Travel Guides

The Antwerp Cathedral of Our Lady is a masterpiece of lace work in stone. Begun in 1352, it is one of the finest Gothic buildings in Europe. The church, which became a cathedral in 1559 replaced a Romanesque church built in the 12th century. The last vestiges of that church were demolished in 1481. It contains a number of significant works by painter, Rubens. Its spire is 123 m high. This portal features statues which include the missionary Saint Willibrordus. He is thought to have spent time in Antwerp in the 7th century.The Church of Our Lady and St Philip was the gift of Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk. The architect was Joseph Hansom, widely known as the inventor of the Hansom Cab. The style of the Cathedral is French Gothic about 1400.

The Cathedral serves as a “model Church for all Parish Churches” in the style and content of its liturgical celebrations. In design, art and furnishings, the Cathedral is rich in cultural diversity in a city in which Sunday Mass is celebrated in 42 different languages. It also tells a story of glory and prosperity – and even more so one of sorrow and disaster. This is the story of people who built dreams, people who expressed their allegiance to God and their fellow men. For over a thousand years, Mary has been the patroness of this Cathedral and of the city of Antwerp; each year thousands of people come and express their love and sorrow to Mary. This church is much more than just a museum filled with valuable treasures, it is still an active place of worship.

Nearby, on the Bolivian side of the lake, arose the population and ceremonial center of Tiahuanaco, capital of one of the most important civilizations of South America. Tiahuanaco ceremonial sites were built along the lake’s shores, indicating that the lake was considered sacred at least 2,000 years ago. More than 25 rivers empty into Titicaca, and the lake has 41 islands, some of which are densely populated. The lake is 196 km long with an average width of 56 km. The lake has waves, testament to its size and not surprising the waters are cold.

Lake Titicaca, at 12,530 feet, is the highest navigable lake and the center of a regionwhere thousands of subsistence farmers make a living fishing in its icy waters, growing potatoes in the rocky land at is edge or herding llama and alpaca at altitudes that leave travelers gasping for air. The Uros of today, still live as the original inhabitants did as they continue to use the totora reeds to build their huts and rafts. The Uros are singular people and even though they keep to themselves very quietly, they do allow people to visit with them. They have always been quiet happy to participate with us when we perform our ceremonies or meditations on their island.
It boasts up to 300 different types of traditional dances, many of which are performed in the streets during annual festivals. A good one to catch in early November is Puno week, which celebrates the legendary birth of the first Inca, Manco Capac, and his sister – Mama Ocllo. According to legend the pair rose up out of the Lake Titicaca in search of a place to establish the Inca empire. This scenic place has enormous significance in the ancient culture of the Inca. The creation myth of the Inca is rooted in these deep blue waters.
Lake Titicaca is the center for archaeological and cultural studies as well as a favored tourist destination. If you go plan to visit in the summer months but take warm clothing. The days may be pleasantly sunny but the nights can be very cold. The lake is still sacred to the Aymara people who live there.

Whilst on your city break holiday in Hungary, we invite you to experience the magic aura surrounding the Budapest opera & ballet and enjoy the enthralling voices of our favourite operatic singers and the vibrant performances of world class ballet dancers. Almost every evening the curtains rise to transfer the spectators to the surprising world created on the stage by talents of the performers, composer and conductor.

The established concert season in Budapest is from late September to early June, but some of the best opera and ballet can be seen at the height of the season, in the Summer Opera and Ballet Festival. The fabulous State Opera House is the showpiece venue where the Hungarian State Opera perform. There are also outdoor concerts at Hilton Dominican Court and the Basilica of St Stephan. The various music, opera and ballet events take place under the umbrella title of BudaFest Summer Festival, and keynote events at the Opera House are usually programmed for August.

The Quays covers the three areas of Salford Quays, Trafford Wharf and Old Trafford around the Manchester Ship Canal. These former docks have been completely redeveloped. The area is now a pleasant part of Manchester, well worth a stroll around the quays and with much to see and do. At The Quays there is a wealth of world-class entertainment, leisure and cultural facilities on offer including The Lowry, Imperial War Museum North, Orsall Hall and The Lowry Outlet Mall. You can even take a trip on the famous Mersey Ferry. If you plan on making a weekend of it, there are great hotels such as the Copthorne Hotel, the Golden Tulip and the Old Trafford Lordge to choose from.

