As details on the destruction of and damage to Iraq’s rich and diverse cultural heritage emerge, the United Nations cultural agency has appealed to the international community to help protect and revive the country’s archaeological, religious and cultural sites for future generations.
“This is a turning point for the Iraqi people and for the world’s understanding of the role of heritage for societies in conflict situations,” said the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova.
Speaking at the end of a two-day meeting of the International Coordination Conference on the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Liberated Areas of Iraq, Ms. Bokova added: “UNESCO is already mobilizing on the ground to support Iraq in protecting heritage and objects most at risk, and to fence off and guard sites.” Read more.
Fatehpur Sikri is a startling reminder that history and its caretakers did not shy from enjoying the riches they so precariously accumulated.
In 1571, Akbar shifted his capital to Sikri. What may have been the reason behind the sudden change of capital to #Sikri remains unanswered to date, but one of the popular legends revolves around the story of a Sufi Saint Salim Chishti, who lived in Sikri. He foretold Akbar that he would be blessed with three sons if he builds a resting place for him and his followers.
In 1573, he (Akbar) built a big #JamaMasjid around the khanqah of Salim Chishti. He built the Buland Darwaza towards it’s north gate in 1602 which commemorated his victory or ‘fateh’ in the Gujarat campaign. The city later came to be known as Fatehpur Sikri with the increase of colloquial influence.
#Palatial construction began in 1572 and progressed rapidly. The palace complex spanning approximately 250 square metres, was built on two lower platforms and a higher platform, surrounded by a six-kilometre-long walled city with the fourth side facing an artificial lake.
However in 1585, Akbar moved onto the north-western frontiers of his empire and shifted his capital to Lahore and then back to Agra. By 1610, the city of Fatehpur Sikri was completely abandoned.
In 1806, as English occupancy increased around the imperial city of Agra and Fatehpur Sikri was converted into an administrative centre. The Marquess of Hastings started reparations of the complex in 1815 and by 1900s the population of the city markedly decreased to just 7000 inhabitants.
Today #FatehpurSikri is a #UNESCO World Heritage site which was once the first planned city by Mughals in the northern part of India. It was much larger and more popular than London at the time according to Ralph Fitch, a 16th century English traveller. Fatehpur Sikri’s structure and layout influenced the design and construction of Shahjahanabad or old Delhi.
Built circa 960 C.E. during the reign of the Chandela king Dhanga and originally dedicated to Adinatha, Parshvanatha Temple is one of the finest Khajuraho monuments.
The temple is rectangular in plan, with an east projection containing the entrance porch, and the west projection housing a shrine attached to the rear of the sanctum.
The temple has an inner ambulatory, but unlike many other Khajuraho temples, it has no transepts with balconied windows. As a result, the outer wall of the temple is more solid, and the sculptors made maximum use of this blank canvas to apply their expertise.
Beautiful carvings adorn the temple exterior, in particular of apsaras caught in the act of activities such as applying eye make-up. Their voluminous nature, size, and poise, draws many parallels with the Lakshmana Temple (western group).
There’s also a vast array of vyalas with different heads, some of parrots, elephants, lions, and other creatures. The upper row of carvings is a little more animated, with varied scenes including flying figures and musicians.
Nobody is quite sure why this Jain temple contains so many images of Hindu deities on the outside wall, a theme also mirrored by the adjacent Adinatha Temple.
It is believed the earliest idol to be enshrined here was Adinatha. When Alexander Cunningham visited the temple in 1852 he found the main sanctum empty, and described it as merely “Jainatha Temple”. He also noted the temple was repaired by a Jain banker in 1847. 13 years later in 1860 a Parshvanatha idol was installed in the main sanctum.
An inscription (dated 954 C.E.) on the left door jamb of the temple records gifts and endowments of gardens by Pahila as a devotee of Jainism, and states that he was held in great esteem by king Dhanga.
The image installed in the shrine to the back of the sanctum is Adinatha, who the temple was originally dedicated to. I presume this a later installation as Cunningham made no reference to it in 1852. Repost from @kevinstandage1 #khajuraho #khajurahotemples #incredibletemples #madhyapradesh #madhyapradeshtourism #mptourism #unesco #worldheritagesite #worldhistoricalmonuments #thegenuineindia #templesofindia #ParshvanathaTemp https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc6vCvYPgM9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
✅Thanjai Periya Kovil also called #Rajarajeswaram is dedicated to #LordShiva located in South bank of #CauveryRiver in #Thanjavur, #TamilNadu, India.
