Founded in 841, Dublin was originally settled by Vikings amongst a population of Celtic tribes. In the 9th century the Danes captured Dublin and had control until 1171 when they were expelled by King Henry II of England. By the 14th century the king of England controlled Dublin and the nearby area referred to as “the Pale”.
When the English Civil Wars ended in 1649, Oliver Cromwell took over. Dublin experienced huge growth and development in the 17th century because many Protestant refugees from Europe came to Dublin. By the 17th century Dublin was the second greatest city, only behind London, and a period when great Georgian style buildings were constructed that still stand today. Georgian style architecture was popular from 1720 to 1840 during the times when George I, George II, George III, and George IV of England were ruling.
In 1800, the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland abolished the Irish Parliament. From this point on, the Irish worked to gain their independence from Great Britain, which they finally won in 1921. The Easter rising in 1916 and the War of Independence greatly helped Ireland win their freedom. One event remembered as a key moment in Irish history is the Easter rising in 1916.
A failed attempt to take over the several important buildings, among them the General Post Office on O’Connell Street, led to the arrest of hundreds and execution of 15, now considered martyrs for the cause. Many believe that this event helped gain sympathy for the fight for independence from Britain.
The call of the wild. Tanzania
Stalking the stalker, watching it pounce upon its prey, seeing millions of animals crossing a river, tracking big cats, living in the wild and discovering unusual species. A wildlife safari is one of the biggest charms of any African adventure and Tanzania is perhaps the best country for a journey into the wild.
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MARIKA MAGAZINE – issue No.38
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A lost paradise. Australia
Australia is one of the most urbanized country in the world, but the rugged interior of the country has helped shape the unique Aussie character. The famous outback character, personified as Crocodile Dundee still exists in Australia and even though the outback contains a small part of the Australian population it is disproportionately ascribed to Australians as a whole.
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MARIKA MAGAZINE – issue No.63
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San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of its tower houses, which, with its hilltop setting and encircling walls, form “an unforgettable skyline”. Within the walls, the well-preserved buildings include notable examples of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture, with outstanding examples of secular buildings as well as churches. The Palazzo Comunale, the Collegiate Church and Church of Sant’ Agostino contain frescos, including cycles dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. The “Historic Centre of San Gimignano” is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town also is known for saffron, the Golden Ham, and its white wine, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, produced from the ancient variety of Vernaccia grape which is grown on the sandstone hillsides of the area.
Casablanca, is the largest city in Morocco and the country’s economic and business center. Located on the Atlantic coast of the Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a population of about 3.71 million in the urban area, and over 4.27 million in the Greater Casablanca, making it the most populous city in the Maghreb region, and the eighth-largest in the Arab world.
Casablanca is Morocco’s chief port, with the Port of Casablanca being one of the largest artificial ports in the world, and the second largest port in North Africa, after Tanger-Med (40 km east of Tangier). Casablanca also hosts the primary naval base for the Royal Moroccan Navy.
Casablanca is considered a Global Financial Centre, ranking 54th globally in the Global Financial Centres Index rankings for the year 2022, outperforming many cities such as New Delhi, Jakarta, Istanbul, and Mexico City. Casablanca is ranked among the Emerging International contenders, and it is considered the largest financial center in Africa. The leading Moroccan companies and many of the larger American and European corporations doing business in the country have their headquarters and main industrial facilities in Casablanca. Recent industrial statistics show Casablanca is the primary industrial zone of the nation.
My-anmar. Myanmar (Burma)
Myanmar is a nation in transition, seeking to break with a past marred by authoritarian rule, economic mismanagement, and multiple conflicts that persist today, driven by social exclusion and predatory natural resource extraction. The country’s opening, in 2011, and the first democratic elections, in 2015, marked critical turning points for Myanmar, generating a wave of optimism.
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Yaxha is a Mesoamerican archaeological site in the northeast of the Petén Basin region, and a former ceremonial centre and city of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. Yaxha was the third largest city in the region and experienced its maximum power during the Early Classic period (c. AD 250–600).
The city was located on a ridge overlooking Lake Yaxha. The name of the city derives from the Mayan for “blue-green water”; it is a notable survival of a Classic period place-name into the modern day. The Yaxha kingdom is estimated to have covered an area of 237 square kilometres (92 sq mi) and to have had a peak population of 42,000 in the Late Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology.
Yaxha had a long history of occupation with the first settlement being founded sometime in the Middle Preclassic period (c. 1000–350 BC). It developed into the largest city in the eastern Petén lakes region during the Late Preclassic (c. 350 BC – AD 250) and expanded into an enormous city during the Early Classic (c. AD 250–600). At this time, in common with other sites in Petén, it shows strong influence from the distant metropolis of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico. It was eclipsed during the Late Classic (c. AD 600–900) by neighbouring Naranjo but was never completely dominated. The city survived well into the Terminal Classic (c. 800–900) but was abandoned by the Postclassic period (c. 900–1525).
The ruins of the city were first reported by Teoberto Maler who visited them in 1904. The site was mapped in the 1930s and again in the 1970s and stabilisation work began in the late 1980s. The ruins include the remains of more than 500 structures with a number of major archaeological groups linked by causeways. Approximately 40 Maya stelae have been discovered at the site, about half of which feature sculpture.
