Ottoman Bridges from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina was scarred by the war so bad that even today many don't visit the country evoking security reasons but this is a big mistake. Croatia is nearby and millions of people travel to famous Dubrovnik and they should go for a day in Bosnia and Herzegovina visiting the two most famous bridges build by the Ottoman court. I have seen the bridges in miniature in Miniaturk Park from Istanbul.
In Mostar is Stari Most or Old Bridge, The original bridge was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557 to replace an older wooden suspension bridge of dubious stability. Construction began in 1557 and took nine years. The bridge, 28 meters long and 20 meters high (90' by 64'), quickly became a wonder in its own time. The famous traveler Evliya Çelebi wrote in the 17th century that: the bridge is like a rainbow arch soaring up to the skies, extending from one cliff to the other. ...I, a poor and miserable slave of Allah, have passed through 16 countries, but I have never seen such a high bridge. It is thrown from rock to rock as high as the sky. The bridge stood there for 427 years until it was destroyed in 1993 by the Bosnian Croat artillery. After the war, World Bank, UNESCO, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, World Monuments Fund, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, Croatia and the Council of Europe helped Bosnian authorities to rebuild it. It was inaugurated in 2004 and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge is a historic bridge in Višegrad, over the Drina River, completed in 1577 by the renown architect Mimar Sinan. It was ordered by the Grand Vizier Mehmed Paša Sokolović. It numbers 11 masonry arches, with spans of 11 to 15 meters, and an access ramp at right angles with four arches on the left bank of the river. The 179.5 meter long bridge is a representative masterpiece of Mimar Koca Sinan, one of the greatest architects and engineers of the classical Ottoman period and a contemporary of the Italian Renaissance, with which his work can be compared. During the 1992–95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the bridge was a place of the brutal killing of a large number of Bosniac civilians by Bosnian Serb Army during the Višegrad massacre in 1992. The bridge received UNESCO World Heritage Listing in 2008.

Mostar: 43.337102,17.81483 Click for Google Maps or use numbers on your GPS to navigate.
Visegrad: 43.782222,19.287778 Click for Google Maps or use numbers on your GPS to navigate.
 Wikipedia Mostar Visegrad For more information, links, pictures and many more Wikipedia is the perfect site to be informed.

Official Site For visiting information (like fees and open days and times) use the official site.
Bosnia and Herzegovina For travel information, the official site of the National Tourist Board, is the perfect location.

Skywatch - Sunset in Maidenahalli

Some destinations keep you waiting  - like Maidenhalli for instance or Jayamangali Blackbuck Conservation Reserve as it is known as. I finally visited the wildlife sanctuary and what an evening it was. The blackbucks or the birds were not the showstoppers - it was the sun. Read my column - Inside Story published in The Hindu Metro Plus where I had written about the reserve.  Meanwhile, here is the gorgeous sun bidding adieu .

I can never get enough of this magical moment, so will share some pictures in another episode of Skywatch, Meanwhile to see more glorious skies, visit Skywatch this Friday.

Valparai and the Great Indian hornbill

One of my favourite birds is the hornbill - ask any birder and most of them would die to see this bird. The sight of it with its wing spread out , flying in the sky is an image one can never forget. In Valparai, we were lucky to see this bird and here are some photographs of it

Earth Day 2012: Gorgeous and Small Botanical Garden from Padua

Today, 22nd of April 2012, is the Earth Day. I’ve many thoughts about what I should write in green dedicated to this. I got many postcards from beautiful natural places, many included in UNESCO World Heritage List, but the place I am talking about is no bigger than my backyard and I simply love it. I’m referring to Orto Botanico di Padova or The Botanical Garden from Padua which is the first of its kind in the World. It was created in 1545 and it was devoted to the growth of medicinal plants. The first keeper of the garden was Luigi Squalermo called Anguillara. The garden was enriched with plants from all over the world, and especially from the countries connected in a way with Venice. The garden’s development was gradually accompanied by the establishment of a library, a herbarium and a number of laboratories. From 1997 it is a UNESCO site. The architecture it is a perfect pattern of a square within a circle, divided into four parts by two paths oriented according to the cardinal points. There are plants, trees and even some water basins with water plants. At present, the oldest plant is a palm planted in 1585 called the "Goethe palm", because the poet referred to it in his essay "The Metamorphoses of Plants"; this tree is situated in a greenhouse inside the Ortus Sphearicus, where there is also a ginkgo and a magnolia dating back to the mid-18th century, which are regarded as the oldest specimens in Europe. It is steps away from the Prato della Valle and the most famous pilgrimage place Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua so you should go and visit it.

