Google Earth: Identify the city

[barocca]

it is very stEErange we see large terminal but nowhere for the traffic generated to GO....



EDIT - here is DJ's city for us to find
https://img180.imageshack.us/img180/6324/choochoogu5.jpg
(i hate having to switch back and forth pages)

[Duke John]

Unlike many other railroads you most likely know the name of this one.

[Stig]

Transsiberian Railroad, he?


Novosibirsk

[KukriKhan]

Uuuu...Stig stabs Siberia 4 teh win!!

I was looking at the old Orient Express rail path; interesting-looking cities in Bulgaria, but no match.

[Duke John]

Well done Stig!

Novosibirsk: Russia's third largest city and Siberia's cultural centre. It has the biggest railstation of the Trans-Siberian railroad.

[Stig]

Not giving hints just yet:
https://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d121/the_Stig_/Other/guesscity5.jpg

[Sigurd]

What the...
This is going way too fast. I Didn't even get to have a go at DJ's last city.

Stig's city:
Nice closeup, you can even see the people playing soccer on those fields.
Let's see...
Few leaves on the trees suggest Autumn. A low sun suggests evening and that this picture is oriented with North to the left in the picture.
A strange building just by the soccer pitches with 12 towers. Is this a church?
There is also a strange building that seems unfinished and abandoned (growing stuff on it).
It really looks like somthing taken out of C&C :beam:.

It has seasons and hence I believe we are looking at a city in the northern hemisphere. They also like to play soccer here. unfinished buildings??

Are we looking at an amusment park? I can't see any major roads leading in to this area of buildings. mainy small roads fit for walking. Notice that there are no cars in this area.

[Stig]

Amusement Park?
nah, not entirely, you can amuse yourself there tho

[Duke John]

A strange building just by the soccer pitches with 12 towers. Is this a church?
[...]
Are we looking at an amusment park?
Thought so too, but Orthodox churches do not seem to be so rounded. And it is a bit of odd place; between housing. Which led me to think about an amusement park, also because of the odd structures and patterns in the park like surrounding. However there is not alot of parking space.


There is also a strange building that seems unfinished and abandoned
You mean in the bottom right? Could that be a botanical garden?


A low sun suggests evening and that this picture is oriented with North to the left in the picture.
The compass in the top right suggests that the north is to the top of picture... :wink:


This is going way too fast.
I get that feeling too. It used to be 1 or 2 days per submission, but it seems that more clues are given sooner which makes it more about Google Search than Google Maps. Submissions with hints are nice, but stumpers, with no hints, should still be allowed.

[Sigurd]

The compass in the top right suggests that the north is to the top of picture... :wink:

:laugh4: ... Ah well... Autumn with a very low midday sun should be somewhere north.
I guess my browser was not full screen and hence didn't show me the furtherst right parts of the picture.

As to the unfisihed building - I meant the building on the far left above the soccer fields.

[Stig]

but stumpers, with no hints, should still be allowed.
My idea


I was thinking about giving you Col d'Aubisque with the hints: Bahamontes, Van Est, Coppi, Merckx and Van Impe ... but I thought that might be too difficult.

[KukriKhan]

Quite a week you had there Sigurd; as my grandmother used to say: "I love to see family arrive - but I also look forward to seeing the seams of their stockings." LoL.

First impression of Stig's pic: I think we see the UK, and probably a University town, with heavy Church of England influence.

[Sigurd]

Quite a week you had there Sigurd; as my grandmother used to say: "I love to see family arrive - but I also look forward to seeing the seams of their stockings." LoL.

One or two days are ... OK. But when they arrive Thursday and leaves Sunday night... :help:



First impression of Stig's pic: I think we see the UK, and probably a University town, with heavy Church of England influence.

I think you might be right. The cars parked on the street seems to be oriented left (windsheelds).
This could also explain the small green patches amongst the soccer fields.
I know they play bowling in the UK

[Myrddraal]

I think Kukri is right. Strange architecture + playing fields sounds like a university to me.

[Louis VI the Fat]

This game is moving fast! I missed Novosibirsk. I'll cast another vote for just leaving cities up a bit and laying low on the hints for a while.


My thoughts:

I think we are looking at a zoo in Stig's picture.
North Europe.
A somewhat old zoo, close to a medium sized city.

[barocca]

:
but stumpers, with no hints, should still be allowed.

My idea
I was thinking about giving you Col d'Aubisque with the hints: Bahamontes, Van Est, Coppi, Merckx and Van Impe ... but I thought that might be too difficult.if thats the way we want to play, you've seen what i can find in the way of obscure cities.
you REALLY want me to post one and then sit back and give no clues??



i see a university/college UK
- soccer fields are too haphazard for country club/resort

[The Receptionist]

my thoughts are that "stumpers" with no clues are not at all fun,
(especially ones taken at such low altitude)
(that college could be anywhere in the UK)

Retaliating in kind will only annoy the other players who do give clues,

banning such entries entirely only hurts those players who like to sit back all smug and self satisfied, and make occasional smirking comments.


In other words do you want fun for the many or frustration? :juggle2:

[Sigurd]

Alright...

I have searched the british isles (20 min) without finding a patch of late autumn in it.
I guess it is time for a clue or two.

[Louis VI the Fat]

In other words do you want fun for the many or frustration?Hey, we're all here for fun! :yes: But frustration can come through either knowing too little, or knowing too much too soon. The fun is in the guessing itself, that long, slow march towards an answer.

There is no set formula for hints, it is all a matter of instinct. It's about trying to strike the right balance between too easy and too difficult. The game is not about frustrating the participants indeed, but it is about challenging them.

There's one other thing too: our regular players live in time zones ranging from eastern Australia, to Europe, to westcoast America. That's what, eighteen hours? That's almost a full day between them. It's possible that players from one timezone are already getting frustrated by lack of additional information by the time other players wake up and only see the same picture for the very first time.

When one of my pictures is up, I try to guess if the game is still moving. If it is, I'll let the players do their thing. If their leads look exhausted, I'll share a hint or two to keep things moving. Apart from that, anybody needs but ask.

With the current picture, isn't it great how we've all got to post our guess? Some say British university, others amusement park, some think it's a North European zoo. I think this is fun.

Even when I do think it's time for a hint because I'm completely stuck!!! :furious3: :wall: ~:mecry: ~:mecry:

[Stig]

I guess it is time for a clue or two.
I'll give you one:
Group together all the things you've brought up.
Some are correct, some are wrong. Discard the wrong ones and you get it.
I'm not telling you which are wrong, but try figuring out yourselfs.

[KukriKhan]

Kukri also kries: "Uncle". and needs a clue.

Hopping around UK uni towns has proven fruitless (Surrey came close, with a trianglular-shaped area; but zooming in = no joy).

I guess I'll look at N.Euro zoos, until Stig shows up.

edit: he appears as I was posting & g-mapping, LoL.

[Stig]

Well I'll discard some things for ya all:

A strange building just by the soccer pitches with 12 towers. Is this a church? Nah, not really, would be big enough tho
There is also a strange building that seems unfinished and abandoned (growing stuff on it). No, it's meant to be like that


I think we see the UK, and probably a University town, with heavy Church of England influence. They will mostlikely have a university here yes

I think we are looking at a zoo in Stig's picture. this is correct
North Europe. oui
A somewhat old zoo, close to a medium sized city. nah, bigger

[Louis VI the Fat]

London Zoo. :sweatdrop:

I thought it would be a zoo. I didn't check London Zoo because I thought that one is in the centre of London, and that we were looking at one on the outskirts of a medium sized town. Googlemapping London Zoo showed it is indeed in the urban area, but within a very green part of it. :wall:

Edit: Just wiki'd it. Well at least I guessed correctly that it was a somewhat old zoo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Zoo), it dates back to 1828. It is located in Regent's Park.

[Stig]

See with clues it's too easy

[Louis VI the Fat]

"nah, bigger" was all I needed. ~;)

I shall be away from a computer the next few hours. If anybody feels like posting a question before I have the time to do so please be my guest! :yes:

[KukriKhan]

Fine job, Louis; I automatically disregarded London, too, due to size. Lesson learned: Gotta watch those green patches; they can mask a larger town.

At least we were all guessing/looking at the correct thousand square miles, LoL. I was beginning to wander off to Lith/Latv/Estonia areas looking for zoos.

I don't have a 'hot' location sitting on my desktop, so I'll wait for Louis.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Question:

https://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9630/village1ce9.jpg

Of course, I wouldn't just put up a blunt picture here without any clues.

So, hints:

- the dark area you see on the right is 'a body of flowing water'
- using a rough estimate here: this town has either more or less than one hundred thousand inhabitants
- if you're using a colour monitor to view this thread: red are houses, green is trees, while the interspersing gray lines are roads

[Lorenzo_H]

It seems to be a large residential estate with a major river flowing through it. That also looks like a dam or man-made weir in the river. The vegetation hints ever so slightly of northern Europe, though because of the planned layout I'm not going to exclude North America. The playing fields I think I can see are not discernable at this range, so I can't narrow it down by sport. It could well be England or, considering the poster, France, though I would have expected more of a rustic look to the area, as if it were built up more gradually.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

That city seems familiar, so I'm guessing Europe. Areas with roofs of that uniform colour remind me of some old towns in Bayern and Baden.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Definitely old world.

