Oh, the Places! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Arc de Triomphe

Paris wasn't always a metropolis. In the 3rd century BC, a Celtic tribe named Parisii settled in the area and started building a settlement. Because it was located strategically on the river Seine, the settlement became a key route for traders and it had a chance to prosper. By the 1st century BC, the Romans set their eyes on the area. In 52 BC, the tribes of Gaul campaigned against Julius Caesar and his army, but were defeated by the Romans. The city was built anew and it was named Lutetia, which would hold until the 4th century AD, when the name Paris came back into use. Eventually, Paris fell under the control of the Franks when Clovis I conquered it officially in 486 AD, and suffered the raids of the Vikings who besieged it repeatedly in the late ninth century. At the beginning of the next millennium, the Capetian dynasty rose to the throne of France and Paris grew rapidly, both in population and size. The city was struck another blow when the Black Death wiped out more than 40,000 people in the 1300s. In the centuries to follow, the importance of Paris fluctuated depending on the king of France.

During the reign of Louis XIV in the 17th century, the famous Champs-Élysées avenue was formed for the first time. Louis XIV, who was called the Sun King, also moved his court in the Palace at Versailles in 1682. Versailles, which is a suburb nearly 20 km from the Paris center, is also famous for its beautiful gardens at the west of the palace. In the 18th century, the population of Paris hit the half million mark, and the city became one of the centers of the Enlightenment with philosophers like Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau living there. When the French Revolution erupted in 1789, Paris immediately faced the actions of the angry crowds who attacked the fortress of Bastille that was serving as a prison. The Arc de Triomphe, a tribute to those who had died in the wars during the French Revolution and Napoleon's reign, was completed in 1836. The size of the Arc is impressive, reaching 50 meters (over 150 feet) in height.

In modern times, Paris is still one of the biggest cities in the world. The population of its metropolitan area was twelve million in 2009, and the city is visited by millions of tourists every year. Paris' reputation as a romantic destination and fashion capital attracts many people, while its many sites can account for all tastes. The Champs-Élysées avenue has luxurious cafés and shops, while the world-renowned Louvre museum houses many famous works of art, such as the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. The cathedral of Notre-Dame was completed in 14th century, and has undergone several restorations throughout the centuries. The Eiffel Tower is perhaps the most famous landmark of Paris. It opened in 1889 and its top floor is over 270 meters (nearly 900 feet) high! The view is said to be spectacular, but as my dear sister keeps reminding me, my three-year-old self fell asleep while at the second floor, so we never got to the top!

Answer: Hungary

Located at the geographical heart of Europe, Budapest was actually three separate cities until 1873, when Buda and Óbuda from the west side of the Danube, united with Pest from the east side to form one larger city. The story of Budapest starts much earlier however, when the Romans took over a settlement named Ak-ink from the Celtic tribe Eravisci and renamed it Aquincum in the late first/early 2nd century AD. Aquincum became the capital of the Pannonia province and corresponds to the Óbuda part of Budapest. Óbuda, which means Old Buda, is now considered a district of Budapest. Buda became the capital of Hungary in 1361, but it fell under the Ottoman Empire's rule for nearly 150 years during the 16th and 17th century. Pest, the final piece of Budapest, is the sole part in the east side of Danube, yet it covers much more ground. Upon the construction of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge in 1849, the three cities were not separated by the river anymore, setting up the ground for their eventual unification.

Nowadays, Budapest has a metropolitan population 3.3 million people, making it the largest city in Hungary. Any football (soccer) fan will have the chance to catch a game or two, since there are more than half a dozen teams in Budapest, the most famous of which are Ferencváros and Honvéd. If you're a fan of Formula 1, an F1 Grand Prix takes places every year in late July in the Hungaroring circuit less than 20 km from Budapest, with the first one having been held in 1986.

Goulash gets its name from the word "gulyás", which means herdsman. It is the most famous Hungarian dish, and it is a stew that contains meat, usually beef, as well as noodles, vegetables and spices, though there are several different versions of the recipe. Goulash is also consumed in other countries near Hungary, such as Austria, Germany, Croatia, Serbia and the Czech Republic. If you visit Hungary, don't miss the chance to try a hot dish of goulash!

