Kuwait Towers - Kuwait City

The Kuwait Towers situated in the capital of Kuwait. The capital of Kuwait is Kuwait city which is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, surrounded by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north.

The city of Kuwait is a very popular and attractive tourist destination mostly because its amazing Towers.

The design of the Kuwait Towers belongs to the two architects Sune Lindström and Malene Björn and the building process was accomplished by the Yugoslavian company Energoproject.

All the three Towers were built of reinforced concrete in 1975 and four years later were officially opened to the public.

The architectural style of the towers is both contemporary and Arabic.

Image by Leshonai

The main tower is 187 metres in height and consists of two balls and a viewing sphere that stands 123 metres high above the sea level. The sphere has an installed telescope that allows people to see the entire area around the towers. It is open in the weekends from 9am to 11am.

The tower hosts a restaurant and cafeteria.

The second tower is 14r metres in height, serving as a water tower. The tower is the starting position from where you can reach the other two towers along with the surrounding area.

The third tower which is also the smallest of the three stands at 113 metres in height and provides the electricity which serves to illuminate the main and the second towers.

The Kuwait Towers’ balls are all covered with fifty five thousand plates made of Chinese steel painted in eight different colours.

The Towers have several restaurants, training rooms, Dasman, outside catering and valet parking.

The Ofok Restaurant is situated 82 metres high above the sea level, providing a family breakfast buffet, a lunch buffet and a dinner buffet and it is a restaurant mainly for ladies. On Fridays and official holidays it can also be visited by men. The restaurant holds an oriental show.

La Café is a family restaurant, offering delicious oriental, western and Kuwait cuisine. It is open from 8am to 11:30pm.

Training Rooms are very well equipped, providing day and evening sessions.

Dasman is a luxury place, designed for private parties and business meetings.

Outside Catering is based on serving all sorts of dishes from Arabic, oriental and western cuisine. The Catering service is also specialised in organizing outside parties.

Address:
Kuwait Towers
Arabian Gulf Avenue
Sharq district
Kuwait

Tel: +965 2444 057

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Ha Long Bay - Vietnam

Ha Long Bay is located in Quàng Ninh province, Vietnam and it is one of the greatest and most recognisable travel destinations in the republic. Ha Long Bay is among the 33 most beautiful bays of the world.

Ha Long Bay was listed in the National Relics and Landscapes by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam in 1962. Since 1994 the bay has also been listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

It is historically proven that the bay has been inhabited for ten of thousands of years. The first ancient culture was that of the Soi Nhu Culture around 18,000-7,000 BC, followed by that of the Cái Bèo Culture 7,000-5,000 BC and the Ha Long Culture 3,500-5,000 years ago.

The Soi Nhu culture inhabited a coastal area and their main occupation was to catch shellfish, fish and to collect fruits as well as to dig for bulbs and roots.

The Cái Bèo Culture was located in Na Long and Cát Bà Island, mainly dealing with sea exploitation.

Representatives of the Ha Long Culture evolved the ability to saw, grind, drill, polish stones and also make pottery, grow fibric trees as well as the ability to twist threads for knitting nets, make fishing lines and build rafts for travelling on the sea.

Evidence of the activity of the Ha Long culture is the existed shouldered, stepped adzes, bisque ceramics and grooved gringding stones.

The Ha Long Bay is within an area of 1,553 km², covering a wide variety of limestone monolithic islands as well as a great number of lakes located inside them.

The Bay hosts 14 endemic floral species and 60 endemic faunal species.

The Ha Long Bay limestone formations are one really amazing and unique piece of nature. Among the most popular formations on the Bay are: Hnag Dau Go (Wooden Stakes cave), Hang Bo Nau (Pelican cave), Hang Trinh Nu (the Virgin), Hang Sung Sot ( Cave of Awe), Dong Hang Hanh, Dao Tuan Chau (Sentinel Chau Island) and Qua Chuong ( the bell).

Ha Long Bay is home of about 1600 people who live on floating houses, subsisting mainly on the capture of fish and marine aquaculture.

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Kirkstall Abbey

Just outside the west side of Leeds City Centre lays the ruins of a Cistercian monastery called Kirkstall Abbey.

The Abbey lays on the banks of the River Aire and was founded in 1152. The construction of the abbey took seventy five years. The abbey itself is a huge structure and although it is a ruin today you are still awe struck by its beauty and architecture.

From the time of its construction in 1152 the monastery housed many monks who practised their religion while also carrying out the many functions required to keep the monastery alive from cleaning to cooking.

Monks lived at the monastery for around four hundred years until the reign of King Henry VIII who passed a law causing the dissolution of all the monasteries in the United Kingdom. When this happened the roof was taken off the building for its lead and any items of value were looted to line the Royal purse.

After the dissolution of the monasteries Kirkstall Abbey was left to degrade over time until the nineteenth century when it was bought and handed to Leeds City Council who have owned it since.

The Abbey has a small giftshop and museum showing the items the monks would have used in their day to day lives running this amazing monastery.