✅ It is one of the largest #HinduTemples and exemplary example of a fully realized #TamilArchitecture.
✅Built by Chola Emperor Rajarajan one between 1003 AD and1010 AD the temple is a part of the #UNESCO #WorldHeritageSite known as the “Great Living Chola Temples ”.
✅ Height -217 feet Area-44.7 Acres Buffer zone -23.7 acres.
✅Built using granite, the Vimana tower above the Shrine is one of the tallest in South India.
✅ The temple has a massive colonnaded prakara (corridor) and one of the largest Shiva lingas in India.
Una gran noticia! La UNESCO ha declarado el arte de la pizza napolitana patrimonio cultural de la Humanidad. Un reconocimiento, sin duda, merecido que nos alegra a todos. La pizza es universal!
Los napolitanos, muy orgullosos de tan delicioso manjar, presumen de la leyenda entorno a la pizza Margherita, según la cual, en 1889 Margherita (reina de Italia y reconocida gastrónoma), invitó al Palacio Real de verano de Capodimonte a un conocido fabricante de pizzas llamado Raffaele Eposito que, en aquél momento, regentaba la pizzeria más famosa de Nápoles. La reina le pidió que le prepara una nueva variedad. A Esposito se le ocurrió utilizar la mozzarella, a la que añadió tomate y la decoró con hojas de albaca. El rojo, blanco y verde, los tres colores de los ingredientes, coincidían con los de la bandera de Italia.
2022-2032 is the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.
From the UNESCO website:
The United Nations General Assembly (Resolution A/RES/74/135) proclaimed the period between 2022 and 2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL 2022-2032), to draw global attention on the critical situation of many indigenous languages and to mobilize stakeholders and resources for their preservation, revitalization and promotion.
The proclamation of an International Decade is a key outcome of the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages, for which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) lead global efforts. The Organization will continue to serve as lead UN Agency for the implementation of the International Decade, in cooperation with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and other relevant UN Agencies.
The International Decade aims at ensuring indigenous peoples’ right to preserve, revitalize and promote their languages, and mainstreaming linguistic diversity and multilingualism aspects into the sustainable development efforts. It offers a unique opportunity to collaborate in the areas of policy development and stimulate a global dialogue in a true spirit of multi-stakeholder engagement, and to take necessary for the usage, preservation, revitalization and promotion of indigenous languages around the world.
Борисоглебская или Коложская церковь в Гродно – великолепнейший памятник чернорусского зодчества непохожий ни на один другой храм в мире, расположенный на берегу реки Неман, дошедший до наших дней. Названная в честь братьев Бориса и Глеба, построена в конце XXI века. Второе название – Коложская – относят к основанию церкви на месте старого языческого урочища Коложань – однокоренное с «колодец» – место, где много ключей. Еще одна версия – на территории около церкви в XV веке расположили 11 тысяч пленных, уведенных из псковской крепости Коложа великим князем Витовтом. В 1184 году большой пожар уничтожил Нижнюю замковую церковь, расположенную на другом берегу речушки Городничанка, после чего именно Борисоглебская церковь стала главным храмом города. Хотя основанный при ней монастырь в 1480 году вначале и послужил процветанию, но продлилось оно недолго. В последующие годы церковь переживала много факторов, приведших ее к разорению ко второй половине XIX века. В течении этих веков от рассвета до полного разорения на нее нападали крестоносцы, а также русские войска, во время русско-литовских войн. Построенная на берегу реки, церковь часто страдала от оползней и подмывания грунта. Окончательный гвоздь был забит оползнем в 1853 году, когда часть стены была смыта в Неман. После 40 лет запустения он пришел еще в более худшее состояние, однако в конце XIX берег укрепили, а отсутствующие стены заменили на деревянные. Храм является объектом ЮНЕСКО за его необычную архитектуру – стены выложены плоским кирпичом - плинфой. Кроме того, во время кладки древние строители применяли плоские гранитные и гнейсовые валуны. В декоративных целях они встраивали в стены фигурные керамические плитки в виде крестов, на которые была нанесена цветная эмаль. По легенде, у стен Коложской церкви похоронен известный полководец Давид Гродненский. #путешествия #докарантина #беларусь #гродно #коложскаяцерковь #коложа #туртрансвояж #trip #belorussia #Belarus #grodno #beforecovid19 #kolozha #kolozhskayachurch #tourtransvoyage #неман #neman #древнеезодчество #архитектура #древняяархитектура #architecture #ancient #ancientarchitecture #unesco #юнеско (at Коложская Церковь - Kalozha Church) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDGZscanvrI/?igshid=b3j6j8l3d3z
All kidding aside, in February of 2014, said of being in LaGuardia “I must be in some 3rd world country “. Well, REAL New Yorkers, really don’t go for all of the fluff and pretty, we really like simple , functional , utilitarian things. That’s why we loved Shea Stadium, The Cyclone Madison Square Garden and yes, even LaGuardia Airport. With that said though, as a born and bred New Yorker, I gotta say, this makes me proud. Way to go NYC!!! #laguardiaairport #terminalb #laguardiaairportterminalb #nyc #portauthority #unesco #unescoprixversailles #bestnewairportintheworld #lga #queens #airport #gigglesflintstone #CM1K (at LaGuardia Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/CbLntOTrmqX/?utm_medium=tumblr
#throwbackthursday #tbt #archive ✈️ At the Souks of old town Tunis Médina (The 12th century old town of Tunis Medina is a site not to be missed. It is a #UNESCO World Heritage-listed site and home to bustling souks and a maze of colorful streets, as well as the revered ‘Zitouna Mosque’, where worshipers have been called to prayer for more than one thousand years.)
