AGRA FORT

The great Mughal Emperor Akbar commissioned the construction of the Agra Fort in 1565 A.D., although additions were made till the time of his grandson Shah Jahan. The forbidding exteriors of this fort hight an inner pardise. The fort is crescent shaped, flattended on the east with a long, nearly straight wall facing the river. It has a total perimeter of 2.4 k.m., and is ringed by double castellated ramparts of red sandstone punctuated at regular intervals by bastions. A 9 mt. wide and 10 mt. deep moat surround the outer wall.

There are number of exquisite building like the Moti Masjid-a white marvel mosque akin to a perfect pearl, Diwan-e-Am, Diwan-e-Khaas, Jehangir's Palace, Khaas Mahal, Shish Mahal and Musamman or Samman Burj-where Shahjahan was held captive in 1666 A.D.

Open Time : Sunrise to Sunset.

Costa Blanca

Costa Blanca

The Costa Blanca, with its beautiful beaches, attracts millions of tourists every year. In northern coast of blanca begins with Denia and Javea two wonderful towns at the bottom of a mountain.

In southern coast blanca down to the Guardamar and Torrevieja. With these wonderful city like Elche, Palm capital of the world.

You can basically travel along the Costa Blanca as la carretera national go away all together the coast. Make sure that when you come along sometimes these beautiful small villages in search of holiday homes Costa Blanca, you have enough time to spend at

There are many attractions of the Costa Blanca, some of which are specifically for tourists, such as the Terra Mitica theme park in Benidorm or the bays of Altea and Calpe. Others are smaller towns and villages as Villajoyosa just south of Benidorm, famous for its historic center and its chocolate.

For me the greatest beauty of the Costa Blanca seavill comes from. Its beaches, along with its small villages to the Costa Blanca, the only attraction.

Further north along and Gandia Oliva between Moraira, Benissa, Teulada and Denia find the city of Javea, with the Cabo Nao, one of my favorite places on the Costa Blanca. One of the areas where lots of new Costa Blanca and Costa Blanca property is sold. You can also find some villas in Costa Blanca sale.

Costa Blanca tourist

For more on Costablanca make sure you have a good map and Costa Blanca tourist information. If you want to play a nice game of golf at one of the finest golf resort Costa Blanca, please find a list of golf clubs here. The best way to do this is the Airport (Tourist Information is before leaving the building date), or in the center of Alicante. So I always ask for information Costa Blanca.

Cape Town targets cruise liners

Already famous for being one of the most beautiful tourist cities in the world, Cape Town has unveiled its ambition to become one of the best passenger cruise liner destinations in the world, in hope of securing a slice of the lucrative US$29-billion market.

The city seeks to benchmark itself against the likes of Miami, Vancouver, Sydney, Melbourne and even Auckland, which have all developed as favoured cruise liner destinations.

"The time could be ripe to re-establish Cape Town as one of the great passenger liner destinations of the world by promoting itself and the southern African region as a base for destination cruises," said the city councillor in charge of economic development and tourism, Simon Grindrod.

He said he was disappointed, however, that Cape Town and southern Africa had largely failed to benefit from the fact that cruise liner operators were seeking new destinations.

Areas such as the east coast of Australia and New Zealand have become popular cruise liner destination bases experiencing 28% annual growth between 2002 and 2004.

The advantage of cruise liners, Grindrod said, was that they could berth at ports with limited landside facilities as they were basically equipped like floating resorts. In addition, approximately 50% of passengers expected to return to places that they have visited while on a cruise.

"Given this position, areas which have previously been fairly inaccessible to this type of tourists as well as the traditional nodes could also benefit," he said.

Grindrod said that at present, Cape Town and Durban featured on the schedule of "round-the-world" cruises and vessels that are on appropriate repositioning cruises, but that this was a limited market.

Multi-purpose terminals
Cape Town has been perceived to have the perfect opportunity to develop a multi-use cruise liner terminal, though Grindrod said cruise liner terminals were not profitable investments on their own, but "given this position trend worldwide, would construct a multi-purpose use facility" that can be used as a cruise liner terminal as well as for other use.

Durban is also planning to build a cruise liner terminal as part of the re-development of the Point.

"If destination-based cruise liner business is to expand in this region, then terminals at the potential home-ports of Cape Town and Durban are probably essential," he said.

"It is stated that in the KwaZulu-Natal commissioned work that more than 85% of cruise passengers believe that cruising is an important vehicle for sampling destinations to which they may return."

Cape Town's executive director for economics, social development and tourism Mansoor Mohamed said a major challenge was that a few major players dominated the industry.

"We need to contact the cruise liner operations to market the region to these countries to assess what is required to induce them so that Southern Africa can be included on their list of cruise destinations," he said.

"Our marketing bodies also need to be prominent at the relevant trade shows around the world to promote the region as a cruise liner destination."

The cruise liner industry is the fastest growing global tourism sector and the average growth rate of the sector has been 8% per annum since 1980. Over 12-million people went cruising in 2006 and the number is expected to grow to 16-million by 2009.

The industry is estimated to be worth about US$29-billion and it sustains approximately 559 000 jobs.

Source:http://www.southafrica.info/plan_trip/holiday/cities/ctcruise-191007.htm

Visiting the state in the summer or early fall is one of life's great pleasures

If you don't like picturesque New England towns overlooking sparkling harbors with little piers and sailboat masts, you probably should not visit the coast of Maine.

And if you don't like fresh lobster, crab, scallops or mussels, by all means don't go to the coast of Maine. It would be a big waste of time.

