New York + Washington

New York is the biggest city in the USA. The number of inhabitants is about 8 milion.It belongs to the largest in the world. The density is one of the highest in the world.It is sometimes called The Big apple New york has five parts-the Qeens, Bronx, Manhattan,Staten Island and Brooklyn. The black quarter -Harlem-is in northern part of Manhattan.

The original inhabitants were Indians, which is resembled by the name of the oldest part-Manhattan Island. This island was bought from the Indians by the Dutch for US 25 dolars.The original name was New Amsterdam. Later the British captured the city and renamed it New York.In southern part of Manhattan island there used to be a wall against Indians, now there is Wall Street the centre of financial life.

The city was built on a modern plan of streets and avenues which follow a geometry shape and are numbered. Streets run east-west and avenues north-south(e.g. Fifth Avenues is the shopping centre).Only a few of them- the oldest -have got their names(e.g.Wall Stree of Brodway).

Brodway is the centre of cultural life. The island is washed by two rivers- the East river and the Hudson River.In southern Manhattan we can find quarters such as Little Italy, Chinatown, SOHO,(south of Houston-it is centre of contemporary art.East Village is a multi-cultural area with many ethnic restaurants, funky boutiques, rock and jazz clubs. Many musical groups started their career here. Greenwich Village is the home of artists, writers and students. The city is notorious for its crime. There are drug battles, gang wars and homeless people living in te streets. Many believe New York is no longer a healthy place to live and lots of people, especially with small children, are moving away.

New York is famous for a large number of skyscrapers on a small area. They started to build skyscrapers here because of the lack of space and the high price of land on the island. The first skyscrapers here were built in 1903 and 1913. It is a small city itself - it offers residential quarters, office spaces, parking lots, restaurants, shopping facilities, fitnes centres, swimming pool - living in a skyscraper is expensive. The World Trade Center (WTC) was built in 19st century.was 417metres high, had 110 storeys and more than 100,000 people came and wenthere every day.

On Tuesday September 11th 2001 teo hijacked jet aerlaines crashed into the twin towers of WTC in New York and one into the Pentagon in Washington DC. Thousands of innocent people died. Hijackers were identifield as terrorists whose mastermin is OSAMA BIN LADEN who is now resading in Afganistan. President Georfe Bush started an attack not only against OBL but also against the Taliban Goverment of Afghanistan who offers him sanctuary. The war against terrorisens continue............

Other interesting and beatiful skyscrapers in New York are the Empire State Building, Trump Tower and others.

The only quiet place, where however it is dangerous to go after dark is Central Park where also famous rock concert take place. There are many attractive places where visitors like to go either on ships or over NY bridges-the most world known is the Brooklyn bridge. There are many islands in this area eg. Liberty island with statue of LIBERTY.It was a gift from France to the people of the U.S.A. commemorating long friendship between the two nations. The high Statue stands near a port and it was usually one of the first sight for many immigrants to the USA. It is consired to be symbol of hope nad freedom. New york is an important industrial city and business centre (machinery, elektronics, chemistry, food) It also the biggest hospital in the USA. There are 4 airports, 15 tv station, over 100 galleries . New york has the largest subway system in the world- about 400 kms long.
Washington
It was the first city in the world especially planned and built as the capital and the center of the goverment.In the city, along the Potomac river, there are the most important buildings in the USA- White House-presidence residence
the Capitol - seat of congress
the Pentagon-centre of military forces.
There are no factories and industry in Washington and that's why the city seems so clean.