45.399158,11.880725 Click for Google Maps or use numbers on your GPS to navigate.

Wikipedia For more information, links, pictures and many more Wikipedia is the perfect site to be informed.

Official Site For visiting information (like fees and open days and times) use the official site.

Italy For travel information, the official site of the National Tourist Board, is the perfect location.

Incredible Trains of India

India. Incredible India! 1.2 billion people. Crowded. Very crowded. The main transportation system is the rail ways built over a hundred years ago by the Brits. Victoria Station was a masterpiece of its time. It was built as a new railway station on the location of the Bori Bunder Station in Mumbai in 1887 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. In March 1996 its name was changed to the present name in honor of the Maratha warrior King Shivaji. From 2004 it is a UNESCO site. In 2008, the station was featured prominently in the Academy Award winning film, Slumdog Millionaire.

The station was designed by the consulting British architect Frederick William Stevens. He earned the commission to construct the station after a masterpiece watercolour sketch by draughtsman Axel Haig. The final design bears some resemblance to the St. Pancras railway station in London. This famous architectural landmark in Gothic style was built in ten years. On 26 November 2008, two terrorists entered the passenger hall of the CST, opened fire and threw grenades at people. The attackers killed 58 people and injured 104 others. In the next day everything was ready to use. India can't leave without trains.

I love the picture of this postcard. I love the station, the cabs of India (I have a small one as a souvenir), the red buses. I love the postcard. Its quality is amazing, like an expensive European card.

18.94,72.8353 Click for Google Maps or use numbers on your GPS to navigate.

Wikipedia For more information, links, pictures and many more Wikipedia is the perfect site to be informed.

Official Site For visiting information (like fees and open days and times) use the official site.
India For travel information, the official site of the National Tourist Board, is the perfect location.

Heritage week special - Vandalised murals of Suseendram

Deep down South near Kanyakumari  is a temple dedicated to the Trinity - Brahma , Vishnu and Siva called Suseendram. A 18 feet tall Hanuman towers over the devotees, protecting them from all ills. However even he is unable to protect the precious heritage from getting vandalised from people. I was in Suseendram as a part of the Naanjil Naadu tour organised by INTACH Tamil Nadu.  The temple itself maybe over 1500 years old and the seven tier Gopura was built much later .

As you climb up the dark and dingy stairs up the Gopura, disturbing the bats with a flashlight, you chance upon some of the most beautiful murals..

 Unfortunately I discover that many people have been here before me and they chose to highlight their presence by vandalising these paintings.

 This heritage day, lets save and protect our heritage from us.. We have done precious little to add to our heritage for posterity ; so let us not deny them a chance to see what our forefathers had left for us..In the meantime, enjoy some of these paintings.

Read the entire story here in my column in The Hindu Metro Plus 

Sannathi - A Stupa and Samrat Ashoka

Last December I visited Sannathi where a stupa from the Ashokan era (3rd century BC) is getting restored. The prized treasure here is the portrait of the Emperor himself which was unearthed . I was told that this was the ever portrait of the king discovered with the incription " Raya Ashoka" carved on it..Here is the photofeature that was published in Yahoo.com . I wrote a detailed story in Deccan Herald a couple of months ago.

 

This heritage week, we celebrate more heritage sites across India.. I have been always fascinated by lesser known destinations, especially on heritage and cultures and will be sharing some of the stories and photographs from these sites. 

Skywatch - Happy New Year

In India, several communities celebrate new year today - the Tamilians, the Bengalis, the Assamese, the Punjabis among others. And tomorrow it will be Visu, celebrated by Malayalees and Mangaloreans among others. Greetings to all . This Friday, we visit an ancient sea side fort - Vattakottai - heart of Naanjil Naadu, near Kanyakumari , built in the 18th century . A view of the sea from the fort..

To see more beautiful skies around the world, visit Skywatch. 

