Where On Google Earth?

This week we visited another three maps. The Imperial Map Monument commemorates the three empires that settled on the shores of the nearby Orkhon River, near the town of Kharkhorin, Mongolia. The monument consists of a large pile of stones carefully assembled into a cone with nine poles protruding from the top and three colourful mosaics / maps representing each of the empires.

Kharkhorin, known at the time as Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire.

Before the hint:

• hhgygy
• Garfield
• Lighthouse
• Martin de Bock
• Graham Hedley
• Phil Ower
• Paul Voestermans

After the hint :

• Angie CF
• Bas van Limpt

This week was the first visit by Where On Google Earth to the country of Equatorial Guinea. The actual location is the Parque Nacional de Malabo in the city of Malabo.

Malabo is the capital of Equatorial Guinea, located on the north coast of the island of Bioko off the coast of Cameroon and to the northwest of the mainland part of the country. The island of Bioko was once known as Fernando Po, named after the first European explorer who visited in 1472.

Before the hint:

• Graham Hedley
• Phil Ower
• Garfield

After the hint:

• hhgygy
• Lighthouse

This week, we visited Cape Town, South Africa to look for a special set of glasses – those worn by ex-South African President, Nelson Mandela. Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, the new memorial, titled Perceiving Freedom, stares out at Robben Island, home to the prison where Mandela was incarcerated for nearly three decades. It is meant to draw a connection to Mandela’s time behind bars. As per a statement from the artist, Michael Elion, the sculpture “links us to the mind of a man whose incredible capacity to transcend enduring physical hardship, with unwavering mental fortitude and dignity, transformed the consciousness of an entire country.”

The memorial has not been without controversy. Duane Jethro, writing for Africa is a Country, describes “Perceiving Freedom” as “a pathetic appropriation of commemoration as cover for a commercial promotion. Really, it’s a stunning emetic trigger that suggests that Nelson Mandela is beckoning us from the afterlife to buy Ray-Ban sunglasses, to do our duty for reconciliation and nation-building by consuming this luxury product,” he writes.

Found before the hint:

• hhgygy
• Graham Hedley
• Phil Ower
• Paul Voestermans
• Martin de Bock
• Glenmorren
• Angie CF
• Garfield
• Eloy Cano
• Lighthouse
• Gillian B
• Bas van Limpt

After the hint:

• The Curiosity