Prelims of the Travel Quiz held at the KQA Anniversary Festival -asKQAnce 2013 for teams of 4. QMs - Ochintya Sharma and Venkatesh Srinivasan

1. asKQAnce 2013
Hoarse Latitudes
The Travel and Culture Quiz Prelims
Quizmasters:
Ochintya Sharma and Venkatesh S

2. Teams of 4 or less
32 Questions, all-written
No Negatives
Questions *marked for resolving ties
Top 8 Teams Qualify

3. Around the World in 88 Questions (Prelims + Finals)
India Rest of Asia Africa USA
Europe Americas Rest of the World Miscellaneous

4. ANSWERS FOLLOW…
…after this slide.

5. 1.
Welcome to the QUIZ.
There are four world capital cities that begin with the
letters Q, U, I and Z (one capital city for each letter).
Name all four (2 points in total)

6. ANSWER

7. Q – Quito (Ecuador)
U – Ulanbator (Mongolia)
I – Islamabad (Pakistan)
Z – Zagreb (Croatia)

8. 2.
This island country became sovereign in 1994 and
signed a Compact of Free Association with the USA.
In 2005 and 2008, it gained popularity in the US,
since these two seasons of Survivor were set here. In
2009, it was in the news again, when 6 of the Uyghur
prisoners detained in Guantanamo agreed to move
here.
Name this country without confusing your answer
with a vegetarian food dish.

9. ANSWER

10. Republic of Palau

11. 3. This is the Jahangir Mahal, a building to
commemorate the Mughal victory over Vir Singh Deo of
Bundela.
Which modern day town, on the banks of the Betwa
river, will you find it in?

12. ANSWER

13. Orchaa

14. 4. This important but never completed journey involves
wearing plain slippers, carrying a palm leaf, an
umbrella, a walking aid and a holy book.
What are we talking about? Why is it never completed?

15. ANSWER

16. The Kashi Yatra undertaken by a groom before
weddings (typical in Tamizh weddings)
The bride’s father convinces the groom to come
back and marry his daughter

17. *5. Scenes from the annual Fête de Crépissage that
follows the end of the rains. Where? And what is
achieved through all the festivities?

18. ANSWER

19. Repair of the Grand Mosque in Djenne, Mali.
A new layer of mud is slathered on the walls to
compensate what has been washed off through the year.

20. 6. The year 1992 was when leisure cruising on this
European waterway began to grow, because the R-M-D
Canal was completed, the fruition of an idea put forth
by Charlemagne in the 8th century. The 171 km canal,
located in Bavaria, connects the North Sea and Atlantic
Ocean to the Black Sea, essentially allowing ships all
the way from Amsterdam to the Black Sea.
What does R-M-D expand to? (no part points)

21. ANSWER

22. Rhine-Main-Danube

23. 7. This is the third most sacred religious site in a
country. This stone is called the Golden Rock and
according to legend, has a religious ‘artefact’ that it is
precariously perched on.
Which country will you find it in?
What is it supposedly holding below?

25. ANSWER

26. Myanmar
Strand of Buddha’s Hair

27. 8. Which brand name comes to mind if you identify
this structure located in Alwar district in Rajasthan on
the Delhi-Jaipur highway?

28. ANSWER

29. Neemrana

30. 9. The white-domed basilica in the background is the
most distinctive feature of which district in Paris, that’s
named after the martyrdom of Saint Denis, and saw
many prominent artists including Monet, Mondrian, Dali,
Modigliani and Picasso setup their studios here?

32. ANSWER

33. Montmartre

34. *10. Founded by Phoenician colonists, it was part of
Carthage, and then became a part of the Roman
Empire. It flourished under Tiberius and gradually
became one of the most important cities in Roman
Africa. Containing some of the most impressive ruins of
the Roman period, name this ancient city and the
modern day country it is located in

36. ANSWER

37. Leptis Magna
Libya

38. 11. On the left is Jan Smuts who was a prominent
politician, PM of a country and a British field marshal in
the Second World War. On the right is Oliver Reginald
Tambo – a key leader of the ANC. Where did one
replace the other in 2006?

39. ANSWER

40. Johannesburg Airport

41. 12. If you travel to Adrian, Texas, you will see the
following welcome sign. Adrian is located at the exact
mid-point between which two American cities?

42. ANSWER

43. Los Angeles
Chicago

44. 13. In which historic city centre will you find all these
UNESCO World Heritage Sites?

45. ANSWER

46. Macau

47. 14. Which city is this book
set in? The book tells the
story of the author’s time in
this city of bikes, all the
while unfolding an unknown
history of the city’s cycling,
from the craze of the 1890s,
through the Nazi
occupation, to the bike-
centric culture adored by
the world today.