Tikal is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala. Situated in the department of El Petén, the site is part of Guatemala’s Tikal National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tikal was the capital of a conquest state that became one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya. Though monumental architecture at the site dates back as far as the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period, c. 200 to 900. During this time, the city dominated much of the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily, while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica such as the great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the distant Valley of Mexico. There is evidence that Tikal was conquered by Teotihuacan in the 4th century AD. Following the end of the Late Classic Period, no new major monuments were built at Tikal and there is evidence that elite palaces were burned. These events were coupled with a gradual population decline, culminating with the site’s abandonment by the end of the 10th century.
Tikal is the best understood of any of the large lowland Maya cities, with a long dynastic ruler list, the discovery of the tombs of many of the rulers on this list and the investigation of their monuments, temples and palaces.
Calakmul is a Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Campeche, deep in the jungles of the greater Petén Basin region. It is 35 kilometres from the Guatemalan border. Calakmul was one of the largest and most powerful ancient cities ever uncovered in the Maya lowlands.
Calakmul was a major Maya power within the northern Petén Basin region of the Yucatán Peninsula of southern Mexico. Calakmul administered a large domain marked by the extensive distribution of their emblem glyph of the snake head sign, to be read “Kaan”. Calakmul was the seat of what has been dubbed the Kingdom of the Snake or Snake Kingdom. This Snake Kingdom reigned during most of the Classic period. Calakmul itself is estimated to have had a population of 50,000 people and had governance, at times, over places as far away as 150 kilometers. There are 6,750 ancient structures identified at Calakmul, the largest of which is the great pyramid at the site. Structure 2 is over 45 metres high, making it one of the tallest of the Maya pyramids. Four tombs have been located within the pyramid. Like many temples or pyramids within Mesoamerica the pyramid at Calakmul increased in size by building upon the existing temple to reach its current size. The size of the central monumental architecture is approximately 2 square kilometres and the whole of the site, mostly covered with dense residential structures, is about 20 square kilometres.
Throughout the Classic Period, Calakmul maintained an intense rivalry with the major city of Tikal to the south, and the political maneuverings of these two cities have been likened to a struggle between two Maya superpowers.
Palenque, also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamhaʼ (“Big Water or Big Waters”), was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that perished in the 8th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD. After its decline, it was overgrown by the jungle of cedar, mahogany, and sapodilla trees,[3] but has since been excavated and restored. It is located near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 130 km south of Ciudad del Carmen, 150 meters above sea level. It averages a humid 26°C with roughly 2,160 millimeters of rain a year.
Palenque is a medium-sized site, smaller than Tikal, Chichen Itza, or Copán, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced. Much of the history of Palenque has been reconstructed from reading the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the many monuments; historians now have a long sequence of the ruling dynasty of Palenque in the 5th century and extensive knowledge of the city-state’s rivalry with other states such as Calakmul and Toniná. The most famous ruler of Palenque was K’inich Janaab Pakal, or Pacal the Great, whose tomb has been found and excavated in the Temple of the Inscriptions. By 2005, the discovered area covered up to 2.5 km2 (1sq mi), but it is estimated that less than 10% of the total area of the city is explored, leaving more than a thousand structures still covered by jungle.
Yaxchilan is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta River, with Piedras Negras as its major rival.[1] Architectural styles in subordinate sites in the Usumacinta region demonstrate clear differences that mark a clear boundary between the two kingdoms.
Yaxchilan was a large center, important throughout the Classic era, and the dominant power of the Usumacinta River area. It dominated such smaller sites as Bonampak, and had a long rivalry with Piedras Negras and at least for a time with Tikal; it was a rival of Palenque, with which Yaxchilan warred in 654.
The site is particularly known for its well-preserved sculptured stone lintels set above the doorways of the main structures.[3] These lintels, together with the stelae erected before the major buildings, contain hieroglyphic texts describing the dynastic history of the city.
Bonampak is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The site is approximately 30 km south of the larger site of the people Yaxchilan, under which Bonampak was a dependency, and the border with Guatemala. While the site is not overly spatial or abundant in architectural size, it is well known for the murals located within the three roomed Structure 1 (The Temple of the Murals). The construction of the site’s structures dates to the Late Classic period (c. AD 580 to 800). The Bonampak murals are noteworthy for being among the best-preserved Maya murals.
The site, lying close to a tributary of the Usumacinta River, was seen by non-Mayans in 1946. Precisely who was first of the non-Mayans to see it is a matter of speculation, but it was either two American travelers, Herman Charles (Carlos) Frey and John Bourne, or photographer/explorer Giles Healey. The Americans were led to the ruins by the local Lacandon Maya who still visited the site to pray in the ancient temples. Giles Healey was the first to be shown the huge paintings covering the walls of one of the structure’s three rooms. The paintings show the story of a single battle and its victorious outcome.
Campeche is one of the 13 municipalities in the Mexican state of Campeche. The municipal seat, and largest settlement, is the city of San Francisco de Campeche (often shortened to Campeche).
Uxmal is an ancient Maya city of the classical period located in present-day Mexico. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of Maya culture, along with Palenque, Chichen Itza and Calakmul in Mexico, Caracol and Xunantunich in Belize, and Tikal in Guatemala. It is located in the Puuc region of the eastern Yucatán Peninsula, and is considered one of the Maya cities most representative of the region’s dominant architectural style. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its significance.
Uxmal is located 62 km south of Mérida, capital of Yucatán state in Mexico. Its buildings are noted for their size and decoration. Ancient roads called sacbes connect the buildings, and also were built to other cities in the area such as Chichén Itzá in modern-day Mexico, Caracol and Xunantunich in modern-day Belize, and Tikal in modern-day Guatemala.