Streets are simply too miniscule for the new world (outside of Boston or Uptown Quebec)

Gardens in some of the interiorit quadrangles strike me as European as well.

Bridge over river is old-style Roman quasi-acqueduct type -- reminds me of a picture of "le pont d'Avignon" I once saw.

Obvious city-hall type buidling with dome in picture center.

Building style is clearly reflective of Roman design.

I'd lean France, Spain, Italy (Rumania?)

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Is it Metz? The population clue sort of fits, and the bridges seem similar.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Alas, it's not Metz.


Those previous hints were an attempt at humour. Forget about them. The city has much more than 100 000 inhabitants
Real hints:
- the city is an important cultural powehouse, has been ever since the Middle ages.
- in the picture there's a veritable treasure trove of priceless works of art and architecture. It's central to the identity of the country.
- it is a well-known city, you all know it's name.

[Stig]

without being able to look in Google Earth:
Florence

[Sigurd]

Ah... yes.

Not been there but this city is recognisable.
The park on the hill with the trees that are placed in orderly ranks.
The old pedestrian bridge crossing the river that starts with three consonants.
This city is found at the very heart of Europe.

[Lorenzo_H]

If not Florence, then Rome?

[KukriKhan]

Ah... yes.

Not been there but this city is recognisable.
The park on the hill with the trees that are placed in orderly ranks.
The old pedestrian bridge crossing the river that starts with three consonants.
This city is found at the very heart of Europe.


So... the Vltava River

[Stig]

Oh, Prague in that case ~D

(I got Google Earth here, looked like Florence tho)

[Lorenzo_H]

It's definitly Prague. I just checked. Well done Stig.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Prague (http://photoenligne.free.fr/Prague/Prague.html) is correct. In the picture, you see the left bank, the smaller area, so it doesn't look like a big city. But a what an assortment of breathtaking beauty there is in just the part I showed!

Pictures! All are visible in my question picture.


Pont Charles in the early morning mist:

http://medias.lemonde.fr/mmpub/edt/ill/2005/06/14/h_3_ill_662118_gamma_732455_06.jpg

Again, because to me this is the most beautiful cityscape on earth. Go see it before you die!

http://www.prague-pictures.cz/images/81.jpg




This is an overview of the area I showed:

http://perso.orange.fr/greyshade-city/images/Prague2005/Prague_01%20217.jpg

[KukriKhan]

Go see it before you die!


1,001 Places to See Before you Die (http://www.amazon.com/1001-Natural-Wonders-Barrons-Educational/dp/0764158171) (travelog book by Michael Bright). I think I'm gonna get that book, and use it to plan future holiday trips.

I heard a radio report about that bridge two weeks ago, on its 650th birthday.

Factoid (from wiki article): The need for building a new bridge emerged after the old romanesque Judith Bridge (Juditin most, built around 1170 and named after king Vladislav I's wife Judith) was destroyed by a flood in 1342. Royal astrologers and numerologists specified a precise moment for Charles IV to personally assist in the laying of the foundation stone as 9 July 1357, at 5:31 am. This minute can be enumerated as 135797531. This palindromic sequence of ascending and descending odd digits is carved out on the Old Town bridge tower.

In that report, they talked about how the locals dressed up as the statue characters, or other figures from 600 years ago - sounds like they had a good time. Sorry I missed it. :)

As a 'new worlder' I'm always stunned at old world stuff still being used. A personal memory below:

While stationed in Germany in the 80's, I once took a train to Ulm. Just outside the train station, was a 3-story brick building with a moat around it, and a brass plaque on the encircling low wall. My German language skills were flimsy, but I could make out that it had been built in 16xx (I forget the exact year). In the US such a place would be encased in plastic to preserve it, and tours led through it. Is that what the Germans did?

Nawww... up on the 3rd floor was a window, with ordinary-looking curtains blowing out in the afternoon breeze, and a 20-something woman concentrating on something in front of her. Focusing my ears and nose, I heard the crackle of frying, and could smell the aroma of burnt pork. She was cooking wurst! In her house! That had been built before my country was a country!

The contrast of the old building being used for such an everyday task floored me. And I gained an appreciation of old-world builders: they made things with the intention that they last dozens of generations.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

While stationed in Germany in the 80's, I once took a train to Ulm. Just outside the train station, was a 3-story brick building with a moat around it, and a brass plaque on the encircling low wall. My German language skills were flimsy, but I could make out that it had been built in 16xx (I forget the exact year). In the US such a place would be encased in plastic to preserve it, and tours led through it. Is that what the Germans did?

Nawww... up on the 3rd floor was a window, with ordinary-looking curtains blowing out in the afternoon breeze, and a 20-something woman concentrating on something in front of her. Focusing my ears and nose, I heard the crackle of frying, and could smell the aroma of burnt pork. She was cooking wurst! In her house! That had been built before my country was a country!

The contrast of the old building being used for such an everyday task floored me. And I gained an appreciation of old-world builders: they made things with the intention that they last dozens of generations.

That's actually quite common. Many of the old families, especially the nobles (or just rich people looking for a house), have very old houses such as that. All over Bayern, we have little castles and manors dotting the landscape, most of these still being lived in. Though some offer tours, they are, for the most part, family residences.

[Duke John]

if thats the way we want to play, you've seen what i can find in the way of obscure cities.
you REALLY want me to post one and then sit back and give no clues??
Barocca, I made my post about the difficulty of the submissions after I posted mine and you got stuck and asked for a clue. I thought my previous submissions didn't have the right clues or the submissions were too obscure, so I quickly gave you a clue. The result was that the city was guessed before the other players had a chance. So I made the post to raise the issue that there should be some time before we start giving the clues that really help guess the city. And with that I mean the ones that will provide you the city in google search.

We shouldn't want an impossible to solve puzzle, but we do want to give everybody a chance to solve it, right?

[Louis VI the Fat]

Gah, where did this game go wrong? ~:confused:

About the hint discussion: it's not about hints or no hints, it's about trying to set just the right, fun challenge for the participants.
This game is not about winning or losing. Nor is it about trying to find the hardest possible picture, or refraining from posting hints to make it more difficult - any halfwit can find a place that nobody will ever guess correctly. That's not what this game is about, at all.

I think players understand this very well? Nobody is trying to come up with obscure places for obscurity's sake, or to sit back smugly and take delight in the fact that nobody is guessing their picture. That's not what any of this is about. We're all trying to find surprising, or challenging, or fun places that make the game FUN for the participants. Knowing when to give hints and when to wait a bit is just a matter of intuition, not of absolute rules. And I think people are trying the best they can to strike the right balance.

Then there are different time zones, different levels of patience, and delays caused by matters of real life. All of which sometimes interferes with this game running perfectly smoothly for evrybody all of the time.
But at it's basic level, nobody is, or should be, playing this game with any intent diferent from making this as much fun as possible for everybody.

[Louis VI the Fat]

28 hours and not a trace of Stig. I think I'll add in a quicky. I hope you don't mind, Stig. I would suggest you take over again when this one is guessed.


Question:

https://img405.imageshack.us/img405/592/quickyqh3.jpg

[Sigurd]

Louis, Loius...
Ya gotta remember to hide the map publishers.
The Sanborn and Terrametrics totally gives it away. Lo and behold it was the first city I looked at. The very capital of the nation sanborn publishes maps of.

[Myrddraal]

Well if I didn't get it before, I certainly got it now...

[Louis VI the Fat]

Louis, Loius...
Ya gotta remember to hide the map publishers.~:mecry:


Oh well, it was meant as a quicky anyway.:laugh4:

[Stig]

Sorry guys, didn't have a working Google Earth, was hoping it came to work again, but it didn't like connection to the internet so the only proper looking picture I could give you was the whole globe.

[KukriKhan]

I never saw this game as competitive, just a friendly diversion. I routinely stop in here to see what's happening before I don my armour and wade into the backroom. This thread keeps my attitude light and studious.

I've learned more about geography and aerial photography and image interpretation, here, than I ever could in a classroom. And I have you guys to thank for all of that. :bow:

Now... what's the next city?

https://jimcee.homestead.com/googleKuk.jpg

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Sorry guys, didn't have a working Google Earth, was hoping it came to work again, but it didn't like connection to the internet so the only proper looking picture I could give you was the whole globe.

Mind if I post one then? Or will you be back up and running soon?

[The Receptionist]

first time in days i have had half an hour to come here,
and no city to look for...

[The Receptionist]

a quick one

people would walk through walls to avoid me

https://img442.imageshack.us/img442/5218/hatemeln3.jpg

EDIT - and with all my money you'd think i could at least keep the lawns watered...

PS - once you find this keep going,
i will not be online again till next week

[KukriKhan]

people would walk through walls to avoid me

A leper colony?
Prison?
Sanitorium?
Military academy?

Looks like an institution of some sort, near a major roadway; plenty of trees around; not much traffic within the compound itself. Green patches in the middle almost (but not quite) look like baseball diamonds and soccer pitches. Whatever they are, there has been considerable foot traffic on them (the brown streaks).

