Port Townsend on the Pacific

24 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Old part of Port Townsend and Admiralty Inlet © Adbar/cc-by-sa-4.0

Old part of Port Townsend and Admiralty Inlet © Adbar/cc-by-sa-4.0

Port Townsend is a city in Jefferson County, Washington. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition to its natural scenery at the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula, the city is also known for the many Victorian buildings remaining from its late 19th-century heyday, numerous annual cultural events, and as a maritime center for independent boatbuilders and related industries and crafts. The Port Townsend Historic District is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District since 1976. Port Townsend is adjacent to the Admiralty Inlet and a trio of State Parks built on retired artillery installations (Fort Worden, Fort Casey, and Fort Flagler).   read more…

Riace in Calabria

23 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

Riace © Marcuscalabresus/cc-by-3.0

Riace © Marcuscalabresus/cc-by-3.0

Riace is a municipality in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about 50 km south of Catanzaro and about 80 km northeast of Reggio Calabria. Riace borders the municipalities of Camini and Stignano.   read more…

Theme Week Macedonia – Strumica

23 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

World map fountain on Goce Delčev Square © Тиверополник/cc-by-sa-3.0

World map fountain on Goce Delčev Square © Тиверополник/cc-by-sa-3.0

Strumica is the largest city in eastern Macedonia, near the Novo Selo-Petrich border crossing with Bulgaria. About 100,000 people live in the region surrounding the city. It is named after the Strumica River which runs through it. The city of Strumica is the seat of Strumica Municipality. The town is first mentioned in the 2nd century BC with the Hellenic name Astraîon by Ptolemy and Pliny. It was later known as Tiveriopolis; it received its present name from the Slavic settlers of the Middle Ages. In modern Greek the town is known as Strómnitsa, and its name in Turkish is Ustrumca. Strumica is the main agricultural center in Macedonia. It has food industry, textile factories and a developed domestic and international trade network.   read more…

Muscat in Oman

22 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  12 minutes

Al-Khuwair neighborhood © Joe Castleman/cc-by-sa-3.0

Al-Khuwair neighborhood © Joe Castleman/cc-by-sa-3.0

Muscat is the capital of Oman. It is also the seat of government and largest city in the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate reached 1.2 million as of April 2014. The metropolitan area spans approximately 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi) and includes six provinces called wilayats. Known since the early 1st century CE as an important trading port between the west and the east, Muscat was ruled by various indigenous tribes as well as foreign powers such as the Persians, Portuguese Empire and the Ottoman Empire at various points in its history. A regional military power in the 18th century, Muscat’s influence extended as far as East Africa and Zanzibar. As an important port-town in the Gulf of Oman, Muscat attracted foreign tradesmen and settlers such as the Persians, the Balochis and Gujaratis. Since the ascension of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan of Oman in 1970, Muscat has experienced rapid infrastructural development that has led to the growth of a vibrant economy and a multi-ethnic society.   read more…

Theme Week Macedonia – Bitola

22 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Clock tower © Zdravevski/cc-by-sa-3.0

Clock tower © Zdravevski/cc-by-sa-3.0

Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, 14 kilometres (9 miles) north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing with Greece. It is an important junction connecting the south of the Adriatic Sea with the Aegean Sea and Central Europe. It has been known since the Ottoman period as “the city of the consuls”, since many European countries have consulates in Bitola. According to the 2002 census, Bitola is the second largest city in the country. Bitola is also the seat of the Bitola Municipality. Bitola is one of the oldest cities on the territory of Macedonia. It was founded as Heraclea Lyncestis in the middle of the 4th century BC by Philip II of Macedon. During the Ottoman rule the city was the last capital of Ottoman Rumelia.   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…

Theme Week Macedonia – Tetovo

21 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Radica Pavleska/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Radica Pavleska/cc-by-sa-3.0

Tetovo (Albanian: Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of 1,080 km2 (417 sq mi) at 468 meters (1,535 ft) above sea level, with a population of 53,000. The city of Tetovo is the seat of Tetovo Municipality. The home of multiple ethnic Albanian political parties and a population in which Albanians form a majority, Tetovo has become the unofficial capital and centre of a predominantly Albanian region which extends in an arc from Tetovo to Struga. The city also has a multi-ethnic background which consists of Albanian, Macedonian, and Turkish elements. Just outside of Tetovo is the South East European University, Macedonia’s third largest university after Skopje and Bitola. Tetovo is also home to the State University of Tetovo.   read more…

Sea of Galilee

20 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  8 minutes

Tiberias © Pacman

Tiberias © Pacman

The Sea of Galilee is the largest freshwater lake in Israel und Syria (Golan Heights), and it is approximately 53 km (33 mi) in circumference, about 21 km (13 mi) long, and 13 km (8.1 mi) wide. The lake has a total area of 166.7 km2 (64.4 sq mi) at its fullest, and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m (141 feet). At levels between 215 metres (705 ft) and 209 metres (686 ft) below sea level, it is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake overall (after the Dead Sea, a saltwater lake). The lake is fed partly by underground springs although its main source is the Jordan River which flows through it from north to south.   read more…

Theme Week Macedonia

20 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  9 minutes

Ohrid and Lake Ohrid © flickr.com - Михал Орела/cc-by-2.0

Ohrid and Lake Ohrid © flickr.com – Михал Орела/cc-by-2.0

Macedonia is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991. It became a member of the United Nations in 1993. Macedonia is a member of the Council of Europe. Since December 2005 it has also been a candidate for joining the European Union and has applied for NATO membership. The country has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants. It constitutes approximately the northwestern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia, which also comprises the neighbouring parts of northern Greece and a smaller portion in southwestern Bulgaria.   read more…

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