TravelswithCharie

Former Foreign Affairs Government House on Republic Square Yerevan is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. Its beginnings can be traced to the 8th century BC when Erebuni Fortress was founded as the administrative and religious center of the Urartian kingdom. The name Yerevan evolved from Erebuni. After a long history under the rule of the Safavid (Persian) Empire, the Soviet Empire, the Ottoman Turks and the Soviet Union and after having been destroyed by an earthquake in 1679 and its population annihilated by the Ottoman Turks in 1915, Yerevan is the proud capital of Armenia today. The Pink City as Yerevan is referred to, was transformed in the early 2000s when new structures and businesses rose especially in the city center. Republic Square with its unique pink hued structures has been designated as one of the most beautiful squares in the world. It is not only elegant, it is also well loved by locals who flock to the square to enjoy its fountains and views ...

I have visited Cologne Cathedral at least three times and yet, I haven’t seen all it has to offer. As I write this post, I have come to realize that there is so much more to learn about this Gothic shrine that took more than six centuries to complete. But it isn’t really complete in every sense of the word. Scores of workers are hard at work every day maintaining, restoring and conserving this medieval structure. There’s always a section of the Cathedral with a scaffolding. (Note ongoing work next to Gerhard Richter’s window discussed in this post.) According to a local saying, “when the Cathedral is finished, it will be the end of the world”. Door knocker Main Portal Trivia: the Cathedral has 456 doors. View from the main portal of the central nave leading to the high altar. Notice the vaulted ceiling and the arched columns.  Main Altar and the choir stalls A closer look at the massive granite columns that line the nave. Floor mosaic of St. Kunibert holding a model of the old cath...

Monument to the Bandereis, Victor Brecheret, 1954, granite Who were the bandeirantes? They were 16th-17th century prospectors who traveled from Sáo Paulo to the hinterlands of Brazil in search of gold. While on these expeditions, they enslaved and killed indigenous people as well as recaptured African slaves who had escaped to the interior. What they did do to earn this monument was to increase the dominion of São Paulo to areas beyond that established by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas. The monument has been a sore issue with the indigenous people and it came to a head in 2013 when they demonstrated in front of it and spray painted the monument with the words “ bandeirantes assassinos ”. Despite this strong message, there has not been much change on the part of the government to address the issue. In 2016, the monument was doused with red paint and graffiti. The new Mayor at that time took steps to curb these attempts to deface the monument which he described as the “symbol of the city...