Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar

Our passports were checked as we left Dubrovnik and entered Bosnia-Herzogovina.  Asians these days are a welcomed travelers and passing through the checkpoints was a breeze.  It was a rainy day but our hearts were not dampened by the weather and we ventured into the Old city with our young guide who started the tour in the old Town.  We saw some remnants of the ravages of war like large holes through buildings and destroyed mosques but the town was completely rebuilt out of the original materials.  Even the cobblestone streets were patterned from its prewar appearance.

An interesting place we visited was a mosque where traditionally one is allowed to wear shoes inside.  This is the only mosque in the whole world where this was once done.  It was a tanners mosque and being smelly and dirty, they were allowed to wash their bodies inside the prayer area where there was once a free running stream.  Unfortunately after the post war rehabilitation, the stream was gone.  

The Old bridge area was teeming with people and was daunting to traverse in the rain, where one could easily slip.  This was also completely destroyed during the Bosnian war and with the help of the United Nations and donor countries was rebuilt using original materials.  This was a symbolic bridge among the Bosnian people, a centerpiece of peace.

We were able to buy Bosnian costumes for our kids and I got an authentic Ottoman coffee grinder aside from the usual magnet souvenirs and replica of the bridge.

Yangdong Folk Village-UNESCO World Heritage Site #117

After a breezing 30 minute ride from the Geongju city center, we arrived at the Yangdong Folk Village (Yangdong Village of Gyeongju), a traditional village from the Joseon Dynasty.  It is located in Gangdong-myeon, sixteen kilometers northeast of Gyeongju, South Korea, along the Hyeongsan River. Mt. Seolchang stands to the north of the village. 

The village is designated as Important Folklore Materials No. 189 by the South Korean government.

The size, degree of preservation, numerous cultural assets, traditionalism, beautiful natural setting all contribute to the importance of Yangdong Village. It is also a fine example of the  yangban (Korean aristocracy) lifestyle and Neo-Confucian traditions. The village is listed by the South Korean government with UNESCO as world heritage site with Hahoe folk village in 2010.

Beautiful Geongju- Cheomseongdae Observatory

This observatory was built during the reign of the Silla Queen Seondeok (632-647 AD).  This is the oldest astronomical observatory in East Asia which consists of 26 steps of 30cm high stones placed above double stylobates.  Its exact dimensions are 5.17 meters in diameter and 9 meters in height and is made of granite stones witha stoen base measuring 5.35 meters.

 

At the top, the square stones are arranged in the shape of the Chinese letter for "well".  Every part of the building from its structure and composition of each stone contains symbolical meaning.   It is filled with various scientific yet mysterious points, such as the fact that the stones that make up the letter for well at the top of the observatory are exactly the length of the stylobate.

Beautiful Geongju- Wolji Pond

In the year 679 AD, during the 19th year of King Munmu's rule, Donggung Palace was built  as a venue for state festivals, banquets and as a prince's palace.

According to to History of the Three Kingdoms (Samguksi), that inside the Palace, a pond was dug, artificial hills were created, flowers were planted, and strange animals were brought in and raised.  The pond also served as a place to entertain valuable guests and hold banquets for the king and his subjects.  The artificial pond with an area of around 190 meters in all four directions was also called the Anapji during at the Joseon dynasty.

Wolji Pond was uncovered during the excavation and dredging work conducted in 1975.  The date inscribed on the roof and tiles decorated with stylized floral medallion (posanghwa),  confirmed that the original dates of construction were accurate.  During the Joseon Dynasty, the pond was neglected and became a straying place for wild ducks and geese hence became Anapji (wild goose and duck pond).

The Cape Floral Region

The Cape Floral Region, one of South Africa's eight World Heritage sites, comprises eight protected areas stretching from the Cape Peninsula to the Eastern Cape, cutting across spectacular mountain and ocean scenery and containing some of the richest plant biodiversity in the world. 

The region was the sixth South African site to be inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO. Unesco's World Heritage Committee declared the 553 000-hectare Cape Floral Region to be of "outstanding universal significance to humanity", describing it as "one of the richest areas for plants in the world". 

