The Hallgrimskirkja is a Lutheran parish church in Reykjavik, Iceland. It is located at the top of shopping street Skolavordustigur, Reykjavik. Rising 74.5 m (244 ft), Hallgrimskirkja is the tallest building in Iceland. The statue in front of the church represents Leif Eriksson, son of Erik the Red.

You can see here a part of the organ, which is composed of 5200 pipes. Between mid-June and mid-August you can hear this mighty beast in action three times per week at lunchtime/evening concerts.

It built in 1974 and structure remember a basaltic mountain. The structure in a heroic, nationalist style to replace an earlier church that was destroyed by fire.

The 18th century witnessed terrible misery among Icelanders in the wake of enormous volcanic eruptions, resulting in drastic climate changes and destruction of grazing fields.

The Church of Our Lady of the Pillar is near the River Ebro in the province of Zaragoza, west of Barcelona on the coast of Spain. It is reputed to be the first Church dedicated to Mary in history. The location is considered the birthplace of Christianity in Spain and has been the destination of pilgrims for hundreds of years.

The architecture is of baroque style, and the present building was predominantly built between 1681 and 1872. Zaragoza is some Islamic architectural influence which means there are more mosaics and more colors.

The statue and pillar have been preserved however for almost 2000 years. Numerous healings throughout the ages have been attributed to the Virgin by those visiting the site seeking her help.

According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared miraculously to Saint James the Great in the 1st century, standing on a pillar.This legend is commemorated by a famous Catholic basilica called Nuestra Señora del Pilar (”Our Lady of the Pillar”). Her feast day is also celebrated every 12th of October.
For centuries, rivers of pilgrims have continued to visit the Shrine of Saragossa.

The Giant’s Causeway is a World Heritage site, National Nature Reserve and Northern Ireland’s premier tourist attraction. It is made up of some 40,000 massive black basalt columns sticking out of the sea.  Formed between 50 and 60 million years ago, takes its name from the legends of Finn MacCool. Known to the Irish as the 8th Wonder of the World.

There are 15 miles of footpaths along the Causeway Coastline, owned and maintained by the National Trust. The formation of the Giant’s Causeway was due to intense volcanic activity. Lava welling up through fissures in the chalk bed formed a -lava plateau.

Within the nature reserve, a series of paths run between the visitor centre at Causeway Head and Hamilton’s Seat.
Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven and eight sides, the tallest are about 12 metres.

Sea birds can be seen off the coast around the Causeway, with species such as fulmar, petrel, cormorant, shag, redshank guillemot and razorbill being frequently observed.

Abu Darwish Mosque is one of the nice mosques of Amman, Jordan. It was built in 1961 on top of Jebel al-Ashrafiyeh. With unmistakable alternating layers of black and white stone, inside it can pray more than 7000 people. Non-Muslims are generally not permitted inside, but the views on the way up are good. Inside the mosque there is a small Islamic Museum.

If you approach Porto Santo by air, the whole island seems a glorious-golden yellow against the glistening cobalt blue sea. The island is known as ‘painting made by god’ and is 46 km to the northeast of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean. The island tending to remind of North Africa, rather than Europe – a starkly beautiful desert landscape of palm trees and cacti, dotted with pine groves and small wheatfields. Photo by: Tiagoto

The island is only 14 km long and 5 km wide with an incredible golden san beach, stretching 9 km along the south coast. Photo by: fernangar

The islander survive largely by fishing, subsistence farming and goat-herding, using donkeys for transport and oxen to tresh the grain. The main town Vila Baleira on the sout coast is a beautiful cluster of white-washed houses with medieval monuments, and small cafes, where you can hide in the shade of palm trees watching the fishing boats. This is one of the least developed beach resort in Europe – an unspoilt island paradise. Photo by: ctcsherry

When to go: February to October but if you taking children avoid July and August when the island is invaded by families. Population: 4,474. Getting there: Daily car ferry or fly from Madeira. You should know: The golden sand of Porto Santo is said to have therapeutic treatments. Photo by: f_araujo_abreu

Photo by: PLSeabra

Suomenlinna or Viapori (Finnish), or Sveaborg (Swedish), is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands, today within Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The Sea fortress Suomenlinna is a unique architectural monument, a popular recreation area and museum. Although the island is located off the coast of Helsinki, it is part of the city. The Fortress was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1991!

Suomenlinna Sea Fortress was built over 250 years ago and once had a population of 4600, larger than the population of Helsinki at the time. The Swedish crown commenced the construction of the fortress in 1748 as protection against Russian expansionism. All the effort didn’t hinder the Russians taking over in 1808. Finally in 1918 the Fortress became Finnish. Nowadays it is a popular park with museums, interesting flora and beaches.

Today, the island is inhabited by 1000 residents and so you will see some kids biking around. There is a big Visitor Center, which has a 25 minute “multi-vision show” and computers about the fortress.