It is free to visit Kirkstall Abbey and it is open at the following times:

April – September: Tue - Fri 10am - 5pm Sat – Sun 10am – 6pm
October – March Tues – Thurs, Sat – Sun 10am – 4pm

Address:
Kirkstall Abbey
Kirkstall
Leeds
LS5 3EH

Tel: 0113 2305492

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Carrowmore - County Sligo

Carrowmore is located in the County Sligo, Ireland. It is one of the four largest existing passage tomb cemeteries in the country and also the second largest cemetery in Europe.

The Carrowmore site is within an area of more than 1.5 square miles, hosting stone rings, dolmens and passage cairns.

There are about 30 megalithic tombs in Carrowmore today. Most of the tombs are a combination of small passage-tombs and dolmens, others however are result of transformation between the heavy kerbs of cairns and stone circles.

Every one of the tombs lies on a small platform of earth and stone and it is embraced by a boulder ring from twelve to fifteen metres in size.

Most of the tombs are hard to identify although there are quite a few that are well preserved.

All the Tombs were numbered by George Petrie in 1837 and forty three years later William Gregory Wood-Martin made the first excavation.

Tomb 4 dates from 4,600 BC and it is one of the oldest and smallest tombs in the cemetery.

Tomb 7 probably dates from 3,825 BC and it is one of the greatest examples of dolmen and circle in the complex. It is situated in the centre of a 13m circle which consists of thirty two boulders.

North of the tomb 7 you can see tomb 9, which consists of eight boulders.

Tomb 19 is the largest of all the boulder circles and is around seventy feet in diameter with forty nine stones.

One of the largest tombs in the Carrowmore cemetery is the double boulder circle tomb 27, dated around 3,825 BC.

On the highest place in the complex stands tomb 51, or also called Listoghil. It was excavated in 1990s by the Swedish archaeologist Goran Burenhult and it is known as the largest tomb in the cemetery in size and is between 35 to 41 metres.

Previously the tombs were considered simply as a depository for the dead, they are now one of the greatest landmarks as well as very significant monuments in Ireland.

The Carrowmore cemetery is open daily from 10am to 6pm, 9th April to the14th Ocober.

Address:
Carrowmore
Sligo
County Sligo
Ireland

Tel: +353 71 9161 534

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Australian War Memorial

The Australian War Memorial is a national memorial located in the capital of Australia, Canberra. It was built as a dedication to all the people who have participated or died in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The idea of creating a museum memorial to Australian soldiers came first from the Australia’s official World War I historian Charles Bean.

The Memorial was established in 1941 and in the same year opened its doors officially.

The Australian War Memorial is a two floor building built in a Byzantine architecture style with elements of the style Art Deco.

The Building includes the Commemorative Area, the Memorial’s galleries (museum), the Research Centre (records) as well as an outdoor Sculpture Garden.

The Commemorative Area took a central place in the memorial building, including the Hall of Memory along with the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier and some other monuments.

The Hall of Memory is tall domed chapel with an octagon shape. From the floor to the dome all the walls are beautifully depicted with tiny mosaic tiles that represent images of three soldiers also an image of a service woman.

In front of the Hall of Memory can be seen a narrow courtyard above which are located long cloisters, including a series of bronze plaques called Roll of Honour. The plaques are engraved with the names of the 102, 000 Australian servicemen and women who participated and died in the Second Boer War, the Boxer Rebellion as well as in the World War I and World War II.

The Commemorative Area is a place where ceremonies are held on the occasion of Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

The Memorial’s new galleries “Conflicts 1945 to today” opened its gates in 2008, displaying a variety of items based on the conflicts in Korea, Borneo, Malaya, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Memorial’s Research Centre contains a large base of information about Australian military history and the Memorial’s collections.

The Sculpture Garden is situated on the west lawn of the Australian War Memorial, hosted a great number of monuments such as commemorative bronze plaques, sculptures, gun turret from HMAS Brisbane also gun barrels from the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia and from the Amiens Gun.

Every year, on the Memorial Open Days service, the Sculpture Garden becomes a place for a statement of special displays.

The Memorial is open daily from 10am to 5pm.

Address:
Australian War Memorial
Treloar Crescent
Campbell ACT 2612
Australia

Tel: 02 6243 4211

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Plitvice Lakes National Park

The Plitvice Lakes National Park is located in the Plitvice Lakes municipality in central Croatia, between the Licka PlješevicaPlješevica Mountain and Mala Kapela Mountain.

The Park is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and also a part of the Natural parks Federation as well as European Parks of Nature.

For thousands of years the Plitvice Lakes National Park has been settled by Illyrians, Thracians, Celts, Japods, Romans, Avars, Slavs and Turks.

In 1949 the Park was recognized as a national park and became one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Republic of Croatia. It holds a wide range of woods, animal and bird species, also lakes and waterfalls.

75% of the Park area is covered by forest which is mostly represented by spruce, beech, fir trees as well as Alpine and Mediterranean vegetation.

There are also some meadow communities, mainly categorized into three classes: Festuco-Brometea, Nardo-Calunatea, Molino-Arrhenatheretea and Scheuchzerio-caricatea fuscae.