 

The Cape Floral Region "represents less than 0.5% of the area of Africa, but is home to nearly 20% of the continent's flora," Unesco said. "Its plant species diversity, density and endemism are among the highest worldwide, and it has been identified as one of the world's 18 biodiversity hot-spots. "The site displays outstanding ecological and biological processes associated with the Fynbos vegetation, which is unique to the Cape Floral Region. "Unique plant reproductive strategies, adaptive to fire, patterns of seed dispersal by insects, as well as patterns of endemism and adaptive radiation found in the flora, are of outstanding value to science." www.southafrica.info

Zimbabwe, the Beautiful

After an hours flight from Johannesburg, we landed in Victoria, Zimbabwe.  The falls was originally name Mosi-oa Tunya but was renamed to Victoria in honor of the British Queen when Scottish Dr. David Livingstone discovered the place.  He was much revered here that even when Zimbabwe regained Independence  almost all traces of British influence were deleted save this place name.

We were lucky to see the double rainbow and enjoy the sporadic spray of heavy mist with the sun shining ever so brightly.  This was moderate rain season so the falls were said to be in their not-so-strong flow. Had we visited during the heavy months, it would have been difficult to appreciate the vista this magnificent place offers.

The Zambesi river cruise the day before the falls was exciting.  It was the first time we saw real river creatures unlike the river safaris we experienced before.  A family of pearly white tusked elephants with their babies on the Zambian side of the river was a sight to behold.  The crocodiles and hippos surrounding our boat added to the excitement.  The setting sun on one side and the rising moon on the other was such a beautiful scene!

Zimbabwe is rich, beautiful and friendly. We fervently hope the people will overcome the vicious cycle of poverty.

Independence Hall

The Declaration of Independence was adopted and the Constitution of the United States of America framed in this fine early 18th-century building in Philadelphia. These events, which took place respectively in 1776 and 1787, were conceived in a national context, but the universal principles of freedom and democracy set forth in these two documents have had a profound impact on lawmakers and political thinkers around the world. They became the models for similar charters of other nations, and may be considered to have heralded the modern era of government. 

Independence Hall was designed by attorney Andrew Hamilton in collaboration with master builder Edmund Woolley to house the Assembly of the Commonwealth (colony) of Pennsylvania. Begun in 1732 and finished in 1753, it is a dignified brick structure with a wooden steeple that once held the Liberty Bell. 

The building has undergone many restorations, notably by architect John Haviland in the 1830s and under the direction of the National Park Service beginning in the 1950s, returning it to its appearance during the years when the new country’s Declaration of Independence and Constitution were debated and signed. In the Assembly Room, the momentous events that occurred there are explained and their international impact as well as the spread of democracy are discussed.

Awesome Jeju Island

Rising 1,950 meters above sea level, Halla-san is the central volcanic mountain peak of Jeju Island. About 360 parasitic volcanoes surround Halla-san's base, the largest number of such volcanoes that has been found around any single mountain peak. Halla-san is famous not only for the uniqueness of its geographical formation but also for its ecological diversity. The combination of high mountain peaks, oreums (parasitic volcanoes), caves, and beaches make for numerous and various environmental habitats. 

A variety of plants and animals can be found on Halla-san, where climates range from the subtropical to the temperate and, even in some areas, polar.

The Geomunoreum Lava Tube system was instrumental to Jeju's selection as a World Heritage site. The Geomunoreum caves were formed by lava pouring down the island's coastline from Halla-san, and both its length and scale make it one of the largest and most distinctive of any such cave systems in the world.

Seongsan Ilchulbong peak is an ideal spot for enjoying the sunrise. As it rose from the sea, the geological history of the formation attracts visitors.

In addition to the designation as Natural World Heritage Site in 2007, Jeju Island has also been appointed to the World Network of Biosphere Reserve in 2002 and the Global Geoparks Network in 2010. Jeju Island is the first spot in the world to receive the UNESCO Triple crown designation. Highlighting these aspects, Korea put a huge effort in the vote for the New 7 Wonders. The island is an unexplored district containing all seven themes; great landscape, island, volcanoes, coast, cave, falls, and forest which were the main required elements for the vote. Unlike other proposed sites, Jeju Island maintains a close connection with the lives of people, offering space for culture and history to co-exist. 

Himeji-jo

After an hour fast train ride from Osaka via the the Shin-Osaka line, and a 15 minute walk, we arrive at the magnificent Himeji-jo castle. The castle is the finest surviving example of early 17th-century Japanese castle architecture. It is located in Himeji City, in the Hyogo Prefecture, an area that has been an important transportation hub in West Japan since ancient times. The castle property, situated on a hill summit in the central part of the Harima Plain, covers 107 hectares and comprises eighty-two buildings. It is centred on the Tenshu-gun, a complex made up of the donjon, keeps and connecting structures that are part of a highly developed system of defence and ingenious protection devices dating from the beginning of the Shogun period. The castle functioned continuously as the centre of a feudal domain for almost three centuries, until 1868 when the Shogun fell and a new national government was created. 

