.... surrounded by a strong wall. This old Spanish city is now the in the middle downtown Panama City. Panama City is an international melting pot and its eating choices range from American fast food to excellent internationall cuisine. Eager to begin our sightseeing, we grabbed lunch at a nearby McDonald's after checking in then caught a bus. The buses in Panama are a tourist attraction in themselves. They are brightly painted, hung with fringe, and have constantly blaring Salsa and Caracas music playing. They are cheap (50 cents a ride). but are very crowded. .....

.... this great river deposited rich, black soil on the land year after year. Egyptian farmers planted their crops in this fertile soil. Sandy plateaus and towering cliffs bordered the river valley. Beyond these waters stretched the barren wastes of the Sahara desert. On the edge of the desert, the Egyptians built giant pyramids as burial places for their pharaohs. They carved the Great Sphinx out of solid rock as a guardian of King CheopsÕ Great Pyramid at Giza. The ancient Egyptians called their country Kemet, which means black (after the land). The Greeks .....

.... had the blessings of the gods in his earthly rule. Southeast Asia's works of art range anywhere from massive architectural complexes to tiny bronzes. Every country has their own individual style. For instance, Thailand's work is either cast-bronze figures of gods and goddesses, heavenly beings, or mythological animals. Their art always expresses religious beliefs made primarily of curved lines and slick features. The art of Indonesia also expressed religious beliefs but was much more defined. The art of Indonesia had more carving and molding which portrayed .....

.... dramatically: more than two thirds of all Mexicans now live in cities. Mexico City, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 16 million people, is the largest city in the world. While still low by United States standards, the nation's gross national product per capita rose significantly during the 1970s. Despite impressive social and economic gains, since 1981 Mexico has been wracked by severe inflation and an enormous foreign debt brought on in large part by precipitous declines in the value of petroleum products. Geologically, Mexico is located in .....

.... empire. They also built hospitals, irrigation canals, reservoirs, and roads. Between the 800’s and 1400’s, the Khmer controlled a great Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in Cambodia. The Khmer empire reached its peak during the 1100’s. It took over much of the land that is now Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Wars with the Thai weakened the Khmer kingdom. The Thai took over Angkor in 1431, and the Khmer abandoned the city. An independent Khmer kingdom, that had its capital near what is now Ohnom Penh, survived until the mid 1800’s. The Mon and the Khmer were the first peo .....

.... strong efforts to preserve their French heritage as well as to gain additional powers for the province, which led to conflicts with the national government that have yet to be fully resolved. This is apparent in the recent "Referendum" where theQuebecois tried to get Quebec special provincial concederations based on the fact the mass majority of Quebec residents speak French. Quebec is the largest of all the Canadian provinces. Its large area of 1,540,680 sq km (594,858 sq MI) accounts for 15.5 percent of Canada's total area and includes 183,890 sq km (71,0 .....

.... the germ of the major themes in "Islamic art," whose fundamental purpose is to express the faith revealed in the Qur'an. This "art" is decipherable only if one recalls the tenets of the Islamic faith. This dome is set upon a drum, which, in turn, rests upon the basic octagon that represents the earth, like a perfect crystal. The original facing consisted of glass mosaics, magnifying the beauty of the earth created by God, but the porcelain of the present-day dome, with its dominant blues, growing denser and darker as it descends from the drum to ground level, .....

.... a mixed free-market economy. Their economy is generally strong and stable. The country is self-sufficient relying little on agriculture. Resources include iron ore, timber, tungsten, and coal. Their exports include of machinery, lumber, textiles, iron, steel, chemicals, and paper products. Tourism is an important industry. The cultural institution and scenic beauty attract millions of people every year. Many of their Tourists come from Italy, Germany, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Switzerland. People in celebrate many of the same holidays as we do but they ar .....