Its buildings are typical of the Puuc style, with smooth low walls that open on ornate friezes based on representations of typical Maya huts. These are represented by columns (representing the reeds used for the walls of the huts) and trapezoidal shapes (representing the thatched roofs). Entwined snakes and, in many cases two-headed snakes are used for masks of the rain god, Chaac; its big noses represent the rays of the storms. Feathered serpents with open fangs are shown leaving from the same human beings. Also seen in some cities are the influences of the Nahua peoples, who followed the cult of Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc. These were integrated with the original elements of the Puuc tradition.
The buildings take advantage of the terrain to gain height and acquire important volumes, including the Pyramid of the Magician, with five levels, and the Governor’s Palace, which covers an area of more than 1,200 m2
Mayapan is a Pre-Columbian Maya site a couple of kilometers south of the town of Telchaquillo in Municipality of Tecoh, approximately 40 km south-east of Mérida and 100 km west of Chichen Itza; in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. Mayapan was the political and cultural capital of the Maya in the Yucatán Peninsula during the Late Post-Classic period from the 1220s until the 1440s. Estimates of the total city population are 15,000–17,000 people, and the site has more than 4,000 structures within the city walls, and additional dwellings outside.
The site has been professionally surveyed and excavated by archeological teams, beginning in 1939; five years of work was done by a team in the 1950s, and additional studies were done in the 1990s. Since 2000, a collaborative Mexican-United States team has been conducting excavations and recovery at the site, which continue.
Built on the ruins of the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, Mexico City is one of the oldest and largest cities in the Americas. Colonial architecture, iconic artwork, spicy cuisine, and a rich cultural heritage offer visitors an endless array of activities that will satisfy any appetite.
Centro Histórico: City of Palaces
The Aztecs built their empire on Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico—a great island city connected by canals and protected by fortresses. When Spanish conquerors arrived in Tenochtitlan in the 16th century, they destroyed the island, drained the lake, and constructed a “city of palaces” over the ruins. Past and present blend together in the 10-acre Historic Center of Mexico City—its museums, cathedrals, and temples reveal a storied past. The Zócalo, the city’s main public square, is second largest in the world after Moscow’s Red Square and within a short distance of several significant sites. Highlights include the Palacio Nacional, home to the president’s offices. The colonial building is located at the site where the palace of the Aztec ruler Moctezuma once stood, and it’s decorated with murals by Mexican artist Diego Rivera. The Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, built over a period of more than 200 years, is the largest in the Americas and combines Renaissance, baroque, and neoclassical architectural styles.
Teotihuacan was the largest Pre-Columbian city in the Americas, reaching a total population of 150,000 at its height. The name is also used to refer to the civilization this city dominated, which at its greatest extent included most of Mesoamerica.
Construction of Teotihuacán commenced around 300 BC, with the Pyramid of the Sun built by 150 BC. Construction continued from 150 to 450 AD.
By the time the Spaniards arrived, this place was not used as a settlement anymore, but served as a spiritual and religious destination for the people of Tenochtitlan.
A lot of artifacts have wisely been moved to National Anthropological Museum, in Mexico City.
The painted monasteries of Bucovina. Romania
Among the most picturesque treasures of Romania are the Painted Monasteries of Bucovina (in northeastern Romania). Their painted exterior walls are decorated with elaborate 15th and 16th century frescoes featuring portraits of saints and prophets, scenes from the life of Jesus, images of angels and demons, and heaven and hell.
Deemed masterpieces of Byzantine art, these churches are one-of-a-kind architectural sites in Europe.
Far from being merely wall decorations, the murals represent complete cycles of religious events.
The purpose of the frescoes was to make the story of the Bible and the lives of the most important Orthodox saints known to villagers by the use of images. Their outstanding composition, elegant outline and harmonious colors blend perfectly with the surrounding landscape.
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MARIKA MAGAZINE – issue No.307
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Japan. Wonder & Contradictions
Japan. Contrasts and contradictions.
Yes, the lights are everywhere and you can find robots and crazy gadgets galore, but in everyday life in Japan seems to be a contradiction between high tech and low tech. Small temple tucked between office buildings and the Roppongi Hills tower of the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
It’s kind of like the small temples and shrines tucked away between gaping skyscrapers – a reminder that Japan has only been open to the rest of the world for a bit over 150 years.
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MARIKA MAGAZINE – issue No.308
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Baile Átha Cliath (Town of the Ford of the Hurdle). Dublin – Ireland
Dublin brings to mind literary giants, Georgian architecture, and Guinness galore. Nights here are alive with pub crawls and spirited music. But the days are also full of revelry, with enchanting architecture, tucked-away bookstores, and singular museums like the Chester Beatty. Green spaces abound, such as the St Stephens Green or Iveagh Gardens. And no trip is complete without a tour of a local distillery, where you can sample local spirits like Jameson or Teeling.
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MARIKA MAGAZINE – issue No.376
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Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities, with the relatively densely clustered architecture of the site core covering an area of at least 5 square kilometers. Smaller scale residential architecture extends for an unknown distance beyond this. The city was built upon broken terrain, which was artificially levelled in order to build the major architectural groups, with the greatest effort being expended in the levelling of the areas for the Castillo pyramid, and the Las Monjas, Osario and Main Southwest groups.
The site contains many fine stone buildings in various states of preservation, and many have been restored. The buildings were connected by a dense network of paved causeways, called sacbeob.[nb 4] Archeologists have identified over 80 sacbeob criss-crossing the site, and extending in all directions from the city. Many of these stone buildings were originally painted in red, green, blue and purple colors. Pigments were chosen according to what was most easily available in the area. The site must be imagined as a colorful one, not like it is today. Just like Gothic cathedrals in Europe, colors provided a greater sense of completeness and contributed greatly to the symbolic impact of the buildings.