The principal complex　of these structures is a masterpiece of construction in wood, combining function with aesthetic appeal, both in its elegant appearance unified by the white plastered earthen walls – that has earned it the name Shirasagi-jo (White Heron Castle) – and in the subtlety of the relationships between the building masses and the multiple roof layers visible from almost any point in the city.

It is approximately an hours climb  on several stairs to reach the top of the castle especially during summer where everyone seems to be visiting the structure to pay homage to their king whose remains are located at the topmost part of the castle. I was about to give up midway through the climb when I noticed that several senior citizens were climbing.  At the top, one can see beautiful city. On the way down one can see several rooms including the suicide or harakiri rooms.

Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An Ancient town is located in Viet Nam’s central Quang Nam Province, on the north bank near the mouth of the Thu Bon River. The inscribed property comprises 30 ha and it has a buffer zone of 280 ha. It  is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a small-scale trading port active the 15th to 19th centuries  which traded widely, both with the countries of Southeast and East Asia and with the rest of the world. Its decline in the later 19th century ensured that it has retained its traditional urban tissue to a remarkable degree.

The town reflects a fusion of indigenous and foreign cultures (principally Chinese and Japanese with later European influences) that combined to produce this unique survival. 

The town comprises a well-preserved complex of 1,107 timber frame buildings, with brick or wooden walls, which include architectural monuments, commercial and domestic vernacular structures, notably an open market and a ferry quay, and religious buildings such as pagodas and family cult houses. The houses are tiled and the wooden components are carved with traditional motifs.  They are arranged side-by-side in tight, unbroken rows along narrow pedestrian streets. There is also the fine wooden Japanese bridge, with a pagoda on it, dating from the 18th century. The original street plan, which developed as the town became a port, remains. It comprises a grid of streets with one axis parallel to the river and the other axis of streets and alleys set at right angles to it. Typically, the buildings front the streets for convenient customer access while the backs of the buildings open to the river allowing easy loading and off-loading of goods from boats.

The surviving wooden structures and street plan are original and intact and together present a traditional townscape of the 17th and 18th centuries, the survival of which is unique in the region. The town continues to this day to be occupied and function as a trading port and centre of commerce. The living heritage reflecting the diverse communities of the indigenous inhabitants of the town, as well as foreigners, has also been preserved and continues to be passed on. Hoi An Ancient Town remains an exceptionally well-preserved example of a Far Eastern port.

The Ancient City of Ephesus

Ephesus contains successive settlements from the Neolithic, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Selçuk and Ottoman periods. The property is located at the Aegean Coast of Turkey within what was once the estuary of the River Kaystros, Ephesus comprises Hellenistic and Roman settlements founded on new locations, which followed the coastline as it retreated westward.

Excavations have revealed grand monuments of the Roman Imperial period including the Library of Celsus and the Great Theater. Little remains of the famous Temple of Artemis, one of the “Seven Wonders of the World,” which drew pilgrims from all around the Mediterranean. Since the 5^th century, the House of the Virgin Mary, a domed cruciform chapel seven kilometers from Ephesus, became a major place of Christian pilgrimage. The Ancient City of Ephesus is an outstanding example of a Roman port city, with sea channel and harbor basin.

Complex of the Hue Monuments

After an hour plane ride from Ho Chi Minh City, we arrived at the beautiful resort city of Da Nang.  It took us another 45 minutes to arrive at our hotel in Hoi An city- the Hoi An Historic hotel.  It is the first hotel in this town which 5 minute walk to the ancient town center.  The trip to Hue city, which was the former capital of unified Vietnam in 1802 was a three and a half hour ride with several stops- the French and American bunkers in the previous wars, a marble museum and restaurant, before arriving at the citadel.  Hue was not only a political  but also

a cultural and religious center under the Nguyen dynasty until 1945.   The Perfume river- which we traversed winding through the capital, the Imperial city and the Inner city gives this unique feudal capital a setting of great natural beauty.

The Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara

The Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara bear exceptional witness to the evolution of Japanese architecture and art and vividly illustrate a critical period in the cultural and political development of Japan, when Nara functioned as its capital from 710 to 784. During this period, the framework of national government was consolidated and Nara enjoyed great prosperity, emerging as the fountainhead of Japanese culture.   

