Palau has released four newcoins in series World of Wonders. It was VIII (eighth) edition in the series.
Date of issue: December, 2013.

Mada'in Saleh
Mada’in Saleh is an ancient excavation site in modern day Saudi Arabia which has been recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 2008. Mada’in Saleh is the former city of Hegra. The entire settlement with its 130 gigantic tombs was carved directly into stone. Most monuments and inscriptions date from the time between the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D. Thanks to the dry weather the inscriptions in Aramaic and Thamudic have been well preserved.

Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is San Francisco’s landmark. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful and most famous bridges in the world. The bridge measures 1280 metres and was ceremoniously opened in 1937 after a four-year construction period. Up until 1964 it was the longest suspension bridge world-wide. With its special orange colour it stands out clearly from other bridges. It was originally supposed to be painted in a normal grey colour but people at that time liked the colour of anticorrosion paint so much, that it was left that way. Nowadays, the «old dame» carries 120’000 vehicles safely from one side to the other every day. Simultaneously the number of crossings are increasing constantly.

Las Ventas
The world’s largest bullring is located in the Spanish capital city Madrid – the Las Ventas. Interest in bullfighting increased in Spain at the beginning of the 20th century. The former Madrilenian city fathers therefore decided to construct a spectacular arena with a capacity of almost 24‘000 seats. The building was opened in 1934 after a construction period of 12 years.

Las Ventas is not only a venue for bullfights. Every year the Red Bull X-Fighters freestyle motocross competition is also held in this arena. Further highlights are a range of music concerts which take place there. For instance, in 1996 the Australian rock band AC/DC recorded their concert for their DVD «No Bull» here.

Parliament Hill
Canada’s government district was constructed in Ottawa on a then strategically important limestone hill. In the middle of the 19th century the English Queen Victoria declared the city of Ottawa, former Bytown, as Canada’s capital city. As a result, the government district was built on the site of a former military base – todays Parliament Hill. In 1876, seventeen years after the cut of the spade, work was completed. The most impressive building is the Centre Block with its 92 meter high Peace Tower. Ottawa’s landmark attracts approximately three million visitors annually.