The architecture encompasses a number of styles, including the Puuc and Chenes styles of the northern Yucatán Peninsula. The buildings of Chichen Itza are grouped in a series of architectonic sets, and each set was at one time separated from the other by a series of low walls. The three best known of these complexes are the Great North Platform, which includes the monuments of the Temple of Kukulcán (El Castillo), Temple of Warriors and the Great Ball Court; The Osario Group, which includes the pyramid of the same name as well as the Temple of Xtoloc; and the Central Group, which includes the Caracol, Las Monjas, and Akab Dzib.
South of Las Monjas, in an area known as Chichén Viejo (Old Chichén) and only open to archeologists, are several other complexes, such as the Group of the Initial Series, Group of the Lintels, and Group of the Old Castle.
Tulum is the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan walled city which served as a major port for Coba, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The ruins are situated on 12-meter-tall cliffs along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea. Tulum was one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Maya and achieved its greatest prominence between the 13th and 15th centuries. Maya continued to occupy Tulum for about 70 years after the Spanish began occupying Mexico, but the city was abandoned by the end of the 16th century. Tulum is one of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites, and today a popular site for tourists.
The Mayan site of Coba was set up with multiple residential areas that consisted of around 15 houses in clusters. All clusters were connected by sacbeobs, or elevated walkways.
Six major linear features were found at the Coba site. The first feature that was often found at Coba was the platforms that were connecting the clusters to the sacbeobs. These were found at almost every single cluster of houses. Single or doubled faced features that were found around the majority of the household clusters. These were often linked to the platforms that led to the sacbeobs. A lot of features found tended to connect to something or lead to something but the other end was left open-ended. Coba has many features that are platforms or on platforms. The last major linear feature that was constantly found was sacbeob-like paths that were someway associated with natural resources of the area.
Cobá lies in the tropics, subject to alternating wet and dry seasons which, on average, differ somewhat from those in the rest of the northern peninsula, where the rainy season generally runs from June through October and the dry season from November through May. At Cobá, rain can occur in almost any time of the year, but there is a short dry period in February and March, and a concentration of rain from September through November.
Ekʼ Balam is a Yucatec-Maya archaeological site within the municipality of Temozón, Yucatán, Mexico. It lies in the Northern Maya lowlands, 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of Valladolid and 56 kilometres (35 mi) northeast of Chichen Itza. From the Preclassic until the Postclassic period, it was the seat of a Mayan kingdom.
The site is noted for the preservation of the plaster on the tomb of Ukit Kan Lek Tokʼ, a king buried in the side of the largest pyramid.
Ekʼ Balam was occupied from the Middle Preclassic through the Postclassic, although it ceased to thrive as a major city past the Late Classic. Beginning in the Late Preclassic, the population grew and the city expanded throughout the following periods. It eventually became the capital of the polity that controlled the region around the beginning of the Common Era.
At its height from 770 to 840 CE, Ekʼ Balam provides a rich resource of information for understanding northern Classic cities, due to the poor preservation of many other notable northern Maya sites (e.g. Coba, Izamal, and Edzna). It was during this height that the Late Yumcab ceramic complex (750-1050/1100 CE) dominated the architecture and pottery of Ekʼ Balam.[2] The population decreased dramatically, down to 10% of its highest, during the Postclassic period as Ekʼ Balam was slowly becoming vacant. There are several theories to why it was eventually abandoned and to the degree of haste at which it was abandoned.
Ek’ Balam is mentioned in a late-sixteenth-century Relación Geográfica, an official inquiry held by the colonial government among local Spanish landowners. It is reported to have belonged to a kingdom called ‘Talol’, founded by an Ekʼ Balam, or Coch Cal Balam, who had come from the East. Later, the region was dominated by the aristocratic Cupul family.
Namibia Experience.
Namibia is a landscape of contrasts, where sand dunes rise beside lush forests. The sun beats down on the arid land, but rain nourishes life in unexpected places. The sky is an infinite painting of colors, transitioning from blazing red to azure blue. The stars shine with brilliant light on moonless nights, while the calls of animals echo in the air. Namibia is a place of wild beauty, where nature reigns supreme.
Namibia is a country with strong contrasts in both geography and culture. There are arid, desert regions where temperatures can soar, in stark contrast to the cooler, greener areas. There’s also a sharp divide between modern cities and traditional villages, where local populations maintain their customs and cultural heritage. This contrast is seen in lifestyles, clothing, and architecture. Additionally, Namibia is a country that embraces numerous diverse cultures, blending traditional and modern influences. These contrasts result in a unique and captivating landscape, drawing many people from around the globe.
The Fox Magazine Creators Issue choosed two pictures that clearly depicts contrast.
Photo 1: The second photo shows a Himba child in their village. The landscape is green and lush, with plants growing in abundance around the village. The child is wearing a traditional Himba tunic and is smiling at the camera.
Photo 2: The first photo shows a road battered by a sandstorm near Luderitz in Namibia. The landscape is arid and desolate, with sand dunes stretching to the horizon.