You can cross the footbridge to the Trafford or Stretford side of the Manchester Ship Canal and visit the equally striking Imperial War Museum North, and experience how “War changes lives”. There’s a fantastic view from the Air Shard viewing platform towards Manchester city centre. A dramatic curving white steel footbridge which crosses the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin, Merchants Bridge was designed by Whitby Bird Limited and the steelwork contractor was Watson Steel. The graceful’s Lowry Footbrige connects the Traffort side of the canal to the Salford side. With the War Museum and The Lowry at each end this is a place to devote a whole day to when visiting Manchester.

In 1894 the Manchester Ship Canal was opened, allowing ocean-going vessels to reach docks close to the centre of Manchester. There were four smaller docks at Pomona Docks, a mile from Manchester city centre, with larger docks built half a mile west at Salford. The largest dock, No 9, opened in 1905, was constructed on the site of Manchester Racecourse. It had been constructed in just 6 years, involved some 16000 men, and was considered a major construction project, covering some 55 km. Its completion resulted in expansion of industry and commerce in the entire area.

Open Water sessions are run at Salford Water sport Center (Salford Quays) on Thursday evenings throughout the summer from 3rd May to 6th Sept. Swimmers are able to swim for up to 1 hour at any time between 6.30pm and 8.30pm. The last entry to the water is at 7.45pm. The swim times are staggered to prevent queuing and to reduce the number of people who have to stand and wait for a swim. Salford plans to establish a media zone, with the BBC as principal tenant., with the plans forming a key part of the corporation’s out of London strategy to broaden the regional diversity of its output.

When in North Korea, foreign visitors will often be asked to pay homage to the Great Leader President Kim Il Sung. This will usually be done at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace.Visiting the Kumsusan Memorial Palace to pay homage to Kim Il Sung is quite an experience. Entry is through a long passageway which has the longest travelator that I have seen in my life. I was advised by my guides that it was installed at the initiative of the Great Leader General Kim Jung Il so that visitors would not get tired when walking to the palace. “The great leader is always thinking of the comfort of his people”, one of my guides said. At the end of the passageway, visitors have to step on a slowly-moving conveyor belt that takes them through an x-ray machine which is like a giant version of the machines that x-ray baggage at airports (heavens know how many millirems of radiation I received) and then through a room where powerful jets of air are directed on your body (maybe that’s to blow off any germs that have been killed by the x-rays). If you are a female visitor, I recommend you do not bother getting your hair done before the visit, because there won’t be anything left of your hairdo when you emerge from the blower room.

The statue of Christ the Redeemer is probably one of the most recognized images of Brazil . It is located in Rio de Janeiro on the top of the Corcovado Mountain . Overlooking the city, it probably has one of the best views that can be found of Rio . The statue is currently 72 years old and has gone under several extensive renovations, which included adding an elevator in 2002.
The statue was first conceived in 1921 when a campaign to gather funds from the Catholic Church was held. The idea for the statue came when the country was to celebrate 100 years of independence. Donations were not received to build the statue until about ten years later. The first person commissioned to design the statue was Carlos Oswaldo. His vision for the statue was for Christ to be carrying a cross, holding a globe in his hands, and standing over a pedestal that was supposed to represent the world. Later, the public of Rio thought that Christ with open arms would be the best representation of the city.The statue was not sculpted in Brazil ; it was instead sculpted in France by a sculptor whose name was Paul Landowski.The view from the top of the statue is the best view of Rio de Janeiro hands down. There is a 360 degree view of the entire city. Not only do you see the three famous beaches, Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon, you also see landmarks such as the Jockey Club, the Maracana Stadium, and the Botanical Gardens. The view from the top is not the best thing about the statue although. The ride up and down the Corcovado Mountain is by far the best part of going to see the statue of Christ the Redeemer. Riding up the mountain through the Atlantic rainforest was amazing. This rainforest is not like the ones you will find in the Amazon or in other countries such as Costa Rica . When riding down from the statue, make sure that you stop and see the waterfalls on the side of the mountain. Also stop and take in the view from a different part of the mountain other than the top.This is definitely one sight in Rio that should not be missed. Missing this would be missing one of the things that makes Rio, Rio . Not only is it a great view, but it can also be a spiritual experience for most anybody regardless of their affiliation. There is also so much history behind the statue that it would be a shame for anyone to miss.

