Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata - Mauritania

Founded in the 11th and 12th centuries to serve the caravans crossing the Sahara, these trading and religious centres became focal points of Islamic culture. 
They have managed to preserve an urban fabric that evolved between the 12th and 16th centuries. Typically, houses with patios crowd along narrow streets around a mosque with a square minaret. 
They illustrate a traditional way of life centred on the nomadic culture of the people of the western Sahara.

5 photos.








Birgu - Malta

Birgu is a small fortified town and municipality that played an important role in the Siege of Malta in 1565. 
Birgu, together with Cospicua and Senglea, form the so-called Three Cities. 
The city arose between 1530 and 1535 on the edge of the Maltese Grand Harbor surrounding Fort St. Angelo. 

5 photos.








Monday, November 29, 2021

Waterton Glacier International Peace Park - Canada

In 1932 Waterton Lakes National Park (Alberta, Canada) was combined with the Glacier National Park (Montana, United States) to form the world's first International Peace Park. 
Situated on the border between the two countries and offering outstanding scenery, the park is exceptionally rich in plant and mammal species as well as prairie, forest, and alpine and glacial features. 

5 photos.








Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia. 
The city has almost 1.8 million inhabitants and is characterized by a great diversity of urban buildings; from old colonial buildings, Chinatown and Little India to the modern and especially high-rise buildings that have determined the city view since the 1990s. 
It forms a separate federal territory within Malaysia. 

5 photos.








Sunday, November 28, 2021

Virgin Komi Forests - Russia

The Virgin Komi Forests cover 3.28 million ha of tundra and mountain tundra in the Urals, as well as one of the most extensive areas of virgin boreal forest remaining in Europe. 
This vast area of conifers, aspens, birches, peat bogs, rivers and natural lakes has been monitored and studied for over 50 years. 
It provides valuable evidence of the natural processes affecting biodiversity in the taiga. 

5 photos.








Osaka - Japan

Osaka is Japan's second-largest city, after Yokohama and Tokyo, with a population of over 2.7 million. 
Due to the enormous supply of schools, shops and businesses, the number of people staying in the city during the day is rising to 3.45 million, making Osaka the second largest city. 

5 photos.








Saturday, November 27, 2021

Town of Luang Prabang - Laos

Luang Prabang is an outstanding example of the fusion of traditional architecture and Lao urban structures with those built by the European colonial authorities in the 19th and 20th centuries. 
Its unique, remarkably well-preserved townscape illustrates a key stage in the blending of these two distinct cultural traditions. 

5 photos.








Turin - Italy

Turin is the second largest city in northern Italy after Milan. 
Located SW of Milan and NW of Savona, it is the capital of the Piedmont region and the province of Turin. 

5 photos.








Friday, November 26, 2021

Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple - Korea

Established in the 8th century on the slopes of Mount Toham, the Seokguram Grotto contains a monumental statue of the Buddha looking at the sea in the bhumisparsha mudra position. 
With the surrounding portrayals of gods, Bodhisattvas and disciples, all realistically and delicately sculpted in high and low relief, it is considered a masterpiece of Buddhist art in the Far East. 
The Temple of Bulguksa (built in 774) and the Seokguram Grotto form a religious architectural complex of exceptional significance. 

5 photos.








Makassar - Indonesia

Makassar is the capital of the province of South Sulawesi on the island of Celebes. 
It is located five degrees south of the equator. 
It was also the name of a government of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, and then, under Dutch government rule, of a department in the SE of Celebes. 

5 photos.