Bijapur INDIA

The beautiful city of Bijapur is located in Karnataka in South India.
It is famous for the many historic marvels that dot the city. The
history of the city dates back to the 11thcentury when it was founded
by the Chalukya dynasty. They referred to it as Vijayapura.
It was since the 14th century that the city was being called Vijapur
or Bijapur when it came under the Bahamani sultanate of Gulbarga . The
city was taken over by theAdil shah dynasty in the 15th century. Much
of the city's greatness belongs tothe monuments that wereconstructed
during this period. After India's independence the place became part
of the Bombay state but it was restored to Mysore in 1956.
The city comprises people of both Aryan and Dravidian descent. Most of
the city's population is Hindu Lingayat. There are very few Christian
and Muslim communities in the region.
There are several world famous locations in the city such as the following:
*. Gol Gumbaz , one of thelargest domes in the world
*. Ibrahim Rauza , an architectural marvel
*. Jumma Masjid , the largest mosque in the area
*. Malik-e-Maidan, the largest medieval cannon in the world. There are
many more equally magnificent structures like Asar Mahal, Chand Bawdi,
Gagan Mahal, Barakaman and Upri Buruj. Besides these the city also has
several sprawling gardens.
Bijapur still maintains its royal character and the many monuments are
sure to acquaint one with the rich culture and tradition of the area.

Agra India : Plains : Uttar Pradesh

The Taj Mahal
Agra [1] is the city of the Taj Mahal, in the north Indian state of
Uttar Pradesh , some 200 km from Delhi .
Agra has three UNESCO World Heritage sites, the Taj Mahal and the Agra
Fort in the city and Fatehpur Sikri nearby. There are also many other
buildings and tombs from Agra's days of glory as the capital of the
Mughal Empire.
The city has little else to recommend it. Pollution, especially smog
and litter, is rampant and travellers are pestered by swarms oftouts
and hawkers at every monument, mosque,temple or palace. That said, the
sites are some of the wonders of the world and no trip to India is
complete without at least one visit to the Taj.
[ edit ] Understand
While Agra's heyday was as the capital of the Mughal empire between
1526 and 1658, the city was founded much earlier.The earliest
reference to Agra is in the ancient epic, the Mahabharata, while
Ptolemy was the first person to call it by its modern name. The
recorded history of Agra begins around the 11th century, and over the
next500 years, the city changed hands between various kings, both
Hindu and Muslim.
In 1506, Sultan Sikandar Lodi, the ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, moved
his capital from Delhi to Agra. His son Ibrahim Lodi was the last
ruler of the Lodi dynasty, as he was defeated in 1526 by Babur, the
first Mughal ruler, in the battle of Panipat. Agra fell too, and
became the capital of the Mughals, whose rule over Agra was
uninterrupted except for a brief period between 1540 and 1556. In
1540, Sher Shah Shuri overthrew Humayun became the ruler of much of
North India, including Agra. After Sher Shah Suri'sdeath his
descendants proved unequal to the task of ruling the kingdom, and
Hemu, a Hindu general of Suri became the effective ruler who would
later crown himself King HemachandraVikramaditya just as the kingdom
was facing an assault from the reinvigorated Mughals. In 1556, Hemu
would be defeated and killed in the second battle of Panipat, and the
Mughals regained Agra.
Mughals were great builders. Babur built the Aram Bagh (garden of
relaxation) modeled after the garden of paradise, where he was
eventually buried after his death. His grandson Akbar refurbished the
Agra fort and built the Fatehpur Sikri , an entire city just onthe
outskirts of Agra. He also renamed Agra after himself, and the city
was known as Akbarabad while it was in Mughal hands. Akbar's grandson
Shah Jehan would give Agra its most famous monument, the Taj Mahal ,
which is the mausoleum of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal . The Taj is
constructed in white marble. It took 20 years toconstruct, and is now
universally known as a monument to love. Legend has it that Shah Jehan
wanted a replica of the Taj constructed in black marble that would be
his final resting place. There is no actual support for this theory,
but even if it were true, it would havebeen unlikely to be eventuated.
His son Aurangzeb was austere and pious, and had no time or
inclination for the ostentation of his forefathers, preferring to
spend his money on wars in South India. In any case,even during Shah
Jehan's reign, which was the period when the Mughal empire was at its
height, the construction of the Taj put a strain on the resources of
the empire and caused a min-famine around Agra. Shah Jehan was
eventually buried in the white Taj, next to his beloved Begum.
Shah Jehan, in addition to giving Agra its greatest claim to fame, was
also responsible for beginning its decline, as decided to shift his
capital to Shahjehanabad, which we now know as Old Delhi, in 1658.
Though Aurangzeb ordered a move back, this too was short lived, as he
moved his headquarters down south to Aurangabad to be focus onhis
wars. Agra declined, and so did the Mughal Empire. The city was
eventually captured by theMarathas, who renamed it back to Agra. In
1803, it came under the British, who situated the Agra Presidency
there, and when India gained independence, the city was incorporated
into the state of Uttar Pradesh, anddid not gain even the limited
honour of being the state's capital, that distinction going to Lucknow
, further east. It isnow a tourist town, known for the Taj and a
couple of other monuments.
Anyone interested in reading a novel based on the remarkable story
behind the Taj Mahal's creation should consider Beneath a Marble Sky
by John Shors. Beneath a Marble Sky is an international bestseller,
has won multiple awards, and is being made into a movie by Hollywood.
Other book (historical fiction) is The Taj by Colin De Silva.
[ edit ] Get in
Agra is 200 km southeast from Delhi and is one of the points of the
tourist's Golden Triangle of Agra- Delhi - Jaipur . Agra is also very
well connected via rail/