Most of the buildings have HVAC units on their roofs, suggesting most activity occurs indoors.

The surrounding vegetation looks eastern US or northern Europe.

[Louis VI the Fat]

OMG! Even if I have to reincarnate a thousand times again, I want to become me, me and me over and over again. There are a billion places on earth, one gets posted, and the very first one I type into my Google Earth is BINGO!

It is Microsoft Headquarters in Seattle, Washington.

Well it looked like a campus, but not quite. And I remember MS having a campus-like headquarter. Then there's the money and leper-colony hint, plus trees that look northwestern US. :beam:

[Louis VI the Fat]

New question. I've recently discovered how to enlarge pictures using Imageshack. (by, surprise, pressing the 'resize picture' button)
There should be plenty of detail visible to work with for starters, hints or other picture to follow soon.


https://img66.imageshack.us/img66/3579/plagecd9.jpg

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Dubai? I know they have lots of those peculiar sandbar things. Seems a bit too obvious though, and the architecture doesn't look particularly Middle Eastern. In fact, the road layout looks more North American. Maybe somewhere on the Gulf coast? I'm going to look at places with barrier islands.

As an aside, I can't believe someone posted Regents Park. I live about five minutes from the site of that picture. Gah.

[Stig]

As an aside, I can't believe someone posted Regents Park. I live about five minutes from the site of that picture. Gah.
Heheh

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

It's Tampa Bay. Or South Pasadena, to be more precise.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Curses! Guessed already.

Tampa / St. Petersburg in Florida is correct. :balloon:

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Hurrah.

Ok, here's mine. It's fairly simple, I think.

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v96/enervatedband/Berwick_Upon_Tweed.jpg

[KukriKhan]

Dang! Stupid workday. I knew Tampa/St Pete like the back of my... hand LoL!

Nice pick up BKS, and Bravo! Louis on the MS spotting; I guess employees see it as a kind of leprosarium. :laugh4:

To the current assignment: somehow, the red roofs set me off against the suggested "Berwick-Upon-Tweed" helpful hint.

edit: for those who don't like to flip pages:

https://jimcee.homestead.com/Berwick_Upon_Tweed_op_800x661.jpg

[barocca]

i need a clue or two to refine my search (that city is not where it shoud be)
B.

[Lorenzo_H]

well done Kukrikhan

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Ok, a couple of clues.

The bit at the bottom is a world heritage site.

George Bernard Shaw was fond of the place.

[barocca]

Dubrovnik, Croatia?


which is
a: - nowhere near where the apparent architecture dictated it shoud be (ie south france/italy boder region)
b: - nowhere near where the Berwick-Upon-Tweed clue would direct me (Monaco and Berwick-Upon-Tweed share a similar history)
c: - and Monaco just happens to be in the south france/italy border region
so i was miles away from Croatia...

btw - i found the Dobrovnik/George Bernard Shaw link totally by accident
- George Bernard Shaw once said: "If you want to see heaven on earth, come to Dubrovnik"

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Very well done, it is indeed Dubrovnik.

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v96/enervatedband/Dubrovnik2C_Croatia_Panorama.jpg

A beautiful place, I'd love to go back there.

[Lorenzo_H]

I thought it smelled Mediterranean.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

btw - i found the Dobrovnik/George Bernard Shaw link totally by accident
- George Bernard Shaw once said: "If you want to see heaven on earth, come to Dubrovnik"

Heh. I wondered if that was a clue too far.

The Berwick-Upon-Tweed thing wasn't a clue really, I just decided to name the picture after a relatively obscure British town.

[barocca]

which happens to have a very colourful history, with edward the first putting the entire population to the sword at one point!!

anyways

my PICTURE is MY passport :dizzy2:

https://img300.imageshack.us/img300/6524/middlestreet1ana7.jpg

[Myrddraal]

Arhus, Denmark.

I have a confession to make, I guessed Denmark from the publishers rather than the picture itself. I couldn't help it. I thought it would be easy to find it from there, a town with a station like that must be fairly easy to find, but it seems every town in Denmark has a huge station! Does Denmark have a train infrastructure to be proud of?

EDIT: At least I've now learn't how to recognise Danish towns, they all look the same from the air: Kind of grid like road layout, but never 100% rigid, with that tint of green in the photo, and a big station in the middle :grin:

[Myrddraal]

Assuming I'm right, allow me to post the next image. (I want to go to bed, sorry for not waiting)

The horizontal feature caught my eye:

https://img213.imageshack.us/img213/2387/stopcheatinggrrir7.jpg

[barocca]

it's not cheating, you could hide a clue in the file name

>- also i got nothing, i suffer from bandwidth limits here, and there is so little detail for me to work on.
(without some form of clue i cannot afford to spend the money to go and look)

all i can say with certainty is that the pic is not eastern europe and unlikely to be scandanavia.
that could be most any town above 20k population that has a river which floods running through it.
i'm guessing not much above 20K because of the market style farmland to the north of the river, and the scrub in the lower left.

The town could easily be australian, but something tells me it is not, if it was there would be some fords across the creek/river,
aussies will tolerate temporarily losing a road link in a flood as long as an alternative is available.


a decent clue please.
B.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Ah-ha, perhaps this is a reference to the current UK floods? Somewhere in Gloucestershire, maybe? Although it looks a bit too planned to be in the UK.

[barocca]

Ah-ha, perhaps this is a reference to the current UK floods? Somewhere in Gloucestershire, maybe? Although it looks a bit too planned to be in the UK.not real sure i follow you there,
that looks like a planned flood plain, an area you cannot build anything on because it floods too much,
we have them here in OZ.

[KukriKhan]

It doesn't look 'green' enough to be a UK town, I think. It kind of resembles one of those "split-towns" like Budapest, divided by some geographic feature (river, canyon, mountain).

The resolution isn't great for zooming in on... but I think I see oval-shaped green areas, suggesting sports fields (not baseball; more likely footy or cricket, or even racetracks).

I'd be surprised if the population were only 20K. My rough estimation (including both sides of the horizontal gap) is ~100K.

Kukri's shot in the dark for continents is: eastern Europe or Oz.

Can we assume 'up' = North?

Question 2: Is this city in New South Wales, Australia?

[barocca]

if it is in oz then it is north of sydney, well north.
it could also be in south america around the same latitude as brisbane / brasilia,

[KukriKhan]

Hmmm... good tip, I think. Following NSW Aus river paths hasn't panned out well. (assuming 'the gap' is a flood plain).

I guess I'll give the globe a spin eastward.

[Myrddraal]

Ok, thinking of a clue:

Founded in the 18 hundreds, originally named after it's founder, but has changed name recently.

If needed, I can give another clue, but that would really narrow down the options

[Louis VI the Fat]

Argh, why did I not know it was Dubrovnic? I even checked the Adriatic coast up and down. :wall:

The current picture:

It looks South African to me. I could be wrong though.
I see little in the way of clues, apart from houses and this gorge-like feature. It also seems to be part of a rather large city, well in the hundreds of thousands I think. Pretoria? Johannesburg? Is it the Witwatersrand?

Edit: Meh, it is Pretoria. Ooh, I really don't want it. Somebody else post a question please?

[Myrddraal]

Who needs clues when Louis is on the case:bow:

[Stig]

but has changed name recently
What's it's named now then? I believe they wanted to change it, but the Afrikaners wouldn't allow it.

[KukriKhan]

Tshwane, I think.

I still can't figure out why the gap; further east of that image, one can see a orange-colored gorge, with water, suggesting some depth. Why the city hasn't expanded into 'the gap' is still beyond me.

[KukriKhan]

So, OK, I'll take Louis' turn, per his '... I really don't want it. Somebody else post a question please?

https://jimcee.homestead.com/riverdance.jpg

FileName is just random.

Yee-ha!

[Lorenzo_H]

errr...clues?

[KukriKhan]

errr...clues?

This very clean city, of about 1 million souls, hosts dozens of festivals per year.

[barocca]

that narrows it down to around 300 cities,
the "top ten" dont cut it...
(some 10,000 cities are very clean and some 1,000 have dozens of festivals)
(with one city having dozens of festivals in one month alone...)
(searching for the population on this one got me nowhere)

another clue?

[KukriKhan]

another clue?

OK, we'll zero-in a bit more.

This was an oil town. They've learned to diversify better nowadays, and concentrate on light industry and tourism (for all those music, sport & craft festivals).

Not Aus, Asia, or Africa.

edit: Yee-ha! <---was also a clue.

[barocca]

OK, we'll zero-in a bit more.

This was an oil town. They've learned to diversify better nowadays, and concentrate on light industry and tourism (for all those music, sport & craft festivals).

Not Aus, Asia, or Africa.

edit: Yee-ha! <---was also a clue.lol - from what i saw of the "primary" candidate it still is an oil town,
i'll have to look further afield

tell you google dont like that thar clue
(i got canberra australia and barbados as the #1 and #2 "hit" :dizzy2: :clock: )
hee hee...i am gonna have a cuppa and thunk me some more...

