Managua

At first glance Managua looks like a dump. At second and third glances too, truth be told. However, underneath the edgy veneer lies a proud city on a lake, the nerve center and capital of Nicaragua. Originally an Indian fishing settlement on the shores of Lake Managua, the city was declared capital of Nicaragua in 1857 as a compromise between battling Liberals in Leon and Conservatives in Granada. The city lies more or less half-way between the two. Today more than a quarter of Nicaragua’s population is concentrated in and around Managua. In 1972, an earthquake almost completely destroyed the city and took more than ten thousand lives, and the gutted out core and flat cityscape is a testament to that, along with the wars, political intrigues and other struggles that define the region as a whole. Fans of the Irish rock band, U2, should note that the song “Where The Streets Have No Name” was inspired by the city of Managua and when you’re here you’ll see why. Managua is chock-full of theaters, museums, bars, restaurants, discotheques, cinemas, shopping malls, and remains the only place in Nicaragua where you can get a Big Mac! The most important sites include the National Palace of Culture, the new Cathedral, the birth house of Ruben Dario and the National Museum of Nicaragua.

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