melbourne's iconic central railway hub and a primary cultural landmark located at the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets. Completed in 1909, its distinctive yellow facade and green copper dome make it one of Australia’s most recognisable buildings. Here is Platform 1, which is the longest railway platform in Australia and the fourth longest in the world, stretching 708 metres.

Flinders St Station serves the entire metropolitan rail network and regional V/Line services to Gippsland. It is the busiest suburban station in the Southern Hemisphere, handling over 1,500 trains and 110,000 commuters daily.

The third floor of the Station houses a grand, abandoned ballroom that was a popular dance hall in the 1950s and 60s. In the late 1980s, heating was installed under the stone steps at the main entrance of the Station to keep commuters warm while they wait. Local lore tells of a ghost named "George," often spotted holding fishing gear on Platform 10.

A row of 13 indicator clocks above the main entrance of Flinders St Station shows the next departure for each line. This is Melbourne's most famous meeting point, often accompanied by the phrase: “Meet me under the clocks.”

As of late 2025, the station connects to the new Town Hall Station via the Flinders Link underground walkway, allowing for seamless interchange with the new Metro Tunnel. The station includes takeaway kiosks (coffee, sushi, hot food), public toilets, and Travellers Aid for travel assistance. A historic hat shop  “City Hatters” located in the station since 1910, was originally the station master's office.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 545 - SANTIAGO DE CHILE

“Mining created Chile. The story of men who go down into the mountain and chip away at minerals in the darkness and then suffer an accident that leaves them at the mercy of that darkness is part of the DNA of Chile, an integral part of the country's history.” - Ariel Dorfman

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Santiago, also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. Located in the Chilean Central Valley within the Santiago Basin, between the Andes to the east and the Chilean Coastal Range to the west, it anchors the Santiago Metropolitan Region and its conurbation of Greater Santiago, which comprises more than forty communes and concentrates over a third of the national population and around 45% of Chile's GDP.

Most of the city lies between 500 and 650 meters above sea level, with recent urban growth extending into the Andean foothills. The basin that Santiago occupies has been inhabited since at least the 10th millennium BC, with early agricultural villages established along the Mapocho River and later incorporated into the Inca sphere of influence. During the Spanish invasion of the Americas, conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded the colonial city of Santiago del Nuevo Extremo on 12 February 1541, laying out a grid plan around the Plaza Mayor (now Plaza de Armas). Despite early food shortages, Indigenous attacks, floods, and devastating earthquakes—notably in 1647—the city consolidated as the capital of the Captaincy General of Chile.

Santiago remained the political centre during the Chilean War of Independence, beginning with the First Government Junta in 1810 and culminating in patriot victory at the Battle of Maipú in 1818, and subsequently expanded through 19th-century railway construction, state-building projects, and the creation of major educational and cultural institutions. The city today is the political and administrative heart of Chile: it houses the presidential palace and the main organs of the executive and judiciary, while the National Congress meets primarily in nearby Valparaíso.

Economically, Santiago is the country's principal industrial, commercial, and financial hub and a regional centre for services, hosting the headquarters of major Chilean companies, regional offices of international organizations such as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and several of the nation's leading universities and research institutes. Urban growth has been marked by the emergence of high-rise business districts such as Sanhattan, dominated by Gran Torre Santiago, the tallest building in South America and the second tallest building in Latin America (behind Mexico's T.Op Torre 1). 

Santiago's urban landscape combines a 19th-century neoclassical core and surviving colonial churches with extensive modern residential districts, standalone hills such as Cerro Santa Lucía and Cerro San Cristóbal, and parklands along the Mapocho River, including Parque Forestal, Parque Bicentenario, and Santiago Metropolitan Park.

The city has a cool semi-arid climate with Mediterranean characteristics, warm, dry summers and cool, wetter winters; its location in an enclosed valley contributes both to its scenic views of the high Andes and to chronic air pollution and winter smog. Santiago is served by Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, a dense network of urban highways, and one of Latin America's most extensive metro systems.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 537 - LAS PALMAS, CANARY ISLANDS

“The whole point is to live life and be - to use all the colours in the crayon box.” - RuPaul

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Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the capital of Spain's Canary Islands, renowned for its year-round mild climate, the iconic Playa de Las Canteras beach, and a vibrant, cosmopolitan atmosphere blending European, African, and Latin influences. As a city of over 383,000 residents, it offers historic, colonial architecture in Vegueta and bustling, modern shopping areas in Triana.