Answer: Mauritius

Located in the Indian Ocean nearly 2,000 km (1,200 miles) away from southeast Africa, Mauritius serves as a crossroad for several different cultures since it was ruled by several different nations. Discovered by Portuguese explorers in the early 16th and inhabited by the Dutch during the 17th century, Mauritius was eventually colonized by the French in 1715. Almost one century later, in the midst of Napoleon's wars, Mauritius was taken over by the British, who ruled there until the second half of the 20th century. In 1968, Mauritius was declared a Commonwealth realm, and exactly 24 years later, on March 12 1992, it became a republic. Mauritius is a parliamentary republic, with the President as the Head of State, and the Prime Minister as the Head of Government accompanied by the Ministers.

Having been governed by so many different nations, Mauritius has trading ties with the Western world. It also has strong trading ties with other countries, particularly South Africa and other southern African countries, as well as India in southern Asia. As a result, it is not surprising that the people of Mauritius are ethnically and culturally diverse. The dominant languages are English, French and Creole, which is based French-based but borrows words from English, as well as some African and Asian languages.

Mauritius is comprised from the islands Mauritius, which gives its name to the country, Rodrigues, the Agalega islands and the isles of the St. Brandon archipelago. Out of the 1.3 million people who live in the country, nearly all live in the island of Mauritius, with only 40,000 people living in Rodrigues, and less than 1,000 in all the other islands combined. In comparison, Port Louis, the capital and biggest city of Mauritius, has a population of nearly 150,000 people.

The dodo is probably the most famous extinct bird species. It lived exclusively in the island of Mauritius where it became flightless. Its height was about 1 meter (more than 3 feet), while its weight was around 15 kilos (more than 30 lb). The dodo became extinct in the mid-17th century, less than 100 years after its first sighting. The dodo has since become almost synonymous with extinction and is also sometimes used as a symbol of Mauritius. While I enjoyed my short stay in the beautiful island of Mauritius, I regret not being able to see a live dodo. Who knows, maybe someday with technology it will be a resurrected species.

Answer: Prague

As is the case with many other contemporary major cities, the area where Prague stands today became a settlement in very early years, in this case the Paleolithic Age. Around the end of the 3rd century BC, a Gallic tribe named Boii move towards the area of Bohemia, which is named after them. Several hundred years passed, and in the 8th century AD, legend says that the Princess Libuse had a vision about the glory of Prague, and so the city was founded. In the second half of the 9th century AD, the Czech Prince Bořivoj Přemyslovec moved his place of rule to Prague, consolidating its status as a powerful city. Prague had only just begun its growth, however. During his reign in the 14th century, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV transformed Prague into one of the biggest cities in Europe. In 1347 he founded the Charles University, while ten years later he gave his name to the Charles Bridge. Charles IV also ordered the reconstruction of the beautiful and imposing St. Vitus Cathedral in Gothic style, with the new cathedral being located entirely within the Prague Castle area. Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world and has been the seat of rulers for hundreds of years. Nowadays, it is the official residence of the Czech President.

After the end of World War I, Czechoslovakia was separated from Austria-Hungary and Prague became its capital, which it remained until January 1, 1993, when Czechoslovakia dissolved into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Bratislava became the capital of Slovakia, while Prague was the new capital of the Czech Republic. It has become a very popular destination for tourists, with more than four million people visiting every year. In comparison, Prague's urban population is only around two million. The city has many landmarks and offers many sites for tourists, such as the Lennon Wall, which is filled with graffiti and lyrics relevant to John Lennon. Another landmark worth visiting is the Prague astronomical clock, which is the third oldest in the world. From taking in the magnificence of the St. Vitus Cathedral to walking along the Vltava river and visiting one of the local breweries, there are many beautiful sites to see and interesting things to do in Prague, but my personal favourite was the exhilarating feeling of walking among historic buildings with their timeless architecture, like a city in a time capsule.

Answer: Montreal

Montreal, originally named Ville-Marie after the old French fortress in the area where the city came to be, got its current name from Mount Royal, the hill within the city. There have been humans living at the area for several thousand years, but there were only small settlements until the French arrived in the 16th century. When Jacques Cartier reached the area in 1535, he found the village Hochelaga, which was inhabited by the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, and he named the Mount Royal. In 1642, Ville-Marie was built in an effort to further the colonial plans of France, and eventually was used for fur trading and exploring. It began to grow during the 18th century, and in 1760 it passed from the French to the British. Montreal continued to grow, and the opening of the Lachine Canal in 1825 helped trading by ship blossom, eventually making Montreal one of the largest cities in North America. During the Prohibition in the 1920s, Montreal was very popular with Americans who were looking to find alcohol.