[woad&fangs]

Its Calgary but I'm not sure how you guys are putting up the pictures so someone else can go. hooray, I finally got one of these:beam: you guys post really difficult cities.

[KukriKhan]

This city has hosted an Olympics.

edit: Calgary Alberta, Canada, home of the Calgary Stampede (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary_Stampede), the XV Winter Olympics, and voted "Cleanest City in the World" by Forbes Magazine (http://www.forbes.com/2007/04/16/worlds-cleanest-cities-biz-logistics-cx_rm_0416cleanest.html),

is correct. :bow:

[barocca]

usually we use imageshack (http://www.imageshack.us/)
(we pick a city, hit print screen, open a graphic program then paste, trim save and host on imageshack)
B.

[barocca]

query - ye-haa! was a clue to canada???

[KukriKhan]

query - ye-haa! was a clue to canada???

Well, a clue to cowboys (who live not only in Texas), and a reference to the Stampede, the world's largest outdoor rodeo. I guess I could have said:
"Yippie-ti-yi-yay, git along little dogies... eh?" to be more specific. :)

You gonna take the next task, b, if our winner can't manage the hosting thing?

[barocca]

"Yippie-ti-yi-yay, git along little dogies... eh?" to be more specific. :)i am afraid that would have caused me even more confusion - never fear,
you cant help Me being blonde


as for the next pic wait and see if woad&fangs can find a decent city
(takes me a couple of hours sometimes)

cheers

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Well, it's been a good few hours since woad&fangs has gone, so I guess I'll post one...

woad: The next one I get right is all yours, if you want it. :2thumbsup:

https://img528.imageshack.us/img528/7628/cestbellelo4.png

[Sigurd]

EMFM's city looks suspiciously like those found in Switzerland, but I know when searching for Louis' Swiss city that this architecture is also found in and around the North of the Balkan.

No time to actually do a seach myself...

[Sigurd]

Ok...

I realise that I was a little off... but not that far.
Is it Nürnberg, Germany?

[KukriKhan]

Ok...

I realise that I was a little off... but not that far.
Is it Nürnberg, Germany?

Good eye, Sigurd. That image was so tightly cropped, it only just barely included the city's distinguishing features (Pegnitz River, Kaiserberg, town center).

What a tease, Evil Maniac... :laugh4:

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Good eye, Sigurd. That image was so tightly cropped, it only just barely included the city's distinguishing features (Pegnitz River, Kaiserberg, town center).

What a tease, Evil Maniac... :laugh4:
I do my best. :laugh4:

Congrats to Sigurd, you had the general area down almost instantly. You're up next. :2thumbsup:

[Sigurd]

This city has been inhabited several times. The first time being 2000 BC and the last time in the 16th century.

https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/asleka/Stockholm.jpg

[barocca]

Tell Hadidi

[Sigurd]

Tell Hadidi
Finally a visitor... Alas, sorry no dice.

Other clues?
- 21 percent of its inhabitants were not born there.
- At least two nations have colonised this place.

[barocca]

snap!

and i take it that means it IS inhabited currently?

B.

[barocca]

Other clues?
- 21 percent of its inhabitants were not born there.
- At least two nations have colonised this place.honestly there's not too much in those clues to help narrow the choices...
(i got nothing new to suggest in locales)

[Sigurd]

honestly there's not too much in those clues to help narrow the choices...
(i got nothing new to suggest in locales)
Alright...
I shall give you a golden clue:
- A major part of its inhabitants consists of an indigenous people.

[barocca]

you are becomming a giver of tricky clues, and i am going to sleep on these ones
(a google of key words from these clues gathers (just on the first page) Siberia, Turkey, Fiji, Mexico/New Spain, Australia, Greece, Kenya, France and HongKong)
good night evil fiend...i mean old friend...

[Louis VI the Fat]

I found it. It's Nuuk in Greenland.

[Sigurd]

Easy. It was the first city I checked: Nuuk in Greenland. :book:
:laugh4: ...
You are just too clever Louis.
I was sure barocca would get it with my last clue.

I am sorry if my clues yield no google.com results. I am trying to give clues that does not give it away instantly and maybe they instead become too cryptic.

I could have mentioned Viking settlements in 1000 AD or the misconseption that this people have 100 words for snow.

[Myrddraal]

Those clues would have been good I think. It wouldn't have given the city from google, but it would have given the region :smile:

[Louis VI the Fat]

Question:

https://img128.imageshack.us/img128/2579/rainforestdn0.jpg


Some clues to get you going:

This city was founded in the 20th century
It is build next to a much older city

[Sigurd]

instagniz... (Instantly recognized).

I was going to use this city in one of my previous turns.
It wouldn't be fair to solve this without letting others get a chance.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

It looked very Middle Eastern to me, so first I looked at Saudi Arabia, then Lebanon, and continued south.

The answer is Tel Aviv.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

The next city:

https://img409.imageshack.us/img409/2581/55501271ry5.png

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Wow...if nobody gets close in a couple more hours, I'll post a little hint...


:weirdthread:

[KukriKhan]

Wow...if nobody gets close in a couple more hours, I'll post a little hint...


:weirdthread:

I'm ready for one :yes:

I see a soccer pitch at bottom, a park-like area near the top (actually looks like a memorial-type area; I'd expect to see statues there, on the ground).

What is that red line at top? A border artifact? Pipeline?

The left and right areas are 'fuzzy', so I guess we see several images pasted together. The water is quite blue, so I think we see a deep-water port city, not an inland one.

I don't see enough red or blue roofs to conclusively pick a continent - but my best guess is: northern/eastern Europe/western asia, like Russia-Poland-Ukraine-Latvia area.

Yeah; a tiny hint would be good.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

I'm ready for one :yes:

I see a soccer pitch at bottom, a park-like area near the top (actually looks like a memorial-type area; I'd expect to see statues there, on the ground).

What is that red line at top? A border artifact? Pipeline?

The left and right areas are 'fuzzy', so I guess we see several images pasted together. The water is quite blue, so I think we see a deep-water port city, not an inland one.

I don't see enough red or blue roofs to conclusively pick a continent - but my best guess is: northern/eastern Europe/western asia, like Russia-Poland-Ukraine-Latvia area.

Yeah; a tiny hint would be good.


Not just a soccer pitch but a stadium. Park with memorial has a ballustrade out over the river. Yet only across the way is a railyard plopped in the middle of things a bit eye-sore like.

I agree with the deep-water theory.

Roof-wise, there are a number of concrete block buildings that make me thing of the classic Soviet apartment block -- so I think that you're on the right track.

St. Petersburg or Talinn?

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Here are some hints for you.

https://img103.imageshack.us/img103/2512/parkalc7.jpg

https://img259.imageshack.us/img259/3230/amurtigerpantheratigrisif7.jpg

[Tristuskhan]

Irkutsk! Anyone who wants to post the next, can!

Those hints were precious, I first had a look at Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk na Amourie, Harbin....
Then Irkoutsk. Even if the tigers live much further east.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Then Irkoutsk. Even if the tigers live much further east.

Good job. ~:) The tiger hint referred to an old emblem of the city, the Siberian tiger.

I'll wait for someone else to take the next one, I've already had two almost in a row.

[The Receptionist]

https://img178.imageshack.us/img178/1605/romair6.jpg (https://imageshack.us)
100k+ population


does anyone else feel like they are going to fall off the bottom of that image when they look at it???

[KukriKhan]

Hybrid town, in terms of street layout (combination grid and wheel-spoke), so probably not an ancient city.

I see no water source or storage tanks, yet there's plenty of vegetation, so rainfall (and snowfall?) must be adequate.

Large brownish rectangles top-right are buildings of significance, but probably not education-based or gov't - more likely some kind of industry.

I see some vehicles, but can't zoom in enough to clarify if they travel left- or right-hand drive.

Construction site at lower-right?

Preliminary guess of region: Australia or western Europe.

[Myrddraal]

For those who don't like going back to past pages, here is the current image:
https://img178.imageshack.us/img178/1605/romair6.jpg

[barocca]

were they sober when they laid out that street grid?? (it hurts my eyes)
imagine being a taxi driver there...

[The Receptionist]

The city has an annual festival which runs for many weeks

[KukriKhan]

With no yea-or-nay, warm-or-cold, response to my continent guesses, or any of my amatuerish analyses, I'm forced to a WAG (wild-ass guess): Brno, Czech Republic?

Is 'up' = north?

[The Receptionist]

I see no water source or storage tanks, yet there's plenty of vegetation, so rainfall (and snowfall?) must be adequate. yes


Preliminary guess of region: Australia or western Europe.no


Brno, Czech Republic?no


Is 'up' = north?yes

the earliest mention i can find is the 1500's, and that not of the city, but of one of it's geographic features

the city has links to england

[Sigurd]

My immediate reaction when seeing this picture was: This looks like somewhere in South America.

The view is too far up to actually see anything particular and my laptop screen shows the picture as quite blurry.
I can see 4 indications of blue roofing, but I think it is due to imperfections in the actual picture.
There are mostly green fauna, but on some of the larger fields there are indications of dirt of a dark reddish colour.
Again this to me points to South America. It seems like a city in a warmer climate.