Hollywood, California

Although Hollywood is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, for some it's
more a state-of-mind. "I'mgoing to Hollywood," say young hopefuls who
dream of acting in movies or on television.
Indeed, they're going to Los Angeles but probably not to Hollywood
itself. Though Hollywood has long represented the glitz and glamour of
the film, television, and music industries, most studios have moved
away from this quirky district in favor of other L.A. neighborhoods,
like Burbank.
Nevertheless, Hollywood still attracts millions of visitors each year
who travel there to pay homage to their favorite stars and perhaps
even catch a glimpse of a few famous personalities. Sometimes they're
lucky! And while, for years, Hollywood had a rather seedy reputation,
the town has endeavored to make recent improvements in the areasmost
visited by tourists, adding a new kind of charm to this interesting
neighborhood.
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Hollywood is fun to explore on foot but, by far,the best way to see
Hollywood and all of its sights is by taking a narrated bus tour of
the city, especially if it's your first visit. Visitors will find lots
of companies with kiosks on Hollywood Boulevard touting their tours as
the best available.In fact, many of them are very good and will
provide you with an excellent overview of the landmark attractions in
the city.
Some of the tours are fairly short while others will consume the
better part of the day. Which youchoose will depend on justhow
star-struck you mightbe! Most of the tours also venture into nearby
neighborhoods, particularly Beverly Hills, the area where many
starsmake their homes and have for decades. Though the buses aren't
allowed to come to a complete stop in front of the houses,you'll still
get a good look at them.

NEWS - ~ Britain marks Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee

The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, HCMR, form up in the early
hours of this morning Friday, June 1, 2012 at the Palace of
Westminster, London during the Queens Diamond Jubilee Procession
rehearsal. (AP)
Mugs celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
on sale in Trafalgar Squareon June 1, 2012 in London,England. (AP)
Britain on Saturday kicks off four days of celebrations to mark Queen
Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee, includinga 1,000-boat river pageantand
a star-studded concert.
The queen starts the festivities by indulging in her love of horse
racing at the Epsom Derby on Saturday before riding in aceremonial
barge on the Thames at the centre of the giant flotilla on Sunday.
One million people are expected to line the river to see the
extravaganza ofsteam boats and tugs, speed boats and historic vessels.
A concert in the shadow ofBuckingham Palace featuring Paul McCartney
and other top names is the highlight on Monday before the four-day
extravaganza culminates in the pomp and splendour of a ceremonial
parade on Tuesday.
Aside from the setpiece events in London, millions of people up and
down the country are commemorating the jubilee by throwing a party at
home.
"It looks like the entirety of Britain is going to turn out," said
historian Kate Williams, the author of"Young Elizabeth: The Making of
our Queen".
They will be making the most of the two-day public holiday granted for
an historic occasion -- the queen is only the second British monarch
to celebrate a diamond jubilee, after queen Victoria, in 1897.
Union Jacks are fluttering in streets and shop windows and retailers
report that red, white and blue bunting and even jubilee garden gnomes
areselling fast.
The celebrations take place as the royal family enjoys its highest
support for decades, with a recent poll showing that 80 percent of
Britons want the country to remain a monarchy.
Those levels of support are comparable to 1953, the year of the
queen's coronation.
Coming hot on the heels of Prince William's wedding to the then Kate
Middleton last year, the jubilee is likely to further boost the
royals' popularity.
Amid the acclaim for the queen it is easy to forget that just a decade
ago, thepicture was very different.
Following the death of Diana, princess of Wales, ina Paris car crash
in 1997, the monarch was widely criticised for failing to join in the
public outpouring ofgrief.
She did eventually bow toDiana's coffin as it passed, a moment that
Williams says was a turning point.
Now there is a "massive surge" of affection for the queen both in
Britain and across the Commonwealth, said Williams.
"At the moment the queen's popularity is as high as it's ever been
sinceher coronation," she told AFP.
"This is really quite incredible when you think about how
extraordinarilyunpopular she was after the death of Diana."
At the centre of the celebrations is an 86-year-old great-grandmother,
who was visiting Kenya in February 1952 when she was told that her
father, king George VI, had died atthe age of 56, thrusting her into
the role of queen.
When she ascended to thethrone in 1952 aged just 25, Winston Churchill
was prime minister of Britain, Jawaharlal Nehru led the
newly-independent India and swathes of Africa and Asia were still
governed by Britain.
She has visited 116 countries over the past six decades, but in a nod
to her age she and her husband Prince Philip have given their children
the task of visiting the countries of the Commonwealth in the jubilee
year.
Philip has recovered from emergency heart surgery in December and is
expected to play a full partin the jubilee celebrations, just a week
before his 91stbirthday.

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