Hattusa, capital of the Hittite Empire

21 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  7 minutes

One of the first peace treaties of the world, between Hattushili III of Hatti and Ramesses II of Egypt © deror avi

One of the first peace treaties of the world, between Hattushili III of Hatti and Ramesses II of Egypt © deror avi

Hattusa was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of the Kızılırmak River. Hattusa was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1986.   read more…

European Capital of Culture 2012: Guimarães and Maribor

15 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, European Capital of Culture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

© guimaraes2012.pt

© guimaraes2012.pt


GUIMARÃES

Guimarães is a northern Portuguese city located in the district of Braga, in the Ave Subregion, with a population of 52 181 inhabitants, distributed throughout 20 parishes (freguesias in Portuguese), in an urban area of 23,5 km² with a population density of 2 223,9/km².   read more…

Kerch on Crimea

14 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Main Street © KBDA3200/cc-by-3.0

Main Street © KBDA3200/cc-by-3.0

Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of the Crimea in Ukraine. Founded 2,600 years ago as an ancient Greek colony, Kerch is considered to be one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine. The city experienced rapid growth starting in the 1920s and was the site of a major battle during World War II. Today, it is one of the largest cities in Crimea and is among the country’s most important industrial, transport and tourist centres.   read more…

Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto

11 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  5 minutes

Catania - Cathedral Sant' Agata © Berthold Werner/cc-by-sa-3.0

Catania – Cathedral Sant’ Agata © Berthold Werner/cc-by-sa-3.0

Val di Noto is a geographical area of south east Sicily; it is dominated by the limestone Iblean plateau. The Val di Noto owes its fame to the reconstruction which underwent after the year 1693, when the entire area was decimated by an enormous earthquake. Following the earthquake, many towns were rebuilt on entirely new sites, such as Noto and Grammichele. The rulers of the time, the kings of Spain, accounted the nobleman Giuseppe Lanza with special powers, which allowed him to redesign the damaged towns based on rational and scenographic town plans.   read more…

Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire

9 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Architecture, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

© gailf548

© gailf548

Blenheim Palace is a monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, residence of the dukes of Marlborough. It is the only non-royal non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England’s largest houses, was built between 1705 and circa 1724. UNESCO recognised the palace as a World Heritage Site in 1987. Its construction was originally intended to be a gift to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough from a grateful nation in return for military triumph against the French and Bavarians at the Battle of Blenheim. However, it soon became the subject of political infighting, which led to Marlborough’s exile, the fall from power of his duchess, and irreparable damage to the reputation of the architect Sir John Vanbrugh.   read more…

The Lake Como

7 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Villa d'Este © GhePeU

Villa d’Este © GhePeU

Lake Como (Lago di Como in Italian) is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 m (1320 ft) deep it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe and the bottom of the lake is more than 200 metres (656 ft) below sea-level. Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and palaces (such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni and Villa Carlotta). Lake Como is widely regarded as being one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy.   read more…

The river Tara in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina

5 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  6 minutes

Tara River - Durmitor National Park © Pear Blossom

Tara River – Durmitor National Park © Pear Blossom

The Tara is a river in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It emerges from the confluence of the Opasnica and Veruša Rivers in the Komovi mountain, part of Dinaric Alps of Montenegro. The total length is 144 km, of which 104 km are in Montenegro, while the final 40 km are in Bosnia and Herzegovina; it also forms the border between the two countries in several places. The Tara flows from south to north – north-west and converges with the Piva at the Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro border between the villages of Šćepan Polje (Montenegro) and Hum (Bosnia and Herzegovina) to form the Drina river (a branch of the Danube watershed).   read more…

Theme Week Israel – Masada at the Dead Sea

4 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  6 minutes

Masada National Park © flickr.com - Ana Paula Hirama/cc-by-sa-2.0

Masada National Park © flickr.com – Ana Paula Hirama/cc-by-sa-2.0

Masada is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, overlooking the Dead Sea. Herod the Great built palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE. According to Josephus, the Siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire towards the end of the First Jewish–Roman War ended in the mass suicide of the 960 Jewish rebels and their families hiding there.   read more…

Baden-Baden, Germanys “most Russian” town

3 February 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Brenner's Park-Hotel & Spa

© Brenner’s Park-Hotel & Spa

Baden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe.   read more…

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