Down in the right corner is a complex with something strewn in the yard. My first thought was yellow busses (like the American school bus). But the picture is too blurry for me to dare say for sure. It could be logs or Lorries.

[edit]:
On second thought... in light of the clues, I am not so sure anymore.
the summary of clues:
- 100k+ City
- Annual festival (weeks of partying)
- a geographic feature in the city is earliest mentioned in the 1500 hundreds. The City itself could be younger.
- It has ties to England.

I can't think of a South American city that fill all these criteria.
Are we looking at a city in the India region.


does anyone else feel like they are going to fall off the bottom of that image when they look at it???
Is this a masked clue?

[The Receptionist]

no hidden clues

the city has ties to the Netherlands

[The Receptionist]

https://img108.imageshack.us/img108/865/oramgehillsk3.jpg (https://imageshack.us)
Shot at 2007-08-03

[Sigurd]

Alright...
Looking at the pictures again, I am getting serious South African wibes from them and this is fitting with the last Dutch clue.
The red dirt is hidden well on the pictures but the towns around Pretoria is very similar looking.

I believe we are looking for a South African city with a population between 100K and 200K.
googling festivals in South Africa yields too many results and in too many cities to go through.

Maybe Louis' intimate knowledge of South Africa can shed some light on this?

[Stig]

Johannesburg? As that's close to Witwatersrand

[Louis VI the Fat]

Maybe Louis' intimate knowledge of South Africa can shed some light on this?I could, but unfortunately it is limited to me being quite sure it isn't South African.

The Indian Subcontinent? The Guyana's in South America?

Either would be my gues, but I don't have time to search for it.

Wait, maybe Sri Lanka or the Caribean.

[KukriKhan]

Stumped, I am.

I'm so curious about those yellow busses, logs, whatever the are, being placed so haphazardly, I could burst. :)

Not Aus, not western Euro, small town, weeks-long festival(s), connection to Netherlands & England. 1500's.

One of the cities fought over in The War of Spanish Succession?

[scotchedpommes]

Still on this one? It was about time this game was slowed down. My thoughts
had been South America also, but I think I've been over enough of that now to
just about rule it out.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I'm a bit stumped. The place looks like a generic third world cityette to me. It could be Colombo in Sri Lanka, or a place in Central America, or South Asia, God knows. I don't, I can't make out any distuingishing features. ~:confused:

Some thoughts:

Is that a Christian church in the lower left?
It is neither a slum, nor a well-organised city / neighbourhood.
My guess would be less than 1 million for the whole city, but this can be deceptive...
What are those yellow buses, and why are they a clue? Are they American schoolbuses, making it a place in the America's?

[The Receptionist]

100k+ population (not 200k)

the city has links to Brazil

the city has a prison which was, at one time, renowned for cruel treatment.

[Stig]

Recife?

[The Receptionist]

https://img442.imageshack.us/img442/9444/bungeworgoraikg3.jpg (https://imageshack.us)
Shot at 2007-08-03


Recife?No

[KukriKhan]

If it's South American, it's not a capital city. I just reviewed those with no match (Asuncion, Paraguay came close, but no cigar).

[The Receptionist]

in 10 hours i will give a clue that will really annoy our american imperialists and should give the game away. - and that is, in itself, a clue.

[KukriKhan]

Somebody wake me.

[Myrddraal]

You've had me looking all over Cuba, but no luck :sad:

[Myrddraal]

Panama = no luck either, but the cities are remarkably similar in street layout and roofing, and the ground is the right texture too...

American imperialism => next stop = Nicaragua

[scotchedpommes]

Masaya, Nicaragua.
It was my first stop on the imperialism tour, so I was busy looking there. Now I see your latest post I'm just going to check.


Excellence. Give me a bit of time, if you would, please. It's been a while.

[Myrddraal]

Found it!

Masaya, Nicaragua

[Myrddraal]

GAH! 2 SECONDS LATE!

So rdeče, who's is that? Were you guessing or had you found it yet?

I have my Google Maps right on those yellow things
https://img67.imageshack.us/img67/7432/yellowxz9.jpg

EDIT: I can't believe it! I've wasted so much time looking, and now I'm 2 seconds slow... :sad:


EDIT 2: Can you see the touch of insanity in my writing? I'm getting way to into this game...

[scotchedpommes]

Sorry Myrddraal. I know how it is. Let me just say, bless Wikipedia and its list of
cities. I'd been going over Nicaragua for far too long, then I just browsed
through that, saw the festival and the twin cities and posted before I could
check. I thought you would be on to it quickly, but I was surprised when I saw
you'd targeted Nicaragua just as I was about to post.

Feel free to take the next one if you want, I'm a bit preoccupied.

~:cheers:

[The Receptionist]

well done rdeče.jabolko,
Masaya, Nicaragua

Sister Cities
- Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Leicester, England
- Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Coyotepe was a fortress stormed by US Marines in 1912 during the American Imperialist Conquest of Nicaragua.
(sorry americano's but a puppet government is still a puppet)

Coyotepe was much later converted to a Prison, famous for cruelty.

[Myrddraal]

Thanks rdeče.jabolko

Great city btw Saucer Child https://forums.totalwar.org//vb/images/smilies/misc/belephant.gif

Well this one'll probably be over in seconds, but it's an interesting place nonetheless:

IMPORTANT: NORTH IS TO THE RIGHT ->

https://img167.imageshack.us/img167/3775/fdsajrg5.jpg
Clue:
https://img392.imageshack.us/img392/9426/bsadffw4.jpg

[KukriKhan]

i quit.

signed,
an annoyed imperialist


:)

edit: forgot the smiley. :)

[Louis VI the Fat]

Bah. Nicaragua. I could've searched forever without finding it. :shame:

Well done, rdeče.jabolko and Myrddaal.



https://img167.imageshack.us/img167/3775/fdsajrg5.jpg[/spoil]
That is a good choice! A famous piece of architecture. I won't spoil it though...

[RoadKill]

Is it in Canada?

[barocca]

hmm - what the heck does this lot mean???
:elephant: https://img392.imageshack.us/img392/9426/bsadffw4.jpghttps://forums.totalwar.org//vb/images/smilies/misc/belephant.gif
B.

[barocca]

i see
a crow peering into a vase
a gerbil being held aloft by a tree while it vomits onto an open book
an old cartographic instrument on a map
a wilting flower
and a pizza cutter...

and i think thats enough booze for one night ... i'm going sleep

[Myrddraal]

The central symbol is a pair of compasses

There are symbols in both photos

[Myrddraal]

Let me know if you want another clue, I can think of one more which won't give the game away completely, but it'll take you very close.

[barocca]

The central symbol is a pair of compasses
so i'm right about the rest??


There are symbols in both photos
i am afraid to say, not being a student of architecture, that all i get is europe, probably western, french/german - possibly a city that has belonged to both at some point.

and that is way too much ground to cover when i pay for the bandwidth i use.

[Myrddraal]

OK:

The carved symbols represent an organisation, the pair of compasses being the most prominent.

The symbols in the map are not in the achitecture or building style, but rather in the road layout, and are also symbols of said organisation.

The architect who designed this part of the city had ties to that organisation.


That's enough clues I think, it is now possible to find the city with no prior knowledge of anything.

[barocca]

i'm not getting this one - i cannot decipher which organisation those symbols belong to.

and i dont know if this will help anyone else but :-
the pair of compasses on a map of the world is the Kozminsky symbol for the 16th of October. (the 23rd day of Libra in the Zodiac)

off to bed (and nightmares no doubt)

cheers
B.

[Myrddraal]

Is anyone else trying, or should I give another clue? If you tell me your thoughts I'll try to hint if you're on the right track.

[KukriKhan]

Louis seems to already know the city/feature, and he has some background in architecture/art, so I guess it's famous in those circles.

Ever see the TV show Who wants to be a Millionaire? ? Contestants answer random questions for increasing amounts of money. When they're 'stuck' they have various "lifelines" (assists). One of them is the 50% solution: eliminate half the possible answers. So, how about: from this list of 6 possible continents, you eliminate 3, to help players narrow down their search?

1. Africa (includes the Middle-East)
2. Asia
3. Australia
4. Europe
5. North America (includes Mexico)
6. South America (includes Central America)

[Myrddraal]

1. Africa (includes the Middle-East)
2. Asia
3. Australia
4. Europe
5. North America (includes Mexico)
6. South America (includes Central America)

3 answers elliminated at random.

Use the clues I gave you, I promise that it is entirely possible to get to the correct answer by using my clues + google search + some logical though of what to search for.

My final (probably :wink:) piece of advice:

1. Find out the organisation from the symbol(s) I gave
2. Find out the architect associated with that organisation
3. Find the city from the architect

[Louis VI the Fat]

I'm not an architect, but I do have a background in the humanities. As to the current picture, it was an instagnitz for me, so I tried to stay out of it. But maybe this clue is fun: here's a larger perspective. Up is north. Standard Google Map view etc. That famous set of buildings is in the centre:


https://img211.imageshack.us/img211/9913/clueud8.jpg

Come to think of it, 'famous set of buildings' could well be the easiest path to finding it. My hunch is that if you google for a term that accurately describes the shape of the set of buildings you would find it...