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Sukothai: Dawn of Happiness. Sukothai – Thailand
Sukhothai, in Thailand, is a place where ancient history meets modern mysticism. The ruins of the ancient city lay scattered among verdant rice fields, a testament to a rich past. Temples and stupas rise from the earth, adorned with intricate carvings and gleaming with gold. The air is thick with the sweet fragrance of incense, and the sound of chanting monks fills the ears. At sunset, the sky is painted in hues of pink and orange, casting a warm glow over the landscape. As night falls, the city comes to life with lanterns and candles, casting a mystical spell over all who wander its streets. Sukhothai is a place where time seems to stand still, where ancient wisdom and modern spirituality coexist in perfect harmony.
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MARIKA MAGAZINE – issue No.469
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Chefchaouen , also known as Chaouen , is a city in northwest Morocco. It is the chief town of the province of the same name and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue, for which it is nicknamed the “Blue City”. Chefchaouen is situated just inland from Tangier and Tétouan.
It was founded as a military outpost shortly before the Spanish Reconquista of Granada, and its population grew quickly with Muslim and Jewish immigrants fleeing from Spain. The economy is based on a traditional agro-pastoral system with olive and fig plantations; numerous water mills for grinding grain and olives; a handicrafts sector focusing on leather, iron, textiles, and carpentry; and summer-dominated tourism.
Tenochtitlan ruins, the center of Mexico City
Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Mexican civilization of the Mexica people, founded in 1325. The state religion of the Mexica civilization awaited the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy: the wandering tribes would find the destined site for a great city whose location would be signaled by an eagle with a snake in its beak perched atop a cactus (Opuntia), which had grown from the heart of Copil.
The Mexica saw this vision on what was then a small swampy island in Lake Texcoco, a vision that is now immortalized in Mexico’s coat of arms and on the Mexican flag. Not deterred by the unfavourable terrain, they set about building their city, using the chinampa system (misnamed as “floating gardens”) for agriculture and to dry and expand the island.
A thriving culture developed, and the Mexica civilization came to dominate other tribes around Mexico. The small natural island was perpetually enlarged as Tenochtitlan grew to become the largest and most powerful city in Mesoamerica. Commercial routes were developed that brought goods from places as far as the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Ocean and perhaps even the Inca Empire.
After a flood of Lake Texcoco, the city was rebuilt during the rule of Ahuitzotl, which was between 1486-1502, in a style that made it one of the grandest ever in Mesoamerica.
Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés arrived in Tenochtitlan on 8 November 1519. Although there are not precise numbers, the city’s population has been estimated at between 200,000 and 400,000 inhabitants, placing Tenochtitlan among the largest cities in the world at that time. Compared to the cities of Europe, only Paris, Venice and Constantinople might have rivaled it. It was five times the size of the London of Henry VIII. In a letter to the Spanish king, Cortés wrote that Tenochtitlan was as large as Seville or Córdoba. Cortes’ men were in awe at the sight of the splendid city and many wondered if they were dreaming.
Although some popular sources put the number as high as 350,000, the most common estimates of the population are of over 200,000 people. One of the few comprehensive academic surveys of Mesoamerican city and town sizes arrived at a population of 212,500 living on 13.5 km2 (5.2 sq mi). It is also said that at one time, Moctezuma had rule over an empire of almost five million people in central and southern Mexico because he had extended his rule to surrounding territories to gain tribute and prisoners to sacrifice to the gods.
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MARIKA MAGAZINE – issue No.541
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Toirano and Borgio Verezzi caves – Italy
The Borgio Verezzi Caves (Italian: Grotte di Borgio Verezzi), also named Valdemino, are a karst cave system located in the municipality of Borgio Verezzi, in the province of Savona, Liguria. They are a show cave.
Located in the outskirts of Borgio, the main town and seat of the municipality, the cavese were discovered in 1933. The touristic route, opened in 1970, is 800m long and counts some little lakes, due to the presence of a little river named Rio Battorezza.
The Valdemino are touristically defined as “the most colorful show caves of Italy“, due to the presence of various minerals. Main colors are white, yellow, red and related shades.
Some prehistoric bone remains, dated between 500,000 and 750,000 years ago, have been found in various hollows.
The Toirano Caves (Italian: Grotte di Toirano) are a karst cave system in the municipality of Toirano, in the province of Savona, Liguria, Italy.
The area is situated close to the town of Toirano and few kilometers to the Ligurian Ponente Riviera. The exit “Borghetto Santo Spirito” of A10 motorway is 5 km far from the caves. One of the most important caves is “Basura”, discovered in 1950, and shelter of the Cave bear (Ursus spelaeus).
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MARIKA MAGAZINE – issue No.1851
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Sanssouci, the royal palace in Germany
Sanssouci is a historical building in Potsdam, near Berlin. Built by Prussian King Frederick the Great as his summer palace, it is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it, too, is notable for the numerous temples and follies in the surrounding park. The palace was designed and built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to meet Frederick’s need for a private residence where he could escape the pomp and ceremony of the royal court. The palace’s name is a French phrase (sans souci) that translates as “without concerns”, meaning “without worries” or “carefree”, emphasising that the palace was meant as a place of relaxation, rather than a seat of power.
Sanssouci is little more than a large, single-story villa—more like the Château de Marly than Versailles. Containing just ten principal rooms, it was built on the brow of a terraced hill at the centre of the park. The influence of King Frederick’s personal taste in the design and decoration of the palace was so great that its style is characterised as “Frederician Rococo”, and his feelings for the palace were so strong that he conceived it as “a place that would die with him”. Because of a disagreement about the site of the palace in the park, Knobelsdorff was fired in 1746. Jan Bouman, a Dutch architect, finished the project.
