Intoxicating Aladdin’s Cave Grand Bazaar in Istanbul

Turkish shopkeepers stand in their Aladdin's cave of mystery in one of the oldest covered markets in the world, which is so popular in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar hosts over 3,000 stores and more than 250,000 people visit every day, and has 91 MILLION visitors every year. These days, in spite of increase in new modern shopping malls, the beauty and tradition of the Grand Bazaar continues to be a big enticement. This market is extremely famous among travelers, and in 2014 it was listed as the world's most visited tourist attraction, beating the 91.25m visitors who traipsed the colorful stores the previous year. 

Therefore, the 15th century Bazaar (Market) is famous for its hand-painted ceramics, lanterns, intricately patterned carpets and Byzantine-style jewelry and heaves with Turkish things, kilims, jewelry, backgammon boards, trinkets, leather goods and mother of pearl inlaid boxes. Thus, there’s a labyrinth of arcades and passageways, where it is easy to lose your sense of direction.  It is easily describes that it as 'one of the world’s most exciting shopping experiences. Moreover, several of the stalls in the market are grouped by type of goods, with special areas for leather, gold jewelry and the like. This market “bazaar” has been significant trading center since 1461, and its labyrinthine vaults feature two bedestens “domed buildings”, the first of which was constructed between 1455 and 1461 by the order of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. 

Moreover, the beautiful complex houses two mosques, four fountains, two hamams and several cafés and restaurants. Furthermore, in the center it is high domed hall of the “Cevahir Bedesten”, where the most valued items and antiques were to be found in the past, and still are nowadays, with furniture, copperware, amber prayer beads, inlaid weapons, icons, mother-of-pearl mirrors, water pipes, watches and clocks, candlesticks, old coins, and silver and gold jewelry set with coral and turquoise.  The Bazaar is open Monday to Saturday from 9am until 7pm and is closed Sundays and Bank Holidays. If you’re shopping lover, then it is must place visit for you. Though, be careful, because prices are bit high for foreigners. But you can bargain the price with your skills. 

Source: Charismatic Planet 

The Mesmerizing Brazilian Dunes Transform into Majestic Turquoise Lagoons in Rainy Season

In the midst of the rolling sand dunes of a national park in Brazil, a wonderful transformation takes place every year. However, in the rainy season, the valleys landscapes transformed are filled with crystal-clear turquoise lagoons & the result is simply magnificent, which you can imagine by seeing these stunning photographs.  Therefore, the un-spoilt heaven is located in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, offering explorers with a striking backdrop to escape to though enjoying a respite from the heat.  

Moreover, in the peak season around July these tranquil pools can reach ten feet in depth and are astonishingly warm to swim in reaching up to 30 degrees C.  Therefore, it is stretching for miles and miles, the picture-perfect landscape look like a desert, but this can't officially be categorized as one, due to the 47 inches of rain it receives each year. Thus, almost no vegetation grows in this area, but the aqua phenomenon provides a brief chance for life to arrive in the area.  Interconnecting lagoons combine with neighboring rivers, opening up channels for fish to see the sights of lovely pools.  Furthermore, the experience is short-lived, as once the dry season returns, the vividly-blue lakes disappear without a trace. 

Well, if you want travel this part of world, it is highly recommended to have visited to see the true beauty of sand dunes.  However, it is highly suggested for visitors to witness the natural spectacle is between July and September, when the mirage-like ponds have formed. In addition, park's website acclaims around two full days are required to explore the biggest lagoons in the park, Azul and Bonita and recommend only guided tours are undertaken in the area.  So, access is not very difficult and easiest from the town of Barreirinhas near Maranhão, with Jeeps being the best form of transport to handle the hilly terrain.  Source: Charismatic Planet

Beehive Huts Ireland

A Clochán is a dry-stone hut with a corbelled roof, usually associated with the south-western Irish seaboard. In Irish the name clochán, is given to these structures, derived from the word “cloch”, a stone, it reflects the fact that they’re constructed wholly from stone without the use of mortar. Clochans are mainly found in the Southwest of Ireland, in the Dingle Peninsula of County Kerry. Several occur in religious contexts such as used by the monks successors carried on the architectural tradition in the Scottish Isle of Iona.