The Plitvice Lakes National Park hosts more than 126 bird species and a great variety of animals such as European brown bear Ursus arctos, wild cat Felis silvestris, eagle owl Bubo bubo, wolf Canis lupis and capercaillie Tetra urogallus.

There are sixteen lakes within the park area, situated on the Plitvice plateau, between the mountains of Lička Plješevica, Mala Kapela and Medveđak. All lakes together occupy an area of about two km². They are famous for the ability to change their colours, depending on the angle of sunlight also the quantity of minerals and organisms that are in the water. The colours range from green, azure, grey and blue.

The Plitvice Lakes National Park provides a great number of tourist facilities such as hotels, restaurants, post office, car parks, information and sport centres. Among the amenities offered by the park are also the well developed educational sight-seeing programmes which are led by qualified guides.

There is a daily bus to Plitvice from Dubrovnik, also many buses leave from Zagreb or Zadar.

The Plitvice Lakes National Park is open daily from 8am to 9pm.

Address:
Plitvice Lakes National Park
53231 Plitvieka Jezera
Croatia

Tel: 053 751 132

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Poas Volcano National Park

The Poás Volcano National Park is located in the Alajuela Province, 34 miles from San Jose, Costa Rica. The park is within an area of 16,000 acres, this area includes a great variety of wild plant, animal and bird species. There areas also houses the Poas Magnolia trees, the Bangs’s Mountain Squirrel, the Clay-coloured Robin as well as the Resplendent Quetzal and diversity of tanagers, flycatchers, toucans and hummingbirds.

The Park was established in 1971, becoming one of the most visited and well-developed national parks in Costa Rica.

The visitor’s centre and the museum that are hosted by the Park provide a wide range of materials based on the geography and history of the region as well as a restaurant and a great number of facilities.

The Poás volcano is one of the greatest symbols of both National Park and Costa Rica. It is situated in the Central Volcanic Conservation Area at about 2,700 meters above sea level. The volcano main crater is more than 1000 metres deep and about 2 km in diameter.

Although the Volcano is active, there isn’t any real eruption activity of lava today; such activity was last recorded in 1954.

The crater can be seen best in the early morning when the clouds do not cover it so well.

The Poás Volcano National Park hosts three craters such as the lake Laguna Caliente, the Botos crater and the Von Frantzuis. Each of the three craters is accessible through a properly organised system of trails.

The Laguna Caliente is known as one of the most acidic lakes in the world with a PH of almost zero, which makes the existence of life on the lake nearly impossible. The Laguna Caliente is a place of almost constant activity where the geysers can erupt into the air at an altitude of 250 metres.

The Lake Botos is a southern lake with a crater which last erupted 7500 years ago and since then has been inactive.

The Poás Volcano National Park is closed most of the time because of sulphuric gas emissions.

Address:
Poás Volcano National Park
Alajuela Province
Costa Rica

Tel: 506 442 7041

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Palace of the Shirvanshahs

The Palace of the Shirvanshahs is a great monument, located in the Inner City of Baku, Azerbaijan. The construction of the monument is representative of the Shirvan-Absheron style of the Azerbaijani architecture.

The Palace of the Shirvanshahs hosts the main building of the palace, Divanhane, the shahs’s mosque with a minaret, as well as the Seyid Yahya Bakuvi’s mausoleum, the Murad’s gate, a reservoir and a bath house.

History of the palace brings up conflicting issues about what the Palace originally served as.

Image by Bruno Girin

One of the theories states that the building was built with the idea of being a memorial complex and a tomb of the Helwati Sufi saint Seyyid Yahya Bakuvi. Another theory claims that the purpose of the building was to serve as the ruler’s palace. None of the theories have been entirely proven although it is well known that the wells located within the palace and the hill on which it is situated is considered to have healing powers.

Thе two-storey main building of the Palace was established by Shirvanshah Sheykh Ibrahim I in 1411, numbering over fifty different outlines of the constructions, all of which are connected to three winding staircases. The main building has a large portal that leads directly from the courtyard to the second floor into an octahedral lodging. Behind it there is another octagonal vestibule through which the lodging is associated with the rest of the lodgings in the building.

Divankhana is located in a courtyard which is enclosed on three sides by a gallery-arcade. The Divankhana represents a small stone pavilion that includes an octahedral hall which inside and outside is covered by a stone cupola. The main entrance portal is interestingly depicted with an ornament and Arabic inscriptions.

The Palace Mosque is located in the lower court of the building, including two chapels for prayers as well as several small subsidiary rooms. The chapels consist of two halls, a large one for men and a small one for women.

The Seyid Yahya Bakuvi’s Mausoleum is octahedral shaped, located in the southern part of the Palace. On the south, east and west sides of the Mausoleum there are three small lancet windows with a stone bar-shabaka.

The Murad’s gate also known as the portal of Eastern Gates was established during the Ottoman occupation of 1585-1603 which makes it one of the latest built constructions in the Palace of Shirvanshahs.