Book Illustrations From The Daredevils Of Sassoun: Part II
TheArmenian epic Daredevils of Sassoun recounts the story of David of Sassoun, a defiant and self-reliant youth, who by the grace of God defends his homeland in an unequal duel against the evil. The epic falls within the tradition of heroic folktales that dramatize and voice the deepest sentiments and aspirations of a nation. The epic is told in a lyrical voice with rhythmic enunciation, while separate cantos are sung in a rhyming poetic style. It is performed annually on the first Saturday of October (Epic Day holiday in some villages), during weddings, birthdays, christenings and major national cultural events. Usually the epos teller sits, wearing national costume and is accompanied on the duduk, a woodwind instrument. The epic-telling art has no gender, age or professional limitations. It is transmitted through families as a vocation, most strongly in rural communities with close links to folklore culture. There are 160 variants. Performances nowadays last up to two hours with the epic narrated in parts. It is commonly cited as one of the most important works of Armenian folklore, functioning as an encyclopaedia and repository of the entire range of knowledge about the heritage of Armenian people, their religion, mythology, philosophy, cosmology, customs and ethics.
Pergamon was the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the reign of the Attalid dynasty in the Hellenistic period. When Attalus III died without an heir, he bequethed Pergamon to Rome. The statue of Hadrian that stands at the enterance of the Temple of Trajan are from the reign of Hadrian (117-138) when the city was declared a metropolis and a building program was initiated.
The temple of Zeus, where a single tree stands today, had the Gigantomachy which depicted the battle between the Titans and the Olympian Gods is in the Pergamon museum in Berlin.
Pergamon with its multi-layered cultural landscape was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO this summer.
Aalto designed the building accurately, the concept of its architecture and interior spaces were conceived as a “medical instrument.” Given the sanatorium’s history and its subsequent functions, wishing the future new owners to preserve the iconic space.
An introduction to polyphony in the country of Georgia. It’s thought that polyphonic singing was around before the introduction of Christianity to the region, and both sacred and secular songs are sung. While the video states there are three different styles of polyphony, you’ll find many variations and local styles throughout the country. It’s worth noting that these singers are all quite refined despite being “folk” singers. Folk music was highly prized in Soviet times as a representation of the people and regional identity, and so musicians and singers were paid to study and perform their traditional music (albeit in a sanitized and censored way). The video is from UNESCO, which designated Georgian polyphony as a part of the “Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”
FOR SWAP 1) Sentosa : An island resort off Singapore’s southern coast (1 pc available) 2) Singapore Botanic Gardens : UNESCO World Heritage Site (2 pcs available) 3) Icons of Singapore (10pcs available) 4) Map of Singapore (2 pcs available) 5) Flag of Singapore (5 pcs available)
If interested, please DM or comment your offers.
LOOKING FOR ▪Missing countries ▪Missing USA states *** Scenic views only ***
Smithsonian Magazine. “Researchers Decipher the Glyphs on a 1,300-Year-Old Frieze in Mexico”
“The original frieze is estimated to have been about 100 feet long and would have decorated the main façade of the Casa del Sur, according to the Art Newspaper’s Gabriella Angeleti. It would have been visible to a busy ceremonial plaza, and, due to its location, Robles García says the glyphs impart a “message or discourse of power.””