During the 19th century, the palace became a residence of Frederick William IV. He employed the architect Ludwig Persius to restore and enlarge the palace, while Ferdinand von Arnim was charged with improving the grounds and thus the view from the palace. The town of Potsdam, with its palaces, was a favourite place of residence for the German imperial family until the fall of the Hohenzollern dynasty in 1918.
After World War II, the palace became a tourist attraction in East Germany. Following German reunification in 1990, Frederick’s body was returned to the palace and buried in a new tomb overlooking the gardens he had created. Sanssouci and its extensive gardens became a World Heritage Site in 1990 under the protection of UNESCO; in 1995, the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg was established to care for Sanssouci and the other former imperial palaces in and around Berlin. These palaces are now visited by more than two million people each year from all over the world.
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MARIKA MAGAZINE – issue No.2662
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Merzouga, door to Sahara
Merzouga is a small village in southeastern Morocco, about 35 km (22 mi) southeast of Rissani, about 55 km from Erfoud and about 50 km from the Algerian border.
The village is known for its proximity to Erg Chebbi and is a popular destination for tourists. It has been described as “a desert theme park” and the Erg Chebbi as “a wonderland of sand”. Merzouga has the largest natural underground body of water in Morocco.
A typical street in the older part of Merzouga
In 2006, Merzouga experienced devastating flash floods, displacing 1,200 and resulting in some deaths.
Near the dunes of Erg Chebbi there are other known villages: Hassilabied 4 km away, Tanamoust 3 km away, Takoujt 1.5 km away, Khamlia 7 km away and Tisserdmine 15 km away.
Legend states that Merzouga once flourished as a tropical jungle until it was turned into a desert environment by God who punished families for refused offerings to a poor woman and buried them in the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi.
Merzouga was uninhabited but later became a transit point for merchants heading to Timbuktu. It later became a pilgrimage for the nomads of the Ait Atta tribes and eventually became a tourist destination.
Ancient fortified villages have existed in Merzouga for centuries. During French colonial rule fortifications were built by troops of the French Foreign Legion after the battles of Taflalet, which occurred between 1916 and 1932.
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The Style Researcher Issue 27 January 2023 Vol. 1 “Men”
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Essaouira known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It has 77,966 inhabitants as of 2014.
The foundation of the city of Essaouira was the work of the Moroccan ‘Alawid sultan Mohammed bin Abdallah, who made an original experiment by entrusting it to several renowned architects in 1760, in particular Théodore Cornut and Ahmed al-Inglizi, who designed the city using French captives from the failed French expedition to Larache in 1765, and with the mission of building a city adapted to the needs of foreign merchants. Once built, it continued to grow and experienced a golden age and exceptional development, becoming the country’s most important commercial port but also its diplomatic capital between the end of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century.
The present city of Essaouira was built during the mid-eighteenth century by the Moroccan King Mohammed III tried to reorient his kingdom toward the Atlantic for increased exchanges with European powers, choosing Mogador as his key location. One of his objectives was to establish a harbour at the closest possible point to Marrakesh. The other was to cut off trade from Agadir in the south, which had been favouring a political rival of Mohammed III, and the inhabitants of Agadir were forced to relocate to Essaouira.
For 12 years, Mohammed III directed a French engineer, Théodore Cornut, and several other Moroccan and European architects and technicians to build the fortress and city along modern lines. Originally called “Souira” (“the small fortress”), the name became “Es-Saouira” (“the beautifully designed”).
Thédore Cornut designed and built the city itself, particularly the Kasbah area, corresponding to the royal quarters and the buildings for Christian merchants and diplomats. Other parts were built by other architects, including Moroccan architects especially from Fez, Marrakesh, and Rabat. The harbour entrance, with the “Porte de la Marine”, was built by an English renegade by the name of Ahmed el Inglizi (“Ahmed the English”) or Ahmed El Alj (“Ahmed the Renegade”). Mohammed III took numerous steps to encourage the development of Essaouira including closing off the harbour of Agadir to the south in 1767 so that southern trade could be redirected through Essaouira. European communities in the northern harbour of Rabat-Salé were ordered to move to Essaouira through an ordinance of 21 January 1765.
From the time of its rebuilding by Muhammad III until the end of the nineteenth century, Essaouira served as Morocco’s principal port, offering the goods of the caravan trade to the world. The route brought goods from sub-Saharan Africa to Timbuktu, then through the desert and over the Atlas mountains to Marrakesh. The road from Marrakesh to Essaouira is a straight line, explaining the king’s choice of this port among the many others along the Moroccan coast.
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Cat culture describes the culture that surrounds cat lovers. Cat fancy is a hobby involving the appreciation, promotion, or breeding of cats. For some, cats can become an obsession. Some refer to themselves as “cat people”.
In Morocco, cats are so much a part of everyday life that they are found everywhere. An article by Morocco World News said that people visiting there could think that the Moroccan person to cat ratio is pretty close to 1:1. Many Moroccans are said to love cats, and around the city there are piles of food and water trays left for the cats.
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Rabat is the capital city of Morocco and the country’s seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. It is also the capital city of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra administrative region. Rabat is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the river Bou Regreg, opposite Salé, the city’s main commuter town.
Rabat was founded in the 12th century by the Almohads. The city grew at first but went into an extended period of decline following the collapse of the Almohads. In the 17th century, Rabat became a haven for Barbary pirates. When the French established a protectorate over Morocco in 1912 they made Rabat its administrative center. When Morocco achieved independence in 1955 Rabat became its capital.