The Bath-house was found in 1939 and according to the excavations consists of 26 rooms all of which covered with cupolas.

Since 1964 the Shirvanshahs’ Palace has been recognized as a museum.

Address:
Palace of the Shirvanshahs
Zamkovskaya Side-street
76 Baku
Azerbaijan

Tel: 92 10 73

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Masada - Israel

Masada is located in the South District of Israel on the top of an isolated rock on the edge of the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea Valley. The flat top of the rock where the Masada is situated is rhomboid shaped and about 1,800 feet by 900 feet, surrounded on all sides by deep gorges which make the access to the site very difficult.

Masada is a unique place that hosts some ancient palaces and fortifications and it’s one of the greatest Jewish symbols.

Probably the most accurate information about the history of Masada was given by the Jewish Roman historian Josephus. He claimed that Herod the Great was the first one who fortified the place between 37 and 31 BC.

At the beginning of the First Jewish War against the Roman Empire a group of Jewish rebels called Sicarii, along with their families occupied the mountain top, using it as a rampart against a Roman settlement. It is believed that some of the current structures that are found there during the invasion of the Sicarii were reconstructed by them, as is the case with of the buildings which was modified as a synagogue facing Jerusalem.

In 72 C.E. the Roman legion X Fretensis, under the command of the Roman governor Flavius Silva, besieged the fortress. The Roman legion built a high wall around the whole rock which prevented any possibility of escape for rebels. The Romans also started to erect a rampart against the western façade of the rock which is believed to have been done with the help of great number of Jewish slaves.

When the rampart was built, the Romans, using a battering ram, succeeded to breach the fortress wall. Entering the fortress, the Romans left unpleasantly surprised that the defenders have managed to create another defensive wall which was also subsequently defeated.

To avoid falling into the hands of the enemy, the commander of the rebels forced all people to commit suicide. When the Romans entered into the fortress, they found only dead bodies with the exception of two women and five children who survived thanks to the fact that they were hidden in a cave.

From April to October, twice a week, the Masada Amphitheatre held a sound and light show dedicated to the history of the place.

Since 2001 the Masada has been listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Notre-Dame Cathedral - Luxembourg

The Notre-Dame Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Church, located in the Luxembourg City, on the south of the country of Luxembourg. Originally built as a Jesuit church, the Cathedral’s architectural style is represented by the elements of late Gothic architecture as well as some elements of the Renaissance architecture.

Before becoming the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, the church was known as the Cathedral of Our Lady.

The constructive plan of the church was created by Brother Jean du Blocq and built by Ulrich Job in 1621. It took several decades for the artistic decoration within the church to be completed. A great contribution in the decoration process was made by the sculptor Daniel Müller with a great piece of work was situated in the entrance to the nave.

In 1794 on the walls of the church appeared a miraculous image of the Comforter of the Afflicted, patron saint of both city and country. Тhe Our Lady, Comforter of the Afflicted was proclaimed as “Patron Saint of the City” in 1666 and twelve years later was also announced to be “Patron Saint of the Country”. Every year, from the fourth to the sixth Sunday of Easter, she gathers Christians from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Lorraine, the Belgian Ardennes as well as the Gaume and Eifel regions.

The Church became a Cathedral when the Pope Pius IX declared it his diocese in 1870.
From 1935 to 1938 the Cathedral endured a serious expansion processes that led to its unique appearance today.

The reconstruction process of the church occurred from 1977 to 1978 was focused on emphasizing the vertical dynamism of the structure and the sculptural elements.

Situated in the crypt of the Cathedral are the burial vaults of the Bishops along with the vault of the Grand-Ducal family.

A wide staircase leads to the entrance of the church. The staircase is protected by two bronze figures of lions which hold the coat of arms of the dynasty.

At the cemetery of the Notre-Dame Cathedral another bronze monument known as the National Monument to the Resistance and to the Deportation can be seen, this monument was designed by the sculptor Lucien Wercollier.

The Cathedral is open daily from 10am to 12pm and from 2pm to 5:30pm.

Address:
Notre-Dame Cathedral
Rue Notre-Dame
2240 Luxembourg

Tel: 352 222 9701

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St. Michael and St.Gudula Cathedral

The St.Michael and St.Gudula Cathedral is an archiepiscopal cathedral, located at the Treurenberg in the capital of Belgium, Brussels. Currently the cathedral is under the administration of Cardinal Godfried Dannels, the Primate of Belgium.

Both the archangel St.Michael and the martyr St.Gudula are patron saints of the church and the city of Brussels.

Because of its location the St.Michael and St.Gudula Cathedral is a place which hosts many significant Catholic ceremonies such as royal marriages and state funerals. The Cathedral has been situated where it is now since the eleventh century.

Image by Luc Viatour

In 1047 by order of the Lambert II, Count of Leuven, the relics of Saint Gudula were transported from the Saint Gaugericus Church to the new church at Treurenberg hill, which put it as one of the leading places among the other churches in Brussels. Along with the transportation of the relics, the Lambert II also brought to the church a chapter of twelve canons.

