The Eight Magnificent and Historic Russian Kremlins

Some of the most prolific forts in the world can be found in Russia. In Russia, fort or citadel is known as Kremlin. Here are the 8 most magnificent forts in this huge country. These Kremlins are popular Russian tourist attractions.

1.) Peter and Paul Fortress

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The Peter and Paul Fortress is a grandiose structure located in St Petersburg, Russia. It is the original citadel of St. Petersburg founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and from 1706-1740. The fortress contains many remarkable buildings clustered around the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which has a 123.2 m bell-tower - the tallest in the downtown.

2.) Moscow Kremlin

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The Moscow Kremlin is a notable and historic fortified complex in Moscow, the capital of Russia. It is situated at the center of the city and overlooks the River Moskva, Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Red Square and Alexander Garden. Moscow Kremlin is the best known of Kremlins or Russian citadels. It includes 4 palaces, 4 cathedrals and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. The complex serves as the official residence of the President of Russia..

3.) Ivangorod Fortress

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Ivangorod Fortress is a remarkable fortification building located in the town of Ivangorod, Russia. This Russian medieval castle was established in 1492 and overlooks the Narva River Narva City, Estonia. This quadrilateral castle measures 150 m² with walls 14 meters tall.

4.) Shlisselburg Fortress

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Shlisselburg Fortress is magnificent-looking located in Shlisseburg, a town in Leningrad Oblas, Russia. It was constructed at the head of the Neva River on Lake Ladoga. The town and the fortress are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

5.) Suzdal Kremlin

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The Suzdal Kremlin is a beautiful fort and is the oldest part of the City of Suzdal. It dates back from the 10^th century. Like other Russian Kremlins, it was originally a fortress or citadel and was the religious and administrative center of the city. It is most notably the site of the Cathedral of the Nativity. This fortress, which was constructed in the 11^th century, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with several structures in the neighboring city of Valdimir.

6.) Kazan Kremlin

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The Kazan Kremlin is the chief historic citadel of Tatarstan, situated in Kazan City. It was built during the time of Ivan the Terrible and was declared in 2000 a UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

7.) Novgorod Kremlin

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Novgorod Kremlin is also known as “The Detinets”, the ancient name for the Kremlin or fortress. It stands on the left bank of the Volkhov River. The fort was constructed from 1484 to 1490 with a length of 545 meters and a width of 240 meters with 9 surviving towers. The tallest tower, the Kokui tower is capped by a silver dome. The walls are 1,487 meters in circumference. Today, it is possible to enter this tower and climb to the top.

8.) Brest Fortress

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Brest Fortress is a 19^th century Russian fortress in Brest, Belarus. It is one of the most important Soviet World War II war monuments commemorating the Soviet resistance against the German invasion on June 22, 1941. This fort is originally the largest 19^th century fortress of the Russian Empire. It has a total area of 4 km² with a fortified area 30 km in circumference. It is formerly known as Brest-Litovsk Fortress.

See also 

• Remarkable Forts for Tourist Destinations in France
• Historically Notable Forts From Around the World
• Historically Remarkable Forts Built by the Portuguese

Remarkably Popular Floating Villages in the World

Some group of people or tribe prefers to build their dwellings in bodies of water such as rivers and lakes. This peculiar type of community is called “floating villages”. Here are some notable floating villages from around the world.

1.) Amazon Floating Village – Amazon River

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The Amazon River Floating Village neighborhood is located in the Peruvian city of Iquitos. This city in Peru is the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest.

2.) Floating Islands – Lake Titicaca

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The Floating Island is home to the people of the Uros Islands of Lake Titicaca. They make their homes on large clumps of floating reeds. They eat reeds, they make their homes from reeds, and they build very seaworthy boats from bundles of reeds.

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The Uros are a pre-Incan people who live on 42 self-fashioned floating islands. The Uros Islands at 3810 meters above sea level is inhabited by approximately 2,000 descendants. They bury their dead on the mainland in special cemeteries.

