# Capitals cities .



## nath1

Hi all , ok . in your opinion do you think that your capital city is the true heart to your country or do you find that there is another city in your country which is far more intresting. For instance, where would you recommend a friend to go if  he or she was visiting, and could only go to one major city. On my part, i have never been to london, and at thirty two years old that may seem bad. But i have travelled to nearly all destinations in the UK, so its not that i do not travel. It is more out of want, i just do not have any desire to go there. On the other hand there are hundreds of foriegn tourists that go to London each year, trying to take in all the sights and get a feel for what the English are all about. If i was to recommend it would be Manchester or perhaps Nottingham. So what do you say? cheers


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## maxiogee

You are asking a blinkered and pre-judging question. 

The true heart of Ireland is not to be found in cities.


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## Etcetera

If you ask me where to go if you're going to visit Russia, I'll recommend you to travel to St. Petersburg, the northern capital of our country! This city is far more beautiful, stylish, interesting and friendly than the official capital, Moscow.
My friends from Moscow will hardly ever agree with me, though.


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## nath1

Yes that is the problem, if i say "do not go to London" then it would undoubtly cause offence . cheers


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## robbie_SWE

I think that Stockholm is the true heart of Sweden even if I'm going to get a lot of criticism for this statement. Since I live in the south of Sweden (more precisely the 7th biggest city in Sweden), I'm not that often in Stockholm. I've actually only been there once. But that one time just took my breath away! I would like to say that Stockholm IS the most beautiful and interesting city in Sweden, according to me! 

  robbie


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## .   1

maxiogee said:
			
		

> You are asking a blinkered and pre-judging question.
> 
> The true heart of Ireland is not to be found in cities.


 
You beat me to the punch. I would never suggest that a person visit a city to find the heart of a country.

My suggestion would be for a small country town.

.,,


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## shaloo

. said:
			
		

> You beat me to the punch. I would never suggest that a person visit a city to find the heart of a country.
> 
> *My suggestion would be for a small country town*.
> 
> .,,
> *Cities are just cities*


 
I too agree with your point.

Cities are just cities everywhere in the world. They have all modern facilities required, enough to be labelled as a CITY.

What would anyone expect from another country? DIFFERENCE !! 
And to experience that difference, I would suggest a tourist to get information about villages and lesser known towns....to get the real feel of the visiting country.

In India, I wouldn't suggest any of the metropolitan or cosmopolitan cities.
They are just like any other cities in the world. 

I would say.....each state in India is unique.....so, visiting smaller places in each state would be a lovely experience......a blend of all cultures.

Where else in the world can anyone find such a vast range of cultures and religions (especially during certain festive seasons)? 

Shaloo


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## barkley04

robbie_SWE said:
			
		

> I think that Stockholm is the true heart of Sweden even if I'm going to get a lot of criticism for this statement. Since I live in the south of Sweden (more precisely the 7th biggest city in Sweden), I'm not that often in Stockholm. I've actually only been there once. But that one time just took my breath away! I would like to say that Stockholm IS the most beautiful and interesting city in Sweden, according to me!
> 
> robbie


I think that götebörg is the true heart of sweden.


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## barkley04

nath1 said:
			
		

> Hi all , ok . in your opinion do you think that your capital city is the true heart to your country or do you find that there is another city in your country which is far more intresting. For instance, where would you recommend a friend to go if  he or she was visiting, and could only go to one major city. On my part, i have never been to london, and at thirty two years old that may seem bad. But i have travelled to nearly all destinations in the UK, so its not that i do not travel. It is more out of want, i just do not have any desire to go there. On the other hand there are hundreds of foriegn tourists that go to London each year, trying to take in all the sights and get a feel for what the English are all about. If i was to recommend it would be Manchester or perhaps Nottingham. So what do you say? cheers


I went to England and stayed there for a whole month in derby and in nottingham and i truly found them better than london.


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## barkley04

maxiogee said:
			
		

> You are asking a blinkered and pre-judging question.
> 
> The true heart of Ireland is not to be found in cities.


The true heart of Ireland is in its whiskey and celt music.
Cheers.


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## Vespasian

In my opinion the two most important and interesting cities in Switzerland are Zurich and Geneva. But because of the Swiss federalism Bern was chosen as the capital.


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## ukuca

Our capital city Ankara is more like a bureaucratic city which contains the parliament, another departments of ministeries, headquarters of government managements. It's a well organized city, but I would recommend Istanbul instead which is a rather crowded, gorgious  cosmopolitan. It was the capital city of Ottoman Empire. I live in Istanbul and I can say that it really is the true heart of our country (by every means).


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## fenixpollo

barkley04 said:
			
		

> The true heart of Ireland is in its whiskey and celt music.
> Cheers.


 I wonder if the Irish would agree with you.

For those of you (maxi, shaloo, .,,) that say that the heart of a country is not in its cities but in its towns in the countryside, two questions:
What do you mean by "the heart" of a country?
Do you live in a city or in a town?


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## maxiogee

fenixpollo said:
			
		

> barkley04 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The true heart of Ireland is in its whiskey and celt music.
> 
> 
> 
> I wonder if the Irish would agree with you.
Click to expand...