There are plenty of nice spots for a picnic and you can also swim and sunbathe in various locations on the island – be prepared to walk a bit though. The trip to the fortress in Suomenlinna could be carried out by using the inter-island connecting motor boat from the Port in Katajanokanlaituri.

Wachau is one of the most prominent tourist destinations of Lower Austria , located precisely between the towns of Melk and Krems. It is 30 km in length and was already settled in prehistoric times. It preserves in an intact and visible form many traces – in terms of architecture, urban design, and agricultural use, principally for the cultivation of vines. The Wachau was added to the UNESCO list of world heritage sites in recognition of its architectural and agricultural history.

The Wachau with its mighty Baroque Abbey Melk and the collegiate church of Dürnstein with its famous blue tower.

The Wachau is an excellent example of a river landscape surrounded by hills, where the material evidence of the long history of development is still preserved to an astonishing degree.

Human settlement in the Wachau started already during Palaeolithic times, which is documented by a number of cultural founds. From the 1st to the 5th century the Danube formed the northern border of the Roman Empire.

The Kirche St. Leopold is an extraordinary monument, which sits high atop the Baumgartner Hohe at the city outskirts. Locals people jokingly say to this splendid site as ‘Mount Lemon‘, because of the church’s shining gilded dome that beckons from afar. This new masterpiece was built by architect Otto Wagner from 1903–07 on the grounds of Vienna’s Steinhof psychiatric hospital. Planned for the use of patients, many of the church’s salient design features fascinatingly address the special concern for hygiene prevalent at the time.

The church interior was entirely cloth in tiles to allow for easy cleaning; the pews were given rounded edges to minimize injuries; and holy water dispensed by a drip rather than the traditional stoup, for fear of infection.

The ornamentation of the Kirche St Leopold encapsulates the quintessential spirit of the Jugendstil, while Otto Wagner’s open floor plan foreshadows the onset of modernism. You will never miss the beautiful stained glass windows and mosaics by artist Koloman Moser, one of the founders of the Vienna Secession.

The Cathedral of Basil the Blessed, is a Russian Orthodox cathedral erected on the Red Square in Moscow in 1555–1561. The Monument to Minin and Pozharsky is made of bronze. Not particularly large, it consists of nine chapels, built on a single foundation. According to legend, however, it was built by an Italian architect who was blinded so that he could never create anything that was similar or equal. The St. Basil’s Cathedral, along with the Red Square were inscribed by Unesco as World Heritage Sites in 1990!

The Cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century to commemorate a military victory.Victory came on the feast day of the Intercession of the Virgin, so the Tsar chose to name his new church the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin on the Moat, after the moat that ran beside the Kremlin.

St. Basil’s original construction involved a total of nine pillars or churches, replacing the former wooden churches, situated on a single foundation. A tenth pillar was added (1588) after the death of St. Basil and stands over his burial site.

The inside of St. Basil’s is a maze of narrow, dimly lit corridors connecting the different chapels. Each of the painted domes differs in design and colour.

Nemrut is a 2,150 meters high mountain in Turkey, located near the province of Adiyaman. At the top of the mountain, King Antiochus I Theos (69-36 B.C.) built his tomb-sanctuary along with huge statues (8-9 m high) – two lions and two eagles, and various Greek and Persian gods. Mt. Nemrut was designated a World Heritage Site in 1987. The nearby town of Ad?yaman is a popular place for car and bus trips to the site, and one can also travel by helicopter. Tourists typically visit Nemrut during June through August.

There are so many perfect islands in the Aegean – more than 3,000 of them – that i can be hard to distinguish between them. But Bozcaada really is different – it is one of the only two islands in the region that is Turkish. In Greek mythology it was called  Tenedos and because of its strategic position, just south of the Dardanelles Strait, it has been occupied since time immemorial. Over the centuries the population was ethnically Greek, these days, although it is almost entirely Turkish, the island’s culture bears many traces of its Greek inheritance. Photo by: m.f.t.

Bozcaada is roughly triangular shape and has relatively flat terrain. From the highest point Goztepe at 192 m, there is a panoramic view across the whole island and on clear day you can see as far as Levkos. About third of the land is covered in vineyards, scattered trees and scrubland containing an usually diverse range of plants – 437 species in all. Photo by: esin’s gaze

The sea is remarkably clear and seaweed-free, so Bozcaada’s waters are superb for diving. There are plenty of pure sand beaches; Ayazama Bay is the longest, the most accessible stretch. There are as well as innumerable coves and inlets for anyone seeking solitude. Photo by: Zeynep ©

There is an intensive Venetian Fortress that attests to Bozcaada. The stone and wood town architecture is a charming mixture of Turkish and Greek houses – stylistically quite different from each other. The food, too, is a fusion between both cultures, giving it a district edge over the usual fare of the Aegean Islands. Red poppy syrup, a local specialty, is an interesting alternative to the island wine. Photo by: Egemen VII

When to go: May to September. Population: 2,427. Getting there: Bus from Istanbul, an 8-hour journey to Geyikii. You should know: The sea is substantially colder there, due to the cold water springs around Bozcaada. During the hottest months it is a refreshing contrast to the beach. Photo by: Zeynep ©

If you’ve strolled in the sunny Barcelona you will came across magnificent modernist buildings gaze proudly over the tree-lined boulevards, sleek furniture, elaborate tapas, chic couture and handmade chocolates. Hidden from view, there are gardens and courtyards that offers shelter from the urban rush and an intimate view of everyday Barcelona life.

