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Tourists flock to museum of shoes
23 May 2007

Tourists in the Philippines are regularly flocking to a rather strange attraction in the country's capital city Manila.

Thousands of people visit a museum in the city which houses hundreds of shoes amassed by former first lady Imelda Marcos.

Mrs Marcos is the wife of former President Fernando Marcos who came to power in 1965 and remained there for 20 years, declaring Martial Law for much of that time.

During these years of power, Mrs Marcos became famous for her extravagant spending sprees, reportedly splashing out £2.5m while shopping in New York, despite many people in her country living in poverty.

Once she and her husband were ran out of the Philippines in 1986 following a revolution, it was found that Mrs Marcos had managed to acquire over 2,000 pairs of shoes in her life.

It is these shoes that are on display at the Marikina City Footwear Museum and the collection has become a real tourist attraction.

'Remove Imelda's shoes and this museum would be nothing,' tourism officer Mario Villanueva told Reuters. 'Curiosity about Imelda's shoes does not wane.'

Just 758 pairs are on display in the museum which is inside a 202-year-old former rice granary and armoury warehouse.

If you'd like to see this destination for yourself, use Opodo's travel search engine to find flights, hotels, holidays and car hire worldwide.

© Adfero Ltd

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