The colourful hillsides of Las Palmas are host to the historic and picturesque San Juan neighbourhood, known for its brightly painted houses that cascade down the hillside. In the foreground, the large blue building with a distinctive white dome is the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, a prominent landmark characteristic of the city's coastal skyline.

The old quarter of Vegueta, home to the Santa Ana Cathedral and Casa de Colón (Columbus House) shouldn’t be missed. Las Canteras is one of the most famous urban beaches in Europe, stretching along the city's coastline. The city is a major cruise port and offers a blend of Spanish hospitality, subtropical charm, and year-round sunny weather. Nearby natural attractions include the Maspalomas Dunes and the volcanic landscapes of the island's interior.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 531 - OLD CITY, SHANGHAI, CHINA

"There is something in Shanghai that is very exciting and alive - the idea of a city with two different souls, one from today and another from a long time ago, is amazing." - Alessandro Michele.

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The Old City of Shanghai (Chinese: 上海老城厢; pinyin: Shànghǎi Lǎo Chéngxiāng; Shanghainese: Zånhae Lo Zenshian), also formerly known as the Chinese city, is the traditional urban core of Shanghai. Its boundary was formerly defined by a defensive wall. The Old City was the county seat for the old county of Shanghai.

With the advent of foreign concessions in Shanghai, the Old City became just one part of Shanghai's urban core, but continued for decades to be the seat of the Chinese authority in Shanghai. Notable features include the City God Temple, which is located in the centre of the Old City and is connected to the Yuyuan Garden.

With the exception of two short sections, the walls were demolished in 1912, and a broad circular avenue built over the former wall and moat: the southern half was named the "Zhonghua Road" and the northern half the "Minguo Road" (together making up "Zhonghua Minguo", or "Republic of China" in Chinese). The Old City was for decades essentially coterminous with the old Nanshi District, which is now part of Huangpu District.

Yu Garden or Yuyuan Garden (traditional Chinese: 豫園; simplified Chinese: 豫园; pinyin: Yù Yuán, Shanghainese Yuyoe Wu, lit. Garden of Happiness) is an extensive Chinese garden, first built in 1559, and  located beside the City God Temple in the northeast of the Old City of Shanghai at Huangpu District, Shanghai. It abuts the Yuyuan Tourist Mart, the Huxinting Teahouse and the Yu Garden Bazaar.  Boasting over 40 scenic spots, including pavilions, rock formations, and ponds, it is now a key site under state-level protection.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 512 - KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

“Malaysia is a country unlike any other: Full of promise and fragility. Its history, cultural and religious diversity make it a rich, compelling and surprising land.” - Tariq Ramadan

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Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a federal territory of Malaysia. It is the most populous city in the country, covering an area of 243 km2 with a census population of 2,075,600 as of 2024. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 8.8 million people as of 2024. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia, both in population and economic development. The city serves as the cultural, financial, touristic, political and economic centre of Malaysia. It is also home to the Malaysian parliament (consisting of the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara) and the Istana Negara, the official residence of the monarch (Yang di-Pertuan Agong).

Kuala Lumpur was first developed around 1857 as a town serving the tin mines of the region, and important figures such as Yap Ah Loy and Frank Swettenham were instrumental in the early development of the city during the late 19th century. It served as the capital of Selangor from 1880 until 1978. Kuala Lumpur was the founding capital of the Federation of Malaya and its successor, Malaysia. The city remained the seat of the executive and judicial branches of the Malaysian federal government until these were relocated to Putrajaya in early 1999. However, some sections of the political bodies still remain in Kuala Lumpur. The city is one of the three Federal Territories of Malaysia, enclaved within the state of Selangor, on the central west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur was ranked the 6th most-visited city in the world on the Mastercard Destination Cities Index in 2019. The city houses three of the world's ten largest shopping malls. Kuala Lumpur ranks 70th in the world and the second in Southeast Asia after Singapore for the Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Ranking and ninth in ASPAC and second in Southeast Asia after Singapore for KPMG's Leading Technology Innovation Hub 2021. Kuala Lumpur was named World Book Capital 2020 by UNESCO. In 2025, Kuala Lumpur was ranked second for the best outstanding city in Southeast Asia, after Singapore, and 79th in the world by the Oxford Economic Papers' Global Cities Index.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 472 - MACAU, CHINA

“Gambling: The sure way of getting nothing for something.” - Wilson Mizner

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Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. With a population of about 710,000 people and a land area of 32.9 km2, it is the most densely populated region in the world. Formerly a Portuguese colony, the territory of Portuguese Macau was first leased to Portugal by the Ming dynasty as a trading post in 1557.