I know what you're thinking: Summer is over and I don't even have to consider another summer vacation for at least six months. And, of course, I'm not suggesting that you visit in winter. As Mark Twain is alleged to have said: Maine is cold, but it's damp.

Nonetheless, to visit Maine in the summer or early fall is one of life'spleasures that you owe yourself. And the sooner you start planning, the
sooner you'll be sitting in your own postcard, washing down lobster and crab with a cold Sam Adams.

The key to any good trip is information. So, get your hands on the most up-to-date travel books to see which part of Maine's considerable coastline you want to explore.

If you arrive in Camden, in the Midcoast region, you'll be struck by the authenticity of this old New England port. Sure, Camden is set up for visitors with various inns and a slew of quaint bed-and-breakfasts, but like most of the small towns along this coast, it hasn't surrendered its identity to tourism.

New Englanders love their towns, and their strong

traditions keep them from falling prey to bigger-is-better development.
Still, you can stroll down to the harbor and hook a ride on an old-fashioned two-masted windjammer. You'll catch the breeze for a long reach past forested islands on Penobscot Bay before coming about and hauling back to the mainland.

Once your stomach has settled, you can drop anchor dockside for a cold refresher and select your own lobster from a tank full of the crawly creatures. Set your watch for 10 minutes and voilÀ. Call it heaven. Call it Camden. What's the difference?

There are a host of other great spots along Maine's Midcoast. The most notable is quaint Boothbay Harbor. It's reportedly quite busy in July and August. But after Labor Day and before the onset of New England's colorful autumn "leaf peeping" season, you can have the place pretty much to yourself.

Stroll, or ride a bike, along the rocky coast as the warm fog rolls in and out playing watercolor magic with harbor boats and gingerbread houses. It's New England at its intoxicating best.

No tour of the Maine coast would be complete without an excursion Down East, where peninsulas and islands creep out into the cold North Atlantic. The most popular of these places is Bar Harbor near Acadia National Park on Desert Isle.

Once a gem, Bar Harbor is now, unfortunately, a tourist trap where bus after bus drops tour groups who choke the sidewalks and trinket shops. It's one of the few places along the coast that have given way to "Disneylandification" and where the food is overly expensive and decidedly mediocre. Enough said.

The more adventurous traveler will find Down East enchantment at little places like Castine, Blue Hill and Stonington. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, reservations at the few inns there are an absolute must.

After Labor Day, you could take a chance and, if you're lucky, get the last room in tiny Stonington on Deer Isle. If you like tranquility, this is the place for you. The historic hamlet is so quiet and beautiful that you may feel as if you're walking through a dreamscape.
Breathe deep, this is relaxation.

For a little excitement, you can wander out on the pier and watch the lobster fleet come in from 2 to 3 p.m., when you'll witness lobstermen weighing in their catch of the day.

Later on, repair to the Fisherman's Friend restaurant - one of only three eateries in Stonington - and chow down on that catch as the big orange sun falls into the harbor.

If you don't like lobster, try the scallops and mussels. And if you're one of those rare birds who can't stand shellfish, you're not completely out of luck. The haddock and cod will have your endorphins doing backflips.

A little self-discipline may be required here - if you're not careful, you could eat yourself into critical condition.

On the other hand, if you don't like fresh seafood at all, you're probably better off avoiding Maine altogether. That will leave more for us lobster and crab and mussel and scallop lovers. Did I mention Sam Adams?
Source:http://origin.sltrib.com/ci_7162520

McDuffie listed among top places to retire

McDuffie County was named one of the top 10 places in the state to retire in the Fall/Winter 2007 issue of the Retire in Georgia magazine.

"It's a big deal," said Elizabeth Vance, the McDuffie County tourism director, who turned in a nomination. "I think it's a great thing anytime you're named the best of anything. ... It only validates that McDuffie is a great place to live."

According to a press release sent out by the magazine, the editorial staff chooses 10 sites annually using criteria such as climate, travel and tourism assets, cost of living, healthcare infrastructure, housing, population, dynamics, community commitment, local park systems and lifelong learning opportunities.

Not ranked in any order, the top 10 places listed in the article are Albany-Dougherty; the City of Atlanta; Big Canoe in Pickens and Dawson Counties; Gainesville-Hall County; Douglas-Coffee County; Georgia's Lake Country in Morgan, Greene, Putnam and Baldwin Counties; Lowndes, Brooks and Lanier Counties; McDuffie and Columbia Counties; St. Mary's in Camden County and Thomasville-Thomas County.

Mrs. Vance said she did not work with Columbia County in filing McDuffie's nomination. She said migration data compiled by the magazine staff combined the two counties.

"It's not a negative thing to be with Columbia County," Mrs. Vance said. "What they don't have, we do. And what we don't have, they do. So we play off of each other. ... They have more city-like amenities, and we have a more laid back atmosphere."

Retire in Georgia is published two times a year in March and September. A partner of the Georgia Tourism Foundation, the magazine is promoted as the most comprehensive source for amenity-seeking active adults considering visiting and relocating to Georgia. The magazine is distributed throughout the state in visitor information centers, as well as chambers of commerce, county commissions, economic development and business organizations.

Complimentary issues are mailed to subscribers in Georgia and to households in states with an established pattern of relocations to Georgia, which is something Forward McDuffie Director Mike Carrington plans to take advantage of.

"It's one more thing I can use to promote our county," he said. "It's definitely something I can talk about when making presentations."
Source:http://mirror.augusta.com/