Treasure Trove

At the moment one of my most prized possessions is the eleventh edition of the Times Comprehensive Atlas of the world, published 2003 and, as ever, dedicated to her to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The book would be worth looking at even without the treasures it withholds - its size practically dwarfs my previous atlas (the Times concise Atlas of the World, which is still in Museokatu) in size and stature, and it's always a pleasure to majestically slide it inside its glossy and sturdy case.
And when it comes to maps, you can hardly beat this one. 67 huge pages of information about our planet and the human world, including satellite data, climate data, a list of the thirty busiest airports in the world (I've flown to eleven of them) and the 134 most populated cities in the world (only a pathetic 17 of which are in my travel log). 125 beautifully drawn and detailed maps covering the entire globe in a dazzle of colours, from navy blue (the Pacific Ocean) to white (Tibet). An index of microscopic dimensions (as far as the text goes) covering over 200 000 place names, from 1st cataract (rapids in Egypt, see also Ash Shallan al Awwal) to Zywocice (Poland).

It's the perfect escape: Open the atlas at any page and submerge yourself in the cartographic wonders of our planet. Proceeding through wildly imaginative dream journeys, there's no rush to flip through the pages like any Michael Connelly paperback - God forbid the slightest crease or grease stain to appear the next time the atlas is unsheathed.
Who would have thought that a map bigger than the size of 4 A4-sheets, called "Himalaya and Ganges Plain" can store so much information and so many places, each of which contains a thousands of lives. Here are some of my favourite maps:...
Pacific Ocean islands - thought you know all the world capitals? Think again. Bairiki sounds exotic enough, but trying to find flights from Helsinki with ebookers is like trying to convince scientists the world is flat.
Central Russian Federation - It's so easy to think Russia only has two big cities, the one with the Winter Palace and the one with the fairytale cathedral, but when you see the number of large cities in and around central Russia, you get a more realistic picture. I wonder what it would be like to live in a place called Ust'-Ilimsk or Novyy Urengoi.... moving on...
Norway North, Sweden North and Finland- this one is obvious. Nothing like examining your own home country on a map. A big bonus to the Times cartographers for getting the town names right, including Rääkkylä.
USA Washington, New York and Boston - journey through suburb to suburb and city to city and get lost in the bright lights (here painted bright yellow) of urban USA.

Time for bed.