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The US city of Atlanta is situated in the South-Eastern state of Georgia,
near the Southern end of the Appalachian Mountains.
Atlanta is the center of a sprawling metropolitan area
of five and a half million people, and growing!
Atlanta's downtown is over there on the horizon,
but the rest of the city is a little harder to see.
It's under all those trees!
Atlanta is blessed with such a thick, continuous canopy of greenery,
it's often referred to as, 'the city in a forest!'
Journey through the city's past at the Atlanta History Center;
from the city's beginnings as a railway terminal in 1837,
and through the plantation era to the American Civil War
when the city was almost completely burnt to the ground.
The museum holds one of the largest collections
of Civil War memorabilia in the country;
but it's not all flags and cannons,
many exhibits focus on the human cost of this terrible conflict.
Over time the city rebuilt, and boomed.
First the freeways came,
and then the Civil Rights era
when Atlanta took the front seat in the drive towards racial equality,
earning it the title, 'the city too busy to hate'.
In 1996 the city lit up again, this time for the Centennial Olympic Games.
Atlanta got all gussied-up and was presented to the world,
and it just gets more graceful with every passing season.
Atlanta today is a dynamic centre of innovation and investment.
Two of its leading corporations are also major tourist attractions.
Go behind the scenes at CNN's global headquarters
by taking a guided tour through the television network
which pioneered 24 hour news.
Nearby, you can learn some ~ but not all ~ of the secrets
behind another little home-grown product.
At the World of Coca Cola,
travel along a bottling-line and though the 125 year history
of a company that produces over a billion gallons of cola every year.
Right next door and containing 10 million gallons of water,
is the Georgia Aquarium ~ one of the world's largest!
The aquarium features six exhibits,
from cold-water displays featuring Beluga Whales
to touch-tanks featuring rays, crabs and star fish.
But by far the biggest attraction is a massive saltwater tank,
the Ocean Voyager, where you can actually swim with Whale Sharks.
Atlanta is a city filled with architecture
synonymous with Southern style and grace,
but for a taste of pure 1920s indulgence, step into the Fabulous Fox!
Like a vision from Arabian Nights,
the Fox Theater features a ceiling embedded with more stars
than a moonless night in Georgia.
Atlanta has long been an arts-loving community.
One of the world's greatest stories ~ Gone With The Wind ~
was written and set here.
Visit the humble apartment where novelist Margaret Mitchell once lived
and worked before her Pulitzer Prize winning novel set the world on fire.
While Atlanta's favorite novelist dreamed of bestsellers,
one Atlanta son dared to voice the shared dream
of millions of African Americans ~ equality!
The Martin Luther King Junior Historic Site
celebrates the journey of one of history's most inspiring men.
Visit the civil rights leader's humble birthplace,
the museum dedicated to his achievements,
and the Baptist Church where he once preached, and now lays at eternal rest.
Step a little further back in time
at the Fernburg Museum of Natural History
and the adjacent Science Center,
which examines history and science from the Big ***
to more contemporary times.
If you prefer your animals a little more active,
head over to Zoo Atlanta where a fabulous collection of Giant Pandas,
Gorillas, Giraffes and Rhinos awaits.
For a different kind of wildlife,
spend an hour or two exploring the vintage emporiums and bars
in Little Five Points, one of Atlanta's many diverse neighborhoods.
Atlanta wears its gracious parks like a Southern Belle's ball-gown.
Cool off in Centennial Olympic Park near the city's downtown,
or stretch out and rest awhile in midtown's Piedmont Park.
But for the best views of all, head East to Stone Mountain Park.
Take the scenic train around the 5-mile circumference
of the world's largest exposed granite monolith.
Then mosey on up to the summit via the hiking trail
or on the Summit Skyride cable car.
There it is again, Atlanta, Georgia,
sitting pretty under all those trees. Waiting, to be discovered.