3.) Water Dwellings - Tonle Sap Lake

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These water dwellings are located on the lake of Tonle Sap, near Siem Reap in Cambodia. The name of the lake means "Large Fresh Water River" but more commonly translated as "Great Lake". Tonle Sap is a combined lake and river system of major importance to Cambodia. It is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia.

4.) Aberdeen Floating Village – Hong Kong

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The Aberdeen Floating Village is located at the Aberdeen Harbor in the Southern District of Hong Kong. The harbor contains about 600 junks, which house an estimated 6,000 people.

5.) Bronze Age Stilt Houses – Lake Constance

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This stilt houses are the reconstruction of Bronze Age stilt houses or lake dwellings on Lake Contance in Uhldingen, Germany. These are not residential houses. It is called Pfahlbaumuseum Unteruhldingen, an archeological open air museum.

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Stone Age houses “Riedschachen”

6.) Yawnghwe City – Inle Lake

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This floating village is located in the City of Yawnghwe in the Inle Lake in the Shan Hills, Myanmar. This lake is the second largest lake in Myanmar with an estimated surface area of 116 km², and one of the highest at an altitude of 880 meters above sea level.

7.) Floating Village – Ha Long Bay

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This floating village is located in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. On this community, there are around 1,600 people who live in four fishing villages. They live on floating houses and are sustained through fishing and marine aquaculture.

8.) Floating Village – Siem Reap

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This Floating Village is located in Konpong Phluk in the Siem Reap Province on the Tonle Sap Lake, a combined lake and river in Cambodia.

See also

10 Unique Houses From Around the World

The Most Popular Houses in the United States of America

The US is well-known for its many and significant historic buildings and structures. These buildings are popular tourist attractions. There are also popular and historic houses that are notable tourist attractions in the different parts of the country. Most of them were home of presidents, celebrities and other notable personalities. Here are some of them.

1.) White House

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Undeniably, the White House is the most popular house not only in the US but in the world as well. It is the official residence and principal workplace of the US President. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C.

2.) Graceland

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Graceland is a popular house located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in Memphis. Tennessee. This large white-columned mansion and 5.6 ha estate was home to the King of Rock and Roll – Elvis Presley. This National Historic Landmark is 2^nd most-visited private home in America with over 600,000 visitors a year, next to the White House. It is also the burial place of Elvis and other family members

3.) Monticello

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Monticello is another famous house located just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. This historic structure was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the 3^rd US President and the principal author of the US Declaration of Independence. Monticello is also the site of Jefferson's burial place.

4.) Neverland Ranch

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Neverland Valley Ranch is a popular house located in Santa Barbara County in California. It is well-known because it is the home of the deceased American entertainer Michael Jackson from 1988 to 2005. Jackson named the property after Neverland, the fantasy island in the story of Peter Pan. It is currently owned by the Sycamore Valley Ranch Company.

5.) Mount Vernon

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Mount Vernon is another famous house in the US. It is located on the banks of the Potomac River near Alexandria, Virginia. It is popular because it was the plantation home of George Washington, the first US President. This historic mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style. This National Historic Landmark is owned and maintained in trust by The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. The mansion is open every day of the year, including holidays and Christmas.

6.) Winchester Mystery House

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The Winchester Mystery House is a popular mansion in California. It is located at 525 South Winchester Blvd. in San Jose, California. It was under construction continuously for 38 years and is reported to be haunted. This mansion was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester. This mansion is now a tourist attraction. The house is worth $71 million in 2010.

7.) Nathan G. Moore House

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The Nathan G. Moore House also known as the Moore-Dugal Residence is a house designed by the famous architect – Frank Lloyd Wright. It is located at 333 Forest Avenue in Chicago, Illinois.

8.) Fallingwater

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Fallingwater or Kaufmann Residence is another unique house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 and is regarded as his “most beautiful job”. It is located and was built partly over a waterfall on Bear Run in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains.

9.) Villa Vizcaya

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Villa Vizcaya is a notable house on Biscayne Bay in Miam, Florida. It is the landmark Villa and Estate of businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick-International Harvester fortune. The early 20^th century Vizcaya estate also includes: the extensive Italian Renaissance gardens; the native woodland landscape; and the historic village outbuildings compound. It is now called the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens and is now own by Miami-Dade Country. The Villa is open to the public.

