"Manaus - A strange city" Manaus by realde14

Manaus is a strange city. In the middle of the Amazon emerges this million-strong city, whose growth had been fueled by rubber at the end of 19th century. When the rubber boom ended, all the wealthy Europeans went back home and left a city behind that was fully equipped with a marble-laced opera house, and mansions.

Manaus then completely fell off the map until Brazil decided to establish its biggest free-trade zone there, attracting Brazilians this time from all over the country to move to this strange city, in the middle of the Amazon, thousands of kilometres away from any other big city.

Tourists visit Manaus for other reasons. Manaus is the gateway to explore the Amazon area with its distinct wildlife.