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Arbeit macht frei

Auschwitz-Birkenau Konzentrationslager
My best friend loves to visit places related to WWI and WWII. He wants us to go to Auschwitz but I do not think I can go there, it is very said, some said that even birds don't sing there. I know that first Concentration Camp of the Nazi Germany was in Dachau but the most ugly and famous was Auschwitz inaugurated in 1940 and then, with the inmates they built a new one, Auschwitz II or Birkenau. Auschwitz II–Birkenau was designated by the Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, Germany's Minister of the Interior, as the place of the "final solution of the Jewish question in Europe". There is also Auschwitz III–Monowitz, also known as Buna–Monowitz (a labor camp); and 45 satellite camps.
What can I tell about that place... maybe numbers, ugly numbers: killed 1.1 million as is estimated (mainly Jews, Poles, Roma); open in 1940 and eliberated in 1945. The camp's first commandant, Rudolf Höss, testified after the war at the Nuremberg Trials that up to three million people had died there (2.5 million gassed, and 500,000 from disease and starvation).
German doctors performed a wide variety of experiments on prisoners at Auschwitz. SS doctors tested the efficacy of X-rays as a sterilization device by administering large doses to female prisoners. Prof. Dr. Carl Clauberg injected chemicals into women's uteruses in an effort to glue them shut. Bayer, then a subsidiary of IG Farben, bought prisoners to use for testing new drugs. Josef Mengele, known as the "Angel of Death", researched on identical twins. He also took a special interest in dwarfs.
By 1943, resistance organizations had developed in the camp. These organizations helped a few prisoners escape; these escapees took with them news of exterminations, such as the killing of hundreds of thousands of Jews transported from Hungary between May and July 1944.
The iron gates are crowned with the infamous motto, "Arbeit macht frei" literally "work makes (one) free," meaning "work sets you free" or "work liberates".
The museum has more than 30 million visitors since its opening after the war.
From 1979 it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Maybe some of you visited concentration camps and share their impressions.

50.035833,19.178333 Click for Google Maps or use numbers on your GPS to navigate.

Wikipedia For more information, links, pictures and many more Wikipedia is the perfect site to be informed.

Official Site For visiting information (like fees and open days and times) use the official site.
Poland For travel information, the official site of the National Tourist Board, is the perfect location.

Breathtaking Views of Iceland

Scenic setting for Iceland's ancient parliament, where Christianity was peacefully adopted in the year 1000, Þingvellir is a national park and one of the most visited places of the Northern Athlantic Island. It was inscribed by UNESCO inits World Heritage List in 2004. Thorn or þorn (Þ, þ), is a letter in the Old English and Icelandic alphabets which was replaced in other languages by the digraph th. The letter originated from the rune ᚦ. Þingvellir became a national park in 1928 due to its historical importance, as well as the special tectonic and volcanic environment. The continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates can be clearly seen in the cracks, the biggest one, Almannagjá, being a veritable canyon. Together with the waterfall Gullfoss and the geysers of Haukadalur, Þingvellir is part of the most famous sights of Iceland, the Golden Circle. According to Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in AD 874 when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfur Arnarson became the first permanent Norwegian settler on the island. Over the next centuries, people of Norse and Celtic origin settled in Iceland. Early on, district assemblies were formed, but as the population grew there was a need for a general assembly. The descendants of Ingólfur Arnarson who dominated the region of southwest Iceland had become the most powerful family in the country, and other chieftains felt a need for a general assembly to limit their power and so it was born the parliament.

The postcard I have from Olof is perfect. I can’t tell any wrong thing about it and I love it. I dream to visit Iceland and for sure I will go there. The scenic views are breathtaking in this postcard and for sure the real thing is thousand ways better.

64.258056,-21.125 Click for Google Maps or use numbers on your GPS to navigate.

Wikipedia For more information, links, pictures and many more Wikipedia is the perfect site to be informed.

Official Site For visiting information (like fees and open days and times) use the official site.
Iceland For travel information, the official site of the National Tourist Board, is the perfect location.

One of the Most Beautiful Castles in the World: Schwerin Castle

For me the card that I will show you is one of the most beautiful. Beautiful is also the place in the card and it is one that I wish to visit. I'm talking about Schwerin Castle which is located in Germany in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It was the home seat for the duckes of Mecklenburg but now it is the seat of the state parliament (you have to know that Germany is a Federal Republic consisting of 13 states and 3 city-states.
In 1358, the County of Schwerin was bought by the descendants of Niklot, who had been elevated to Dukes of Mecklenburg in 1348 forming a ducal hereditary line that lasted until 1918. Soon, they relocated farther inland from Mikelenburg, near the city of Wismar, to Schwerin. During the late Gothic era, the growing prosperity and position of the dukes lead to a growing need for a representative castle, and this meant architectural changes to the fortress settlement that was there. During the time the castle took the present form and each era live its imprint on it.
In the 20th century the castle was affected by fire in 1913, then by the revolution in 1918 ending with the abdication of the Grand Duke and in 19t8, then it became a museum and then the GDR transformed in a college for kindergarten teachers. After the fall of the Berlin Wall it became a place of government and representation as the seat of the parliament of State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Since then, massive renovation efforts have been conducted and are, due to the complexity of a castle of this size, still in progress. Despite all that it still can be visited so check up the site for visitor information.
The small impious ghost Petermännchen (some kind of gnome) reportedly roams the halls of the Schwerin castle. This little spirit is no more than a few feet high, and is often depicted in clothes from the 17th century, something resembling a cavalier. His existence may be in doubt, but he is a popular legend as ever.

