The first highway in the world

“What’s the world’s first highway?”
People may generally think of the Autobahn in Germany. But the world’s first highway is actually A1 in Italy, which later inspired the construction of the Autobahn. The saying ‘All roads lead to Rome’ may also be a reflection of the attributes of Italy that knows something about roads.
Italy opened the first highway (approximately 80km) in 1924, which connected Milan to the northern lake region of Como. Italy also finished the 500km-long A1 highway by 1935. Later, Hitler drove along this A1 highway and was so inspired that he ordered the construction of the Autobahn.

The first ice hotel in the world

Hotels are usually rated on a five-star system, but it might be hard to rate this one. ICE HOTEL, which instills a mysterious mood, is located in Jukkasjärvi, a small city in Sweden. This hotel is made of ice frozen from water that is personally sourced. It was a temporary hotel in the past since it was impossible to keep the ice from melting when the temperature went up. But recently, the hotel can be sustained year-round using a cooling system. Everything inside the hotel is made of ice, including the lobby, restaurants, bars and the rooms. Various colors of light penetrating the clear ice create a mysterious and romantic mood. It’s a luxurious igloo with a total of 55 rooms including 20 suites and even a sauna.
A hotel this beautiful could easily be referred to as being the world’s best, in addition to the world’s first one made out of ice.

The first department store in the world

The world’s first department store was built in Paris, France in 1852: Le Bon Marché. This department store was designed by Gustave Eiffel, creator of the Eiffel Tower, creating a highly luxurious and sophisticated mood. It was the first to apply the strategy of making the products stand out with the glamorous interior and the lights of the glass ceilings. The department store also enjoyed continuous success with marketing strategies like the fixed-price system and the return policy.
In particular, as the world’s first department store, it also offered various cultural facilities and all kinds of classes as it does today. From a marketing perspective, Le Bon Marché is considered to have marked a new era in the world’s business, and is still enjoying its status as a world-class department store.

The first indoor market in the world

They say you must visit a market to learn about the country. This also applies to the world’s first indoor market in Istanbul, Turkey. The indoor market named ‘Kapali Carsi’ originates from the construction of two big arcades to vitalize the urban economy. Now, it’s so big that it’s easy to get lost if you walk around without a map or a guide.
There are rows of over 4,000 stores such as shops, restaurants, cafes and temples on 65 streets. The market fully conveys the unique mood of Turkey where Eastern culture blends in with Western culture. You can also find thousands of traditional specialties such as carpets, ceramics, Iznik tiles, and turquoise.
Merchants at Kapali Carsi can also speak many different languages of the world, so if you ever go to Turkey, don’t miss the world’s first indoor market.