Rabat, Temara, and Salé form a conurbation of over 1.8 million people. Silt-related problems have diminished Rabat’s role as a port; however, Rabat and Salé still maintain important textile, food processing and construction industries. In addition, tourism and the presence of all foreign embassies in Morocco make Rabat one of the most important cities in the country. The Moroccan capital was ranked at second place by CNN in its “Top Travel Destinations of 2013”. It is one of four Imperial cities of Morocco, and the medina of Rabat is listed as a World Heritage Site.
Just under 14 degrees north of the equator, Bangkok is a tropical metropolis and one of the most traveler-friendly cities in Asia. A furious assault on the senses, visitors are immediately confronted by the heat, the pollution, the flamboyant culture and the irrepressible smiles that accompanies many Thais. Despite sensationalized international news reports and first impressions, the city is surprisingly safe (except from some petty crimes), more organised than it initially appears, and full of hidden gems waiting to be discovered. The high relative humidity and warm temperature favour the growth of tropical plants. You’ll find orchids and delicious fruit everywhere. Bougainvillea and frangipani bloom practically all over the city. Thai cuisine is justifiably famous, spicy, varied, and affordable. Bangkok for many represents the quintessential Asian capital. Saffron-robed monks, garish neon signs, graceful Thai architecture, spicy dishes, colourful markets, traffic jams and the tropical climate come together in a happy coincidence. It is difficult to leave with lukewarm impressions of the city.
The city is a popular tourist destination because it is located near the ruins of the ancient city of Sukhothai, which was the Thai capital during the 13th Century C.E. The historical Sukhothai was the first capital of Siam founded by King Ramkhamhaeng. The province’s temples and monuments have been restored and Sukhothai Historical Park is an area with numerous sites of historical interest which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other interesting places include Ramkhamhaeng National Museum, Ramkhamhaeng National Park, Sri Satchanalai National Park, and The Royal Palace and Wat Mahathat.
Founded in 1296 CE, Chiang Mai is a culturally and historically interesting city, at one time the capital of the ancient Lanna kingdom. Located among the rolling foothills of the Himalayan Mountains 700 km north of Bangkok, it could only be reached by an arduous river journey or an elephant trek until the 1920s. This isolation helped keep Chiang Mai’s distinctive charm intact.
Chiang Mai’s historical centre is the walled city (city is chiang in the northern Thai dialect while mai is new, hence Chiang Mai or New City.) Sections of the wall dating to their restoration a few decades ago remain at the gates and corners, but of the rest only the moat remains.
Inside Chiang Mai’s remaining city walls are about 50 temples dating back to the founding of the principality, in a combination of Burmese, Sri Lankan and Lanna Thai styles, decorated with beautiful wood carvings, Naga staircases, leonine and angelic guardians, gilded umbrellas and pagodas laced with gold filigree. The most famous is Wat Phra Sing in the center of the old own. Also famous is Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, a temple 13 km away on Doi Suthep mountain.
Modern-day Chiang Mai has expanded in all directions, forming the city area from Hang Dong in the South, to Mae Rim in the North, and Suthep in the West, to San Kamphaeng in the East. In the inner city expansion has occurred particularly to the east towards the Ping River (Mae Nam Ping), where Chang Klan Rd, the famous Night Bazaar and the bulk of Chiang Mai’s hotels and guest houses are located. Loi Kroh Rd is the centre of the city’s night life. The locals say you’ve not experienced Chiang Mai until you’ve seen the view from Doi Suthep, eaten a bowl of kao soi, and purchased an umbrella from Bo Sang. Of course this is touristic nonsense, but the Kao Soi, Bo Sang umbrellas, and Doi Suthep are important cultural icons for Chiang Mai residents. Ratchadamnoen Rd hosts the main Sunday night walking street market from Tha Phae Gate to the popular Wat Phra Singh.
Siena was a proud, wealthy, and warlike independent city-state during the Middle Ages, until its final defeat by Florence. Medieval Sienese art (painting, sculpture, architecture, etc.) is unique and of great historical importance. Some of the famous artists who lived and worked in Siena are Duccio, Simone Martini, and Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti. Sienese people are fiercely proud of their city and their neighborhood (contrada). The Palio, described below, is all about neighborhood pride and rivalry, and also constitutes the unbroken continuation of a Medieval tradition associated with religion, pageantry, trash-talking, bragging, and occasional violence. It is taken very seriously and is in no way a put-on for tourists; in fact, you are likely to be less welcomed during the Palio than at any other time, and there isn’t the slightest doubt that Siena would run the Palio with great enthusiasm regardless of whether any visitors ever showed up. That said, this is a city which depends and flourishes on tourism. Siena was a very poor little city for a few hundred years after its defeat, which is the main reason that its lovely Medieval buildings were never torn down and replaced with modern structures. In the 19th century, tourists started coming. Nowadays, it is a requirement that new buildings within the city walls be built to maintain the city’s character and beauty – many are strikingly modern, yet fit in well.
The Borgio Verezzi Caves (Italian: Grotte di Borgio Verezzi), also named Valdemino, are a karst cave system located in the municipality of Borgio Verezzi, in the province of Savona, Liguria. They are a show cave.
Located in the outskirts of Borgio, the main town and seat of the municipality, the cavese were discovered in 1933. The touristic route, opened in 1970, is 800m long and counts some little lakes, due to the presence of a little river named Rio Battorezza.
The Valdemino are touristically defined as “the most colorful show caves of Italy“, due to the presence of various minerals. Main colors are white, yellow, red and related shades.
Some prehistoric bone remains, dated between 500,000 and 750,000 years ago, have been found in various hollows.
