43 - Zhaksylyk, Khazakhstan

N of the sweet- salt Ballhash lake.

17 - Zamboanga, Philippines

On the tip of Mindanao's western peninsula.

Zamboanga City brings its best foot forward during the popular Fiesta Pilar, celebrated in honor of the city's patron saint, La Nuestra Senora del Pilar de Zaragoza Our Lady of the Pillar of Zaragoza, Spain. A statue honoring the saint is prominently embossed above the façade on the eastern wall of the meter-thick walled fort called El Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza (also called El Real Fuerza de San José in its early days). This Spanish military fort was built on June 23, 1635, by the Spanish Jesuit priest Fr. Melchor de Vera in defense against pirates and slave raiders. Zamboanga City is one of the oldest cities in the country and is the most Hispanized. It is also one of the largest cities in the world in terms of area, with over 1,480 km², including its 28 surrounding islands. Its recorded population in 2007 was 774,407.

106 - Zeeland, Michigan

20mi. SW of Grand Rapids. Founded by Dutch settlers. Current home of the Herman Miller furniture company.

80 - Zagarolo, Italy

20mi. E of Rome. This flying-saucer-shaped house is apparently at the south end of town.

54 - Zennor, Cornwall, England, UK

On the coast due N of Penzance.

There is a local legend about a mermaid in Zennor.
Mathew Trewella was a good-looking young man with a good voice. Each evening Mathew would sing the closing hymn at the church in Zennor, solo. A mermaid living in neighbouring Pendour Cove was enchanted by the music. She dressed in a long dress to hide her long tail and walked a bit awkwardly to the church. Initially, she just marvelled at Mathew's singing before slipping away to return to the sea. She came every day, and eventually became bolder, staying longer. It was on one of these visits that her gaze met Mathew's, and they fell in love. However, the mermaid knew she had to go back to the sea or die. As she prepared to leave, Mathew said "Please do not leave, who are you, where are you from?".
The mermaid told him that she was a creature from the sea and that she must go back. Mathew was so love-struck that he swore he would follow her wherever she went. Mathew carried her to the cove and followed her beneath the waves, never to be seen again.
It is said that if you sit above Pendour Cove at sunset on a fine summer evening you might hear Mathew singing faintly on the breeze.
At St. Senara Church in Zennor visitors may see a carved bench-end over 600 years old showing the mermaid.

27 - Zanzibar, Tanzania

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The Z's right in the courtyard of the House of Wonders (Beit al-Ajab), so-called because of its early use of exterior lighting (the better for the Sultan to impress his Sultanate). Now it houses a museum, which, alas, I wasn't able to visit a few years back in '99 — if it'd even existed then. The park between the House of Wonders and the waterfront is home to all manner of tasty seaside vended-food, come nightfall.

117 - Zanderij, Suriname

30mi. S of Paramaribo. The name comes from a deposit of white quartize and sand that stretches across the Guianas (of which, of course, Suriname is the Dutch variety).

91 - Zobia, DR Congo

200mi N of Kisangani.


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