Tag: UNESCO World Heritage Site

This perhaps is the only temple in India to be named after its chief sculptor, Ramappa. - Ramappa Temple - A Floating Bricks Marvel - Travelure ©

As we set out to explore, we discovered the monuments comprised two broad categories - temples and the royal township. - Hampi Group of Monuments - The Royal City of Vijayanagara - Travelure ©

The bright reds, sparkling greens, hues of blues, and rich purples impart the stained glass windows, exquisite vibrance. - St Barbara Church, Kutna Hora - Central Europe’s Architectural Beacon - Travelure ©

It was a simple reminder for the traders to be good christian and trade with honesty, so they remain prosperous. - Silk Exchange, Valencia - Medieval Hub of Power and Wealth - Travelure ©

Besides being the repository of outstanding works of art, the Belvedere Palace itself is a masterpiece of Baroque architecture. - Belvedere Palace, Vienna - World’s 7th Oldest Museum - Travelure ©

About 20 minutes into the ride we found ourselves ducking under as our boat passed through a cave. - Tam Coc, Ninh Binh - Vietnam’s Inland Ha Long Bay - Travelure ©

Explorations around the place have revealed signs that human life existed here between 18,000 and 7,000 BCE. - Ha Long Bay - Nature’s Pillars in the Sea - Travelure ©

The Turkish phrase ‘to live in a golden cage’ originated from this practice of confining the princes. - Topkapi Palace - The Sovereign Seat of the Ottomans - Travelure ©

The Victorian Neo-gothic style, and the adapted Art déco idiom acted as a foil to each other, not letting any style overpower the other. - Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai - Travelure ©

A couple of British archeologists reassembled it in 1914, and now the grand pachyderm sits at Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Byculla, with its more famous neighbour, the Jijamata Udyan or the Byculla Zoo. - Elephanta Caves - Mumbai’s First UNESCO Site - Travelure ©

It faced bitter criticism when it opened its doors to the public in 1959. ‘The architecture dominates the paintings,’ was the sole pretext of its criticism. And it is true. - Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NYC - Maverick Architecture - Travelure ©

His vision for Qutub Minar was to build a symbolic structure for muezzin’s call for prayer, not just for the neighbouring mosque, but for the entire Islamic world. - Qutub Minar - Symbolic Axis of a Faith - Travelure ©

When I shared some of these images with Mumbaikars, their eyes glossed over with nostalgia as they remembered the Mumbai of earlier times - Mumbai During COVID-19 Lockdown - Fresh as a Flower! - Travelure ©

Its steep sloping roofs, the turret-like chimneys, dimensional alcoves, symmetrical arches, rectangular windows, and circular ventilators provide a pleasing look to an otherwise routine facade. - Palace and Park of Fontainebleau, France - Travelure ©

...many significant sites litter the west bank. Like the valleys of kings and queens, the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, and the colossi of Memnon. UNESCO inscribed them on its World Heritage List in 1979. - Luxor West Bank - A Bumper Crop of Heritage - Travelure ©

Isis is associated with funeral rites, but also as the giver of life, a healer, and a protector of kings. Little wonder they represent her with a throne on her head. - Temple of Isis at Philae, Egypt - Travelure ©

Florence has more. A lot more. Keep walking around this historic district, and at every turn, you will make an eye-popping discovery. Even walking the same route will throw up newer surprises you would have missed during your first or even second walk. - Florence - The Birthplace of Renaissance - Travelure ©

As a living fort, it has seen a huge influx of tourists savouring pre-modernist lifestyle. They come to live like locals but seldom stay true to the cause. - Jaisalmer Fort, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan - Travelure ©

Today, it may be the crowning glory of Jaipur, but let us not forget that Sawai Jai Singh founded Jaipur only in the early 18th century, while Amber existed since the latter half of the 9th century! - Amber (Amer) Fort, Jaipur - Travelure ©

Besides being a UNESCO Creative City, Jaipur boasts two more UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Jantar Mantar, and the Amber (Amer) Fort. But summing up Jaipur heritage as just these two attractions would be like treating the tip of the iceberg as the entire iceberg. - Jaipur - The Pink City - Travelure ©

These sculptures have attracted epithets like erotic, pornographic, sensual, and more, but their presence around the temple walls reflect a basic human instinct. These depictions embrace the basal, natural, and sometimes, the unnatural acts as part of human existence. - Khajuraho - Eroticism or Spirituality? - Travelure ©

Though the physical distance may not be much, their faiths distance Sanchi and Udayagiri. While Sanchi is a Buddhist holy place, Udayagiri was important for 3 strong cults of Hinduism - Vaishnavism, Shaktism, and Shaivism. - Sanchi and Udayagiri - Of fables and faiths - Travelure ©

The creative-me loved the view. I decided it would be home for some time. As I ventured around the narrow burrows carved by times in those sandstone rocks, I realised those had turned into ortho-quartzite. Little did I know then that they would later call this place Bhimbetka Rock Shelters. - Bhimbetka: My Early Days of Photography - Travelure ©

Let’s travel to that landmark where our planet comes full circle. And, East meets West. Beyond establishing the relative location of places on our planet, it provides the basis of relative time across the globe. I talk of the Prime Meridian. - Royal Observatory Greenwich London - Travelure ©