Montreal was the largest city in Canada, until it was surpassed by Toronto in the second half of the 20th century. In 2011, its metropolitan population was almost 4 million. Since Montreal is in the province of Quebec, the official language is French, however more than 50% of the people in the city are bilingual. As a city, Montreal has many interesting sites. For example, the Bonsecours Market used to be a popular public market for more than 100 years in the 1800s and 1900s, while St. Joseph's Oratory became the largest church in Canada when it was completed in 1967. The Bell Centre is where Montreal's ice hockey team, the Montreal Canadiens, play their home games. Overall, Montreal has a lot to offer, including a whole lot of cold, so if you're from a place with a warm climate, be prepared!

Answer: Chios

Chios is the fifth largest Greek island, and although administratively it belongs to the North Aegean region, geographically it is located in the East Aegean, very close to Turkey. While there is archaeological research which suggests human presence on the island in the Neolithic Period (ca. 10000-2000 BC), the first piece of information comes from a much later era. In the 11th century BC, there was a monarchy in Chios which turned to an aristocracy, until the adoption of a constitution in the 6th century BC. In terms of military strength, Chios had a powerful and large fleet, and the island locals engaged in trading, notably in wine. Amphorae with the Chian sphinx symbol, which were used to bottle the wine, have been found in many areas over the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, proving how far the Chian people traded. In the centuries to follow, Chios first became a part of the Roman Empire and then the Byzantine Empire. After two centuries of Genoese rule, Chios was eventually conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1566. When Chios joined the Greek revolution for independence in 1822, the reaction from the Ottomans was brutal, with more than half the population ending up killed, enslaved or otherwise cast off the island.

In the present day, Chios has a population of about 50,000 people. Its biggest town is the Chios town, which is referred to as Chora or Kastro, as is often the case in Greek islands whose capital has the same name as the island itself. The population of Chora is about 30,000, which is the majority of the people on the island. One very striking characteristic about Chora is that the streets are very narrow near the port, as if they have been squashed at the sides by a giant's hands, which makes them ideal for talking a walk. Other notable places are the town of Vrontados, which has a somewhat dangerous Easter celebration where two opposing teams gather at the two churches to fire homemade rockets at each other from the bell towers. The Mastichochoria, directly translated as Mastic Villages, is where the production of mastic gum takes place. Mastic is a resin which is dried, effectively creating little drops to chew on, like a gum. It is the most famous product of Chios, and it has been a reason why Chios was so coveted by their conquerors for all these years. Personally, I was lucky to meet enough to meet an old man who was kind enough to explain some things about the production of mastic gum, but that's a lesson I'll never put to use!

Answer: Istanbul

Istanbul was originally known as Byzantium, and it was founded around 660 BC as a colony by Greek travelers from Megara. Byzantium was not one of the major forces at the time, and first it was briefly conquered by the Persians in the 5th century BC, then became allies with Athens in the 4th century BC, before eventually becoming part of the Roman Empire. When Constantine the Great became the Roman Emperor, he searched for a capital for the eastern part of his empire. After picking Byzantium, he prepared the plans for the city's rebuilding and transformation. He sought to call this new capital 'New Rome', but the name Constantinople, which means "Constantine's City", prevailed. For more than 1000 years, the city served as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, or the Byzantine Empire, as it would come to be known. During that time, the Byzantine Emperors turned the city into a symbol of Christian culture. The pinnacle of all those works is the Hagia Sophia, the cathedral that was built in the 6th century AD, when Justinian the Great was the Emperor.

As the Byzantine Empire became weakened, Constantinople was often besieged by other nations. After it was sacked during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, it was regained by the Byzantine Empire almost sixty years later, only to be conquered by the advancing Ottoman Turks in 1453. The city's name was changed to Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire was established. Istanbul now became a center for Islam, and Hagia Sophia was changed to a mosque. Istanbul served as the capital of the Ottoman Empire for nearly 500 years, until its dissolution in 1922.

Nowadays, Istanbul is the largest city but not the capital of Turkey, and it has a population of more than 14 million people. The city has predominantly Islamic sites, but there are also several sites left, whether unchanged or not, from its Byzantine times. Having visited Hagia Sophia, I can attest to its impressive presence, especially when looking at the vast spaces on the inside. After all, it was the largest cathedral in the world for hundreds of years.

