The Mountain Resort (the Qing dynasty’s summer palace), in Hebei Province, was built between 1703 and 1792. It is a vast complex of palaces and administrative and ceremonial buildings. Temples of various architectural styles and imperial gardens blend harmoniously into a landscape of lakes, pastureland and forests. In addition to its aesthetic interest, the Mountain [...]
The building in the 12th century of Mudejar art in Aragon resulted from the particular political, social and cultural conditions that prevailed in Spain after the Reconquista. This art, influenced by Islamic tradition, also reflects various contemporary European styles, specially the Gothic. Present until the early 17th century, it is characterized by an extremely refined [...]
Located across the South Nahanni River, probably the most spectacular wild rivers in North America, this park contains deep canyons and huge waterfalls, as well as a unique limestone cave system. The park is also the place to find animals of the boreal forest, such as wolves, grizzly bears and caribou. Dall’s sheep and mountain [...]
Ghadamès, known as ‘the pearl of the desert’, stands in an oasis. It is one of the oldest pre-Saharan cities and an outstanding example of a traditional settlement. Its domestic architecture is characterized by a vertical division of functions: the ground floor used to store supplies; then another floor for the family, overhanging covered alleys [...]
Bahla is one of the four historic fortresses situated at the foot of the mountains of Jebel Akhdar in Oman. It was built in the ages 13 and 14, when the Bahla oasis was thriving under the control of the tribe Banu Nebhan. The adobe-walled fortress in ruins and towers rise some 165 meters above [...]
Yosemite National Park lies in the heart of California. With its ‘hanging’ valleys, many waterfalls, cirque lakes, polished domes, moraines and U-shaped valleys, it provides an excellent overview of all kinds of granite relief fashioned by glaciation. At 600–4,000 m, a great variety of flora and fauna can also be found here. In a high-country [...]
When we know that the Topkapi Palace was the residence of Ottoman sultans and rulers between the fifteenth and nineteenth century, one suspects that he must immediately contain luxury. Located near the old city of Istanbul, the palace called Topkapi Serail or Sarayi, enjoys stunning views, both on the sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus. [...]
The Topkapi Palace and Topkapi Palace is an extraordinary complex of buildings that extends in a beautiful location overlooking the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn on one of the seven hills of Istanbul. Here once stood the imperial palace of Constantine, which fell apart but with the collapse of the empire. After the [...]
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