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 Ganga Talao, Mauritius (02-07-2008 - 18:56:13)
 On the island of Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the African continent, about 900 kilometres east of Madagascar, Maha Shivratri is a very important festival and public holiday.
For the Mauritian Hindu, a pilgrimage to the volcanic sacred lake of Grand Bassin is a spiritual obligation his family fulfills every year on Maha Shivratri. This the religious place in Mauritius where Supreme God Shiva is most worshipped.
In 1897, Shri Jhummon Giri Gosagne, a "pujari" (priest) from the North of the island, had a vision of a sacred lake in the southern jungles. The following year, the priest and a group of followers trekked to find the lake, the Grand Bassin or Ganga Talao, which his vision described as related to the river Ganges. Every year since then, on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri, pilgrims from all over the island walk to the Ganga Talao lake, to collect its water to offer to Lord Shiva.
 Ganga Talao or Grand Bassin is a lake situated in a secluded mountain area in the district of Savanne, deep in the heart of Mauritius. It is about 1800 feet above sea level. It is considered the most sacred Hindu place in Mauritius, according to Hindu mythology.
There is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva (Sanskrit: शिव) and other Gods including Hanuman (हनुमत्), Lakshmi (लक्ष्मी), and others along the Grand Bassin, with a 108 feet Shiva Statue inaugurated in 2007 (the highest known statue in Mauritius). | Svaneti province, Georgia (08-06-2008 - 13:27:11)
 Svaneti (also Svanetia - Georgian: სვანეთი) is a historic province in Georgia (საქართველო), in the northwestern part of the country. It is inhabited by the Svans (სვანები), an ethnographic group of the Georgian people. They speak the Svan language (ლუშნუ ნინ/შკა̈ნ).
Surrounded by 3000-5000 meter peaks, Svanetia is the highest inhabited area in Europe. At 2200 m, the village of Chazhashi or Chajashi (ჩაჟაში), in the Upper Svaneti Region, is sometimes referred to as the highest village in Europe. Four of the 10 highest peaks of the Caucasus (კავკასია), which comprises Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and part of Southern Russia, are located in the region. The highest mountain in Georgia, Mount Shkhara (შხარა) at 5,201 meters (17,059 feet), is located in the province. Other prominent peaks include Tetnuldi (4,974m./16,319ft.), Shota Rustaveli (4,960m./16,273ft.), Mt. Ushba (უშბა - 4,710m./15,453ft.), and Ailama (4,525m./14,842ft.).
 Situated on the southern slopes of the central Greater Caucasus (კავკასიონი), Svanetia, divided into Upper Svanetia and Lower Svanetia, extends over the upper valleys of the Rioni River (რიონი), Enguri River (ენგური) and Tskhenistskali.
To visit:
- Ushguli or Ushkuli (უშგული) community of villages located at the head of the Enguri gorge in Upper Svaneti, with its four villages (Altitude between 2086 to 2200 m): Zhibiani (ჟიბიანი), Chvibiani or Chubiani (ჩვიბიანი), Chazhashi or Chajashi (ჩაჟაში), and Murqmeli (მურყმელი), including the Svanetian towers erected mainly in the 9th-12th centuries, buildings that are part of the UNESCO Heritage site of Upper Svaneti.
- The Kodori Valley (or Kodori Gorge - კოდორის ხეობა), river valley in Abkhazia (აფხაზეთი).
- Dozens of Georgian Orthodox churches, picturesque landscapes, the Botany of Svanetia and much more... | Golden Temple, Amritsar, India (04-04-2008 - 11:03:22)
 The Golden Temple is the main attraction in Amritsar (Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ, Hindi: अमृतसर), holy city in the state of Punjab (Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, Hindi : पंजाब), India (Hindi: भारत).
Originally a small lake in the midst of a quiet forest, the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib "holy pool of nectar" - mr. सुवर्णमंदिर) is the spiritual and cultural center of the Sikh religion. The Golden Temple is culturally the most significant shrine of Sikhism (Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖੀ), the fifth-largest religion in the world.
The Buddha is known to have spent time at this place in contemplation. Two thousand years after Buddha's time, another philosopher-saint, Guru Nanak Dev (hi. गुरु नानक, 1469-1539 - first of the eleven Sikh Gurus (hi. सिखों के दस गुरू)), the founder of the Sikh religion, came to live and meditate by the peaceful lake. After the passing away of Guru Nanak, his disciples continued to frequent the site; over the centuries it became the primary sacred shrine of the Sikhs. The lake was enlarged and structurally contained during the leadership of the fourth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Ram Das (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਮ ਦਾਸ, born in Lahore, 1534-1581), and during the leadership of the fifth, Guru Arjan Dev Ji or Guru Arjun Dev Ji (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜੁਨ ਦੇਵ, 1581-1606), the Hari Mandir, or Temple of God was built.
 From the early 1600s to the mid 1700s the sixth through tenth Sikh Gurus were constantly involved in defending both their religion and their temple against Moslem armies. On numerous occasions the temple was destroyed by the Muslims, and each time was rebuilt more beautifully by the Sikhs. In the mid 18th century it was attacked by the Afghans, by one of Ahmed Shah Abdali's Generals, Jahan Khan, and had to be substantially rebuilt in the 1760s.
One of the most important festivals celebrated at Harmandir Sahib is Vaisakhi (Punjabi: ਵਸਾਖੀ, also known as Baisakhi) during the second week of April. Sikhs celebrate the founding of the Khalsa. Other important Sikh religious days such as the martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur or the birthday of Guru Nanak.
In film and television
Several movies have been shot in and around the Temple, including Gandhi (1982 - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી, Hindi : महात्मा गांधी)), Bride and Prejudice (2004, Bollywood), the Indian (Hindi) serial Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin (2005), Rang De Basanti (Hindi: रंग दे बसंती) starring Aamir Khan (hi. आमिर ख़ान) (2006), and Namastey London (2007). The Temple is also one of the places visited by the BBCs Michael Palin for the documentary "Himalaya" (2004). | Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout, Netherlands (07-02-2008 - 10:35:31)
 The Netherlands is famous for its windmills. There were nearly 10,000 of them in 1860. Today, just 900 remain. Nowhere in the world you will find as many windmills as near Kinderdijk, at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers, unique for it 19 windmills dating from the 1500s. Kinderdijk is a small village, partly in the municipality Nieuw-Lekkerland, partly in the municipality of Alblasserdam, in the province South Holland, at a distance of only 15 kms of Rotterdam.
The Alblasserwaard is a polder, piece of land below sea level surrounded by a dike, bordered by rivers, the windmills are what keep the diked land habitable. To the north is the Lek, to the west runs the Noord, to the south runs the river Merwede, and to the east the Merwede-Kanaal, the Linge and the Zederik together form the boundary with Vijfheerenlanden. Every polder used to have its own windmill which pumped the water one level up, into the boezem.
 The boezem water is collected at Kinderdijk where it will be pumped up another level by each of the 16 windmills. The water is pumped up into a reservoir. The water stays in the reservoir until the level meets the average high tide of the river, then the water is discarded onto the river lek which takes it via Rotterdam to the sea.
Construction of hydraulic works for the drainage of land for agriculture and settlement began in the Middle Ages and have continued uninterruptedly to the present day. The windmills of Kinderdijk are one of the best known Dutch tourist sites. They were placed on the list of UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997. The foundation "Wereld Erfgoed Kinderdijk" maintains and preserves the windmills in Kinderdijk.
"God created the world, but the Dutch created Holland". By René Descartes. |
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