ARE you lost? Don’t know where to go? Or maybe, it’s just that you are planning a trip and would like to be prepared well in advance. Well, fear not, for the internet is here to the rescue. Enough of the dramatics, now let’s move on.
Maps have been the best buddies in the worst of times. Lost without a clue, and a handy map is best thing that you can dream of. But what when you are about to embark on a journey to the US and would like to be prepared in advance? Well, for such an effort to avoid all predicament the resources of the Internet are good enough to help you out of a sticky neighbourhood. And a very good place to start from would be the National Geographic’s very own map resource http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/maps/. These people are really into the map thing. National Geographic’s dynamic web site generates political, physical and satellite atlases, with the option to zoom in or out of all selected regions. A country-by-country gazetteer supplies basic facts about each area, this site for all its good, though requires Shockwave.
Still, this site is loaded with features. There’s the MapMachine and of course the printer-friendly maps, even map newsletters. A number of links open in new windows.
But the National Geographic site isn’t the end of the world. There’s the Microsoft powered MapBlast site http://www.mapblast.com/. This world map has heaps of detail, although pinpointing an exact street or town can be frustratingly time-consuming. Most impressive are the US and Canadian maps; searchable by street name or zip code. And of course when you request for a Karachi or a Lahore search, you do get the general location of these cities. However, you don’t get the same kind of response that you get while requesting a search for a US or a Canadian city.
Almost the same kind of stuff is available at MapQuest http://www.mapquest.com/. One can zoom in on more than three million towns and cities, or type in an address for a street level location. Places to eat, banks or stations, of course, US regions receive the most coverage.
At the http://www.animatedatlas.com/ link, you get a site that is more friendly to European countries, and more to England and its capital London in particular. For here, you even get your hands on the tube map of the London underground, an invaluable service to the London traveller of course.
This site also offers Full Address Search and Traffic Information, but only after you’ve paid a certain subscription services. Even the aerial photographs of London are available for a fees.
Another good site, is at http://www.multimap.com/ that is offering fast and user-friendly map, covering all world regions. The quality of each map depends on the area selected, but the detail usually extends to small towns and villages.
An interesting link is that of http://www.mideastweb.org/maps.htm. Most maps here are well detailed, showing boundaries, transport routes and major towns and cities. It’s a valuable resource for gaining a broad geographical overview of the Middle East region. It also has generalized maps of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
However, a more valuable resource, especially for students, are the historical maps of the region, maps like the original boundaries of the Middle East to the more recent the Israeli Security Fence. You can even stroll through the streets of Baghdad and find out where the latest hostilities have taken place.
Well, that’s enough of the outside world, now for something Pakistani. And the offering Pakistan Map http://www.vista-tourism.com/map.htm is truly a fine offering. Though not as interactive or intelligent as the maps that are on offer, or not as dynamic, but this web site take an up close and personal look at the cities here.
But then, even this link has its limitations, and sorry but no road addresses. This site is part of a Pakistani tour operator’s web site. And it seems that like all true Pakistanis, they have pirated the maps and scanned them off a book or some atlas and uploaded onto this site.
In fact a better effort with relation to Pakistani maps is available at Maps of Pakistan http://www.1 uptravel.com/ worldmaps/ pakistan.html. Road networks and neighbourhoods are available of three Pakistani cities viz, Karachi, Lahore and Peshwawar. Still, nothing being perfect, the maps here are 20 years old. But at least they’re honest! The latest Pakistani map on this site is that from 2000. Other tourist information like shopping, eating out, hotel guide and contacts of various embassies in Pakistan are also here.
In search of something better for Pakistan’s largest city, I stumbled upon a much improved offering at the link called Karachi http://www.alephinc.net/karachi/ html/map.htm. It has the names, roads and the neighbourhoods, places that one is familiar with and this may lead to astonishing findings. Though the link is old and looks outdated, but by and large, it is the better deal of all the links on offering on the Internet.
Another good Internet resource for finding directions is available at http://www.maporama.com/share/. This link has a distinct French flavour to it. However I found it more confusing and even tough it gave me a direction hit for Karachi, all I could see was a couple of red lines. Why don’t you give it a try. May be I was clumsy and didn’t know how to navigate the thing!
ARE you lost? Don’t know where to go? Or maybe, it’s just that you are planning a trip and would like to be prepared well in advance. Well, fear not, for the internet is here to the rescue. Enough of the dramatics, now let’s move on.