53.624167,11.418889 Click for Google Maps or use numbers on your GPS to navigate.

Wikipedia For more information, links, pictures and many more Wikipedia is the perfect site to be informed.

Official Site For visiting information (like fees and open days and times) use the official site.
Germany For travel information, the official site of the National Tourist Board, is the perfect location.

Islands in the Bay of Kotor

I got the card ME-1100 from Postcrossing which means that it is from Montenegro. It is gorgeous! I and my friends plan to take a trip in Serbia and Montenegro and I have to say that info about what we can see there, where to stay and so on is not so good on the net. For sure one of the sightseeing places is Bay of Kotor because it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a little town called Perast, a quiet and peaceful place in the only fjord of the Mediterranean Sea. There are two islands and both have its own church. Our Lady of the Rocks (Gospa od Škrpjela) it is located on an artificial island created by bulwark of rocks and by sinking old and seized ships loaded with rocks. According to legend, the islet was made over the centuries by the seamen who kept an ancient oath after finding the icon of Madonna and Child on the rock in the sea on July 22, 1452. Upon returning from each successful voyage, they laid a rock in the Bay. The church was built in the 17th century and it contains 68 paintings by Tripo Kokolja, a famous 17th-century baroque artist from Perast. The other church is on the Island of Saint George. It is a natural island and there is built Saint George Benedictine monastery which dates back in the 12th century.

42.486667,18.688889 Click for Google Maps or use numbers on your GPS to navigate.

Wikipedia For more information, links, pictures and many more Wikipedia is the perfect site to be informed.

Official Site For visiting information (like fees and open days and times) use the official site.
Montenegro For travel information, the official site of the National Tourist Board, is the perfect location.

The Swan King of Bavaria

Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Herrenchimsee, three wonderful castles built for the so-called fairytale king Ludwig II (1845-1886). He was a person who loved to live his fantasy and he tried to realize that in his buildings. Not all Bavarians agreed with that, because it was an expensive hobby. Ludwig II was a fascinating and intelligent person but many said it was paranoid. He died under mysterious circumstances (not even enlightened) in the Lake Starnberg. He and his psychiatrist were found drowned in the lake; both went for a walk in the late afternoon and never came back.
Nowadays, the castles of King Ludwig II are very famous and well-known all over the world. I had the chance to visit all of them. They are all fascinating and beautiful and with some amazing technical gimmicks. All worth a visit but my favorite one is Neuschwanstein. I love the view from the nearby mountain. You can also see this castle and Hohenschwangau Castle (built by Ludwig’s ancestors). From the Marienbrücke (a small bridge over a gorge) you will have a perfect view of Neuschwanstein Castle.
Herrenchiemsee is located on an island in the Chimsee (a lake near Munich), a wonderful place built to look like the French Versailles.
Linderhof is the smallest of the three and it was a place where the king could stay alone.
There can be a lot more to write about Ludwig II and the three castles but I think it would be difficult to find an end.

Thank you Regina Sammet for the beautiful letter about the Bavarian Castles. I have had the chance to visit Neuschwanstein Castle and I was impressed. The road to the castle is very abrupt and long and my feet were burning and my friends put a tax on every grumbling, it was 10 euro cents.

Neuschwanstein: 47.5575,10.75 Click for Google Maps or use numbers on your GPS to navigate.
Herrenchimsee: 47.860556,12.398056 Click for Google Maps or use numbers on your GPS to navigate. 
Linderhof: 47.571667,10.960556 Click for Google Maps or use numbers on your GPS to navigate. 
Wikipedia For more information, links, pictures and many more Wikipedia is the perfect site to be informed.

Official Site For visiting information (like fees and open days and times) use the official site.
Germany For travel information, the official site of the National Tourist Board, is the perfect location.

The story of a crested serpent eagle and the indian roller in Kabini

Was rummaging through my hard disk this morning and I found myself looking at a trip I had made with my parents three years ago to Kabini. Found this photograph of the crested serpent eagle.

The indian roller and the black drongo would not let it perch quietly though and they chased the raptor away.

Ironically I made three trips to Kabini that year and now, I havent been there for three years..Note to self - Go in 2012.