Asia

The Sultan of Brunei

The ostentatious Istana Nurul Iman palace is the official residence of the one-time richest man on the planet, the Sultan of Brunei. Arguably this is the largest residential palace in the world, and possibly even the largest residence of any…

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Monday, 16th October 2006

Operation Human Shield

It seems that Trey Parker and Matt Stone may have been more accurate with their parody of the US military in the South Park movie than they probably intended. Terrifyingly, here in Iraq, Google Earth has uncovered that the US…

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Friday, 13th October 2006

Shekou Sea World

Back in 1962 France launched a ship named Ancerville, which was purchased by the People’s Republic of China in 1973 and renamed Minghua. 10 years later the ship was permanently berthed at Shekou, Shenzhen, where she was refurbished and rebranded…

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Thursday, 12th October 2006

Shaolin Reservoir

Many believe that Shaolin Kung-Fu originated at the world-famous Shaolin Monastery but it is a little known fact that the nearby Shaolin Reservoir, is the true Kung-Fu mecca. OK, I made that up – the monastery is in a low…

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Monday, 2nd October 2006

Iwo Jima (Island Week)

(It’s Island Week all this week at GGSS, which means we’ll mostly be posting about Islands. Catchy name, huh?) The tiny volcanic island of Iwo Jima, part of the Ogasawara Islands, is just over 1000km south of Tokyo. It was…

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Monday, 28th August 2006

Baikonur Cosmodrome

Baikonur Cosmodrome is the world’s oldest and largest operational space launch facility where you can clearly see the Energia, Soyuz and Proton launch platforms. Located in what is now Kazakhstan, the facility was named Baikonur to confuse the West of…

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Sunday, 27th August 2006

Welcome to Google Sightseeing

Google Sightseeing takes you on tour of the world as seen from satellite, using the free Google Earth program, or Google Maps in your web browser. Our team of authors present weird and wonderful sights as suggested by readers.

Could you be one of our authors? We're looking for more freelance writers - please get in touch for more information.

Best of Google Sightseeing

Sivash: The Rotten Sea

Sivash is the shallow system of lagoons that separates Crimea from mainland Ukraine. Home to large-scale salt deposits, Sivash may just contain the most colourful waters to be found in Google Maps, with ponds of blue, beige and organe readily visible.

Robben Island

Robben Island is a prison island off Capetown, South Africa, best known as the jail where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated…

Revisiting Area 51

Whether it’s space aliens, light-speed travelling spaceships, or just some top-secret government testing, the world’s most famous “secret place” has…

Top Ten Northernmost Items on Google Maps

Here at Google Sightseeing, our obsession with superlatives knows no bounds, whether it be the largest, the smallest, the funniest, or the strangest. Join us as we literally go in another direction with our look at ten items that have the right to be called the northernmost such things on Earth!

Top 5 Worst Traffic Cities in the World

Nobody likes traffic. The frequent starts and stops just to roll another few feet can grind away at anyone’s mind.…

World’s Tallest Lighthouses

For centuries lighthouses have served as navigation aids, helping protect marine traffic from running aground on dangerous coastlines, rocks and…

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