Answer: Morocco

Morocco is a country located on the western edge of North Africa, with a long coastline on the side of the Atlantic. Its area has been inhabited for more than 100,000 years, but it wasn't until the 12th century BC, when the Phoenician traders set up settlements at the north of Morocco, that the Berber tribes in that region were introduced slowly to the Mediterranean world. Several centuries later, Morocco developed relations with the Empire of Carthage, and around the 2nd century BC, the first Berber kingdoms made an appearance. When the area of north Morocco came under Roman control, the Berber kingdom of Mauretania in present-day Morocco allied with Rome, to consolidate its power in the areas it already held. By the 7th century AD, the Arabs conquered the North African areas and introduced the Islamic culture. Morocco was ruled by several Berber dynasties who rose to and fell from power successively (Almoravids, Almohads, Marinids and Wattasids) until the 15th century. Eventually in 1666, the Alaouite dynasty took control of Morocco, and remains in power until today.

The terrain of Morocco differs from area to area. While it is a mostly mountainous country, Morocco also has coastlines in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and part of it is in the Sahara Desert. Its largest city is Casablanca, but its capital is Rabat. Other large cities are Marrakesh, Tangier, Fes and Meknes. Its population is more than 32 million, and the people are mainly of mixed Arab-Berber descent. From my personal point of view, the travel to Morocco was definitely worth it, if only for the chance to see a beautiful country and different cultures.

Answer: Belgrade

The area of present-day Belgrade, whose name means white city, became inhabited more than 2,000 years ago by the Thracian and Dacian people. In 279 BC, it was conquered by the Celts and given its original name, Singidunum. Like most cities in the area, it was subsequently conquered by Romans, before being passed around by the Byzantine and the Frankish Empires, Bulgaria and Hungary. The Serbian King Stephen Dragutin made it his capital, and the Ottoman Empire conquered it in 1521, but Belgrade's troubles were long from over. During the wars between the Ottomans and Austria, Belgrade was destroyed. Even in the 20th century, Belgrade's luck was hardly any better. In World War I, it became a daily battlefield between Austro-Hungarian and Serbian troops. At the end of World War I, Belgrade was the capital of the newly formed Yugoslavia. During the Kosovo war of early 1999, the city suffered major damages once again. While I was at Belgrade, I came across a big building that been nearly completely destroyed from the one side, as though it had been ripped with fire. Unfortunately, Belgrade's location and importance for the area is such that it makes it a target every time there is a war on the horizon.

On the upside, Belgrade still has many pleasant sites to offer. Walking along the bank of Danube is a pleasant experience even in the colder days before spring. The Kalemegdan or Belgrade Fortress and Park are a very good choice for a walk in a day with good weather, and while the Church of St. Sava seems impossibly big up close, my personal favourite was the architectural style of St Mark's Church, as well as the style of some buildings in Knez Mihailova Street, one of the oldest and most glamorous streets remaining unharmed in Belgrade.

Answer: Kristiania

While the exact year it was founded is not known, Oslo was established as a town by King Harald Hardrĺde. Originally a trading place, Oslo started to grow and became the capital of Norway in 1299, when King Haakon V took up residence there. In the 14th century, Oslo was hit by the Black Death, with as much as three quarters of the population dying as a result. Because the city was often partially destroyed by fires, in 1624, after a particularly devastating fire which lasted for a few days, King Christian IV decided to build the city again, although not at the exact same location. The new city was named Christiania, and its transformation took many years to complete. The city's name was changed to Kristiania (same name, different spelling) in 1877, before coming full circle to Oslo in 1925.

Despite being the capital of Norway for some centuries, Oslo's importance was lessened when Norway joined a personal union with Denmark. The monarchs lived in Copenhagen, which meant Oslo had become little more than their local command center. Oslo, however, grew as a trading port in the 18th century, so it had a healthy economy. Nowadays, Oslo is of course Norway's biggest city, with a metropolitan population of 1.5 million.

One of the peculiar things about Oslo is how long the day lasts. The latitude of Oslo is almost 60 degrees North, which means it's close to the Arctic Circle. As a result, daylight is limited to very few hours every day in winter. By contrast, when I visited Oslo in July, the sun was out for about 17-18 hours, and the rest of the time there was still light, which means that even at 3 am, it looked like dusk!