Most of the gardens have been carved in recent years from the patios that form the center of each city block, and are reached down narrow passageways or by cutting through a building. They are the ideal place to relax between the sights of the Eixample, which stretches from the old city to neighborhoods like Gracia.

The picture displays the swimming pool at Calle Roger de Lluria by a water tower. This is one of the first patios returned to the public by the city in the late 1980s and home to a looming brick water tower. “The patios are like a window onto Barcelona,” said Francesc Munoz Ramirez. He also mentioned that, ”You can be an urban voyeur — watch the business of the city from the inside.”

An enormous list of Barcelona’s often-overlooked public gardens — like the serene grounds of the Barcelona Seminary or the courtyard of the Casa Elizalde cultural center, where you can often catch a weekend children’s show — can be found on the Web site of ProEixample (www.proeixample.cat), a public-private partnership dedicated to revitalizing the Eixample. Photos by: Stefano Buonamici

Of the hundreds of churches on the island of Montreal, Notre-Dame’s interior is the most stunning with a exquisite detail. This 19th Century Basilica is in the historic district of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. Basilica was opened in 1829, making it the largest religious edifice in North America at the time. It is a very beautiful, interesting and cultural attraction!
According to records, it took two years to erect the walls of the basilica and the facade up to the base of the towers. Much of the interior is carved from rare woods – which are gilded or painted and large rose windows. It is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and several religious statues. The eastern tower of the Notre- Dame Montreal holds a ten-bell carillon, while the western tower, named Temperance, holds a single bell, the Jean-Baptiste bell. This ten ton bell is only rung on special occasions and can be heard 25km away. There’s also a chapel in the back which is just as amazing.
The original church, designed by Father François Dollier de Casson sufficed for the first 150 years. Then a New York architect named James O’Donnell was brought to Montreal to build a new church.
This striking interior is the work of architect Victor Bourgeau, who transformed the originally stern interior into the current design between 1874 and 1880. The great organ is a Casavant and the recitals held in the church throughout the year are very popular. The basilica offers musical programming of choral and organ performances.

Las Lajas Cathedral, built in 1916, is located in remote southwest Colombia, deep down in a gorge of the Guaitara River. An example of Gothic revival architecture, the cathedral is memorably framed by stark mountains and 100 feet waterfalls. The name Laja comes from the name of a type of flat sedimentary rock similar to floor tiles found in the Andes Mountains.

The church was built to commemorate the appearance of the Virgin which legend has it, her image appeared on an enormous vertical rock 45m above the river. Apparently, an image of Virgin of Las Lajas was painted on the side of the cliff. As a result, the altar is located here and the rest of the church is built jutting outwards  from the cliff.

The story of the cathedral’s creation is that in 1754 an Amerindian named “Maria Mueces” and deaf-mute daughter “Rosa” were caught up by a very strong storm. They found refuge between the gigantic Lajas.

This image was imprinted on the rocks of a gorge above the Guaitara River. The image is situated inside a cave very high in the mountains, and was completely unknown until it was discovered in the mid-18th century by an Indian.

It is well worth taking a tour off the conventional tourist route to visit this ancient island just 300 km offshore from the mainland town of Brodarica, Croatia. Karpanj is the smallest and lowest inhabited island of the Adriatic at only 7 m above sea level at its highest point. A nobleman by the name of Juric purchased the uninhabited island in 1436 and donated it to the Franciscans who built a monastery there. When the Turks started plundering the coastline, the monk sheltered refugees from the mainland and eventually allowed them to build a settlement on the island.

The settlers were originally farmers who had to turn to fishing to scrape a living. Their fortune changed at the beginning of the 18th century when a visiting friar from Crete taught them the art of sponge harvesting and processing. Individual sponges were harpooned from a boat and a skilled operator could spear one at a depth of 15 m. The market for sponges proved a highly lucrative one – the Venetians couldn’t get enough of them and buy the mid 19th century there were 40 boats operating from Krapanj exporting sponges to Venice. In 1893 the first diving equipment was introduced, which enabled the spongers to harvest at much greater depths and soon earned them a reputation as skilled divers.

Karpanj has awesome atmosphere – you can spend your time in one of the waterside coffee houses chatting to the locals, visit a monastery stuffed with antiquities and works of art or wander through the picturesque streets of the town. Above all, this is a terrific little place to learn about the underwater world and improve your diving skills under the guidance of friendly locals who are happy to share their generation of experience.

When to go: May to September. Population: 2,500. Getting there: Boat from Brodarica, 8km south of Sibenik, which is well connected by bus or train with Split, Zagreb and Zadar. Photos by: darkfloyd60