First built in Romanesque style, the Cathedral was renovated in a Gothic Style in the thirteen century. Somewhere between 1226 and 1276 the cathedral’s choir was created. On its left side can be seen some glass-stained windows which are all depicted with portraits of kings and emperors such as Joao III of Portugal, Francois I of France, Louis of Hungary, Maximilian of Austria as well as Philip of Spain, Charles V, Philip the Beautiful and Ferdinand I.

In the middle of fifteen century the façade of the St.Michael and St.Gudula Cathedral was constructed.

The Cathedral has undergone constant restoration processes through all the 20th century until 1999 when, with the marriage of the Belgian Crown Prince Philippe, the restoration was finished.

The completion of the reconstruction of the Cathedral was also accompanied by another event which was the placing of the new high altar at the crossing of the transept. The three-ton stone altar was designed in light granite by the sculptor Michael Smolders. The altar represents the sacrificial table, a reminder of the last supper and the cross.

The St.Michael and St.Gudula Cathedral is open from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday and from 8:30am to 6pm, Saturday to Sunday.

Address:
St.Michael and St.Gudula Cathedral
Place Sainte-Gudule
1000 Brussels
Brussels
Belgium

Tel: +32 2217 8345

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Giza Necropolis

The Giza Necropolis is situated on the Giza Plateu, in Cairo, Egypt and is one of the most recognizable ancient places in the world. The Necropolis is represented by the amazing Great Pyramids and the huge sculpture of the Great Sphinx which are the only remaining monuments of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Great Pyramids includes the Pyramid of Khufu, also known as the Great Pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure.

The construction of the Great Pyramid took more than 20 years to be done and was probably built to serve as a tomb for the Egyptian King Khufu. The Pyramid is the biggest one among the other two pyramids of the Great Pyramids and for over 3,800 years has also been the biggest man made structure in the world.

As far as we know there are three chambers inside the Great Pyramid. The lowest chamber is the chamber which is situated on the lowest level upon which the pyramid was built. The Chambers of the Queen and the King stand at a higher level in the structure.

The Great Pyramid also hosts two mortuary temples in honour of Khufu, three smaller pyramids for Khufu’s wives, a small “satellite” pyramid as well as small Mastaba tombs which are located all around the pyramid.

After the Great Pyramid, the Khafre Pyramid was the biggest one in Egypt. It was the pyramid of the Khufu’s son King Khafre who built his pyramid on a higher platform, creating the illusion that his pyramid was taller than this built of his father. The difference in height of both pyramids is about 10 feet.

The Khafre Pyramid consists of two chambers, one of which is located in the subterranean level while the stairs of the other are curved into the bedrock and its ceiling passes through the base of the pyramid.

The Pyramid of Menkaure is situated on the southwest of the other two pyramids and is the smallest one among them. The exact time of construction is not known but it is presumed to be completed during the 3rd century BC.

As the Great Pyramid, the Pyramid of Menkaure was also built to serve as a tomb of the ruler at that time Egyptian Pharaoh Menkaure.

The Great Sphinx of Giza is a remarkable statue of a reclining lion with a head of a human. Standing at a high of 20 metres, length of 73.5 metres and width of 6 metres, the Great Sphinx is one of the biggest monolith statues in the world.

It is believed that the statue was erected by the Pharaoh Khafre in 2500 years BC.

The Great Sphinx has remained through the years due to the fact that it has been buried under the sand most of the time.

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Parliament Hill - Ottawa

The Parliament Hill is a landmark site within an area of 88, 480 square metres. Located in the city of Ottawa, Ontario Parliament Hill hosts numerous of parliament buildings known as the home of the Parliament of Canada.

Parliament Hill is one of the greatest constructions in North America.

Construction of the Parliament Hill’s Centre Block began in1860 when Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales laid the first stone. It took sixteen years the structure to be finished.

The grounds of, and behind the parliament were designed in the English garden style, including a wide range of memorials, statues as well as a Carpenter Gothic gazebo. When Queen Victoria died in 1901, those grounds were the site where the memorial ceremony was carried out.

On February 3, 1916 fire destroyed the Centre Block but the same year, on September 1, the original cornerstone was re-laid again by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. The tower of the new building was rebuilt in eleven years and was dedicated to all the Canadians who participated in the First World War and lost their lives on the battlefield. It was called the Peace Tower.

The Centre Block of the Parliament Hill is designed in the modern Gothic style and hosts the Senate and Commons chambers, also the Library of Parliament and the Peace Tower. The East and West Blocks in architectural style are more orientated in the Victorian High Gothic manner, including many administrative spaces, meeting rooms as well as ministers’ and senators’ offices. In the past, behind the West Blocks the used to be the Old Supreme Court Building which was later destroyed.

Over the years Parliament Hill has welcomed many significant events that have marked in some way the history of Canada. Some of these events are: the first visit of the reigning Canadian sovereign King George VI, the visitation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1939, the first raising of the country’s new national flag in 1965, as well as the centennial of Confederation in 1967 and the both Silver and Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977 and in 2001.

