Hawa Mahal in Jaipur

7 March 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

East facade © Chainwit./cc-by-sa-4.0

East facade © Chainwit./cc-by-sa-4.0

The Hawa Mahal (“Palace of Winds”) is a palace in the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Built from red and pink sandstone, it is on the edge of the City Palace, Jaipur, and extends to the Zenana, or women’s chambers.   read more…

Yokohama Landmark Tower in Japan

1 February 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month Reading Time:  5 minutes

Nippon Maru tallship in front of the Yokohama Landmark Tower © flickr.com - ken H/cc-by-sa-2.0

Nippon Maru tallship in front of the Yokohama Landmark Tower © flickr.com – ken H/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Yokohama Landmark Tower (Yokohama Randomāku Tawā) is the third tallest building and fifth tallest structure in Japan, standing 296.3 m (972 ft) high. Until surpassed by Abeno Harukas in 2014, it stood as the tallest building in Japan. It is located in the Minato Mirai 21 district of Yokohama city, next to the Yokohama Museum of Art.   read more…

Theme Week Armenia – Yerevan

27 January 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  10 minutes

Republic Square and Government House © Sonanik/cc-by-sa-3.0

Republic Square and Government House © Sonanik/cc-by-sa-3.0

Yerevan (sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country, as its primate city. It has been the capital since 1918, the fourteenth in the history of Armenia and the seventh located in or around the Ararat Plain. The city also serves as the seat of the Araratian Pontifical Diocese, which is the largest diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and one of the oldest dioceses in the world.   read more…

Theme Week Armenia – Ararat City

26 January 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Ararat City entrance from the M2 highway © Armineaghayan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Ararat City entrance from the M2 highway © Armineaghayan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Ararat is a town in the Ararat Municipality of the Ararat Province of Armenia, located on the YerevanNakhchivan highway, 42 km (26 mi) southeast of the capital Yerevan and 19 km (12 mi) south of the provincial centre Artashat. In the 2011 census, the population of the town was 20,235. As per the 2016 official estimate, the population is around 20,300.   read more…

Theme Week Armenia – Gyumri

25 January 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

City Hall © Valen1988/cc-by-sa-4.0

City Hall © Valen1988/cc-by-sa-4.0

Gyumri is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city was known as Alexandropol, it became the largest city of Russian-ruled Eastern Armenia with a population above that of Yerevan. The city became renowned as a cultural hub, while also carrying significance as a major center of Russian troops during Russo-Turkish wars of the 19th century.   read more…

Theme Week Armenia – Vagharshapat

24 January 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  9 minutes

Zvartnots Cathedral and Mount Ararat © Vahagn Grigoryan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Zvartnots Cathedral and Mount Ararat © Vahagn Grigoryan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Vagharshapat is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about 18 km (11 mi) west of the capital Yerevan, and 10 km (6 mi) north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is commonly known as Ejmiatsin (also spelled Echmiadzin or Etchmiadzin), which was its official name between 1945 and 1995. It is still commonly used colloquially and in official bureaucracy, a case of dual naming.   read more…

Theme Week Armenia – Vanadzor

23 January 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  12 minutes

Gugark Hotel © Armineaghayan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Gugark Hotel © Armineaghayan/cc-by-sa-4.0

Vanadzor is an urban municipal community and the third largest city in Armenia, serving as the capital of Lori Province in the northern part of the country. It is located about 128 kilometres (80 miles) north of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 census, the city had a population of 86,199, down from 148,876 reported at the 1979 official census. Currently, the town has a population of approximately 76,000. Vanadzor is the seat of the Diocese of Gougark of the Armenian Apostolic Church.   read more…

Theme Week Armenia

22 January 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  16 minutes

Etchmiadzin Cathedral, UNESCO World Heritage Site © Areg Amirkhanian/cc-by-sa-3.0

Etchmiadzin Cathedral, UNESCO World Heritage Site © Areg Amirkhanian/cc-by-sa-3.0

Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south. Yerevan is the capital, largest city and financial center.   read more…

Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto

1 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  11 minutes

© Jaycangel/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Jaycangel/cc-by-sa-3.0

Kinkaku-ji (literally “Temple of the Golden Pavilion”), officially named Rokuon-ji (lit. Deer Garden Temple), is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. It is one of the most popular buildings in Kyoto, attracting many visitors annually. It is designated as a National Special Historic Site, a National Special Landscape and is one of 17 locations making up the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which are World Heritage Sites. Kinkaku-ji was ranked the No. 85 Most Holy Place on Earth by religious leaders, writers and scholars in the Patheos multi-faith religion project Sacred Spaces: The 100 Most Holy Places on Earth.   read more…

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