Archaeology · Architecture · The East · Geography · Science

The Area of Babylon According to Herodotus and to Modern Researchers

Herodotus describes Babylon as a square city with sides of 120 stadia. One stadium is about 175 metres, so the area of Babylon, according to Herodotus, was 441 square kilometres, the size of 4 modern Parises or half of New York. Quite an enormous city to have in the desert.

NB! · Geography · Humour

The Geography of the Smoker and the Geography of the Healthy Man

Geography · Heritage · Society · Humour

If You Dreamed of a Paris Without Crowds of Chinese Tourists

Visit the village in the Chelyabinsk Region, founded in 1842 by the Orenburg Cossack Host and named in honour of the Russian army's victory at Paris. Not far from Paris, one may also visit other monuments to the victories of Russian troops in Europe: the villages of Leipzig,

NB! · Archive · The East · Geography · Maps

The Brilliant Sphinx and the Pyramids on the Venetian Map of Cairo of 1598

Geography · Maps · Ethnography

Mordvates on Nicolas Sanson's Map of Muscovy, the State of the Tsar and Grand Duke of White Russia, 1660

The land of the Mordvins lies between Ryazan and the Cheremis. Next to it is the Pole, occupied by Cossacks.

Geography · Maps · Observations · Humour

Area distortion on Mercator maps, with Greenland and Macron's head as examples

For all who have forgotten how the Mercator-type maps we usually use distort sizes, a reminder in the form of this photograph of Emmanuel Macron with his forehead in the Mercator projection. This is precisely how the inconstancy of scale on Mercator maps expresses itself, and precisely why the

NB! · Geography · Maps

The Real Size of Greenland Once the Map's Angular Distortion Is Removed

Archaeology · Geography · Science

Viking burials of non-Scandinavians and the question of the origins of Scandinavians

A study recently published in Nature presents a map of the genetic legacy of the Vikings, who possessed a complex web of family ties and a rich history of cultural exchange across Europe and beyond. Among the notable finds are the remains of cousins scattered between Denmark and England, as

NB! · Geography · Science · Nature

21 December is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, after which comes the longest night of the year

21 December is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, after which comes the longest night of the year. Astronomical winter is held to begin precisely at the winter solstice. It will last until 20 March 2025, the day of the spring equinox

Detail of an old engraved map labelled Finmarchia and Lappia, with a sea monster, riders on reindeer, tents and boats.

Geography · Maps · Humour

Olaf Magnus’s “Carta Marina”, one of the earliest maps of Northern Europe

Pointing out on the map where Santa Claus comes from. The Carta Marina of the Swedish churchman, diplomat and writer Olaus Magnus is one of the earliest and most reliable historical maps of Northern Europe

Geography · Heritage · Society

Venice to increase the number of paid city visit days from 30 to 54

In 2025 Venice will raise its day-tripper tax to €10. The original charge of €5 was introduced to curb the flow of tourists. According to the city authorities, however, the measure failed to achieve its aim, and thanks to the Venice Biennale the number of visitors has actually grown.

Globe map with the Arctic highlighted in green and a small blue area in northern Europe circled in red.

Geography · Humour

The Shetland Islands of Scotland lie several degrees farther north than Estonia

Estonia is the northernmost country in the world no part of which lies in the Arctic. Ps unless one counts the Shetland Islands of Scotland, which lie several degrees north of Estonia