These are amazing huts built each layer of stone inward just enough to close the top with a single stone to see how the natives of Ireland lived merely a few hundred years ago. These were some hearty folk who lived in these stone enclosures tending to their sheep and potatoes. This will completely understand why so many emigrated given the chance in the 19th Century. According to archeologist the exact construction date of these structures is unidentified with any degree of conviction. No direct evidence to date any of these buildings before the 8th century. Whereas some connected with religious sites may be pre-Romanesque, considers most to date after the 12th century, including up to the 19th century.

These are usually round beehive huts and rectangular footprints date to a later era, which are not completely built of stone, and may have possessed a thatched roof. The Clochan walls are very thick, up to 1.5 meters and some times more than a few are joined together by their walls. The building technique behind the clochán is an ancient one, which employs the principle of corbelling. Therefore it is a simple but effective method of construction and has been used for many centuries, not only in Ireland but in other European countries too. In many countries such huts were built as temporary shelter for nomadic shepherds as they moved around with their flocks.Source: Charismatic Planet

Northumberlandia: The Lady of the North East England

Meet the supine, the Lady of the North the former coal mining town of “Cramlington, Northumberland”, North East England, is a massive piece of land art in the shape of reclining lady named “Northumberlandia”. The lady is more than a hundred feet tall at her tallest point, her forehead, and a quarter of a mile long. The Woman lies on her back, with her long hairs spread out, upper body in supine position and her lower torso twisted towards her left, as it looks like that she is dancing. It is created by American landscape architect and designer Charles Jencks, “Northumberlandia” is said to be largest human landform sculpture in the world. It is officially opened by a woman “Princess Anne” in September 2015, it has become an apparent hit, with 25,000 visitors in its first few weeks.

Hence, “Northumberlandia” was shaped from the by-products of an opencast mine in “Shotton” well owned by Banks Group and Blagdon Estates. Whereas digging for coal the employers feels that there was a fabulous opportunity to imaginatively reuse all the rocks and dirt dug out of the ground in its place of dumping them into bland hills. Therefore, they contacted famous artist “Charles Jencks” to see what could be done and Northumberlandia was born.

However, it took Charles Jencks 2 years to build and shape her shapely figure and bodily limbs out of 1.5m tonnes of rock, clay and soil redundant from the mine. Therefore, her core is made of rocks, layered over with clay and topped with soil over which an excellent grass grows now. Moreover, some of her features are beautifully artistically highlighted with stone from the mine that is frequently used for the restoration of old buildings. Thus, the figure provides a series of resting and viewing platforms, the uppermost on the forehead, from which you can get a view of the open cast mine from where she came.

The Wave, A Unique Sandstone Formation in Arizona

“The Wave” is a sandstone formation on the slopes of the Coyote Buttes in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, located in northern portion of the U.S. state of Arizona. The Beautiful sandstone formation is famous among hikers and photographers for its colorful, undulating forms, and the rugged trackless hike required to reach it. Well, this place is among the most scenic hiking destinations in the entire Southwest, so extremely popular which makes officials use a lottery to decide who gets to walk its trails. Therefore, be aware that there are only 20 daily spots that are given through a lottery, and 10 of them online and 10 of them in person, and if you win the tickets is for the next day, not for the current one!

The Wave” consists of intersecting U-shaped troughs that have been eroded into Navajo Sandstone of Jurassic age. Further, the two major troughs, which encompass this rock formation infrequent run off eroded these troughs along joints within the Navajo Sandstone. After their formation, the drainage basin, which fed rainwater to these troughs, shrank to the point that the runoff became inadequate to contribute to the cutting of these troughs. The Wave exposes large-scale, sets of cross-bedded eolian sandstone composed of rhythmic and cyclic alternating grain-flow and wind-ripple laminae. The Wave is the result of the differential erosion of rhythmic and cyclic alternating grain-flow and wind-ripple laminae within the Navajo Sandstone. The soft sandstone, including the ridges and ribbing, of The Wave is fragile. As a result, persons must walk carefully to avoid breaking the small ridges.

The Wave and its signature landscape among the most photographed in North America, and also be called the Devil’s Playground.  Officials, described in its website as “a gallery of gruesomely twisted sandstone, resembling deformed pillars, cones, mushrooms and other odd creations with the unique blending of color twisted in the rock, creating a dramatic rainbow of pastel yellows, pinks and reds.” The arduous hiking demonstrates the inherent risks associated with hiking in southern Utah's desert country. Even though to make sure you’re extremely fit for this hike, it is highly recommended to do it early in the morning, and make sure you have enough water and supplies. Moreover, hikers must choose their own route across the open desert, which needs traversing exposed sandstone, sand dunes, and sandy wash bottoms.