# Discworld real-world locations **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695 "2003-02-17T19:51:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/1 "2003-02-17T19:51:34Z")
What Discworld locations have analogues in the real world? Obviously there generally aren’t exact matches, but there are some obvious ones. Also some that are just hinted at. What brought this to mind was that I’m currently reading Carpe Jugulum, and there is a reference to Shawn Ogg creating a Lancre knife with all sorts of implements in it. Aha! That means Lancre is Switzerland. Which is kind of obvious if you think about it. I guess. Anyways, the more obscure the better. Have at it. ---
**Author:** ![CadburyAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@CadburyAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CadburyAngel)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/2 "2003-02-17T21:00:01Z")
I used to try to match them precisely, but I think the continents, at least, are more or less matched to ours but exaggerated and simplified for comedic effect. XXX (or EcksEcksEcks) is Australia, the Counterweight Continent is Eastern Asia, anything Hubward seems to be Scandinavian/Russian. Rincewind once went somewhere very Aztecan/Mayan, but I don’t remember if he even knew where it was. Ephebe and Tsort are Greco-Roman, with Djelybeybi serving as the Egypt of Discworld. I always assumed Ankh-Morpork was a combination of NYC and London (or just a stand-in for big cities everywhere), but UK dopers might have a better insight into that. Oh, and Llamedos is vaguely Welsh. (Apologies if any of this is inaccurate characterization… I’ve only made it as far as Canada so far.) I always wondered if Terry Pratchett lumped the UK/US/Canada into one thing because there weren’t enough recognizable differences between the three to make a parody recognizable or funny. Or did I miss a big joke? ---
**Author:** ![CadburyAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@CadburyAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CadburyAngel)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/3 "2003-02-17T21:02:20Z")
And Quirm is meant to be analogous to Italy, I think. (The preceding opinion and all contained in the above post are one geographically-challenged baby doper’s opinions only, and are probably way off base.) ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/4 "2003-02-17T21:03:04Z")
Well, Ecksecksecks (Or however it’s called.) is obviously Austrailia, Djelibeybi is Egypt, the Counterweight Continent is China (at least the part of it TwoFlower comes from), Klatch is sort of generically Middle Eastern, Uberwalde generically Gernmanic with heavy overtones of the Transylvania of legend . . . That’s all that springs to mind, other than that Ankh-Morpork is basically every big city that ever was, but with heavy elements of London and New York City. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/5 "2003-02-18T08:07:44Z")
Well, Genua = **New Orleans** (_Witches Abroad_) Hublands = **Tibet** (_Thief of Time_) Howandaland = **Africa** (various, but see _Moving Pictures_) also, throw **Paris** into the mix for A-M (Opera House from _Maskerade_) Omnia is, I dunno, maybe **Jerusalem-Israel/Mecca/Vatican** rolled into one (although post-_Small Gods_, more like Salt Lake City 😉 ref. Conts. Visit as Mormon/JW ) ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/6 "2003-02-18T08:15:21Z")
Was it just me or did Pterry forget about Twoflower’s 4 eyes in the last book he was in? (whose title I have forgotten) ---
**Author:** ![Dragon\_Phoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/7 "2003-02-18T08:38:32Z")
Klatch = France ---
**Author:** ![A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_wizard_song_for_thee)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/8 "2003-02-18T08:45:57Z")
Pterry forgets nothing. He does, however, at times, make lame jokes that no one gets. Twoflower didn’t have four literal eyes, he was simply wearing eyeglasses. ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/9 "2003-02-18T09:20:20Z")
NoThingFjord is vaguely Scandinavian, though most of the jokes are about people akin to Vikings. I’ve had the feeling that Muntab and Koom Valley are supposed to be Africa as well. Pseudopolis is an up-and-coming city, but not on the scale of AM. Not much is said about it. [poke] In The Colour of Magic, in the brief scene in which Rincewind and Twoflower get… I don’t know how to put it… shifted into our universe and ride on an airplane, Twoflower’s name becomes Zwieblumen. I’d taken this to mean that Twoflower was a German tourist. In Interesting Times it’s clear that Twoflower is a stereotypical Asian tourist.[/poke] ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/10 "2003-02-18T11:38:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by A wizard song for thee \* > \*\*Pterry forgets nothing. He does, however, at times, make lame jokes that no one gets. Twoflower didn’t have four literal eyes, he was simply wearing eyeglasses. \*\* Ahh. Someone should have informed the cover artist :). ---
