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1. Santiago, Chile
2. San Juan Islands
3. Koh Samui, Thailand
4. Iceland
5. Milan
6. Republic of Georgia
7. London
8. Loreto, Mexico
9. Park City, Utah
10. Cali, Colombia
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16. Tlemcen, Algeria
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2. San Juan Islands
3. Koh Samui, Thailand
4. Iceland
5. Milan
6. Republic of Georgia
7. London
8. Loreto, Mexico
9. Park City, Utah
10. Cali, Colombia
11. The Danube
12. Niseko, Japan
13. Oahu
14. Antwerp, Belgium
15. Melbourne, Australia
16. Tlemcen, Algeria
17. Sopot and Gdansk, Poland
18. Erzurum, Turkey
19. Hyderabad, India
20. Manchester, England
21. Tallinn, Estonia
22. Fogo Island, Newfoundland
23. Singapore
24. Port Ghalib, Egypt
25. Whistler, British Columbia
26. Guimarães, Portugal
27. Olympic Park, Wash
28. Dresden, Germany
29. Oualidia, Morocco
30. Zanzibar
31. Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
32. Tozeur, Tunisia
33. Hangzhou, China
34. Iraqi Kurdistan
35. Durham, N.C.
36. Kosovo
37. Pingyao, China
38. Salonika, Greece
39. Okinawa, Japan
40. Budapest
41. Miami
There’s a buzz of anticipation — and power tools — in the streets, squares and souks of this ancient Algerian city. Named a Capital of Islamic Culture for 2011 by Isesco (Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), Algeria’s spiritual heart is preparing for a yearlong gala that will include some 300 exhibitions, concerts, screenings, theater performances, lectures and readings. The ruins of medieval ramparts and towers are being refurbished. Time-worn mosques and hammams are being dusted off. Cultural centers and museums are being started. And a first generation of five-star hotels — notably a Renaissance by Marriott— is rising from the ground.
Why Tlemcen? As the seat of a medieval dynasty that controlled much of North Africa, Tlemcen has long been a center of Islamic learning, culture and art. Skilled craftsmen ply their wares around the Kissaria market, traditional orchestras show off their chops every summer at the city’s festival of Arabo-Andalusian music, and the Muslim faithful pour into magnificent religious edifices like the Great Mosque and the tomb of Sidi Boumediene — a revered 12th-century Islamic scholar. With the approaching festival, the city should at last recapture some of its past glory.
— SETH SHERWOOD
Why Tlemcen? As the seat of a medieval dynasty that controlled much of North Africa, Tlemcen has long been a center of Islamic learning, culture and art. Skilled craftsmen ply their wares around the Kissaria market, traditional orchestras show off their chops every summer at the city’s festival of Arabo-Andalusian music, and the Muslim faithful pour into magnificent religious edifices like the Great Mosque and the tomb of Sidi Boumediene — a revered 12th-century Islamic scholar. With the approaching festival, the city should at last recapture some of its past glory.
— SETH SHERWOOD
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