Located in the modern city of Nara, the property includes eight component parts composed of seventy-eight different buildings covering 617.0 hectares.  The site of Heijô-kyô was carefully selected in accordance with Chinese geomantic principles. A grand city plan, based on Chinese examples such as Chang'an, was laid out, with palaces, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, public buildings, houses, and roads on an orthogonal grid. The palace itself, located at the northern end of the central avenue, occupied 120 ha. It comprised the official buildings where political and religious ceremonies took place, notably the Daigokuden (imperial audience hall) and Chôdô-in (state halls), and the imperial residence (Dairi), together with various compounds for administrative and other purposes.

The component parts include an archaeological site (the Nara Palace Site), five Buddhist temples (the Tôdai-ji, the Kôfuku-ji, the Yakushi-ji, the Gangô-ji and the Tôshôdai-ji), a Shinto shrine (the Kasuga-Taisha) and an associative cultural landscape (the Kasugayama Primeval Forest), the natural environment which is an integral part of all Shinto shrines. Together, these places provide a vivid and comprehensive picture of religion and life in the Japanese capital in the 8th century, a period of profound political and cultural change.

Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye, Russia

The Church of the Ascension dominates the surrounding architectural and natural structures and unites all the elements of the estate. It is also a unique architectural and artistic monument as one of the earliest tent-roofed churches in Russia and as such the progenitor of subsequent architecture. The church was built in 1532 by Prince Vasili III to commemorate the birth of the prince who was to become Tsar Ivan IV 'the Terrible'. 

It was consecrated with great pomp on 3 September 1532 by the Metropolitan Dionissi, the Bishops of Kolomenskoye and Zaraisk, and the whole of the synod in the presence of Grand Prince Vasili, Grand Princess Yelena, Tsarevich Ioann and the brothers of the tsar. The church is situated in the Kolomenskoye estate, first recorded in 1339, when it belonged to Ivan KaIita, Grand Prince of Moscow. By the 16th century it had become a fortified stronghold. The palace complex was added later, in the 17th century, and it continued in use as an imperial residence and estate until the 1917 Revolution.

The Archeological City of Troy

The archaeological site of Troy is of immense significance in the understanding of the development of European civilization at a critical stage in its early development. It is of exceptional cultural importance because of the profound influence of Homer's Iliad on the creative arts over more than two millennia. Troy is a unique example in an Aegean context of the oriental city at the junction between Anatolia, the Aegean and the Balkans. It is also probably the most famous archaeological site in the world. It may be considered to represent the starting point for modern archaeology and its public recognition. The Greek and Roman cities at Troy are represented above all by the sanctuary complex. 

Roman urban organization is reflected by two major public buildings on the edge of the agora. The odeion (concert hall) has the traditional horseshoe-shaped plan and tiers of seats made from limestone blocks. The nearby bouleuterion (council house) is smaller but similar in plan. The surrounding landscape contains many important prehistoric and historical sites: cemeteries, Hellenistic burial mounds, Greek and Roman settlements, Roman and Ottoman bridges, etc.

Stonehenge

Many early historians were influenced by supernatural folktales in their explanations. Some legends held that Merlin had a giant build the structure for him or that he had magically transported it from Mount Killaraus in Ireland, while others held the Devil responsible. Henry of Huntingdon was the first to write of the monument around 1130 soon followed by Geoffrey of Monmouth who was the first to record fanciful associations with Merlin which led the monument to be incorporated into the wider cycle of European medieval romance. 

According to Geoffrey's Historia Regum Britanniae, using his magic Merlin took the circle from its original place in Ireland at the behest of Aurelius Ambrosius to serve as an appropriate burial place for Britain's dead princes. In 1655, the architect John Webb, writing in the name of his former superior Inigo Jones, argued that Stonehenge was a Roman temple, dedicated to Caelus, (a Latin name for the Greek sky-god Uranus), and built following the Tuscan order. Later commentators maintained that the Danes erected it. Indeed, up until the late nineteenth century, the site was commonly attributed to the Saxons or other relatively recent societies.

The Cultural Sites of Al Ain

After an hour and a half drive from Dubai, one arrives in Al Ain, a small but vibrant city which is a part of Abu Dhabi, one of the the seven emirates. It borders Oman so a few more steps and you are in another country.  Tourist beware though of taking pictures near the border because the Omanis are strict and you can be reprimanded.  Always bring your passport wherever you go around UAE because you might be crossing borders without being aware of it.  The serial property of The Cultural Sites of Al Ain, with its various component parts and the regional context in which it is situated, provides testimony to ancient sedentary human occupation in a desert region. Occupied continuously since the Neolithic, the region presents vestiges of numerous prehistoric cultures, notably from the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.