**Author:** ![longjohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@longjohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longjohn)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/11 "2003-02-18T12:04:45Z")
'm damned if i can remember where i read it, but Pratchett said somewhere (it’s in an archive on a fan site) that Ankh-Morpork is more-or-less based on a number of European cities whose character either persists from the middle-ages, or whose character from those times is documented. Thus, Ankh-Morpork is bisected by a river that has become very polluted, has numerous ghettos, a number of ancient areas where the roads are very small and windy (the shades), areas where the rich live, and various large straight roads that are preiodically driven through pre-existing neighbourhoods in the name of progress. This could be any number of cities in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/12 "2003-02-18T12:23:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dragon Phoenix \* > \*\*Klatch = France \*\* Nope. You’ve been misled by “Excuse my Klatchian” (= “Excuse my French” = “Pardon my profanity”). _Jingo_ makes it abundantly clear that Klatch is Arabia (with occasional other Asiatic overtones, e.g. the Klatchian take-away). The Brown Islands (only rating a passing mention so far) are New Zealand. “Omnia”, based on the fact that this Latin word means “everything”, and also on the contents of “Small Gods”, is plainly a Catholic fundamentalist state - anywhere in mediaeval Europe where the Inquisition had much of a say. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/13 "2003-02-18T12:26:27Z")
Och, dinna ye foorget th’ land o’ the Pictsies, wherrever that meyybe. And Dunnmanifestin (“done manifestin’”) is pretty obvious. Quirm seems more French than Italian to me (“nobody understands restaurant Quirmian”, says the restaurant manager in Hogfather, and then coins several faux-_French_ phrases). But where are the Sto Plains? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/14 "2003-02-18T12:33:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Silentgoldfish \* > \*\*Ahh. Someone should have informed the cover artist :). \*\* [Too late, now](http://www.co.uk.lspace.org/art/joshkirby.html). ☹ [On the other hand . . .](http://www.paulkidby.com/) 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/15 "2003-02-18T13:08:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doghouse Reilly \* > \*\* > [On the other hand . . .](http://www.paulkidby.com/) 🆒 \*\* I _dream_ of being able to draw as well as Kidby! ---
**Author:** ![big\_alex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e56c9b/32.png) [@big\_alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/big_alex)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/16 "2003-02-18T13:38:46Z")
I always read the Sto plains as being a bit like East Anglia, very flat and having an economy based on agriculture. (Nothing but fields and fields of cabbages, potatoes, turnips etc) And I may be biased against it but I find it very boring. I have heard somewhere that parts of AM are based on York and Lancaster, what with all the winding streets. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/17 "2003-02-18T14:14:46Z")
Ankh-Morpohk is clearly mostly made up of Victorian Londond - the whole city just exudes the air of that era - which probably explains the smell. However, historical Ankh-Morpohk is Rome. A little bit wierded out, but defintely Rome. The names, the idea of the City-State that conquered, etc. Of course, A-M is alos just itself at times. PTerry makes subtle references to the British Isles’ propensity for absorbing many different poples into itself via A-M. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/18 "2003-02-18T17:24:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CadburyAngel \* > \*\* > > Oh, and Llamedos is vaguely Welsh. > \*\* It certainly is. Read it backwards. Same as Dylan Thomas’s Llareggub ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/19 "2003-02-18T17:27:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SmackFu \* > \*\* > What brought this to mind was that I’m currently reading Carpe Jugulum, and there is a reference to Shawn Ogg creating a Lancre knife with all sorts of implements in it. Aha! That means Lancre is Switzerland. Which is kind of obvious if you think about it. I guess. > \*\* But Lancre is _more_ obviously northern England/Scotland. Although it often has an Appalachian feel to me, but the Appalachians were largely settled by immigrants from the British Isles. But almost every part of the Disc is a combination of different real and fantasy elements, there aren’t many precisely analagous to Roundworld sites. Pterry has said himself that Genua was inspired by a trip he took that encompassed Disney World and New Orleans. There’s a French influence too, although there’s a French influence in the real New Orleans. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695/20 "2003-02-18T18:09:51Z")
I forget: what’s Genua? What books? Oh! I know! It was the one with the Voodoo and all? Yeah, now I can see that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discworld-real-world-locations/155695.md?page=2)