Tag: Maps
Indonesia Charts Own Territory
by Julia Ross | 02.16.09 | 1:38 PM ET
Good news for map lovers: Indonesia has released a national atlas for the first time in the country’s history. The Jakarta Post reports that Indonesians have relied, until now, on maps published in the 1938 Netherland Indies Atlas, drawn up when the country was still a Dutch colony. The new atlas—to be published in three volumes—provides a much needed catalogue of Indonesia’s current climatic, geological and cultural characteristics. Interestingly, the first volume includes photos and satellite images of the destruction wrought by the 2004 tsunami in Banda Aceh.
“I should say it’s about time we had an official atlas. We’re very late in achieving this compared to other nations,” said Indonesia’s Research and Technology Minister. This got me thinking: Maybe publication of a national atlas should be noted alongside maternal mortality and annual GDP as a marker for development. It’s an impressive achievement, by any measure.
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Yahoo! BuzzBritish Man Jailed for Mutilating Antique Maps, Travelogues
by Eva Holland | 01.22.09 | 4:10 PM ET
A wealthy British book collector has been sentenced to two years in prison for stealing from the British Library. Farhad Hakimzadeh had used a scalpel to slice pages and maps out of more than 150 rare books, most dating to the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. His subject matter of choice? “The engagement by West European travellers with Mesopotamia, Persia and the Mogul empire—roughly the area from modern Syria to Bangladesh.” A British Library staffer called Hakimzadeh’s actions “an attack on the nation’s collective memory of its own past,” and added that he had damaged “our historical record with how this country has engaged in that part of the world.”
Sadly, cases of high-profile book vandalism and theft aren’t uncommon—but they never fail to shock me. (The theft, also from the British Library, of some of the first-ever maps of Canada a few years ago hit especially close to home.) I don’t want to get too Orwellian here, but something about the theft and destruction of irreplaceable historical documents, the literal dismantling of our physical historical record, strikes me as deeply sinister. It’s a relief to hear that there’s now one less perp running loose in the stacks.
Morning Links: Skycar, Disney Shanghai and More
by Michael Yessis | 01.15.09 | 9:07 AM ET
- Disney and Shanghai have reportedly agreed on plans for a new Disney theme park in China.
- Google has added a transit layer to its maps in 50 world cities.
- The Skycar—a flying car—departed from London to Timbuktu with Neil Laughton behind the wheel.
- CNN offers video profiles of Dubai’s Emirates terminal and the airport of the year, Hong Kong International Airport.
- What about the world’s worst airports?
- Hu Jintao warns of potential travel problems in China for Chinese New Year.
- Men’s Fitness names Salt Lake City the fittest city in the U.S. The fattest? Miami.
- Slideshow: Paragliding over Africa.
- A Japanese website maps smells around the world. Apparently, there’s a “toasty odor of cow dung” somewhere out there.
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Interactive Map: World Hum’s Top Travel Songs
by Valerie Conners | 12.15.08 | 12:34 AM ET
We've mapped the list. Click a place, discover a song.
Mashing Up Washington D.C.‘s Sex Scandals
by Julia Ross | 03.13.08 | 12:03 PM ET
It didn’t take long for camera-toting tourists to ferret out Room 871 at Washington D.C.‘s Mayflower Hotel. The site of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s call girl tryst is the latest in a long list of sex scandal locales dotting the capital. For those interested in mapping out their own tour, Slate helpfully provides an annotated Google mash-up.
I Don’t Want to Travel with a Guidebook. What Do You Think About Traveling With an Atlas?
by Rolf Potts | 03.15.07 | 7:39 AM ET
Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel
Mapping the World: Is Accuracy Possible?
by Michael Yessis | 10.17.06 | 8:03 AM ET
Probably not, according to this BBC story. Map-makers are in a constant battle to juggle scale, distance and the curvature of the earth, not to mention often having to shrink Africa down so it can fit in the frame. The 1477 Ptolemy atlas that was sold for $3.9 million at Sotheby(tm)s in London last week shows where we’ve come from—that map has “England butting the Bay of Biscay and Scotland floating in the German Sea”—and where we’re going.
First Printed Atlas Fetches $3.9 Million at Sotheby’s Auction
by Michael Yessis | 10.12.06 | 8:24 AM ET
The 1477 Ptolemy atlas was sold at Sotheby’s in London by the family of Lord Wardington to a private collector Tuesday. It’s one of two copies in private hands, and it was almost destroyed a few years back. From an AP story on the sale: “The atlas could have been lost, when in April 2004 a fire raged through the Wardington family estate. Local villagers formed a human chain and carried the books to safety, while over 95 firefighters tackled the blaze, saving the library.” Via Gadling.
Gifts for the World Traveler
by World Hum | 12.20.01 | 12:52 AM ET
Photo by Michael Yessis. Get your autographed Geraldo Rivera Signature Travel Pistol while supplies last. Hurry!
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