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Panama City, Panama
Panama City (Spanish: Ciudad de Panamá) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 708,738 - with a total metro population of 1,063,000 - and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal. Panama is the administrative and political center of the country.
Panama has a dense skyline, including mostly apartment buildings, but office complexes and hotels as well. Panama is an important hub for international banking and commerce. It has an advanced communications service, Internet use is widespread; and Panama's Tocumen International Airport offers daily flights to international destinations.
Panama was chosen to be the American Capital of Culture for the year 2003. For 8 years the city has been in the top 5 places for retirement in the world according to International Living Magazine.
 Panama City Skyline
History
The city was founded on August 15, 1519, by Pedro Arias de Ávila. Within years of its founding, the city became a launching point for the exploration and conquest of Peru and a transit point for gold and silver headed towards Spain. In 1671, the Welsh pirate Henry Morgan, with the help of a band of 1400 men, attacked and looted the city, which was subsequently destroyed by fire. The ruins of the old city still remain and are a popular tourist attraction known as Panamá la Vieja (Old Panama). It was rebuilt in 1673 in a new location approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of the orignal city. This location is now known as the Casco Viejo (Old Quarter) of the city.
Two years after the start of the California Gold Rush in 1848, the Panama Railroad Company was formed, but the railroad did not begin operation until 1855. Between 1848 and 1869, the year the first transcontinental railroad was completed in the United States; about 375,000 persons crossed the isthmus from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and 225,000 in the opposite direction. That traffic greatly increased the prosperity of the city during that period.
The construction of the Panama Canal was of great benefit to the infrastructure and economy. Of particular note are the improvements in health and sanitation brought about by the American presence in the Canal Zone. These include the eradication of yellow fever and malaria and the introduction of a first-rate water supply system.
 Casco Antiguo's cathedral
In the late 1970s through the 1980s Panama became an international banking center, bringing a lot of undesirable attention as an international money-laundering center. In 1989 after nearly a year of tension between the United States and Panama, President George H. W. Bush ordered the invasion of Panama to depose the previously U.S.-backed dictator of Panama, General Manuel Noriega.
Panama remains a major banking center, although with very visible controls against money laundering. Shipping is handled through port facilities in the area of Balboa operated by the Hutchison Whampoa Company of Hong Kong and through several ports on the Caribbean side of the isthmus. Balboa, which is located within the greater Panama metropolitan area, was formerly part of the Panama Canal Zone, and in fact the administration of the former Panama Canal Zone was headquartered there. The city of Balboa and the nation's currency, the Panamanian Balboa, are named after the Spanish conquistador and explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa.
Geography & Climate
Panama City is located in the Pacific coast of Panama, east of the Panama Canal. Panama has a rainy season that stretches from May to December, and a dry season from January to April. Annual temperatures range between 21 ºC (70 ºF) and 35 ºC (95 ºF).
Panama is located between the Pacific Ocean and many tropical rain forests. The Parque Natural Metropolitano (Metropolitan Nature Park), stretching from Panama along the Panama Canal, has several unique bird species and other animals such as tapir, puma, alligators, etc.
Economy
Panama has a total of more than 80 banks, more than 15 of them being national. The city also boasts several tourist attractions, and is a stopover for other nearby destinations in the country as well as a tourist destination in its own right. The city is also responsible for the production of about 55% of the country's GDP. This because most businesses and premises are located in the city and its metro area.
 Punta Paitilla
Nowadays tourism is the most important economic activity in terms of revenue generation. The hotel occupancy rate is the 2nd highest (84.7 percent) in the world after Perth, Australia and followed by Dubai (84.5 percent).
The communications systems are highly developed and are among Central America's most reliable. Internet use is widespread due to Panama's high income.
Developers and investors from around the world are showing massive attraction towards the Panama real estate market. This attraction is caused by the fact that the country’s canal is planned for expansion and many other such developments are likely to take place in the country that will lead it to reach an economically developed state of worth US$12 billion.
Transportation
Air
Panama's international airport, Tocumen International Airport has two runways and is located on the eastern outskirts of the city where it is easily accessible. There are direct flights between Tocumen and New York, Newark, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, Amsterdam, Madrid, and all major cities in the Caribbean area, Central America and South America. Panama City also has a regional airport Marcos A. Gelabert, located in an area once occupied by Albrook Air Force Base. Marcos A. Gelabert Airport is the main hub for regional flights within Panama and the Pearl Islands in the Pacific.
The Panama Canal
 RORO carrier at the Miraflores locks
Although the concept of a canal near Panama dates back to the early 16th century, the first attempt to construct a canal began in 1880 under French leadership. After this attempt failed and saw 21,900 workers die, the project of building a canal was attempted and completed by the United States in the early 1900s, with the canal opening in 1914. The building of the 77 km (48 mile) canal was plagued by problems, including disease (particularly malaria and yellow fever) and landslides. By the time the canal was completed, a total of 27,500 workmen are estimated to have died in the French and American efforts.
Since opening, the canal has been enormously successful, and continues to be a key conduit for international maritime trade. The canal can accommodate vessels from small private yachts up to large commercial vessels. The maximum size of vessel that can use the canal is known as Panamax; an increasing number of modern ships exceed this limit, and are known as post-Panamax or super-Panamax vessels. A typical passage through the canal by a cargo ship takes approximately 8-10 hours. In fiscal year 2008, 14,702 vessels passed through the waterway with a total 309.6 million Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tons.
 Bucket dredge working on the canal
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