10.) Biltmore House

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Biltmore House is a popular mansion located near Asheville, North Carolina. This huge mansion was built by George Washington Vanderbilt II from 1889 to 1895. It is popular because it is the largest privately-owned home in the United States with an area of16,300 m² with 250 rooms.

See also

• Well Preserved Heritage Old Houses in the Philippines
• Unique Houses of the World
• Unique Modern and Traditional Houses
• 10 Unique Houses From Around the World
• 20 World’s Most Unique Traditional Houses
• The 21 Most Impressively Unique House Designs

The Most Beautiful Tourist Attractions of Angola

Angola is a beautiful country in south central Africa. Its capital is the city of Luanda. The country is bounded by Namibia in the south, Zambia in the east and Democratic Republic of Congo in the north. The western portion of Angola is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean.

Here are some of the most beautiful tourist destinations in the country.

Valley of the Moon

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One of the most unique landscapes in Angola is the Valley of the Moon. It is also known as Miradouro da Lua or Wwatchpoint. This peculiar tourist attraction is situated at the coast 40 kilometers south of Luanda, Angola.

Kalendula Waterfalls

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One of the most stunning waterfalls, not only in Angola but also in the whole world, is the Kalendula Waterfalls. This geological beauty of nature lies on the Lucala River in Malange, Angola.

Black Stones

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Another unusual geologic formation in Angola is the "Black Stones" of Pungo Adongo near Malage, Angola.

Coatinha Beach

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If you want to go on swimming in Angola, the best destination is the beautiful Coatinha Beach in Benguela, Angola. The city of Benguela is located in western Angola, south of Luanda. This unique beach is part of the Benguela Bay.

Tazua Falls

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If you found Kalendula Waterfalls captivating, you will surely be attracted also by the stunning beauty of Tazua Falls in Rio Cuango. This tourist spot is one of richest sources of gem diamonds in Angola.

Luanda Island

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The Island of Luanda or Ilha de Luanda or Ilha do Cabo is a beautiful tourist destination in Angola. This island is located off the shore of Luanda. There are several resorts in the island and it is noted as the location to collect Zimbo, the shells that constituted the currency of the Kongo king before the arrival of the Portuguese.

Bay of Luanda

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One of the most beautiful bays in Angola and n Africa is the Bay of Luanda. The above photo shows a captivating view of the Bay of Luanda from Ilha de Luanda or Island of Luanda.

Big Welwitschia

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The largest known Welwitschia, nicknamed "The Big Welwitschia" is one of the wonder of natures that can be found in Angola and Namibia. This intriguing plant stands 1.4 meters tall and is more than 4 meters in diameter. The plant is considered a living fossil.

See also

• Best Tourist Destinations in the Philippines
• Best City Tourist Destinations in the World
• Top 10 Most Visited Countries in the World 

The Most Remarkable and Captivating Tundras in the World

Definition, type of tundra and examples

Some types of tundra include Scandinavian tundra, Alpine tundra and Arctic coastal tundra.

Yes some tundras are beautiful. What is tundra? Tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. It’s a Russian term from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr which means "uplands," "treeless mountain tract."

Here are some beautiful examples of tundra.

1.) Scandinavian Tundra

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This is the Scandinavian Montane Birch forests and grasslands ecoregion, a Palearctic eco-region of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, located in the Scandinavian countries of Finland, Norway and Sweden. The Scandinavian Tundra is one of the terrestrial eco-regions determined and defined by the World Wildlife Fund.

2.) Alpine Tundra

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This captivating landscape is an example of Alpine tundra. It is located in the Swiss Alps. This type of tundra that does not contain trees because it is at high altitude.

3.) Aleutian Islands

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The Aleutian Islands are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands, forming part of the Aleutian Arc in the Northern Pacific Ocean. Nearly all the archipelago is part of Alaska and usually considered as being in the "Alaskan Bush".

4.) Arctic Coastal Tundra

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Another beautiful example of tundra is the Arctic Coastal Tundra. This eco-region is located in the far north of North America. The region is an important breeding ground for a great deal of wildlife.