[barocca]

well i have been able to see the compass in the street design from the beginning

and we know that strip of symbols in the graphic provided is the key,
but not being in "the know" i have not been able to identify them
(i even cheated and sent the graphic off to a number of friends who have likewise been unable to identify them)

in the streets i also see
a "G"
a bird (a swallow)
a hammer (claw hammer)
a halo

as well as being the symbol for october 16, the "pair of compasses" is the symbol for the creation of the world described in genesis.

PS - i did indeed have a nightmare...

[Myrddraal]

To start you off on the right track: Google: pair of compasses symbol

[barocca]

that was the exact search that got me the zodiac thingy,
(and a bunch of pages about Washington and some conspiracy pages about masons ruling the world)

but none of those symbols in your graphic match anything that i found about freemasons and the street pattern is just wrong for a mason - there is no right angle for starters.

i have noticed that a google on my work computer and a google on my home computer will give me different sets of results,
a few hours and i'll be at work,
i cannot come to the org from work, but at least i can search

[Louis VI the Fat]

- There are long shadows to be seen, to the north from large trees and buildings. This probably means it is the Northern Hemisphere, and quite far up north too.
- A clear city centre can be seen. There's an old cathedral, old small streets. So I think this is a 'stand alone' city, not a neighboorhood of a larger city. Say, 200k inhabitants?
- Old cathedral + famous architecture = touristy town?
- Is that a cricket field?

[The Receptionist]

having spent 4 hours of the company time carefully following clues i have to report there will be no dancing elephant today :skull:
(there are over 100 cathedrals in the united kingdom :wall: )
(the boss thinks i am researching a project)
now to do some actual work...:whip:

[KukriKhan]

Newcastle upon Tyne 259000
Brighton 248000
Hull 240000
Plymouth 240000
Stoke-on-Trent 239000
Wolverhampton 239000
Derby 230000
Swansea 225000
Southampton 220000
Salford 215000
Aberdeen 215000
Westminster 190000
Portsmouth 186000
York 182000
Peterborough 157000
Dundee 145000
Lancaster 135000
Oxford 135000
Newport 135000

None of those check out, so cross UK off the list. Northern Hemisphere = kill the Africa and South America options.

So Europe, proper. Masonic architect who designed part of a city of ~200K. With the vegetation, it's probably north of the Med countries. I'll be back, but don't wait, if you find it, anyone.

[Myrddraal]

Another clue :wink:

This city has no Cathedral, but it does have an Abbey.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Oops, I meant to say 'max 200k'. :embarassed:

And it is slightly less than 135 k - you were almost there, Kukri...
I also didn't realise it was an abbey instead of a cathedral. Gah, I suck at hints!

[Myrddraal]

Just to annoy Louis :wink:

The latest official stats for city and surrounding region gives a population of appox. 170000

One source gives the population of the city itself as under 100000

[Yawning Angel]

I'm not an architect, but I do have a background in the humanities. As to the current picture, it was an instagnitz for me, so I tried to stay out of it. But maybe this clue is fun: here's a larger perspective. Up is north. Standard Google Map view etc. That famous set of buildings is in the centre:


Ho hum, just looked at this one and it was an insta as well for me, Louis is right the distinctive shape of the building layouts do give it away. Aside from this there has been settlement here for a long time (the hint below may also give it away, apologies to Myrddraal if this is too much of a clue)

https://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/Thal2602/hint.jpg

[barocca]

oh i feel all washed up
when the hint was
quite far up north i dismissed this town as being too far SOUTH, how wet is that...

a clue to help the next person to find it...
my mum went to college here - truly, she did!
ok...thats no good as a clue, mayhaps i am too immersed in this game,
time for my libations,:elephant:
cheers
B.

[barocca]

and i am dying to have the clues explained...

[Sigurd]

Soo...

Are waiting for Kukri to have a shot at this city without further clues?

Oh, I was way off in my search... there was none of the clues that really helped.
Only by methodically going through cities with rivers got me to this one:

https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/asleka/Test.jpg

[Mikeus Caesar]

I think i know those Crescent shaped houses - they're in Bath, i think. Am i right?

EDIT: I am right. The Royal Crescent in Bath. Finally i get a go!

[Myrddraal]

For an explanation of the clues, (and the source of the original clue) look to wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_Somerset

Perhaps it's easier for me in hindsight, but I really thought people would get it with the clues:

Google: pair of compasses symbol = third result is about freemasonry
Google: freemason architect = second hit: "The Freemason Masonic Forum - John Wood Masonic Architect of Bath"

I chose this city because there was a documentary on it recently here in the UK about John Wood, his masonic links etc. Wikipedia has some good info there, though it doesn't give an impression of quite how many masonic symbols there are there. Even inside some of the houses...

The King's Circus and Royal Cresent apparantly "from the air can be observed to be a giant circle and crescent, symbolising the soleil-lune, the sun and moon."

[Yawning Angel]

And I hope I picked the right buildings, was going for the Roman baths :2thumbsup:

[KukriKhan]

:laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: LoL

You guys are sneaky, AND kind. Thanks for trying to help. :bow:

"...two countries, separated by a common language..." indeed. We're about 7 countries separated thus.

When a 'task' is put up, 90% of the time, I start out with instinct, 'how does it feel?'. This one 'felt UK' because of the green tint background. Most of UK has that (except London), but it's not the only place - much of Holland does too; it just topped my list of places to start.

The symbols were neo-egyptian, likely, pointing to Masons (or Freemasons, in the rest of the world). Googling 'freemason architect' got me looking at Nicolas Hawksmoor, Christopher Wren, and John Vanbrugh - I totally missed/didn't see John Wood*. So gave up on the architect clue, after map-hopping to all their (Hawksmoor, et al) works, and went with the population clue + cricket field (confirming UK + Aus had been eliminated). From there, it was just plodding detective work, checking out leads, looking at obscure towns - instinct was useless. I thought: "If this were a real job, right about now, I'd step away and go have a drink or 6." So I did. :laugh4:

All that just goes to re-prove the detective dictums: "4 pairs of eyes, 8 different solutions", and "always, always, always, seek local input".

Even when it's a frustrating "miss" on my part, I like this game and you guys.

Take it awa-a-a-ay currywurry (I think; or is it Yawning Angel?).

edit: *Oh yeah! I remember now, I DID find that forum discussing John Wood, but skipped past it because I couldn't read it with their tiny fonts and grey-text-on-white-background posts. Sheesh! All hail the readable Org skins!.

[Mikeus Caesar]

Indeed it is me, so here we go. I've been waiting for my chance for quite a while!

http://xs318.xs.to/xs318/07321/NoCluesHereLol.PNG

The only clue i'll give for now is that it's on this planet ;)

Seriously though, if the first 6 posters don't get it, then i'll give a clue. And if the next 12 posters, then another and so on and so forth.

EDIT: Note toself - include image in post BEFORE posting.

EDIT EDIT: Sorry about it being rather large, but my monitor is 1440x900. If anyone can resize it with reasonable quality i'll happily replace the current image.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Bah, I had hoped to get an instant bingo with Perth, but alas.

My thoughts:

Up is east! And left is north
Looks like a westcoast city
Southern hemisphere
Cricket field
Single airstrip airport, so not a huge metropolis

So my guess is Western Australia, New Zealand, Cape Province. I haven't checked extensively.
Strangely enough, land seems to be scarce in this city, which is not the case in Oz, NZ or SA. Are we being misled?
Anybody got some thoughts, ideas?

[KukriKhan]

Flipping it 90 degrees, so 'up' is North, I see:

-futbol pitch, south-central
-airfield north (1 plane visible; small jet I think)
-quiet looking (almost pacific) sea west
-red clay rooftops sprinkled liberally
-shadows cast southwesterly
-a marina, with large (but not huge) vessels docked
-traffic circles (round-abouts)

I eliminate North America, Africa, and Asia pre-emptively (:beam: ). I think this is the west side of a larger town/city, putting the population around 350-500K. The housing looks more like apartment buildings than single-family homes. I'm tempted to suggest tourism, because of the yaght-sized marina and mid-sized airport, but don't see large buildings that look hotel-ish or resort-ish. The big water looks too quiet to be the Atlantic.

My first instinct is: west coast South America. Second guess: eastern med. Guess #3: western OZ.

[KukriKhan]

Louis: you really think that's a cricket pitch, not soccer (the one with the triangular green patch due east of it?

And yeah, there's not any cultural icon-type buildings to latch onto for identification; maybe (if they exist) they're on the east side of town.

[Myrddraal]

I think it's an aussie rules football pitch. Maybe barocca could confirm it? If it is then it's most certainly Australia :smile:

+ I see several golf courses.

EDIT: Found it, but that was a bit fast and I just had a go so... to the next man :bow:

https://img69.imageshack.us/img69/1827/fdsjazf9.jpg

[Louis VI the Fat]

I don't know, Kukri. I don't even know what a proper cricket field is supposed to look like. It's oval, hence my first thought was 'cricket.' Maybe it is a football field, or a stadium with an athletics field. Or rugby, or polo. I don't know.
Maybe it is South American? Chile?

