Titanic Belfast® in the Titanic Quarter

1 October 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  8 minutes

Sinking of the RMS Titanic - www.buddelschiffmuseum.de © Werner Willmann

Sinking of the RMS Titanic – www.buddelschiffmuseum.de © Werner Willmann

Drive over the Lagan Bridge or along the historic Queen’s Road in the heart of the former shipyard and you will see a stunning piece of architecture coming to life. The new Titanic visitor attraction is creating excitement amongst the tourist trade and the public. Its creators describe Titanic Belfast® as a “must see” visit in any tour of Belfast and Northern Ireland. Already, tour operators are programming it in to their 2012 schedules.   read more…

Theme Week West Jerusalem – Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority

19 September 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  13 minutes

Aerial view of Yad Vashem © Godot13/cc-by-sa-3.0

Aerial view of Yad Vashem © Godot13/cc-by-sa-3.0

Yad Vashem is Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Established in 1953, Yad Vashem is located on the western slope of Mount Herzl on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem, 804 meters (2,638 ft) above sea level and adjacent to the Jerusalem Forest. The memorial consists of a 180-dunam (18.0 ha; 44.5-acre) complex containing the Holocaust History Museum, memorial sites such as the Children’s Memorial and the Hall of Remembrance, The Museum of Holocaust Art, sculptures, outdoor commemorative sites such as the Valley of the Communities, a synagogue, a research institute with archives, a library, a publishing house, and an educational center named The International School/Institute for Holocaust Studies.   read more…

The Cutty Sark in Greenwich

10 September 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, London, Museums, Exhibitions, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  8 minutes

© flickr.com - Karen Roe/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Karen Roe/cc-by-2.0

The Cutty Sark is a British clipper ship. Built on the Clyde in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period of design development which halted as sailing ships gave way to steam propulsion.   read more…

The museum ship Great Britain

7 September 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  6 minutes

© mattbuck/cc-by-sa-3.0

© mattbuck/cc-by-sa-3.0

SS Great Britain is a museum ship and former passenger steamship, which was advanced for her time. She was the longest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steamship Company‘s transatlantic service between Bristol and New York. While other ships had been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first to combine these features in a large ocean-going ship. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic, which she did in 1845, in the time of 14 days.   read more…

Theme Week Rome – Vatican City

3 September 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  11 minutes

Vatican City State Panorama from St. Peters Basilica © Marcus Winter

Vatican City State Panorama from St. Peters Basilica © Marcus Winter

Vatican City is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800. The Vatican City is the world’s smallest state, being only around 44 ha (110 acres). In July 2007, the Vatican agreed to become the first carbon neutral state. They plan to accomplish this by offsetting carbon dioxide emissions with the creation of a Vatican Climate Forest in Hungary. Vatican City was established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri, on behalf of the Holy See and by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy. Vatican City State is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian; official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, issues only diplomatic and service passports, whereas Vatican City State issues normal passports. In each case very few passports are issued.   read more…

Cordoba and Al-Andalus – multiculturalism in the Middle Ages

12 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  9 minutes

Gardens of the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos © Jebulon

Gardens of the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos © Jebulon

Córdoba is a city in Andalusia, southern Spain, and the capital of the province of Córdoba. An Iberian and Roman city in ancient times, in the Middle Ages it became the capital of the Islamic caliphate al-Andalus. The old town contains numerous architectural reminders of when Corduba was the capital of Hispania Ulterior during the Roman Republic and capital of Hispania Baetica during the Roman Empire; and when Qurṭuba was the capital of the Islamic Caliphate of Córdoba, including most of the Iberian peninsula.   read more…

San Gimignano, Tuscany’s medieval Manhattan

11 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Vignaccia76/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Vignaccia76/cc-by-sa-3.0

San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls form “an unforgettable skyline”. Within the walls, the well-preserved buildings include notable examples of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture, with outstanding examples of secular buildings as well as churches. The Palazzo Comunale, the Collegiate Church and Church of Sant’ Agostino contain frescos, including cycles dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. The “Historic Centre of San Gimignano”, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town also is known for the white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, produced from the ancient variety of Vernaccia grape which is grown on the sandstone hillsides of the area.   read more…

The HMS Victory in Portsmouth

7 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, Museums, Exhibitions, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

HMS Victory © Ballista/cc-by-sa-3.0

HMS Victory © Ballista/cc-by-sa-3.0

HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is most famous as Lord Nelson‘s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. She was also Keppel‘s flagship at Ushant, Howe‘s flagship at Cape Spartel and Jervis‘s flagship at Cape St Vincent. After 1824 she served as a harbour ship.   read more…

Birka, Sweden’s first city

21 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Reconstructed Viking houses © Holger.Ellgaard/cc-by-sa-3.0

Reconstructed Viking houses © Holger.Ellgaard/cc-by-sa-3.0

During the Viking Age, Birka, on the island of Björkö (literally: “Birch Island”) in Sweden, was an important trading center which handled goods from Scandinavia as well as Central and Eastern Europe and the Orient. Björkö is located in Lake Mälaren, 30 kilometers west of contemporary Stockholm, in the municipality of Ekerö. The archaeological sites of Birka and Hovgården, on the neighbouring island of Adelsö, make up an archaeological complex which illustrates the elaborate trading networks of Viking Scandinavia and their influence on the subsequent history of Europe. Generally regarded as Sweden’s oldest town, Birka (along with Hovgården) has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.   read more…

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