49. ANSWER

50. Amsterdam

51. *15. La Trochita or the little narrow gauge is the Spanish
name for this 402 km narrow gauge railway that runs in
___________, Argentina. It is run today as a heritage railway
and was made famous in the English world through a
1978 travelogue.
How does the English world know La Trochita?

52. ANSWER

53. The Old Patagonian Express

54. 16. Which location in the US is celebrating the centenary
of the recording of the hottest day on Earth?

55. ANSWER

56. Death Valley

57. 17. Advertisement by an organization that was begun in
1879 and lasted till 1950, when it was nationalised.
Name it

59. ANSWER

60. Nizam’s State Railway

61. 18. The world's largest and most diverse hotel company,
encompassing approximately 7,190 hotels and 609,600
rooms in 66 countries under 15 hotel brands, name this
hotel group headquartered in Parsippany, NJ.

62. ANSWER

63. Wyndham

64. 19. If you were to travel to these countries, a brand
name called Stamaril would be of what use?

65. ANSWER

67. *20. These clam shell omnirovers transport thousands
of excited tourists in five locations around the world.
Why are they nicknamed “Doom Buggies”?

69. ANSWER

71. 21. This is a tribute to someone who travelled quite a
bit. Where would you find this memorial?

73. ANSWER

75. 22. The largest and possibly the most prolific of Arab
dhows, on what do Tintin and Haddock embark for
Mecca?

76. ANSWER

77. Sambouk

78. 23. Not to be confused with the Karolinska Institute in
Stockholm, the Norbulingka Institute, situated near ____,
(A) was built to preserve the people’s culture. It is
named after Norbulingka, the traditional summer
Palace of their leader built in 1755, in _____ (B).
Fill in the blanks

80. ANSWER

82. 24. Connect.

83. ANSWER

84. Tiger’s Nest in Paro, Everest sunrise from Tiger Hills,
Darjeeling and Tiger Trail restaurant in Harsha hotel

85. *25. It comprises a strip of a dozen dolomitic limestone
caves containing the fossilized remains of ancient forms
of animals, plants and most importantly, hominids.
Seven of these sites have yielded hominid remains. In
fact, together these cave sites have produced over 850
hominid fossil remains, so that to date they represent
one of the world's richest concentrations of fossil
hominid bearing sites.
Consequently, what three word phrase is used to
describe this area of close to 47,000 hectares?

87. ANSWER

89. 26. The Title for the Head of the Roman Catholic
Church is the Pope and you would can see him in
Vatican City.
In the same way, what is the Title of the “First among
Equals” in the Eastern Orthodox Church? If you were
seeking his blessings, which city would you travel to?

90. ANSWER

91. Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Istanbul

92. 27. What you see is a reconstruction of how the Grand
House of the “Ancient Enemies”would have been?
Today, it looks like this:
This is a remnant of which civilisation?

94. ANSWER

95. Pueblo/Chaco/Anasazi

96. 28.
20 Km from Tipi, in Arunachal’s West Kameng District
is a unique sanctuary called Sessa. The terrain ranges
from a modest 900m to over 3300m. This is the first
major ridge which blocks the northbound monsoon
clouds from Assam and bounces them back to the
valleys.
Across an area of 100 sq. km., Sessa boasts of a
bouquet of over 200 species of what flora?

97. ANSWER

98. Sessa Orchid Sanctuary

99. What fortune did the Alexanders strike?
29. In September 1998, Ian Alexander, owner of a
multi-acre farm near Matamata, was lazing in the
afternoon, when he heard a surprise knock on his front
door. Two years of action ensued.
The farm is still in operation. But from December
2002, his brother, Russel Alexander has been guiding
tourists from around the world all over their farm.

101. ANSWER

102. Hobbiton set (points for
anything related to
shooting of Hobbit / LoTR)

103. *30. When it was completed, at 380 metres across the
River Dourou, the Maria Pia was the longest single arch
span in the world.
Which historic city do you have to travel to see
this bridge? (A)
What is considered as its “Fraternal Twin”? (B)

105. ANSWER

106. Porto in Portugal
The Eiffel Tower: both designed by
Gustav Eiffel

107. 31. Some estimate the number close to 1000. There are
approximately 150 of them just along the Shnongrim
Ridge. The ongoing Abode of the Clouds Expedition
project, instrumental in charting the major ones, has
determined that Krem Liat Prah, in conjunction with
Krem Labbit, at close to 32 km, would be the longest in
the country.
What is a Krem?

108. ANSWER

109. The Caves of Meghalaya

110. 32. Included as part of a World Heritage Site, which
place was chosen by the Herpetologist Romulus
Whitaker to be developed as India’s only King Cobra
sanctuary and Research Centre?

111. ANSWER

112. Agumbe

113. SUBMIT SHEETS!
ANSWERS FOLLOW AFTER THIS
SLIDE…
Finals shortly…