Portugal paid an annual rent and administered the territory under Chinese sovereignty until 1887. Portugal later gained perpetual colonial rights in the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking. The colony remained under Portuguese rule until the 1999 handover to China. Macau is a special administrative region of China, which maintains separate governing and economic systems from those of mainland China under the principle of "one country, two systems". The unique blend of Portuguese and Chinese architecture in the city's historic centre has resulted in its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005.

Originally a sparsely populated collection of coastal islands, Macau, often referred to as the "Las Vegas of the East", since the late 20th century has become a major resort city and a top destination for gambling tourism. Its gambling industry is seven times larger than that of Las Vegas.

The city has one of the highest GDPs per capita and GDPs per capita by purchasing power parity in the world. It has a very high Human Development Index of 0.925, as calculated by the Government of Macau, and the fourth-highest life expectancy in the world. The territory is highly urbanised, holding the status of the most densely populated territory on Earth; two-thirds of the total land area is built on land reclaimed from the sea.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 470 - CHONGQING, CHINA

“When our thousands of Chinese students abroad return home, you will see how China will transform itself.” - Deng Xiaoping

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Chongqing is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the Central People's Government, along with Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin. It is the only directly administrated municipality located deep inland. The municipality covers a large geographical area roughly the size of Austria, which includes several disjunct urban areas in addition to Chongqing proper.

Due to its classification, the municipality of Chongqing is the largest city proper in the world by population, though Chongqing is not the most populous urban area. The municipality of Chongqing is the only Chinese municipality with a resident population of over 30 million; however, this number includes its large rural population. In 2020, Chongqing surpassed Shanghai as China's largest municipality by urban population; as of 2022, it has an urban population of 22.8 million.

The municipality contains 26 districts, 8 counties, and 4 autonomous counties. The city served as the wartime capital for the Republic of China (ROC) during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). On 14 March 1997, the current municipality was separated from the surrounding province of Sichuan, with the goal of furthering development in the central and western parts of the country. University of Washington professor Kam Wing Chan argued that Chongqing's status is more akin to that of a province rather than a city.

As one of China's National Central Cities, Chongqing serves as a centre for finance in the Sichuan Basin and the upstream Yangtze, as well as for manufacturing and transportation. It is a connection in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and a base for the country's Belt and Road Initiative. It is one of the top 40 cities globally by scientific research output, as tracked by the Nature Index; the municipality is home to several notable universities, including Chongqing University, Southwest University, and Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 464 - LISBON, PORTUGAL

“Lisbon is clarity through the air. Lisbon is the stained colour of the walls. Lisbon is new moss rising over dry moss. Lisbon is the design of cracks, like lightning, running down the surface of the walls. Lisbon is a judicious imperfection. Lisbon is the reflected sky.” – Jose Luis Peixoto

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Lisbon (Portuguese: Lisboa) is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, with a population of 552,700 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km². Its urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits with a population of around 2.7 million people, being the 11th-most populous urban area in the European Union. About 2.8 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (which represents approximately 27% of the country's population). It is continental Europe's westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast.

Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus. The westernmost area of its metro area is the westernmost point of Continental Europe. Lisbon is recognised as a global city because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education and tourism. It is one of the major economic centres on the continent, with a growing financial sector and one of the largest container ports on Europe's Atlantic coast.

Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, and the oldest in Western Europe, predating other modern European capitals such as London, Paris and Rome by centuries. Julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, it was captured by the Moors in the 8th century. In 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural centre of Portugal.

Unlike most capital cities, Lisbon's status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially – by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 460 - YOKOHAMA, JAPAN

“It is impossible to remain indifferent to Japanese culture. It is a different civilisation where all you have learnt must be forgotten. It is a great intellectual challenge and a gorgeous sensual experience.” Alain Ducasse

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Yokohama (Japanese: 横浜) is the second-largest city in Japan by population and by area, and the country's most populous municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a population of 3.7 million in 2023. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu. Yokohama is also the major economic, cultural, and commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area along the Keihin Industrial Zone.

Yokohama was one of the cities to open for trade with the West following the 1859 end of the policy of seclusion and has since been known as a cosmopolitan port city, after Kobe opened in 1853. Yokohama is the home of many Japan's firsts in the Meiji period, including the first foreign trading port and Chinatown (1859), European-style sport venues (1860s), English-language newspaper (1861), confectionery and beer manufacturing (1865), daily newspaper (1870), gas-powered street lamps (1870s), railway station (1872), and power plant (1882).

