Deir ez-Zor was the largest city in the eastern part of Syria. Have you ever seen an entire city that has been destroyed? The city was destroyed in the recent war, and images of it are on Google Street View.
This city is on the Euphrates River and goes back to ancient times.
ALL IMAGES ARE FROM GOOGLE STREET VIEW
Dar Es Salaam is the largest city, although no longer the capital, of Tanzania. Dar Es Salaam is on the coast of the Indian Ocean. What can you tell about Dar Es Salaam just by the name of the city? Tanzania is in southern Africa, but Dar Es Salaam sounds like an Arabic name. That tells us that this was an important city in maritime trading, particularly with the Arabian Peninsula far to the north.
The following scenes begin in the central part of the city. The first four images of central Dar Es Salaam are from Google Street View.
Notre Dame Cathedral, in Paris, is reopening after more than five years of reconstruction following the 2019 fire. Images of what the cathedral looked like before that are still on Google Street View.
ALL IMAGES ARE FROM GOOGLE EARTH OR STREET VIEW
The coronation cathedral was actually Reims Cathedral. This was where most French kings were crowned. The exterior of Reims Cathedral is similar to that of Notre Dame. I didn't show the exterior of Notre Dame Cathedral because of all the scaffolding for the reconstruction. Reims Cathedral was damaged in the First World War and there was a great reconstruction project, similar to that of Notre Dame, after the war.
North of Notre Dame Cathedral, in Paris, is the Basilica of St. Denis. All of these cathedrals are of the Gothic style but St. Denis is regarded as the first fully Gothic cathedral. This is where the tombs of most French kings are.
This is the tomb of the king and queen that were overthrown and guillotined in the French Revolution of 1789, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, in St. Denis. But they were not placed in this tomb until more than 20 years after their original burial.
One of the best-known French cathedrals is the one at Chartres.
The reopening of Notre Dame following reconstruction reminds me that Niagara Falls has it's own similar story.
Maybe the real focal point of the Canadian side of Niagara Falls is the Country Fresh Donuts store at the corner of Victoria Avenue and Jepson Street. This is not far from the tourist district. Image from Google Street View.
This donut shop is important to this blog because I used to stop there to write down observations that I had just made about the natural history of the area. I began stopping there because it was a familiar location. I had lived nearby when I was a child and my mother used to work at Kennedy's Drug Store, which had been on the site of the donut shop.
The donut shop was very popular with local people. Ten years ago the donut shop was in the news across Ontario. A car ran off the road and went right through the building. I didn't see it but it looks like it crashed through the side with the three windows at the right and then crashed right through the back. Somehow no one was hurt. I didn't read that alcohol was a factor.
When the donut shop reopened it was in the news again. This time it was because a long line of people were waiting at the door. This place is so popular locally. It has it's own menu and is known for Wonton soup.