My twin reactions on reading this were (a) stereotyping, and (b) what would a Muslim know about whiskey?  




> For those of you (maxi, shaloo, .,,) that say that the heart of a country is not in its cities but in its towns in the countryside, two questions:
> What do you mean by "the heart" of a country?
> Do you live in a city or in a town?



(A) I'm not so sure that Ireland *has* a heart, but *if* it has it is its people - especially when relaxed and interacting with their landscape, and their creative interpretation of it - in art, in music and in just living there.
(B) I live in Dublin - have done all my life. It has become a "modern city" and it is not the better for it. It has become soulless, and the life of the villages which used to comprise it has been sucked out of them - by sprawling, focusless housing estates, and by suburban-edge shopping centres. The local has been lost, and the city which one could walk across in an afternoon has stretched to breaking point. The communities are gone, the price of property is such that both spouses in a marriage have to work to pay a mortgage, leaving the housing estates where they live to become dormitories where no-one knows their neighbour.
The older housing stock of the villages is similarly owned by wealthy couples - who still need two incomes to pay their huge mortgages - the house we bought about 16 months ago has already risen by about 40%.


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## Pivra

I would say for Thailand, we have a pretty messy and congested heart lol. If it were human, it would have a heart disease. I don't really recommend people to stay in BKK for long, but instead fly south to Samuiy or Puket. Those cities are better for vacations and they have more things to do. Chiang Mai is good too but due to its small roads in the walled downtown, people might find the city too crowded as well. But, anyway, I lived in central Thailand for all my life and I find that it sucks (yes BKK Ayutthaya, Pattaya. etc etc.) compared to other regions where tourist industry is booming.


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## cirrus

nath1 said:
			
		

> Yes that is the problem, if i say "do not go to London" then it would undoubtly cause offence . cheers



Not at all, and I say that as someone who lives in London.

Having said that there are some things here which are fun, just don't confuse the place with the rest of the country which to my mind is quite different.


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## Stéphane89

As for Belgium, I think that Brussels is the most interesting place though I quite don't like that city and find it not very much interesting... Indeed, there's not many things to see apart from the 'Maneken Pis' (A little boy who's pissing in a foutain), the Atomium (A huge and ugly scrap-heap with nothing intresting to see in it though they tried to make it look a little bit more beautiful), the Grand-Place (The least big Grand-Place of the world, every time I walk down that place I wonder what do people find interesting to it) and Bruparck (some sort of place with entairtenments such as Mini Europe and a cinema). There's also some boring museums like 'Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts' filled with boring stuffs and pictures which I have to visit once a year with my school.

As you can see, not very interesting. But I thing it's still the most intresting in Belgium... I'm still wondering how it has happened that Brussels has become the Capital of Europe...


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## .   1

fenixpollo said:
			
		

> I wonder if the Irish would agree with you.
> 
> For those of you (maxi, shaloo, .,,) that say that the heart of a country is not in its cities but in its towns in the countryside, two questions:
> What do you mean by "the heart" of a country?
> Do you live in a city or in a town?


 
The heart of a country is the people of the country.
I lived in Sydney for about a decade between 1979 and 1982.
I now live on the extreme outer edge of Melbourne.

Every city I visit in Australia is practically the same. The same Starbucks and KFC and Maccas and Coke signs everywhere and people as they shoulder one and other in their rush and nervous haste. Street signs are becomming multilingual. Shops have been replaced by Shopping Malls and once I walk through the doors of a Mall I may as well be in Noo Yark as all the shops are in set patterns modeled on the USAmerican experience.

For a poetic taste of my opinion I defer to A.B. (Banjo) Patterson in his classic 'Clancy Of The Overflow'.

.,,


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## barkley04

maxiogee said:
			
		

> My twin reactions on reading this were (a) stereotyping, and (b) what would a Muslim know about whiskey?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (A) I'm not so sure that Ireland *has* a heart, but *if* it has it is its people - especially when relaxed and interacting with their landscape, and their creative interpretation of it - in art, in music and in just living there.
> (B) I live in Dublin - have done all my life. It has become a "modern city" and it is not the better for it. It has become soulless, and the life of the villages which used to comprise it has been sucked out of them - by sprawling, focusless housing estates, and by suburban-edge shopping centres. The local has been lost, and the city which one could walk across in an afternoon has stretched to breaking point. The communities are gone, the price of property is such that both spouses in a marriage have to work to pay a mortgage, leaving the housing estates where they live to become dormitories where no-one knows their neighbour.
> The older housing stock of the villages is similarly owned by wealthy couples - who still need two incomes to pay their huge mortgages - the house we bought about 16 months ago has already risen by about 40%.


well, allow me to say that i have to know about whiskey and wine since we have a touristic restaurant in tunis. Who does not know the irish spirit?
as Irish, you are famous for your good whiskey and your beatiful folklore music and you should be proud of it. Whether i drink or not or know about whiskey or not is a personal matter and i would like to keep it confidential.