Yokohama developed rapidly as Japan's prominent port city following the end of Japan's relative isolation in the mid-19th century and is today one of its major ports along with Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Tokyo and Chiba. Yokohama is the largest port city and high tech industrial hub in the Greater Tokyo Area and the Kantō region. The city proper is headquarters to companies such as Isuzu, Nissan, JVC, Kenwood, Keikyu, Koei Tecmo, Sotetsu, Salesforce Japan and Bank of Yokohama. Famous landmarks in Yokohama include Minato Mirai 21, Nippon Maru Memorial Park, Yokohama Chinatown, Motomachi Shopping Street, Yokohama Marine Tower, Yamashita Park, and Ōsanbashi Pier.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 445 - MALÉ, MALDIVES

"All we need, really, is a change from a near frigid to a tropical attitude of mind." -  Marjory Stoneman Douglas

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The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as Maldive Islands, is a country and archipelagic state in South Asia in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is named after the main island and capital, Malé. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres  from the Asian continent's mainland. The Maldives' chain of 26 atolls stretches across the equator from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south.

Malé is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 211,908 in 2022 within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of 8.30 square kilometres, Malé is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located in the southern edge of North Malé Atoll (Kaafu Atoll).

Administratively, the city consists of a central island, an airport island, and four other islands presided over by the Malé City Council. Traditionally it was the King's Island, from where the ancient royal dynasties ruled and where the palace was located. The city was then called Mahal. Formerly it was a walled city surrounded by fortifications and gates (doroshi).

The Royal Palace (Gan'duvaru) was destroyed along with the picturesque forts (koshi) and bastions (buruzu) when the city was remodelled under President Ibrahim Nasir's rule in the aftermath of the abolition of the monarchy in 1968. However, some buildings remained, namely, the Malé Friday Mosque. In the last few decades, the island has been considerably expanded in size through land reclamation. Over the years, Malé has been the centre of political protests and milestone events.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 415 - BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

"I might grow old in Brisbane, but I would never grow up."-  David Malouf

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Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of approximately 2.5 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of more than 3 million. The Brisbane central business district stands on the original European settlement and is situated inside a bend of the Brisbane River, approximately 23 km from its mouth at Moreton Bay.

The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the floodplain of the Brisbane River valley between the bay and the Great Dividing Range. While the metropolitan area is governed by several municipalities, a large portion of central Brisbane is governed by the Brisbane City Council, which is by far Australia's largest Local Government Area by population.

Brisbane is named after the river on which it sits, which, in turn, was named after Scotsman Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825. The first European settlement in Queensland was a penal colony at Redcliffe, 28 kilometres north of the Brisbane central business district, in 1824. That settlement was soon abandoned and moved to North Quay in 1825. Free settlers were permitted from 1842. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in 1859.

The round temple-like building in the front centre is the Anzac Shrine.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 396 - BAKU, AZERBAIJAN

“If there were no war, We could construct a bridge between Earth and Mars Melting weapons in an open-hearth furnace.” ― Mammad Araz

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Baku is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located 28 metres below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world and also the largest city in the world located below sea level. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, alongside the Bay of Baku.  

At the beginning of 2009, Baku’s urban population was estimated at just over two million people. Officially, about 25 percent of all inhabitants of the country live in Baku’s metropolitan area. Baku is divided into eleven administrative districts (raions) and 48 townships. Among these are the townships on the islands of the Baku Archipelago, and the town of Oil Rocks built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, 60 kilometres away from Baku.

The Inner City of Baku, along with the Shirvanshah’s Palace and Maiden Tower, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. According to the Lonely Planet’s ranking, Baku is also among the world’s top ten destinations for urban nightlife. The city is the scientific, cultural and industrial centre of Azerbaijan. Many sizeable Azerbaijani institutions have their headquarters there.   The Baku International Sea Trade Port is capable of handling two million tons of general and dry bulk cargoes per year. In recent years, Baku has become an important venue for international events. It hosted the 57th Eurovision Song Contest in 2012, the 2015 European Games, the 2016 European Grand Prix, the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017 and UEFA Euro 2020.

The city is renowned for its harsh winds, which is reflected in its nickname, the “City of Winds”.  Baku has wildly varying architecture, ranging from the Old City core to modern buildings and the spacious layout of the Baku port. Many of the city’s most impressive buildings were built during the early 20th century, when architectural elements of the European styles were combined in eclectic style. Baku thus has an original and unique appearance, earning it a reputation as the “Paris of the East”. In the last decade, countless towers have mushroomed, dwarfing or replacing tatty old Soviet apartment blocks. Some of the finest new buildings are jaw-dropping masterpieces.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 365. - SALAMANCA SPAIN

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” - Aristotle

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Salamanca is a city in northwestern Spain that is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the community of Castile and León. The city lies on several hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. With a metropolitan population of 228,881 in 2012 according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Salamanca is the second most populated urban area in Castile and León, after Valladolid (414,000), and ahead of León (187,000) and Burgos (176,000).