Edit: Or Aussie rules indeed. :idea2:

[KukriKhan]

LoL. What I took as wetlands, and disregarded, are golf courses! Good eye Myrddraal! Gawd, lookit the sprawl of that area from about 25,000 ft. If they didn't have roadsigns announcing it, you'd never know you'd crossed city borderlines, when travelling.

[barocca]

a cricket pitch will have a lighter strip down the middle,
(there are two informal cricket pitches in the main image)

aussie rules has real goals, not just a try line,
so wear and tear is clusted around the center and the goal posts,
that is looking very aussie rules to me

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I'm going away tomorrow, without access to a computer, so I'll just post a quick one. The first person to find it can have it, but there'll be no hints besides what I give you now. If nobody gets it in, say, two days, just take another one. If it's really hard (which I don't think it is), again, someone else can take a turn.


https://img505.imageshack.us/img505/1230/goldengroundqh9.png

Hints:

#1: Contains buried gold in the city centre.
#2: Peace, trees, no hippies.
#3: Riptide! (country clue)


Kind of cryptic, anyone who has been there should know what I mean, and these hints are vague enough and explanatory enough. They'll all fall into place in a bit. ~:)

[The Receptionist]

ok
someone is going to have to tell me where it is,
because i still cannot find curry's... let alone move on E.M.M.'s

[scotchedpommes]

curry's is Adelaide, don't know about EMFM's yet.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

because i still cannot find curry's... let alone move on E.M.M.'s


EDIT: Found it, but that was a bit fast and I just had a go so... to the next man :bow:


Myrddraal found Curry's already.

[The Receptionist]

Myrddraal found Curry's already.
yes, but he forgot to tell us where it was...

[The Receptionist]

#3: Riptide! (country clue)

hmm
is that the 1980s television detective series ??
Riptide (album), a 1985 album by Robert Palmer ??
Riptide (comics) (Janos Quested), a mutant character in the fictional Marvel Comics universe ??
Rip Tide, a Doctor Who novella by Louise Cooper ??
Riptide (Australian TV series), a 1960s television drama series made in Australia starring Ty Hardin ??
Riptide (novel) A novel by Douglas Preston and Lincon Child ??
Riptide (film), a 1934 drama film ??
RipTide (attraction), a ride at Knott's Berry Farm ??

:dizzy2:

[scotchedpommes]

I think I've got this one, I'll leave it for now.

[barocca]

- i dont think myrddrall had declared the city as "found"

anyway - whichever "riptide" EMM was refering to, they drive on the left

as for the gold, it could be a bank vault, a time capsule or an abandoned mine

in short without another source of clues it needs someone with unlimited bandwidth to find it,
i got a strict limit and i'm not burning it up on this one.
:-/
B.

[Yawning Angel]

Gah! Confused, how did it get from Myrddral finding the previous one but leaving it open for others to have a go at to EMFM posting a new one :dizzy2:

A request: please could you leave them a bit longer before posting a new image if someone has insta guessed it but not revealed the answer.

[barocca]

i am leaning to thinking of abandoned gold mine, i think the image name chosen is meant to lead us towards the solution.

also that is some bus fleet!

[Myrddraal]

yeah, when I said I was leaving it, I meant I was leaving it to the next person to find the city. It's not the end of the world though :smile:

[KukriKhan]

I thought I'd get the quick-win with Gold Reef City, just south of Johannesburg, located over the old #14 Crown mine, now housing the Apartheid Museum.

But: no busses (freeways instead), and the housing looks more upscale.

Ratz. Gotta work a bit more for this one. :laugh4:

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Oh, really sorry, I thought that Myrddraal meant anyone could post one. Again, really sorry. :shame:

I'll add another hint, elaborating on the riptides:

This country has strong riptides on many of its beaches (at least from my experience there, locals will also warn you of the danger).

The gold is buried, and yet available to the public. (again a bit cryptic, but it's a stronger hint than before).

[Myrddraal]

Is it actually a country, independent of others? If so that would elliminate Hawaii, which was my initial thought from the clue, and the architecture does fit.

I'd say this is a hard one EMFM :wink:

Could we have a more zoomed out view?

[barocca]

it sure looks like colon / coco solo in panama

the street layout is wrong, but the basics are similar

i think we are looking at an industrial area in the pic
somewhere south american (could be anywhere from mexico down)
riptides are strong all along the east coast of south americas

B.

[The Receptionist]

:wall:

[scotchedpommes]

I had put in a Johannesburg guess earlier, because there is gold under
Johannesburg, though simply couldn't find that area. Then convinced it was in a
certain Caribbean place, thanks to the handy traffic pointer combined with the
previous hints, but even though certain parts do look very similar, I just can't
see it.

[barocca]

too many possibilities to start with,
(anyplace where they drive on the left)

and clues far too vague

the only place i can think of where they have "gold" underground that tourists can go look at,

is the Tower of London.

[barocca]

am i the only one who thinks we need some rules to make this more fun and less frustrating?

like
dont HAVE to post a clue when you post the city BUT must post a clue within 12 hours,
and no more than 14 hours between new clues?

a clue can be a correction,
for example if we all think it is south america and the poster says "wrong continent" <- that qualifies as a clue?

in the meantime
PLEASE GIVE US A CLUE...
signed blond, clueless and lost...

[Jubal_Barca]

I guess Lima...

[Jubal_Barca]

Or considering the clue another possibility is San Francisco, where they discovered a gold rush ship buried under the Financial DIstrict in 2001.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I don't understand the clues. Riptide, gold, peace / no hippies...? ~:confused:

All I know is that the city looks South American to me. Peru, Ecuador? Quito or Lima then? Is that gold clue an Inca reference?


Edit: I can't believe I didn't think of checking Adelaide. Or rather, of remembering that Australia has got this bight in its southern coastline, with southeastern cities facing the ocean to their west.

[Decker]

I was gonna say Berkeley California but obviously the "no hippies" thing counts all things out Doh!

So I'm going with Sacramento California(no idea why tho).

I was also gonna say SF(San Fransico but I think they have healthy amount of Hippies)m

[barocca]

throws a dart at a map of south america

Fortaleza, Brasil

[Louis VI the Fat]

Now that we're all making wild guesses: La Paz, Bolivia?

Well it does mean 'The Peace'. And there were probably gold mines in that part of South America. And riptides..err..maybe Bolivia has got err, lakes...? Yes! Really wild lakes..with beaches and stuff!

*joins the blond, clueless and lost crowd*


Maybe someone can dig up that 'Which countries have you visited' thread in the Frontroom, and check where EMFM has been? ~;)

[The Receptionist]

blond?
clueless??
lost???

- that's ME!!!!

Rosario, Argentina (some revolutionary dude was born there)

[Myrddraal]

How did people come to the conclusion that they drive on the left here. I can't really tell from the image.

[Decker]

How did people come to the conclusion that they drive on the left here. I can't really tell from the image.
Cuz your english?? I dunno

[The Receptionist]

https://img505.imageshack.us/img505/1230/goldengroundqh9.png

the buses are pulled over to the left with cars going around them?

in the bottom right corner is a bus parked at an odd angle to the kerb,
i would think that bus was pulling away from the kerb, rather than pulling in??


EDIT...
then again buses could be pulled over to the right,
and the odd angled bus could simply be some clown parked in the bus stop

it is definately southern hemisphere though..

[The Receptionist]

and if my first guess is wrong then Lima Peru - cos' it's so damn huge...
(and the shadows are about right - cannot find that exact spot though)

[barocca]

:blank: :404: :drama1: :sleeping: :zzz:

[Louis VI the Fat]

:knight: San José :knight:

[Louis VI the Fat]

New question:

https://img57.imageshack.us/img57/4113/canalwh4.jpg

Some basic hints:

There's nothing obscure about it
It's quite a large city

[barocca]

all hail Louis!!!


and i am sure that city is going to be obvious to someone,

but i need some more hints

[KukriKhan]

Closest I come come, right off the bat, for Louis' assignment, is Verona, Italy - but I think that's incorrect.

Which San Jose was that?

[Louis VI the Fat]

and i am sure that city is going to be obvious to someone,

but i need some more hintsObvious...maybe not. All I'm saying is that it isn't obscure. The city isn't, and my snapshot of it isn't either - it's dead on in the centre of it.

I was PM'ed a great idea for a city by Seamus, nice and tough, but it's never the right time for it it seems. Been trying to alternate difficult ones with more 'friendly' pictures.

Anyway, as for hints: not just yet, it's only been up a few hours and I'll let others have their guesses a bit. But here are some tips to get you going, some of mine, some I've learned of Sigurd, some of others. They are some of the questions I ask myself when I see a picture:

What do I see? An old city, a new one? The streets are narrow, and not designed for cars or modern traffic. So old probably

The shadows - are they to the north of buildings? That would mean northern hemisphere (well, to be correct, above the tropic of Capricorn / that other one with the name I can never remember)

That thing with the brownish roof, almost in the middle - is that a Christian church? A Mosque? Even if I can't see it properly, I can see that it's build in an east-west axis, which would point to a Christian church: their choirs faces eastwards towards Jerusalem. At least, west of Jerusalem they do, don't know about Australia actually. So it is a Christian city, which narrows the choice down considerably.