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## Aldin

Sarajevo is the heart of Bosnia,and everything is situated in Sarajevo.
But towns like Travnik(beautiful nature,old foretress,interesting architecture,mosque with minaret on different side than usual);Mostar(with famous bridge over Neretve,ruined in war by Croats,but again rebuilt),Visoko(town where Bosnian Pyramid of Sun,Moon and Dragon are situated).So in future Visoko could be a heart of my country.


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## Elibennet

Argentina is like many countries at the same time. If you come to Buenos Aires you will see the tango tradition, hectic, dirty, but soooo beautiful! But definitely it doesn´t represent the culture from the Coyas, Aimaras, Guaranies and other native groups that live in the south, or the mapuches from the Patagonia.


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## Confused Linguist

In a country as diverse as India, no city can truly reflect the spirit of the nation (at least, this is what I feel).


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## Miguelillo 87

On México , I think México city is the 2heart” of the city if you take “heart” as a cosmopolitan view of Mexico, We have museums, parks, pyramids, Churches , La basilica where Guadalupe Virgen is, It’s maybe what makes Mexico city , the heart of Mexico, But I also agree with the others, the true heart of the country is on its people, on the little towns.
Also it’s really difficult to say a heart in a big country as Mexico id, For example in the north people could say it’s Monterrey, In the Shout, Mérida, on the West Guadalajara on the East Veracruz. I don’t know every state of the republic has its own special Magic.


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## Sallyb36

maxiogee said:
			
		

> You are asking a blinkered and pre-judging question.
> 
> The true heart of Ireland is not to be found in cities.



Is it in the Liffey maxiogee??


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## maxiogee

The Liffey - no. The Shannon, maybe.

You might find the heart of Ireland in a place where no buildings can be seen.
You might find it in talking to people who don't tremble in dread when there is talk of a mortgage interest rate rise.
You might find it in people who listen more than they speak.


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## panjabigator

For India, I would agree with Shaloo!  The heart of India is outside the cities....as it is, the big cities are becomming more and more western every day.  If you want to see the heart of the country, go to the villages and observe the daily life, walk through a field, talk with the villagers.


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## rocioteag

Well, I do not see any kind of comment about Mexico, so here I go, and sorry if I make any mistake!! 
 
 
In Méxcio you have a lot of places to visit, not only in Mexico City.
 
In Mexico City, you can see everything like other cities in the world, but, we also have, incredible examples about buildings built in other time, other history, México talks about it´s history by the buildings and the people that lives here, who has a lot of ancient custumes, even now. Places like Teotihuacan are amazing, such as our incredible churches, and ruins, just in the center ok our Capital City.
 
And… if you want to see more about our culture and traditions, you can also  visit our beaches, but not only the turistic places (like mazatlan, Acapulco or Cancún). If you visit the south, you will also find Cenotes, Piramides, Jungles…. And if you go to the north, you can find places like Barranca del Cobre, and incredible place to be…. Near the pacific, we find places with mistery  and with a lot of stories about witchs (even now), in the center of our country, you will also find so many places with churches, buildings and very ancient traditions….
 
So, Mexico City is a very nice place to be, but, if you want to know Mexico, you need to visit to many places…..and choose your favorite!!!!


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## Pivra

I watched a video from a foreigner somewhere else that Chiang Mai and Bangkok are the hearts of Thailand, the other "natural" places are very overruned by tourists, defaced to serve tourism (cities like Samui, Phuket, Krabi, Pattaya(sex capital lol) etc etc). In Chiang Mai and Bangkok you can see people live their lives, pure, no decorations to fit touristry, two cultures (siamese and lanna), the two cities have different types of foods 

Chaing Mai: KhanTok dinner, sit on the floor, use hands to eat, the dishes are on small tables. 

Bangkok: (stereo)Typical Thai food.

In Samui Krabi etc etc, mainly seafood, made for tourists. Cleaner, every thing that shows that those cities are in Thailand is hidden lol. My teacher went to Samui, she came back and said that it is teaming with tourists. I've never been there but I don't know how an island that small can fit that many people.

So, yes, I guess so, the heart of Thailand is Bangkok(confirmed by tourists lol) and Pattaya is the v_gin_ and the scar on our culture(I'm not going to say why).


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## Johnny Blaze

Dublin IS Ireland.


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## maxiogee

Johnny Blaze said:
			
		

> Dublin IS Ireland.


  
How many months have you spent in places outside the 01 area?


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## Johnny Blaze

maxiogee said:
			
		

> How many months have you spent in places outside the 01 area?


As little as possible  Seriously though, outside of Dublin there's not much in this country excluding the nice scenery.


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## maxiogee

Johnny Blaze said:
			
		

> maxiogee said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> How many months have you spent in places outside the 01 area?
> 
> 
> 
> As little few as possible  Seriously though, outside of Dublin there's not much in this country excluding the nice scenery.
Click to expand...


That depends on how you define "much" and whether you look for something other than a Dublin-like 'scene'.


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## Etcetera

Aldin said:
			
		

> But towns like Travnik(beautiful nature,old foretress,interesting architecture,mosque with minaret on different side than usual.


I remember reading a novel by Ivo Andric about Travnik. Judging from it, Travnik is indeed well worth visiting!


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