It is one of the most important university cities in Spain and supplies 16% of Spain's market for the teaching of the Spanish language. Salamanca attracts thousands of international students. It is situated approximately 200 kilometres west of the Spanish capital Madrid and 80 km east of the Portuguese border. The University of Salamanca, which was founded in 1218, is the oldest university in Spain and the fourth oldest western university, but the first to be given its status by the Pope Alexander IV who gave universal validity to its degrees. With its 30,000 students, the university is, together with tourism, a primary source of income in Salamanca. It is on the Via de la Plata path of the Camino de Santiago.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 358 - ST MALO, FRANCE

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." -  Walt Disney

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Saint-Malo is a historic walled port city and commune (with the commune expanded beyond the walls in 1968), in Brittany on the English Channel coastline of northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine. Traditionally known for its independent streak, Saint-Malo was in the past notorious for privateering (the "cité corsaire"). Today the city is a major tourist destination, with many ancient structures.

St Malo has several districts, the most popular being intra muros or ‘inside the walls’. The tall granite buildings, most of which were restored after being bombed during the war, house an interesting mix of cosy hotels, restaurants to suit all tastes and shops by the dozen. The Musée de la Ville tells you all you need to know about the town’s history and includes some fascinating maritime objects like the prow of a ship.

Opposite the old town are two little islands that can be reached at low tide (heed the warnings or you’ll get trapped there!). On one is the Vauban-built Fort National and on the other is the tomb of the writer and politician Chateaubriand, who was born in St Malo in 1768. Long sandy beaches sweep east from the old town to the district of Rothéneuf. Here you’ll find the former house of one of St Malo’s most famous sons, Jacques Cartier, who discovered Canada; the 15th-century Manoir de Limoëlou houses a fascinating museum dedicated to the explorer.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 356 - RAVENNA, ITALY

“Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.” - Nikos Kazantzakis

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

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Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 402 until that empire collapsed in 476. It then served as the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom until it was re-conquered in 540 by the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. Afterwards, the city formed the centre of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna until the invasion of the Lombards in 751, after which it became the seat of the Kingdom of the Lombards. 

Although an inland city, Ravenna is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal. It is known for its well-preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture, and has eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Basilica of San Vitale is a church in Ravenna, Italy, and one of the most important examples of early Christian Byzantine art and architecture in Europe. The Roman Catholic Church has designated the building a "basilica", the honorific title bestowed on church buildings of exceptional historic and ecclesiastical importance, although of course it is not of architectural basilica form. It is one of eight Ravenna structures inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Its exquisite mosaics, including the portrait groups of Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora with their retinues are world-renowned.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 353 - PHILADELPHIA, USA

“I love everything about Philadelphia, and its food is like the city itself: real-deal, hearty, and without pretension. We've always had an underdog vibe as a city, but that just makes us try harder, and I love our scrappiness and scruffiness.” - Lisa Scottoline

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the sixth-most populous city in the United States, with an estimated population of 1,567,872 and more than 6 million in the seventh-largest metropolitan statistical area, as of 2016. Philadelphia is the economic and cultural anchor of the Delaware Valley—a region located in the Northeastern United States at the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers with 7.2 million people residing in the eighth-largest combined statistical area in the United States.

In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia played an instrumental role in the American Revolution as a meeting place for the Founding Fathers of the United States, who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787. Several other key Philadelphia events during the Revolution include the First and Second Continental Congress, the preservation of the Liberty Bell, the Battle of Germantown, the Siege of Fort Mifflin, and the Philadelphia Convention. 

Philadelphia was one of the nation's capitals in the Revolutionary War, and served as temporary U.S. capital while Washington, D.C., was under construction. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became a major industrial centre and railroad hub that grew from an influx of European immigrants. The majority of European immigrants have come from Ireland, Italy and Germany—the three largest reported ancestry groups in the city as of 2015. The city became a prime destination for African Americans during the Great Migration of the 20th century, as well as Puerto Ricans, surpassing two million occupants by 1950.

The area's many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational and economic hub. With a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the centre of economic activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several nationally prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, attracting over 41 million domestic tourists alone in 2015.

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