Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque: A Masterpiece of Islamic Architecture

The ornate Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is so remarkable, as more than 400,000 devout believers make the pilgrimage to Abu Dhabi to pray during the annual festival “Eid”. It is more fascinated to British Photographer Julian John by the incredible interiors of the biggest mosque in the Middle East. Teaching assistant Julian, originally from Brighton, Sussex,  now living abroad, Julian John visits the intricately designed prayer halls as often as possible to capture photos of what he believes to be “the jewel in the United Arab Emirates” crown. He says; I’m living in the UAE capital for the last four years, is planning an exhibition of his epic photographs. I truly believe, this mosque is the Jewel in the United Arab Emirates' crown. It has been easily described as an exclusive masterpiece of Islamic architecture and is truly a modern wonder of the world. It is majestic and serene and the attention to detail is breathtaking with craftsmen from all around the world instrumental in making it so spectacular.

The mosque stunning courtyard, which features the largest marble mosaic in the world at 180,000 square feet, snapped the impressive exterior. The four 350-feet tall minarets, which can be seen across the Abu Dhabi skyline, are lit up in dramatic style against the cloudy skies in one of the photographer's incredible shots. Julian, who uses a Nikon D800 camera with Nikon 24-70mm and the Tamron 70-200mm lenses, was deeply inspired to take up his interest four years ago when he first moved to the Middle East. He has since set up a photography class at the international school where he works. There’re number of great aspects to the Grand Mosque from spectacular interiors to domes and minarets and fountains to the lovely pillars with inlaid flowers. There’re lots of photographic opportunities that you’re almost spoiled for choice. As long as I live in Abu Dhabi, and definitely I’ll always visit the Grand Mosque and continue to photograph it. The magnificent towering structure took almost ten years to build with over 30,000 workers starting work on the site in 1996. It was not completed until seven years after the millennium in 2007. The largest mosque in the Middle East, the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is as stunning on the inside as the outside. Source: Dailymail

The Havasupai Tribe is the Smallest Indian Nation in America, Which can be visited by Helicopter or Mule

There’s only one place in America where mail is delivered by mule, inside the Indian village hidden within the Grand Canyon 8 miles from the nearest road. However, millions of people travel to witness the spectacular Grand Canyon every year, but only very few knows about Arizona landscape is home to a clandestine tribe, hidden away in its depths. The Havasupai tribe is the smallest Indian nation living in America, with just more than 600 village inhabitants, a part of the Havasupai tribe, which is the smallest Indian nation in America.  They live in the village of “Supai” which can be visited by helicopter or mule. People can reach the secretive tribe on foot / by helicopter or mule, and can get experience life in the village of “Supai”, which has a general store, cafe, post office, a lodge, school, LDS chapel, and a small church. The village “Supai” is concealed at the bottom of Havasu Canyon, in the heart of the Havasupai Nation reservation. The scenic plot was claimed by the Havasupai tribe from the National Park rangers in 1975, after several court battles.

Since then, their major source income is lying with tourism with about 20,000 visitors flocking to discover more about the inhabitants. The secret tribe also grows food and weave as a source of livelihood, though being situated at the base of the canyon, near to the Cataract Creek, has left them vulnerable to flooding. In 1911 tragedy struck as rain and overflowing of the creek ruined an entire crop field. A one day hiking in and out of the settlement is not allowed, with visitors being required to book into a home stay or brave camping. Nevertheless the extra time enables travelers to enjoy the full experience of real beauty of the Havasu Falls. Moreover to these are the Mooney Falls (located just half a mile from the tribe settlement) and Beaver Falls (about three miles away). Tourists can stay overnight with the tribe and experience the unbelievable Havasu Falls.

The New York Luxurious Library Hotel

New York City’s luxurious Library Hotel is every bibliophile’s dream. This is the only “library” in the world, where visitors don’t have to speak in hushed tones or risks the anger of a shushing librarian. Over 6,000 books at their fingertips, the unique boutique hotel was beautifully designed around the Dewey Decimal System with each floor specially dedicated to one of its ten major categories and every room is decorated according to a specific genre or topic within the categories. The Dewey Decimal System is the standardized library classification system which sorts books into ten categories; social sciences, literature, languages, history, math and science, general knowledge, technology, philosophy, the arts and religion. It is published by Melvil Dewey in 1876. Perhaps it seems like an unfamiliar theme, but the Library hotel has gone all in with its tribute to the American librarian. It is located at Madison Avenue and 41st Street, just steps from the New York Public Library and Grand Central Terminal, every one of the hotel’s 60 rooms contains up to 150 books related to genres or topics including erotic literature, economics, Middle Eastern language, computers and Native American religion.

Moreover, visitors on the fifth floor can stay in rooms devoted to maths and science, with specific themes of astronomy, dinosaurs, botany, zoology, geology and mathematics. While on the eleventh floor specially modelled around philosophy have rooms related to love, paranormal, psychology, philosophy, ethics and logic. Therefore tourists who can’t get enough of the books inside their rooms can find more options at the front desk, in the restaurant and in a dedicated reading room.

The hotel also has a beautiful concept of boasts a rooftop bar known as the Writer’s Den & Poetry Garden, which becomes the Bookmarks Lounge at night and serves literary-themed cocktails. The library hotel is a bookworm's paradise, as each one of our rooms provides a personalized literary experience. Whether you like reading about zoology or Slavic languages, we have got it covered. Moreover, when the building was purchased, the concept was to offer something very different. Being so close to the library one of most loved landmarks was the inspiration for that.

Tham Khoun Cave, An incredible Hidden Cave in Lao’s

Several Tourists knows, Laos is a popular tourist destination famous for its attractive scenery and ornate temples, though not many persons venture below the surface and discover that what is underground is perhaps even more spectacular. The wondrous “Tham Khoun” Ex caves is so beautiful they don't look real at first, which is maybe why locals have faith in that spirits inhabit the underground wonderland. These photographs are capture by John Spies, a photographer who believes in real natural beauty, would like to take pictures of sheer magnificence of the vast, yet intricate, underground wonderland. Tham Khoun Ex caves, usually famous as “Xe Bang Fai River caves”, feature imposing stalagmite made of mineral deposits. More than 9 miles magnificent passages and wide expanses of water make it really one of Lao’s hidden treasure.

Although there’s even a lively forest thriving at the upstream entrance to the caves, the lush green color contrasting with the massive white and orange banks of terraces flowstone that decorates the walls. Visitors are able to kayak through the waters, or explore adjacent chambers on foot. The cave is only able to be safely accessed during the dry season from Nov to April and during this time the water is crystal clear and deep with a rich green hue.  For some of the grander shots, a team of four equipped with powerful LED lights and walkie-talkies helped to light-paint this massive cavern for this long exposure shot. Therefore; in 2008, an expedition, co-led by veteran caver John Pollack lead to the secretive caves being mapped and photographed for the first time. What the explorers discovered about the infamous cavern was a vast river cave, which means a cavern with an active water source flowing through it. All about the cave is big-from its towering entrances to its phobia-inducing spiders, which can be a big 10inches across.

Source: Dailymail