St John’s Co-Cathedral at Valletta, Malta

Would You Hold it against me if I say this Temple in Bagan is as Grand as Some Cathedrals in Europe?

The Cathedral of Vilnius

The Cathedral of Vilnius is the main Roman Catholic Cathedral of Lithuania. It is situated in Vilnius Old Town, just off of Cathedral Square. Dedicated to Saints Stanislaus and Ladislaus, the church is the heart of Catholic spiritual life in Lithuania.

The bell tower I uploaded in my last post is a short distance away from this cathedral.

The picture was taken when the light came from the side enhancing the thee dimensional effect of the architecture.

Depending on the response, I may upload further posts showing inside of the cathedral.

The Streets and Alleys of Baltic (26)

I will be doing a series on streets and alleys of the Baltic countries.

I have been to all the Baltic capitals which includes visiting of some of the UNESCO Heritage sites like Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn etc.

What I found most interesting are the alleys and the streets which all have their own characteristics.

I am not able to tell you exactly where those alleys and streets are; in my simple mind, they are my memorable parts of the Baltic.

I like the cobblestones, the quaint street, the colored walls on both sides of the alleys, the cafes along or encroached onto the roads, the crude masonry wall facing and last, but not the least, the friendly people.

They leave an undeletable part in my memory!

The Streets and Alleys of Baltic (12)

I will be doing a series on streets and alleys of the Baltic countries.

I have been to all the Baltic capitals which includes visiting of some of the UNESCO Heritage sites like Vilnius, Riga, Tallin etc.

What I found most interesting are the alleys and the streets which all have their own characteristics.

I am not able to tell you exactly where those alleys and streets are; in my simple mind, they are my memorable parts of the Baltic.

I like the cobblestones, the quaint street, the colored walls on both sides of the alleys, the cafes along or encroached onto the roads, the crude masonry wall facing and last, but not the least, the friendly people.

They leave an undeletable part in my memory!

The Streets and Alleys of Baltic (7)

I will be doing a series on streets and alleys of the Baltic countries.

I have been to all the Baltic capitals which includes visiting of some of the UNESCO Heritage sites like Vilinus, Riga, Tallin etc.

What I found most interesting are the alleys and the streets which all have their own characteristics.

I am not able to tell you exactly where those alleys and streets are; in my simple mind, they are my memorable parts of the Baltic.

I like the cobblestones, the quaint street, the colored walls on both sides of the alleys, the cafes along or encroached onto the roads, the crude masonry wall facing and last, but not the least, the friendly people.

They leave an undeletable part in my memory!

The Vilinus Picture

Some of the pictures I have taken are to remind me where I have been.

However, I got very mixed up with the images I have in the Baltic countries, especially those in the old towns.

Here is a picture I have on Vilinus, Lithuania. It includes all the major landmark cathedrals and buildings in Vilinus.

It looks very similar with my others taken in the other two Baltic countries.

In any case, I did have a good time in all three countries!

Milan Cathedral By Day and By Night

Various members of my family do like taking photos.

My brother likes uploading them to his Facebook to feature his travels.

My wife like taking photos with her iPhone but never bothers to publish them.

As mentioned in my earlier post, my wife and her dad are travelling in Italy and Switzerland, here are two pictures of the Milan Cathedral she sent me via the iPhone today:

Monochromatic views of the Cathedral at Milan at day time and also at night.

Actually, I like both photos, their perspectives are quite different from those available on the internet.

 

 

Travel Theme: Interior

Here are two photos which were taken by me in 1985 and scanned a few years earlier.

The photos show the Moorish architecture of the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba.

I have never visited a mosque or church which has such an unique architectural design; a design which I dearly want to share with others.

I don’t think I can better describe this than what has already presented in Wikipedia which is presented below in italics:

The Mosque – Cathedral of Cordoba is the Catholic Christian cathedral of the  Diocese of Cordoba dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and located in the Spanish region of Andalusia. It originally was a Catholic Christian church built by the  Visigoths, although it was later converted to an Islamic mosque in the Middle Ages; after the Reconquista, it was made a Catholic Christian church once again. The cathedral is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture.

The building is most notable for its arcaded hypostyle hall, with 856 columns of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite. These were made from pieces of the Roman temple which had occupied the site previously, as well as other destroyed Roman buildings, such as the Merida amphitheater. The double arches were a new introduction to architecture, permitting higher ceilings than would otherwise be possible with relatively low columns. The double arches consist of a lower horseshoe arch and an upper semi-circular arch. The famous alternating red and white voussoirs of the arches were inspired by those in the Dome of the Rock,  and also resemble those of the Aachen Cathedral, which were built almost at the same time. A centrally located honey-combed dome has blue tiles decorated with stars.

Please enjoy 🙂

Goodbye to Dubrovnik – One Last Walk

It was a joy sitting out in the balcony in our hotel, having breakfast  and overviewing Dubrovnik old town before sunrise ,while seeping tea or coffee.

It was our last day in Dubrovnik. After viewing the town from the  top of the walls , we were eager to walk on the street level once again.

After a hearty breakfast,  we strolled down the narrow marble paved stone pavement with high walls on both sides.

Only on street level, we appreciated how tall those walls were.

Local paintings on the side of the street have always interested us, they show how local people perceive the area; what they think would most appeal to tourists. They appear like a colorful jigsaw placed against a medieval stone wall.

We passed under arches as if there were only ordinary structures.

As the citizens of Dubrovnik will do, we squeezed through narrow alleys.

We made our way towards the city center. On the way, we couldn’t help admiring the architecture

We passed by the Franciscan Monastery . The Romanesque/Gothic structure (occupied by monks for more than 600 years) was rebuilt after the ruinous earthquake of 1667, but the 14th-century cloister survived.

We walked up to the top of a knoll and had a good view of the Jesuit Church.

We finally made our way to The Cathedral.  This Baroque Cathedral was built in 18th century, after  an earthquake destroyed the original. Inside there is a Treasury with lot of interesting exhibits.

Silvana Jakus, in The Thousand Islands of the Croatian Adriatic, beautifully describes my feelings towards Dubrovnik:

“The first journey to Croatia is always an adventure, a trip into the unknown. On subsequent explorations, familiarity refines the hidden depths of beauty; personal recognition enhances sights and sounds. Like good wine, true fulfillment comes only after anticipation, cultivation and dedication. You will know when you feel it. It is like an emotional longing, which has suddenly been satisfied.”

With that feeling, we departed this lovely old town.