The year of 2001 will also be remembered with a huge ceremony, organized to honour the victims of the September 11 attacks in New York.

Since 2002 the Parliament Hill has been under work involving innovation and restoration processes, these focused mainly on asbestos removal, vehicle screening, masonry restoration, electrical and mechanical systems along with improving visitor’s facilities.

Address:
Parliament Hill
Wellington St.
Ottawa
K1A 0A9
Canada

Tel: 613 239 5000

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Abel Tasman National Park

Abel Tasman National Park is the smallest national park in New Zealand and is situated within an area of only 25.3 square kilometres, bounded to north by the waters of Golden Bay and Tasman Bay.

In 2008 the land called Hadfields Clearing was included to the boundaries of the park and expanded park area with another 7.9 square kilometres.

The Park was established in 1942 and it was named after the first European explorer to sight New Zealand, Abel Tasman.

The Abel Tasman National Park is one of the places in New Zealand where the sun shines through most of the year. The precipitation is fairly small, around 1800 mm annually and the snow barely holds on the ground. In spite of the sunny weather, the park is also known as one the most windy places on the island.

The park is situated by several little islands, crescent-shaped bays, golden sand beaches, clear waters and many granite headlands formed by erosion. Here are the unique karst marbles Takaka Hill and Canaan Downs which are hosted one of the deepest caves in New Zealand, along with the New Zealand’s largest spring Waikoropupi Springs as well as a great number of sink-holes and disappearing streams. One of the greatest attractions in the marble area is the cave shaft Harwoods Hole with a vertical drop of 176 metres.

More than three quarters of the park is occupied by forests, which hold mainly beech varieties of trees. There are four species of beech such as black beech, hard beech, silver and mountain beech, each of which grows in various sites in the park.The vegetation is represented by red tussock, bog pine and sphagnum.

The fauna in the park is also very diverse, dominated mostly by wide range of birds as well as forest habitats and insects. Many rare species of birds have disappeared through the years but others such as kakas, parakeets, New Zealand falcons and keas are still residents of the park.

The Abel Tasman National Park has two tramping tracks, the remarkable walking tracks, Coast Track and the Inland Track that passing through undisturbed forest, reaching the highest part of the park.

The specific features of the park make it one of the best places for sea-kayaking.

Address:
Abel Tasman National Park
265 High Street
Nelson
New Zealand

Tel: +64 3528 2027

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St. Peter’s Square

St Peter’s Square is situated to the east of the famous St.Peter’s Basilica in the city of Vatican, Rome.

The Square was redesigned in the Baroque architectural style by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and painted by Viviano Codazii in 1630. The design of the square was done by commission of Pope Alexander VII who wanted the great amount of people to be able to see when he gives his blessing.


In the centre of the St Peter’s Square is situated an amazing Egyptian obelisk of the 13th century BC, known as “The Witness”. The obelisk stands at a height of 40 metres, including the base and the cross on top, which makes it the second biggest standing obelisk.

The most prominent place in the square is taken by the two remarkable fountains, one on the right side of the square and other on the left side. Both of the fountains are very much alike with the only difference that they were built at different times.

The right side fountain was designed by Carlo Madeno and executed by order of Pope Paul V in 1614. The fountain depicts the Borghese family’s coat of arms and an eagle above a dragon.

The fountain on the left side of the square was established by order of Pope Clement X about sixty years later than Madeno’s one. It depicts an inverted pyramid of six stars.

The monumental colonnade of St.Peter’s Square represents the welcoming of all people around the world in the bosom of the Catholic Church. The colonnade consists of 284 columns, arranged in four rows which viewed from either side of the ellipse give the impression that the colonnade is composed of only one row of columns.

On the top of the colonnade there are statues of 140 saints, among them are the statue of St.Macrina, St.Francis, St.Benedict also the statues of St.Dominic and St.Ignatius of Loyola.

Undoubtedly the most famous statues in Rome are that of St.Peter and St.Paul, the patron saints of the city. Standing at a height of 5.55 metres, the St.Peter statue was designed by Giuseppe De Fabris in 1838-1840, while the statue of St.Paul was designed by Adamo Tadolini in 1838.

Address:
St.Peter’s Square
Vatican City
Rome
Italy

Tel: +39 06 6988 3712

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Jeronimos Monastery - Lisbon

The Jeronimos Monastery is located in Belem, Lisbon in Portugal. The monastery represents one of the greatest achievements of the Manueline style. Since 1983 the Jeronimos Monastery has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The construction of the monastery began in 1501 by order of King Manuel I who wanted so to celebrate the successful return of Vasco da Gama from India. Funds to finance the project came from the stiff tax on the Portuguese controlled spice trade with Africa and the East, also from all the treasures that were accumulated in the explorations of Africa, Asia and South America.

French Architect Diogo de Boitaca was hired by King Manuel I to design the monastery which he did, using a gold coloured limestone for its construction. Diogo de Boitaca was probably one of the first to launch the Manueline style of architecture. It’s a style that combines Flamboyant Gothic, Moorish and early Renaissance elements.