The Toirano Caves (Italian: Grotte di Toirano) are a karst cave system in the municipality of Toirano, in the province of Savona, Liguria, Italy.
The area is situated close to the town of Toirano and few kilometers to the Ligurian Ponente Riviera. The exit “Borghetto Santo Spirito” of A10 motorway is 5 km far from the caves. One of the most important caves is “Basura”, discovered in 1950, and shelter of the Cave bear (Ursus spelaeus).
Bukovina is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both). The region is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided between Romania and Ukraine.
Inhabited by many cultures and people, initially by Vlachs and subsequently by Ruthenians during the 11th century, it became part of the Kyivan Rus’ and Pechenegs’ territory in the 10th century. The region has been sparsely populated since the Paleolithic.
Consequently, the culture of the Kievan Rus’ spread in the region. During the time of the Golden Horde, in the 14th century, Bukovina became part of Moldavia under the Hungarian Suzerainty, bringing colonists from Maramureș, e.g. Vlachs, Saxons and Hungarians.
The territory of what became known as Bukovina was, from 1775 to 1918, an administrative division of the Habsburg monarchy, the Austrian Empire, and Austria-Hungary.
In 1940, the northern half of Bukovina was annexed by the Soviet Union in violation of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The region was temporarily recovered by Romania as an ally of Nazi Germany after the latter invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, but retaken by the Soviet army in 1944. Bukovina’s population was historically ethnically diverse. Today, Bukovina’s northern half is the Chernivtsi Oblast of Ukraine, while the southern part is Suceava County of Romania. Bukovina is sometimes known as the ‘Switzerland of the East’, given its diverse ethnic mosaic and deep forested mountainous landscapes.
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states (Länder) of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Berlin is the largest city in Germany. Berlin is best known for its historical associations as the German capital, internationalism and tolerance, lively nightlife, its many cafés, clubs, bars, street art, and numerous museums, palaces, and other sites of historic interest. Berlin’s architecture is quite varied. Although badly damaged in the final years of World War II and broken apart during the Cold War, Berlin has reconstructed itself greatly, especially with the reunification push after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Now it is possible to see representatives of many different historic periods in a short time within the city center, from a few surviving medieval buildings near Alexanderplatz to the ultra-modern glass and steel structures in Potsdamer Platz. Because of its tumultuous history, Berlin remains a city with many distinctive neighborhoods. Brandenburger Tor is a symbol of division during the world war, which now shows German reunification. It was built after the Acropolis in Athens and was completed in 1799 as the royal gate of the city.
Germany was later on divided into east and west, In August 13 1961, East Germans permanently closed the border between East and West. The wall had 45,000 sections of reinforced concrete and included 79 miles of fencing, nearly 300 watchtowers, and 250 guard dogs. Still, more than 5,000 people escaped to freedom.
Volubilis is a partly-excavated Berber-Roman city in Morocco situated near the city of Meknes that may have been the capital of the Kingdom of Mauretania, at least from the time of King Juba II. Before Volubilis, the capital of the kingdom may have been at Gilda.
Built in a fertile agricultural area, it developed from the 3rd century BC onward as a Berber, then proto-Carthaginian, settlement before being the capital of the kingdom of Mauretania. It grew rapidly under Roman rule from the 1st century AD onward and expanded to cover about 42 hectares (100 acres) with a 2.6 km circuit of walls. The city gained a number of major public buildings in the 2nd century, including a basilica, temple and triumphal arch. Its prosperity, which was derived principally from olive growing, prompted the construction of many fine town-houses with large mosaic floors.
The city fell to local tribes around 285 and was never retaken by Rome because of its remoteness and indefensibility on the south-western border of the Roman Empire. It continued to be inhabited for at least another 700 years, first as a Latinised Christian community, then as an early Islamic settlement. In the late 8th century it became the seat of Idris ibn Abdallah, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty of Morocco. By the 11th century Volubilis had been abandoned after the seat of power was relocated to Fes. Much of the local population was transferred to the new town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, about 5 km from Volubilis.
The ruins remained substantially intact until they were devastated by an earthquake in the mid-18th century and subsequently looted by Moroccan rulers seeking stone for building Meknes. It was not until the latter part of the 19th century that the site was definitively identified as that of the ancient city of Volubilis. During and after the period of French rule over Morocco, about half of the site was excavated, revealing many fine mosaics, and some of the more prominent public buildings and high-status houses were restored or reconstructed. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed for being “an exceptionally well preserved example of a large Roman colonial town on the fringes of the Empire”.
New York is a vibrant and frenetic city, with a contagious energy that invites you to explore every corner. The streets are full of lights, sounds and colours, and there are things to do and see everywhere. From the tall skyscrapers to the picturesque streets of SoHo and Greenwich Village, there are neighbourhoods to suit all tastes. The culture is rich and diverse, with museums, theatres and art galleries everywhere. The food is delicious and varied, with options for all tastes, from pizza to street food to gourmet cuisine. New York is a city that never sleeps, always ready to offer a new adventure to anyone who wants to experience it.
Moreover, New York is also a very important city worldwide, both economically and politically, and is home to numerous international institutions and organizations. The city also has an incredible artistic and musical scene, with concerts and events of all kinds happening every day. New York is famous for its iconic tourist attractions such as the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and Central Park, which attract visitors from all over the world.
In summary, New York is a unique and fascinating city, where you can have fun, learn and discover something new. A sparkling, dynamic and multicultural city that never fails to surprise and fascinate those who visit it.