Charles Bridge in the city of Prague has become a national symbol for the Czech Republic. Known also as Karluv most, was built over the Viltava River, in 1357, although there was an earlier bridge which collapsed during a flood. Charles Bridge is not just a tourist attraction, it’s the main pedestrian route linking the Old Town with Mala Strana, and then onto Prague Castle itself.

From 1683 to 1928 thirty sculptures and sculptural groups of the saints were gradually set on the bridge piers. The bridge is 515 meters long and 10 meters wide, resting on 16 arches shielded by ice guards. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, erected around 1700. Most of original statues on the bridge were erected between the 17th and 18th centuries. They depict saints and patron saints. The statues seen today on the Charles Bridge are replicas. The originals were removed to protect them from The statue of St. John of Nepomuk, erected in 1683, was the first of the bridge’s Baroque sculptural adornments as much as it was a solemn representation of the country’s new patron saint, worshiped throughout the world. It was based on Viennese sculptor Matthias Rauchmiller‘s terracotta model, which Jan Brokof rendered in wood. After this, Wolf H. Herold in Nuremburg cast the statue in bronze.

During the day, artists, tourists, musicians, painters and vendors line up the stone walkways of the bridge. Honeymooners and tourists alike would enjoy a moonlit stroll on the bridge with the view of the magnificent Prague castle in the background.

Situated above the center of Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh Castle has watched over the history of Scotland for almost 1400 years. Today it offers a wide range of superb attractions for the visitor to explore. Edinburgh Castle sits on top of what was, at one time, a volcano – a 437 feet high plug of basalt rock

Castle Rock, dominates the sky-line of the city of Edinburg, and is Scotland’s most famous (and most visited) landmark. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC. As it stands today though, few of the castle’s structures pre-date the 16th century. Edinburg Castle has played a central role in the history of Scotland. Its site, on a rock rising 300 feet above the city, has been fought over more than 2,000 years. Edinburgh’s have been repeatedly battered, razed and restores. Most of the present castle dates from the sixteenth century and after. In 1566 Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to the future James I (VI of Scotland) within the castle. Edinburgh Castle is also the home of the One O’Clock Gun. This is fired every day except Sunday at precisely 1.00pm to provide everyone with an accurate check for their clocks and watches. It will certainly startle you if you are anywhere near the Castle at that moment!

The first record of the castle being used as a royal residence occurs in the 11th century when Margaret, wife of Malcolm- 3 died there after hearing of her husband’s death at Alnwick in 1093. “Saint Margaret” (she was later canonised) was Saxon-English, a refugee from the conquest of England by the Normans under Repaired and strengthened, the Castle became an even more formidable fortress, resisting assaults by the early Covenanters in 1640, holding out for James II in 1688-89 and for George II in 1745. The unsuccessful attempt by Bonnie Prince Charlie‘s forces to capture it was the final assault in the Castles long history. Edinburgh Castle is a defensive structure that has evolved continuously to meet the military needs of the times. It has been attacked thirteen times over the centuries. It is an active military base even today and one of the biggest tourist attractions in Britain.

The exhibition building of the Maritime Museum was built at the place where the first batch of Portuguese landed. The Museum looks like a special vessel anchored at the bay where the fishermen lived. The white outer wall looks like a ship with three masts full wind.

On the 8th November 1987 Captain Emilio da Sousa, a Portuguese Master Mariner and his selected 17 crew set sail for Mossel Bay and arrived on 3rd February 1988, 500 years after Bartolomeu Dias. The trip lasted 3 months, compared to the 6 month trip Dias had taken. The trip went well except off the Namibian coast where the auxiliary engine was used. The Maritme Museum is located at Quayside Road near the Melaka River estuary. The replica is 34 metres high, 36 metres long and 8 metres wide.
The museum, which was founded in 1863, is today housed in the old Jeronimos Monastery, Belem, on the banks of the Tagus. An unfortunate fire in 1916 destroyed the old Escola Naval and with that also almost the entire collection of ship models dating from the beginning of the 19th century.

