Belém, Brazil

Belém, or the City of Our Lady of Bethlehem, lies a short distance upriver from southern channel of the mouth of the Amazon. Now a city of 1.4 million, it’s glory days were during the height of the rubber boom in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Most of the important buildings, such as museums, churches, and the Teatro da Paz, were constructed during that era. No expense was spared, the various families trying to outdo each other with their contributions to the various buildings.