Does it look wealthy? Are the streets well paved, are the quays straight, the trees lined up nicely, heavy industry not visible in the centre etc?


If we combine all these things: old, northern hempisphere, Christian, wealthy - which continent is it most likely? And then, when you note all those red-tiled roofs, which part of that continent? ~;)

Edit @ Kukri: no, not Verona. And it was SJ in Costa Rica.

[barocca]

good points, i have a rough idea of where and what continent,
but i do not have unlimited bandwidth,
(unlimited bandwidth is more money than i can justify here)

so unless i can narrow something down i cannot go and look
(on average my isp's "bandwidth tool" tells me i use 100MB in image downloads for each city i examine)
10 cities - 1GB
20 cities - entire months bandwidth is goooone...

[Yawning Angel]

Closest I come come, right off the bat, for Louis' assignment, is Verona, Italy - but I think that's incorrect.

Which San Jose was that?

Italy was my immediate impression as well, but had a quick look round a few of the more obvious cities with no luck.

Must try harder . . .

[barocca]

If we combine all these things: old, northern hempisphere, Christian, wealthy - which continent is it most likely?
And then, when you note all those red-tiled roofs, which part of that continent? ~;)i have found houses with tiles that match the roofs in your pic in
Spain, Italy, France and Holland

[Louis VI the Fat]

Hints:


I looked at Verona, and was shocked at how much Verona bears a striking resemblance to this city from the air. But Verona has only a single river, my city is build at a place where two rivers flow together. But were Roman cities once though. And my city is bigger.

It is indeed in one of these four countries: Spain, Italy, France and Holland.

Picture hint. The picture was taken through the window of the city hall, which is located next to the square that can be seen in my previous picture, directly underneath the green arrow:

https://img235.imageshack.us/img235/113/notveronapi0.jpg

[barocca]

lyon france
(merci Louis - what i thought was a lousy set of clues was, after careful analysis, a good set!! - most impressive)

(edit - i spent the last 3 hours googling and wiki'ing before narrowing it down to a list of 16 candidates,)
(then back to wiki and google for "fine tuning" before starting the "looksee")

[Louis VI the Fat]

Yes, Lyon is correct. :balloon2:

It is the second largest city in France, or third depending on how you count. More importantly, Lyon, not Paris, is the gastronomical capital of the world. http://matousmileys.free.fr/miam3.gif

Lyon is also known for its annual F&#234;te des lumi&#232;res (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%AAte_des_lumi%C3%A8res), the Festival of Lights.
Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a3-4tnCch0&mode=related&search=)

[discovery1]

https://img168.imageshack.us/img168/7543/citybk0.jpg

GOT A CITY IN!
Hint: This city tries hard to make itself known and has lots of nukes not far from it.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Actually, the rule is that the one who guesses it correctly can post the next city.

Edit: But now that your city is up, we might as well try to guess it. I know what it is, but I won't spoil it. Maybe Barocca can post the next city?

Also, now that I think about it, maybe it actually is a good idea if we install a waiting list, like the one for mafia games, for people who want to post a great picture of a city they've found?

[barocca]

Also, now that I think about it, maybe it actually is a good idea if we install a waiting list, like the one for mafia games, for people who want to post a great picture of a city they've found?

I like with that,
it would enncourage people to divulge their thinking a lot more
(where they think it is, why they think it is, where thay have looked and so on)
i think it would work! :bow:

(and i have a city to post, but it can wait till after we find this one posted by discovery1)

(in short - waiting list >-> "I'm Next" (please))

[barocca]

viva Las Vegas??

[discovery1]

viva Las Vegas??

Well that was fast, although like I said, we make ourselves known. I would never have guessed that Louis would have got it though.


Actually, the rule is that the one who guesses it correctly can post the next city.

Oh, my bad.

[barocca]

and it is vegas

https://img391.imageshack.us/img391/8001/vegas2ij0.jpg (https://imageshack.us)

and here is mine

https://img468.imageshack.us/img468/9422/baroccatown1gl1.jpg (https://imageshack.us)


clues
population just under 300k
english is the main language spoken here
the country's name was changed in the 20th century!
their army is largely foreigners!

[Csargo]

I don't seem to ever be able to find any of these cities.

[barocca]

well if enough people like Louis' idea to have a waiting list and that will encourage people to collaborate on finding them
and that should make this a much faster paced game

does anyone else like Louis' idea??
(or am i all alone on that one)


The main clue in my selection above is the country changed names somewhere between 1901 and 1999,
identify which countries did that,
from there a little light reading on wiki will see you clear!!

B.

[barocca]

the last colonial power to hold this country was not the first,

and the first twice lost the country to native revolts, one revolt took 4 years to expel the conquerors,
the other revolt simmered on for some 70 years before the native succeeded against the conquerors,

Oddly these same natives co-existed peacefully with the second colonial power for over 100 years,
before there was armed conflict which lasted over 100 years before petering out around 1875.
(the natives lost)

i'd like to tell you about the long running war with a neighbour, but the details would give the game away,
lets just say there was only once a peace treaty between them
and the neighbour abrogated that treaty because this country did not build a road.
To be fair to the neighbour they did give these guys 80 Years before they lost patience.

(fixed my spelling)

[barocca]

and i got the population wrong,

i noticed on wiki that this country has 3 seperate pages, all with different names,
2 pages are the current country name, (i think all need to be merged myself)
1 page is the old name,

the three pages do not agree with each other, so i did some more research

and the city has under 100k
(profound apologies)

[barocca]

and you know if you boil down the body of the clues to basic words,
and google them
and mix and match a little bit
this city is in the country that appears about 1/3 of the time as one of the top two,
and the other is always History of Finland
B.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Those are fine clues, Barocca. I was away for the weekend so I didn't get to post until just now. Here is a photoclue to your city:

https://img66.imageshack.us/img66/1093/barcityhh0.jpg


What I actually meant was, that we could change the rules so that not the person who guesses a city posts the next one, but rather anyone who wishes to post a city. We could go with your idea and put up several cities at the same time, to make this game more fun. I think that is what you mean (well, what I think you think I meant ~;) )



I would never have guessed that Louis would have got it though.
Las Vegas? Do you realise how well known that place is outside of America? :beam:
It is an icon, a global symbol, perhaps, even more so outside of America than within. It is as recognisable as the canals of Venice or the pyramids of Egypt.

Btw, if you have any more pictures that you'd like to have us guessing about, I wouldn't mind you posting them. I'm quite curious to see what you come up with.

[KukriKhan]

English-speaking small town of a former colony, that has changed names in the last 100 years.

Most of those countries would be in Africa. Fewer in Asia. Very small number in Europe.

Standing military of foreigners... now THAT's an interesting clue.

To the image itself: it's virtually featureless, except for the gov't/military-looking set of buildings and parade field in the lower right. The white-ish buildings north of those look either gov't or hotel. Roads are paved, and there's plenty of traffic (mostly cars). Bottom left shows "angle parking", vs parallell.

I see some, but not many, individual houses, so either folks live in apartment buildings, or we see a buisness/industrial area (seems to conflict with a pop <100K).

Dunno.

Hope that helps someone, 'cause it certainly leads me in circles.

edit: Louis provides palm trees as a clue. Yikes!

edit II: wild-ass guess: Okrika, Nigeria, in the area briefly known as Biafra.

[KukriKhan]

Better guess: Belize City, Belize.

Geez, the time I wasted in Africa, LoL :laugh4:

I don't have a city picked out yet, so if someone has one on-hand, please feel free to throw it up here. :thumbsup:

[barocca]

aw nuts kukri,
my next clue was to have been
"this city is no longer part of Honduras"...
but i was delayed getting here!

btw, if you look at the san jose pic and belize you will spot some similarities!

on and
conquerors = conqusitadores (which would have lead straight to the south america's)
thats why i mentioned the word at the end of two consecutive sentences,
when i do something cheesy like that it most likely a clue!

(and their standing army is the english army, supposedly "training bases and camps")

[barocca]

and the google clue,

where i said "give the game away"

neighbour abrogated treaty road

[KukriKhan]

Yeah; the 'name-change', 'foreign army' & palm trees clues did it for me - tho' not directly. The other clues served to confirm, after I'd found the likely country/continent. I spent a bunch o'time touring Africa, and found that any city/town less than 500K pop. was low-rez, and not probably your choice.

Next assignment (since no one jumped at it):

https://jimcee.homestead.com/shadows.jpg

Image is taken from a mere 1500 feet, so might need more context, which I'll gladly provide if folks are stumped.

This city of 400,000+ souls, was first mentioned on maps in 1154, so it's been around a good while. It has been in the news within the last 3 months. It's both a capital and port city.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Sorry to interrupt, thought I'd take a whack at it.

Tallinn, Estonia?

[KukriKhan]

Sorry to interrupt, thought I'd take a whack at it.

Tallinn, Estonia?

Totally, indisputeably, unimpairedly, and quickly...

correct. :laugh4:

Take it away GH!!

[KukriKhan]

OK. Just wanted to unashamedly claim the 1,000th post.

Dibs!!