Question

Mark any five of the following Historical places on the outline map of the world provided to you and add an explanatory note on each marked place in two sentences. 

(a) Babylonia 

(b) Rome 

(c) Mecca 

(d) Cape of Good Hope 

(e) London 

(f) Nagasaki 

(g) Mascow 

(h) Barlin

Answer 1

(a) Babylonia: It is in present Iraq. It was the capital of Mesopotamian Civilization. The famous law-giver Hammurabi ruled from here. Nebuchadnezzar built the ‘ Hanging Gardens’, which was one of the Wonders of the Ancient World. 

(b) Rome: It is the capital of Italy. It was also the capital of the Roman Empire. Vatican City in Rome is the centre of Pope, who is the religious head of the Catholics. According to a Roman legend, Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus in 8^th century B.C.E. According to another version the name is derived from the Greek word Rome which means ‘strength’. 

(c) Mecca: It is in Saudi Arabia. Prophet Mohammad, the founder of Islam was born here. It is regarded as the holiest city of Islam.

(d) Cape of Good Hope: It is at the southern tip of South Africa. Bartholomew Diaz called it ‘Cape of Storms’. Later, Vasco-daGama renamed it as ‘Cape of Good Hope’ under the direction of King John of Portugal, since it gave hope for further explorations to reach India.

(e) London: It is the capital of U.K located on the banks of the river Thames. It was the main centre of Industrial Revolution. It is the famous centre of learning.

According to one origin, London meant the place belonging to a man called ‘Londinos’. As per another view, it is derived from the word ‘Lowonida’ meaning ‘river too wide to ford’ referring to river Thames, which flows through London.

(f) Nagasaki: It is in Japan. Nagasaki means ‘Long Cape’. On 9^th August 1945, US Air force dropped the second Atomic bomb called ‘Fat Man’ on Nagasaki. As a result of this, more than 70,000 people died. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in 16th Century.

(g) Moscow: It is the capital city of Russia, located on the banks of river Moskva and named after the river. It was one of the centres of Russian Revolution of 1917 and was made the capital of USSR.

(h) Berlin: It is the present capital city of Germany. It is located on the banks of River Spree. After World War II, it was divided into East and West Berlin and a dividing wall was built. In 1990, both East and West Germanys were reunited and the Berlin wall was demolished.