Image by Dick O'Brien

Jeronimos Monastery Timeline

In 1517 the Spaniard Joao de Castiliho continued Boitaca’s work, replacing the Manueline style with the new style of Plateresco, which is characterized by florid decorations. Castiliho also designed the south portal of the monastery and the cloisters. The south portal is the main entrance of the building where the statue of Henry the Navigator is displayed.

When the construction was half completed, in 1520, the King Manuel I died.

In 1550 another architect Diogo de Torralava completed the two storeys of the monastery as well as the main chapel and the choir.

In 1571 to the overall construction of the building added some Classical elements by Jerome de Rouen. Later, around 1600, the monastery design was combined with elements of Baroque and Renaissance styles.

In 1755 an earthquake almost destroyed the building, since then it has been restored a couple of times.

In 1833 the monastery became state property and was turned into a children’s charity organization. The organization existed until 1940.

In the Jeronimos Monastery you can find the tombs of many Portuguese royal family members such as King Manuel I, there are also many famous people from Portuguese history such as Vasco de Gama and the poets Herculano and Fernando Pessoa buried there.

The Monastery is open from May to September, Tuesday to Sunday 10am-6pm and from October to April, Tuesday to Sunday 10am-5pm. It’s closed Mondays.

Address:
Jeronimos Monastery
Praca do Imperio
Belem
Lisbon
Portugal
Tel: 21 362 0034

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Great Mosque of Djenne

The Great Mosque of Djenne is located in the city of Djenne, Mali, on the bank of the Bani River and is considered to be one of the most significant landmarks in Africa.

Тhe building was built entirely of mud bricks which makes it one of the amazing achievements of the Sudano-Sahelian architectural style. It’s also one of the largest mud brick buildings in the world and since 1988 has been listed in the World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

There is no precise information on when the first mosque has been established. It is presumed to be as early as 1200 and as late as 1330. Probably the first time when the existence of the mosque was mentioned, was in 1828. In the same year the French explorer Rene Caillie described the building as a very large abandoned construction, surrounded by two massive towers and a place for nesting swallows.

Several years before Caillie’s appearance in 1834, during the Tukulor War, the conquerоr Amadou Lobbo ordered the current mosque to be destroyed. In 1896 the previous mosque was re-built but soon afterwards it was demolished as well.

The original Great Mosque was built somewhere around 1907-1909. The whole process of the building was under the direction of the head of Djenne’s mason guild, Ismaila Traore.

During the middle ages the mosque hosted one of the most important Islamic learning centres in Africa. It was visited by thousands of students who came to study the Quran.

The Great Mosque of Djenne is situated on a platform standing 3 metres in height and consisting of 6 sets of stairs which provide the access to the mosque.

Half of the mosque is covered by a roof and the other an outdoor prayer garden. The roof is supported by ninety wooden pillars which are situated in the inner prayer hall. The prayer garden is bounded by north, west and south by walls.

The walls of the Great Mosque are made of mud bricks, called ferey, all covered with plaster made of clay which imparts the smooth sculptured appearance of the building.

The wall that faces east towards Mecca is called prayer wall or Qibla. The Qibla has a centerpiece of the three broad square minarets, each of which has a winding staircase up to the roof and graduates with a conical dome holding an ostrich egg on top.

Behind the Qibla wall is the prayer hall that is 26 by 50 metres and occupies the eastern half of the mosque.

During the Djenne annual festival all people in the city take a participation in maintaining the mosque. Besides the fun part, including music and food, the main purpose is to repair the damages (mainly environmental) that have been inflicted on the mosque through the past year.

Although there are lot’s of mosques which are even older than the Great Mosque, it still remains the most significant symbol of the city of Djenne and the country of Mali as well.

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Leicester Travel Guide

Situated in the heart of England is the city of Leicester. Leicester is an old city dating back to before the time of Christ and has always been an important place of trade because of its location.

Today Leicester is the largest city in East Midlands and one of the most multicultural cities in England and the United Kingdom.

Although Leicester is not a huge tourist destination it has grown in recent years to become a destination for shopping and night life.

History:

The history of Leicester dates back to before the Roman Empire when the city was a settlement for a Celtic and was the capital of the Celtic Corieltauvi. The settlement flourished because of its location next to the River Soar that still meanders through the city today.

During the time of the Roman Empire Leicester was renamed Ratae Corieltauvorum and was an important trade route for the Romans, this is evident today as many Roman roads converge in or close to the boundaries of Leicestershire.

History of the city disappears post Roman times and is sketchy during the times of Danelaw. The city does however come back to life historically after the conquest of William the Conquerer and the Normans. The Normans were the first to start calling Leicester of a variation of the name we call the city today and also were the first to call Leicester a city. The Normans built a castle in the city of which the church can still be seen today.

From the time of Norman invasion to today Leicester has played a pivotal role in the history of the UK through the invention of parliament, major battles, economic growth and much more.