The Maritime Museum’s collection is very diverse, both in term of the nature of the materials used and also in terms of themes approached. Under the maritime spirit and calling, the Exhibition Rooms are enriched and open to a continuous process of investigation. The Museum has some 17,000 items and an extensive archive which includes 30,000 photographs. Its permanent display comprises about 2,500 items. These include magnificent collections of ship models covering every era from the 15th and 16th-century Voyages of Discovery to modern super-tankers. The Aquarium Gallery in the museum has four tanks. Each devoted to a different theme of the sub-water world. The first presents a fresh water riverbed, the second a harbor and the third a coral reef. The last tank features the scenes of a sunken boat in the deep sea. There is a square outside of the museum that visitors should not miss.

Nijo-jo is located in the central of Kyoto, Japan and is the castle of the Edo Period.
Nijo castle was completed in the 17th century by Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1868) as a temporary residence for his visits to Kyoto. In 1601 Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of Tokugawa Shogunate ordered all the feudal lords in Western Japan to contribute to the construction of the Nijo Castle. The construction was completed during the reign of Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1626. It was built as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns

Iemitsu also added the Honmaru (“main castle”) including a five storied castle tower to Nijo Castle. However, the original honmaru structures were destroyed by fires in the 18th century, and the present building was moved there from the Imperial Palace in 1893. The central keep or donjon was struck by lightning and burned to the ground in 1750. Built as a symbol of his power, the castle is filled with many fine works of art, including beautiful paintings of trees and animals by some of Japan’s most famous artists of the period. The palace, comprising 3300 square meters, was built in the shoin-zukuri (library-style) of samurai of the Momoyama Period. One of the castle’s most intriguing features is its so-called nightingale floors. To protect the shogun from real or imagined enemies, the castle was protected by a moat and stone walls.

Spanish Museo del Prado art museum in Madrid, housing the world’s richest and most comprehensive collection of Spanish painting, as well as masterpieces of other schools of European painting, especially Italian and Flemish art. This gallery in Madrid has the most complete collection of Spanish painting from 18th centuries, and many masterpieces by great universal artists such as El Greco, Velzquez, Goya, Bosch, Tiziano, Van Dyck and Rembrandt.

The Museo del Prado is one of the buildings constructed during the reign of Charles III as part of a grandiose building scheme designed to bestow upon Madrid a monumental urban space. This “prado” (meaning meadow in Spanish) gave its name to the area (Saln del Prado, later Paseo del Prado), and later still to the Museum itself upon nationalisation.

The Prado contains over 9.000 works, mainly paintings, of which only about 1500 can be displayed at any one time. There is space in the museum dedicated to displaying on a rotational basis those works which are not on permanent exhibition. There are also conferences and courses in which archived works are often brought out. (information about these courses can be obtained from the Spanish culture. During the first excavations in the Odeon were found several statues of seated Musae, now in the Prado Museum in Madrid.
The entire southern wing of the 2nd floor is devoted to the works of Fransisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes. The Spaniard captured the extremes of hope and misery during and after the Napoleononic invasion with his works El Dos de Mayo and El Tres de Mayo. Escalante was a thoroughly Baroque painter, with an eye for the subtleties of color and light, and a daring craftsman. In 1667-68 he executed a series of paintings for the Merced Calzada of Madrid, some of which are preserved in the Prado Museum. The Prado Museum’s permanent collection is one of the largest in the world. It consists of about 9,000 paintings, 5,000 drawings, 2,000 prints, 1,000 coins and medals, and approximately 2,000 decorative objects. But seriously, it would be impossible for us to list all of the pieces that the museum holds in this page.

The Carnival is the most traditional popular festivity of the Dominican Republic. It goes back to the colony, on the eve of lent, when people in Santo Domingo disguised themselves to imitate the European Shrovetide. Lent ends on Easter Sunday, the most sacred of Christian holy days because it is the day that the crucified Christ was resurrected. Although the word “carnival” originated with this pre-Lenten celebration, the celebratory style of masking, inversion and grotesque came to characterize other festivals as well; as a result, some scholars specify the pre-Lenten carnival with the term carnestolendas