5.) Greenland Tundra

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Greenland Tundra is located in Sydkapp in Scoresby Sund, East Greenland. The skull on the foreground belongs to Musk Ox. The vegetation on the area is mostly Salix glauca.

6.) Alaska Tundra

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The Alaska Tundra is a bizarre example of tundra. It is treeless tundra in Alaska, USA.

See also 

• The World’s Most Beautiful and Important Savannas 
• The Most Beautiful and Significant Meadows in the World 
• World’s Most Beautiful and Unique Valleys 
• The World’s Most Attractive Atolls 
• The World’s Most Captivating Oases: Most Beautiful Paradises in the Midst of the Most Barren Landscapes 
• World’s Most Spectacular Sand Dunes (Blow Wind Blow: Build Me a Castle of My Dream) 
• World’s Most Amazing Cliffs and Fascinating Dunes

The World’s Most Beautiful and Important Savannas

Definition, type of savannas, importance and examples

Some types of savanna include oak savanna, equatorial savanna, tropical savanna and acacia savanna.

A Savanna is a land with both grass and either scattered trees or an open canopy of trees. It is also spelled savannah. A savanna is sometimes referred to grassland. Here are some notable examples of savannas in the world.

Oak Savanna

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North Slope Santa Ynez Mountains

This savanna is an example of an oak savanna which is a type of savanna, or lightly forested grassland, where oaks are the dominant tree species. These savannas were maintained historically through wildfires set by lightning, grazing, low precipitation, poor soil, and/or fires set by Native Americans.

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Oregon Oak Savanna

The oak savanna on the above photo is the Oregon oak savanna. The oak savannas of California were dominated by Valley oaks in the coastal regions' interior valleys and hills of the California chaparral and woodlands eco-region, and in the San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento Valley of the Central Valley eco-region and terrestrial biome.

Serengeti Plains

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Serengeti Plains is one of the most remarkable savannas in the world. The popular Serengeti ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa. It is located in north Tanzania and extends to south-western Kenya. The Serengeti hosts the largest mammal migration in the world. This natural travel wonder of the world contains several national parks and game reserves. Serengeti is from the Maasai word "Serengit" which means "Endless Plains".

San Rafael Gran Sabana

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San Rafael Gran Sabana or simply Gran Sabana is an important attraction of Venezuela. Gran Sabana means “Great Savanna”. It is located in the south of Bolivar State on the Venezuelan-Brazilian border.

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The Gran Sabana lies on a plateau with a mean altitude of 1,000 meters above sea level and is dotted with huge table-top mountains called tepuis, which rise dramatically from the surrounding plains.

Illinois Grassland

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The above photo is a restored Illinois grassland ecosystem at Morton Arboretum. Temperate grassland like this is a terrestrial biome whose predominant vegetation consists of grasses and/or shrubs.

Equatorial Savanna

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Another type of the savanna is Equatorial savanna. The above picture of an Equatorial savanna is located in the East Province of Cameroon in Africa.

Angolan Mopane Woodlands

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The Angolan Mopane Woodlands are located in northern Namibia and southwestern Angola. This ecosystem surrounds Etosha Pan, which is considered a separate eco-region. The slim, elegant mopane trees are the main type of vegetation

Tropical Savanna

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The Australian savannah is a typical tropical savanna located in Northern Australia. It is characterized by high tree density and regular spacing characteristic of many savannas.

Acacia Savanna

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Like Oak Savannas, an Acacia Savanna is lightly forested grassland, where acacias are the dominant tree species. The Acacia Savanna on the above photo is located south of Fada N'Gourma, Burkina Faso.

See also

• The Most Beautiful and Significant Meadows in the World
• World’s Most Beautiful and Unique Valleys
• The World’s Most Attractive Atolls
• The World’s Most Captivating Oases: Most Beautiful Paradises in the Midst of the Most Barren Landscapes
• World’s Most Spectacular Sand Dunes (BlowWind Blow: Build Me a Castle of My Dream)
• World’s Most Amazing Cliffs and Fascinating Dunes