Sights to visit:

Clock Tower: The Clock Tower is an nineteenth century clock tower built in the centre of the city and is an important symbol of the cities heritage. The clock tower has four statues, one adorning each corner. These four statues are of four great sons of Leicester from times of old.

St Mary De Castro Church: This church dates back to 1107 when it was built by Robert de Beaumont who was the Earl of Leicester. The Church was part of a castle that no longer exists and is a beautiful church to visit.

St Margaret’s Church: This is another eleventh century church and is an imposing yet beautiful vision to behold. Based in the centre of the city and still a working church St Margaret’s Church is definitely worth a visit.

Abbey Park: A sprawling park that used to be land owned by the Abbey that no longer exists Abbey Park has wonderful gardens, a pets corner, historical monuments including the tomb of Cardinal Wolsey, a lake, café and children’s railway among other delightful attractions.

New Walk: If you wish to be thrown back in time then a walk down the pedestrianised road of New Walk is a must. This road has been pedestrianised for 200 years and is part of an old Roman Road. When walking down New Walk you can enjoy small parks, old buildings, wild animals and enjoyable scenery.

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Restaurants and Shops:

Leicester hosts the Highcross shopping centre, a huge shopping centre offering 110,000 square metres of retail space with a massive John Lewis as its flagship store. The Highcross boasts many shops, restaurants, cafes and much more.

Leicester is also famous for its small boutique stores and its huge market where you can get bargains off all types from vegetables to clothing.

Leicester also has a second shopping centre called the Haymarket where you can find many other great shops.

Entertainment:

There are many great bars, restaurants, nightclubs and other evening entertainment in Leicester, below is a small number of the best choices:

Bars

Fat Cats
Time Bar
R Bar
JD Wetherspoons
Orange Tree
High Cross

Night Clubs

Life
Liquid/Envy
Zanzibar

Restaurants

San Carlos
La Tasca
Yo Sushi
Mem Saab
Zucherros

Hotels:

Ramada Jarvis
Hilton
Holiday Inn
Ibis
Premier Inn

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Mexicana Flights - General Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada International Airport

Mexicana is one of three airlines that uses General Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada International Airport (also called Mexicala International airport) for domestic flights.

Interestingly General Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada International Airport calls itself an international airport but all flights are to domestic destinations. The airport is used on very rare occasions for Charter flights to the United States of America so this could be where the international badge comes from.

The airport is found thirty minutes by car from the centre of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico and is classed as being in Mexicala. The airport is also the most northern airport in Mexico.

Mexicana has flights from the airport under its Mexicana brand name and also MexicanaClick brand name. The difference between the two Mexicana brands is the price and level of service, the MexicanaClick brand is the budget flight version so that the company can cater to all budgets and customers.

Mexicana operates many flights and routes from Mexico. The routes from this particular airport make up a very small number of the full domestic and international flights available from the airline carrier.

Mexicana operates an elite lounge at the airport in the main (and only) terminal.

Flights from General Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada International Airport

Mexicana

Guadalajara
Mexico City

MexicanaClick

Culiacán
Guadalajara
Mexico City

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Flights to General Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada International Airport

Mexicana

Guadalajara
Mexico City

MexicanaClick

Culiacán
Guadalajara
Mexico City

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Madara Horseman - Shumen

The Madara Horseman is a unique archaeological monument located in the north-eastern Bulgaria, near the village of Madara, 20km from Shumen. The monument is a global symbol of the country and has been on the UNESKO World Heritage List since 1979.

The Madara Horseman monument is а part of a large ancient complex housing very significant objects with complex cultural, religious and military purpose. On the left side of the relief is the Madara Plateau that stands at a height of 123 metres.

Image by Ilia Goranov

The Madara Horseman is an early medieval large rock relief, situated 23 metres in height above ground level in a vertical cliff face that stands 100 metres high. The monument depicted in its natural size a majestic horseman, spearing with his pike a lion that is lying at his horse’s feet, there is also a dog that is running after the horseman.

Until recently it has been believed that the whole composition symbolizes the triumph of the Bulgarian rulers who founded the Bulgarian lands and the great power of the young Bulgarian state. It must be said that there have also been many different opinions as to what the relief represents.

Along with the images of the lion and the dog that are depicted on the Madara relief, there is also a image of a snake which was connected to the most important and significant year of Bulgarian history. This was the year in which the Bulgarian state was established.

Around the figure of the horseman there are some inscriptions that are carved in Greek and containing substantial information for Bulgarian history. According to Professor Veselin Besheliev, the oldest inscription is dated from the time of Tervel (8th century AD), that’s why he believes that this was the original time when the relief was created. The Professor also said that this was the time when Tervel was proclaimed “Caesar” by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, which was the highest title after the title Emperor.

Some other sources claim that the origin of the relief is dated from the time of Bulgarian Khan Krum and Omurtag.

Most of the Madara inscriptions are part of the Old-Bulgarian stone archive of the earliest period of the Bulgarian State. The inscriptions show the rulers’ high level of culture as well as their great responsibility to the future generations as the heads of state.

Address:
Madara Horseman
Madara Village
Shumen
Bulgaria

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