Intense colors, music, religion – all expressions of the joy and warmth of being a Dominican: it’s Carnival! The Dominican carnival is the most authentic expression of our culture and is an explosion of sound and color which manifests itself on different dates and in different ways as a result of the cultural syncretism whose product it is. Originally of European origin, the custom of carnival was a religious celebration on the date of Corpus Christi. However it eventually evolved into a pagan celebration usually celebrated on the 27th of February, Dominican Independence Day. Original masks, costumes, floats and masqueraded dance groups from different regions of the country come together to celebrate. The Diablos Cojuelos come out into the streets on the weekends of February, month of the Dominican independence. Their costumes are ornamented with a number of decorative elements: small round and square mirrors, small bells, cowbells, ribbons, whistles, tiny dolls, etc. The dancers wore jewelry on their foreheads, in their ears, and around their necks, and colorful tattoos and painted designs on their bodies depicting their spiritual guides, their zemies. They also wore shell anklets that tinkled like bells as they moved in rhythmic unison across their bateyes.

Aleppo is now Syria‘s second biggest city. It has had a major role in the development of Syria’s trade especially in the early nineties. It remains a popular city for tourists who like to visit the Citadel and the Middle East’s longest covered souk. It is also famous for its architecture and intricate stonework. The Citadel is located on a partly man-made hill, about 50 metres above the city. This site makes it difficult for archaeologists to dig, but it would be surprising if settling traces there didn’t reach back to the neolithic ages. The present citadel was built in the late 13th century and replaced the older one, which was destroyed by the Mongols.

The formidable symbol of Aleppo – the Citadel – belongs to a later era. Crowning a precipitous hill in the heart of the old city, it is regarded by some travelers as the most spectacular medieval fortress in the Middle East. The hill itself is partly artificial, a prehistoric tell built up of ruins from many cultures each layered atop the last. The citadel is said to have been stormed successfully only once: by the Mongol Timur Leng (Tamerlane). More often, the fortress, with room for a garrison of 10,000, stood firm even as invaders devastated the city below.

The National Palace Museum (Chinese is an art gallery and museum in Tapei, Republic of China, Taiwan) containing artifacts of ancient China. It should not be confused with the Palace Museum (note the absence of the word “National”), which is the Forbidden City in Beijing. Both institutions derive from the same original institution, which was split in two as a result of the Chinese Civil War .

The National Palace Museum is considered one of world’s five great museums, along the Louvre, the British Museum, America’s Metropolitan Museum, and Russia’s Hermitage. Its artifacts constitute a magnificent part of the Chinese cultural heritage and it is a must-see spot for foreigners visiting Taiwan. Artifacts at the National Palace Museum span almost the entire five millennia of Chinese history, and most were once in the Imperial Collection. More than 700,000 items are on display, many of which were taken from Beijing’s Forbidden City, truly reflects the rich cultural heritage of Chinese civilization.

The “Jade Cabbage”, a piece of jade carved into the shape of a head of cabbage, with an insect attached. The fame attached to this piece is due to the masterful utilisation of natural colour variations in the jade to recreate colour variations in the cabbage. The “meat-shaped stone”, a piece of agate, the strata of which are cleverly used to create a likeness of a piece of pork cooked in soy sauce.
Imperial China ceased to exist with termination of the power of the last Qing emperor Pu Yi in 1911- though he did not formally abdicate until February 24, 1912 — and the proclamation of the Republic of China. The last emperor, however, was allowed to continue living with the accumulated treasures of the centuries in “his’” Forbidden City until November 1924 when he was unceremoniously expelled.

There are good tours in different languages and for the handicapped, starting from the information desk in the main lobby. The tours will run even if only one person shows up. A multimedia slide show is presented daily in both Chinese and English languages. In October, there are also special showings of rare and fragile artifacts – and this is the best time to visit.

Rocamadour is a cliff-hugging medieval village that was built on a limestone cliff rising 490 feet above the Alzou canyon. Along with “St Cirq La Popie”, this is one of the most extraordinary settings in France. Legend has it that the history of Rocamadour began with the arrival of Zacchaeus, husband of St Veronica, who fled to France to escape religious persecution and lived out his last years here as a hermit. When in 1166 a perfectly preserved body was found in a grave high up on the rock, it was declared to be Zacchaeus, known in France as St Amadour.

Rocamadour is one of seven great pilgrimage sites in the 10th – 12th century. The town was named after an early Christian hermit St Amadour. The site was on the pilgrimage route to San Juan de Capestella and still remains a important for other religions site such as the Black Madonna and the Sword of Roland.