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24 Sep 2011

SYDNEY – OPERA HOUSE – AUSTRALIA

ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECE

INTRODUCTION

Australia is a beautiful country. Where there are number of things which make the country beautiful, Sydney Opera House is known as the recognition of the Australia as a country and Sydney as a city. Sydney Opera House is a venue of performing arts. Sydney is the largest and most populous city of Australia. City is the capital of New South Wales. Opera house is considered as one of the most distinctive buildings made in 20th century and stands with dignity among the most famous performing arts centers of the world. Sydney Opera House is situated close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge at Bennlong Point. SOH is surrounded by harbour from three sides. It is located on the northeastern corner of the Sydney Central Business District.

In the building there are number of performance venues. Sydney opera House is rated as one of the busiest performing arts centers in the world. You can imagine from the fact that how busy is the place throughout the year that 1500 performances are performed each year and 1.2 million people attend these performances. It is the most popular tourist attraction in Australia which attracts about seven million people each year. Sydney Opera House has been recognized as World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

ABOUT THE BUILDING

The award winning design of the building was made by a Danish architect Jorn Utzon. The architect received the Pritzker Award in 2003 for designing the Sydney Opera House. The citation of the award stated that the design is really a masterpiece and a symbol for the continent, country and city of Sydney.

The building covers the area of 4.5 acres (1.8 hectares). To support the building in sea water, 588 concrete piers are sunk as much as 25 meters below sea level. We believe that the roof structure of the Sydney Opera House is one major factor which makes the building distinctive. Generally the roof the building is referred as composed of concrete shells but these are precast concrete panels which are supported by the concrete ribs. On the roof, 1,056,006 tiles are used which are infact Swedish made. The colour of the tiles is glossy white and matte crème which looks white from a distance. The exterior of the building is marvelous. The low edges of the building are a great appeal for people to visit the place. Another remarkable thing about the design and structure of the building is that is it doesn’t make any reference to the classical architectural form. It is unique in its structure.

There are number of different performance venues in the Sydney Opera House. The concert hall is the biggest venue among all the others with seating capacity of 2679. In this concert hall there is the world’s largest mechanical tracker action organ which contains 10,000 pipes. This hall is the home of Sydney Symphony which is a symphony orchestra. Besides the concert hall there is Opera theatre, Drama theatre, Playhouse, Utzon room and forecourt.

The building is not just a performance venue but there are number of other things to facilitate the visitors and performers. There are cafes, restaurants, bars and a recording studio. Guided tour is a big facility for the visitors to see the wholesome beauty of the building. Guided tour can bring an advantage for the visitors that they can go backstage and see the performers.

Initially the cost of the project was estimated $7 million when it was started in 1957. But at the completion cost was much higher than the expected cost. When the project completed in 1973 its cost was raised to $102 million.

There is nothing missing in the building which attracts you as a visitor. Location is beautiful, structure is just awesome and the performances are really world class.

 

Category: Australia, Tourism Guide  Tags: , , , , , , ,  Leave a Comment
23 Sep 2011

SOCOTRA – YEMEN

Jewel of Arabian Sea

INTRODUCTION

Through our journey of beautiful places of the world, we have visited a number of islands around the globe. Today again we are going to take a tour of another island. Basically it is an archipelago of four islands. The visit of this island has some unique features. The island is located in the northwestern Indian Ocean. This isolated island is located about 350 km away from the Arabian Peninsula. Geologically the archipelago is located very far from the Arab world and Africa. This feature has resulted in the great global importance of the island regarding the conservation of biodiversity and is termed as the Galapagos of Indian Ocean. The island has unique importance regarding the vegetation as well. The archipelago is comprised of four islands which include Socotra, Abd al Kuri, Samhah and Darsah. The largest island of the archipelago is also named Socotra. The socotra island covers the 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. A very unique feature of the island is that it has been described as the most alien-looking place on earth. UNESCO recognized the island as world natural heritage site in 2008. Socotra island is also mentioned in the Travels of Marco Polo.

FLORA & FAUNA

It is said that Socotra is the jewel of biodiversity in Arabian Sea and it is rightly said. The island has endemic flora. The reason of the endemism is that the island is geologically isolated and the second reason is the fierce heat and drought conditions of the island. There are about 825 plant species on Socotra out of which 307 are endemic which means that these species are found nowhere else on the planet.

According to IUCN red list, there are 3 critically endangered species and 27 endangered plant species. The flora of the island is really unique. There are number of unique and strange looking trees and plants but the most striking of all of them is Dragon’s blood tree. It is strange looking umbrella shaped tree which carries red sap. Ancient people were of the view that the red sap is the blood of dragon. Earlier this red sap was used as dye and medicine and now it is used as paint and varnish.

The fauna of the island is also very rich and unique. There are several species of birds which include a number of endemic species. The endemic birds include Socotra Starling, Socotra Grosbeak, Socotra Sunbird and renowned Socotra Sparrow.  Socotra Warbler is also found here which is said to be monotypic endemic kind of birds. Bats are also found on the island and are the only native mammals of the island. Marine life of the island is also diverse. There are about 300 species of crabs, lobster and shrimp and 730 species of coastal fish.

Some facts about the endemism of different species are that 90% of its reptile and 95% of its snail species are not found anywhere else in the world.

CLIMATE

Geography of the island states that it is the most isolated place on earth regarding continental origin. The climate of the island is distinguished as tropical desert climate and semi desert climate. The average temperature of the island is 18º C. there is not much rainfall throughout the year. Normally it remains light but spreads allover.

If you want to see a wonderful place with number of unique features then we recommend you to visit Socotra.it would definitely be a awesome visit.

Category: Tourism Guide, YEMEN  Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,  Leave a Comment
19 Sep 2011

MASSAI MARA – KENYA

INTRODUCTION

Through our journey of the world we have visited a number of beautiful places of this beautiful world. These places are beautiful and some are very beautiful and adventurous at the same time. But we have not visited the places much, which are beautiful, adventurous and horrifying at one moment of time. So why not have a visit of such place today? Be more careful because today we are going to visit Massai Mara National Reserve which is a safari park.

Massai Mara National Reserve is situated in south-western Kenya. This reserve is one of the most popular reserves in Africa. This reserve is basically the continuation of Serengeti National Park which is in Tanzania. Massai Mara is a large game reserve. Now you guys would be curious that what a game reserve is? Infact game reserve is an area which is set aside for maintenance of wildlife for the purpose of tourism or hunting. The Massai Mara National Reserve is the part of Massai-Serengeti ecosystem. This reserve covers an area of 1510 km². This is really a paradise for safari travelers, the people who prepare documentaries, for the researchers and for the common people who have adventurous nature. There are number of reasons for the people to visit the reserve. Most probably it would be great wildebeest migration a centre of attraction for the visitors. Others may be the open skies, hot balloon ride, the romantic site and open savannahs. These are the few things which we have mentioned but actually it is really hard to narrate the place in words.

HISTORY

This wildlife area was established in 1948. At that time the area of the reserve was just 510 square kilometers. Then in 1961 the area was expanded to 1821 square kilometers and this was the time when it was converted into the Game Reserve. In latter developments the area of the reserve was reduced in 1974 and 1976 to 1662 square kilometers and 1510 km² respectively.

 

 WILDLIFE

There is nothing less than wonderful in the reserve. It is basically grassland and because of this animals always remain in sight. There is abundance of wild animals. There are more than 450 species recorded so far which include migrants as well. All members of Big five which include lion, leopard, African elephant, African buffalo and black rhinoceros are found here in the reserve. Other than Big five community, there are large groups of hyenas, cheetahs, jackals, bat-eared foxes, Thomson’s gazelles and Nile crocodiles are found in the reserve. A great number of antelopes, impalas, elands, duikers, zebra, masai giraffe and common giraffe is also found in the area. The view is just awesome when you see a lion chasing gazelle in the orchids. Another spectacular thing about the reserve is the wildebeest migration which is seen from July to October. This is called great migration and is a great event worldwide. In this migration more than 2 million animals which include wildebeests, gazelles, zebras, topi and elands are migrated to the Massai Mara Reserve from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.

 TOURISM

This is a wonderful place for the visitors. It will be a unique experience if you visit the Massai Mara. The reserve is easily accessible from the capital Nairobi. It is just 270 km away from the capital. You can reach the place both by road and by air.

It can be threatening to view lions, cheetahs, African elephant, leopard and wildebeest wandering around you but there is no need to panic at all. The administrators have provided the best possible facilities for the tourists. There are number of lodges and tented camps for the tourists inside the reserve. Catering is purely headache of the visitors unless it is provided by the agencies. There are no security issues inside the reserve. Rangers patrol continuously and therefore there is a quite secure game viewing. Another activity which we recommend you guys is the ride of balloon safari. When you raise in the air the view of surroundings is just unparalleled. The view of sun rise and sun set are also spectacular in the reserve.

You will never forget the experience of visiting Massai Mara.

 

Category: KENYA, Tourism Guide  Tags: , , , , , , , ,  Leave a Comment
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