My visit to and post about Alcalá de Henares and the forty-four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Spain (Second highest to Italy at forty-seven) made me stop and think about the comparison with the list that I reviewed recently of the "Twelve Treasures of the Kingdom of Spain" which was a contest/poll that was conducted by the Spanish Television Company Antena 3 and the radio broadcaster Cope.
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As every Muslim should visit Mecca at least once in his lifetime, every fan of the history of medieval knights should visit Malta at least once. So we are flying to Malta.
The islands collectively known as the Maltese Islands are a storehouse of information and enjoyment for any fan of history. Not only the most ancient buildings of the world – the Prehistoric Temples of Malta – located here, here you will find a well-preserved medieval city Mdina “City of Silence” and the younger, but still old, Valletta, which was built only because of the invasion of the Turks.
Only lazy has not tried to conquer the tiny Malta – Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, even Normans got here. Templars Knights have settled down here in the XII century. What was so attractive to the all of them? After all, when the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530 offered Malta to the Order of St John of Jerusalem, those, visited the island, told their superiors that it is bare rock in the sea which has nothing at all. However, they have agreed to find a new homeland here after loss Palestine by the Christian world, from which won the Order and the people of Malta.
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I have a mixed feeling on this city – Amsterdam is complicated and pushes to choose: love or hate. It is surprising, but none of my friends stayed indifferent to this city. Moreover, nobody could clearly explain the reasons either for loving it or for hating.
One of the most famous cities in the world, it has a great history, ambitious cultural life and its own “peculiar” sightseeing. On the surface Amsterdam seems to be tidy, clean and cozy, but it is only an affected composure – it has soaked all kinds of sins, which however harmonically get along with the decency of its citizens.
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Fairest among women – Venice – formerly powerful and rich. You are still impressive, Lady Venice, but… only from a distance. The years pass rapidly, your skin withers, becomes more parchment and thin and finally bursts and drops off with the lumps of plaster. Meanwhile the time arrives more and more with the waving years. And your cosmetologist is already losing his heart in despair. Read more...
