Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Virunga National Park - Congo

Virunga National Park (covering an area of 790,000 ha) comprises an outstanding diversity of habitats, ranging from swamps and steppes to the snowfields of Rwenzori at an altitude of over 5,000 m, and from lava plains to the savannahs on the slopes of volcanoes. 
Mountain gorillas are found in the park, some 20,000 hippopotamuses live in the rivers and birds from Siberia spend the winter there.

5 photos







Urfa - Turkey

Urfa is a city in Southeastern Turkey, with an estimated population of 2,035,809 inhabitants. It is located on a fertile plain, surrounded on three sides by mountains.
It is the capital of the province of Şanlıurfa, with a population of about one and a half million people.

5 photos.







Monday, June 29, 2020

Vézelay, Church and Hill - France

Shortly after its foundation in the 9th century, the Benedictine abbey of Vézelay acquired the relics of St Mary Magdalene and since then it has been an important place of pilgrimage.
St Bernard preached the Second Crusade there in 1146 and Richard the Lion-Hearted and Philip II Augustus met there to leave for the Third Crusade in 1190.
With its sculpted capitals and portal, the Madeleine of Vézelay – a 12th-century monastic church – is a masterpiece of Burgundian Romanesque art and architecture.

5 photos.

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La Chaux-de-Fonds - Switzerland

La Chaux-de-Fonds is a city in Switzerland, located in the canton of Neuchâtel, in the Jura Mountains. The city is known for its watch industry, architecture and its sports and cultural institutions.

5 photos.







Sunday, June 28, 2020

Urnes Stave Church - Norway

The wooden church of Urnes (the stavkirke) stands in the natural setting of Sogn og Fjordane. 
It was built in the 12th and 13th centuries and is an outstanding example of traditional Scandinavian wooden architecture. 
It brings together traces of Celtic art, Viking traditions and Romanesque spatial structures.

5 photos.







Speed skiing

Speed skiing is a branch of ski sport with the aim of achieving the highest possible speed. Speed skiing is a professional sport recognized by the FIS in the 1960s.
Athletes from some fifteen countries participate in the competitions.

5 photos.







Friday, June 26, 2020

Tikal National Park - Guatemala

In the heart of the jungle, surrounded by lush vegetation, lies one of the major sites of Mayan civilization, inhabited from the 6th century B.C. to the 10th century A.D. 
The ceremonial centre contains superb temples and palaces, and public squares accessed by means of ramps. 
Remains of dwellings are scattered throughout the surrounding countryside.

5 photos.







Valladolid - Spain

Valladolid is a city and municipality in the northwest of Spain.
It is the capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León and also of the province of Valladolid.

5 photos.







Thursday, June 25, 2020

Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak - Bulgaria

Discovered in 1944, this tomb dates from the Hellenistic period, around the end of the 4th century BC. It is located near Seutopolis, the capital city of the Thracian king Seutes III, and is part of a large Thracian necropolis. 
The tholos has a narrow corridor and a round burial chamber, both decorated with murals representing Thracian burial rituals and culture. 
These paintings are Bulgaria’s best-preserved artistic masterpieces from the Hellenistic period.

5 photos.







Khayelitsha - South Africa

Khayelitsha is a township in the Cape Plain of Cape Town, South Africa.
Khayelitsha means 'new home' in Xhosa.
The Cape Plain is an area east of the city.
Khayelitsha extends to the coast and is surrounded by sand dunes.

5 photos.