Al Ain is situated at the crossroads of the ancient land routes between Oman, the Arabian Peninsula, the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia. Very diverse in nature, the tangible elements of the property include remains of circular stone tombs and settlements from the Hafit and Hili periods, wells and partially underground aflaj irrigation systems, oases and mud brick constructions assigned to a wide range of defensive, domestic and economic purposes. This expertise in construction and water management enabled the early development of agriculture for five millennia, up until the present day.

Stamps from Suzhou

I got hold of this wonderful tri-fold stamp set from Suzhou post inside the Humble Administrator's Garden  for 75 Yuan.  The first set of four stamps features the land and waters-capes of the garden, the middle set portrays the art of Suzhou and the miniature set shows an example of the flora of the garden.  The garden had a long history of destruction and modification, changing under several owners  (at least 7 times) along the way until inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997.

On the Zhuozhengyuan's site was first built a garden during the Shaoxing period (1131-1162) of the Southern Song Dynasty. Afterwards it changed ownership, and was destroyed or modified continually.  It was the residence and garden of Lu Guimeng, a Tang Dynasty scholar. Later in the Yuan Dynasty it became the Dahong Temple's garden. In 1513 CE, Wang Xiancheng, an Imperial Envoy and poet of the Ming Dynasty created a garden on the site of the dilapidated Dahong Temple which had been burnt during the Ming conquest. In 1510, he retired to his native home of Suzhou under the occasion of his father's death. He had experienced a tumultuous official life punctuated by various demotions and promotions, and gave up his last official post as magistrate of Yongjia county in Zhejiang province, and began to work on the garden. This garden, meant to express his fine taste, received close attention from the renowned artist, Suzhou native, and friend, Wen Zhengming. The garden was named after a verse by the famous scholar official of the Jin Dynasty, Pan Yue, it his prose, An Idle Life, "I enjoy a carefree life by planting trees and building my own house...I irrigate my garden and grow vegetables for me to eat...such a life suits a retired official like me well."

Wang's son lost the garden to pay gambling debts, and it has changed hands many times since. In 1631 CE The eastern garden was divided from the rest and purchased by , Vice Minister of the Justice Board. He added many modifications over the next four years, finishing work in 1635 CE. After completion it was renamed Dwelling Upon Return to the Countryside. The central garden was purchased by Jiang Qi, Governor of Jiangsu in 1738 CE. After extensive renovations he renamed it Garden Rebuilt. In 1860, it became the residence of a Taiping prince, Li Xiucheng , and it was remodelled, and the current aspect of the garden is said to be inherited from this period. Also in 1738 CE the Western Garden was purchased by Ye Shikuan Chief Histographer, and renamed The Garden of Books. The Garden of Books was purchased by a Suzhou merchant, Zhang Lüqian, in 1877 CE and renamed The Subsidiary Garden. In 1949 all three parts of the garden were rejoined by the Chinese government and subsequently opened to the public, then restored in 1952. In 1997 the garden was given UNESCO World Heritage status.

The Humble Administrator's Garden- A Unesco Classical Garden of Suzhou

After a quick 30 minute bullet train ride from Shanghai train station distancing 100 kilometers, one arrives at Suzhou, a beautiful ancient city which was originally built in the fourth year of the Zhengde period of the Ming dynasty.  The Humble Administrator's Garden, covering 5.2 hectares is one of the four most famous gardens in China.  It is divided into the eastern, middle and western parts.  Centering around the broad expanse of a lake, the poetic and picturesque garden landscapes and waters-capes with exquisite buildings and luxuriant vegetation, seems to be changing at every step and awakening reminisces of the Venetian scenes in the area south of the lower Yangtze.  These scenes are rustic,archaic, extensive and naturalistic.  As a whole, it has kept the style of the Ming dynasty and was inscribed on the UNESCO World heritage list in 2007.

Yogyakarta's Borobudur

Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist Temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument consists of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside a perforated stupa. Built in the 9th century during the reign of the Sailendra Dynasty, the temple's design in Gupta architecture reflects India's influence on the region. It also depicts the gupta style from India and shows influence of Buddhism as well as Hinduism. The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path around the monument and ascends to the top through three levels symbolic of Buddhist cosmology: Kāmadhātu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness). 

The monument guides pilgrims through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades. Evidence suggest Borobudur was constructed in the 9th century and abandoned following the 14th century decline of Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then the British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage