Athens, the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years.
On the Top Right hand corner, you may see the western side of the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens.
Dafni or Daphni is a monastery 11 km north-west of downtown Athens in Chaidari, south of Athinon Avenue. It is situated near the forest of the same name, on the Sacred Way that led to Eleusis. The forest covers about 15 to 20 km².
The Daphnion was founded about the turn of the 6th century, Christianizing the site of the Sanctuary of Apollo Daphnaios that had been desecrated by the Goths in 395, and reusing the Ionic columns of the ancient temple of Apollo in its portico; only one remains, the others having been removed to London by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin.
The principal church (catholikon), a fine monument of the 11th-century Byzantine art, is a crossin-square church of the octagonal type surmounted by a broad and high dome. The church houses the best preserved complex of mosaics from the early Comnenan period (ca. 1100) when an austere and hieratic manner typical for the Macedonian epoch and represented by the famous Christ Pantocrator image inside the dome, was metamorphosing into a more intimate and delicate style, of which The Angel before St Joachim — with its pastoral backdrop, harmonious gestures and pensive lyricism — is considered a superb example.
Olympia, a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad (i.e. every four years), the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC. In addition to temples, there are the remains of all the sports structures erected for the Olympic Games. In the 10th century B.C., Olympia became a centre for the worship of Zeus
Read more...The Mirsky Castle Complex, is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Belarus located in the town of Mir in the Karelichy District of the Hrodna voblast.
The construction of the castle began at the end of the 15th century, in the Gothic architecture style. Building of the castle was completed by Duke Ilinich in early 16th century near the village Mir (formerly of Minsk guberniya). Around 1568 the Mir Castle passed into the hands of Mikolaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwill, who finished building the castle in the Renaissance style. A three-storey palace was built along the eastern and northern walls of the castle. After being abandoned for nearly a century and suffering severe damage during the Napoleonic period, the castle was restored at the end of the 19th century.
Christ Church Cathedral (The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, commonly known as Christ Church, Cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and Metropolitical Cathedral of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel) in Dublin is the elder of the city's two mediæval cathedrals, the other being St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Read more...Blarney Castle is a medieval stronghold in Blarney, near Cork, Ireland. It is near the River Martin. The castle originally dates from before AD 1200. It was destroyed in 1446, but subsequently rebuilt by Cormac MacCarthy, the King of Munster. It is currently a partial ruin with some accessible rooms and the battlements. At the top of the castle lies the Stone of Eloquence, better known as the Blarney Stone. Tourists visiting Blarney Castle may hang upside-down over a sheer drop to kiss the stone, which is said to give the gift of eloquence. Photographs are taken of the "magic moment". There are many legends as to the origin of the stone, but some say that it was the Lia Fáil—a magical stone upon which Irish kings were crowned.
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