The Sand Dunes of Maspalomas

The remarkable Dunes of Maspalomas is a four square km field of sand; well located in the popular tourist town of Maspalomas in the south of the island of Gran Canaria of Canary Islands. The sand originated from coral reefs crushed into reasonable golden grains of limestone by the grinding action of glaciers approximately more than thousands of years ago. The present ocean dragged them to the shore and ultimately wind accumulated them into dunes.

The sand is blown inland from the beach and amasses around the shrubs, recognized as balancon that dots the landscape. Once the gathered sand grows larger than its protective shrub, it starts to move across the dune field and so creating the fabulous, undulating landscape. These days the dunes are moving at the rate of two to five meters from east to west. Therefore the area has declared a Natural Reserve in 1987.

From the heart of the dunes the stunning views of the island's mountainous interior are terrific and the adjacent hustle and bustle in the neighboring resorts is all but forgotten. Few secluded areas of the dunes are widespread with naturists. If you'd rather not stumble over the dunes on foot, there’re opportunities to see the sights them from the comfort of a camel's back.

Just a little further on from the Maspalomas Palm Tree plantation (Palmeral) is another protected natural space “La Charca”, a beautiful pond which lies between the sea and the sand, providing a relaxing spot for birds migrating from Europe to Africa. The massive expanse of sand dunes start beyond this “pond”, varying their shape frequently, chiseled out by the wind coming off the ocean.

In 1861 there was a decision made to build the lighthouse which actually took 28 long years to finish, the 68 m tall lighthouse, called “El Faro de Maspalomas”, at the southern point from where the 12 kilometers long beach and dunes lead to the resort Playa del Inglés, a popular destination of tourist. This is deserves a place on every visitor's itinerary. These days everything around it has changed. Now it is at the start of an eventful promenade area with a whole host of restaurants and gift shops.

However; Maspalomas continues to be the perfect place to unwind, enjoy the sea or simply while away the hours sunbathing. This hasn’t changed, and neither has the long shadow of the Lighthouse, in the same place as ever. Whereas before it looked out for boats crossing the Atlantic, it now envies beach-goers spending their days under the gentle sun in Maspalomas.

The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania

The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania is actually a tomb situated on the road between the cities of Cherchell and Algiers, in Algeria. Well, this is the final resting place of Berber Juba II and Cleopatra Selene II, who were the last king and queen of Mauretania. Cleopatra Selene II was the only daughter of the well-known Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and her husband Mark Antony. 

The mausoleum was built in 3 BC by King Juba II himself intended not just for him and his wife, but as a dynastic funeral monument for their royal descendants. The tomb is famous by numerous names. It is occasionally referred to as the Mausoleum of Juba and Cleopatra Selene. In Arabic, the mausoleum is called the Kubr-er-Rumia or Kbor er Roumia. While in French it is call Tombeau de la Chretienne or "the tomb of the Christian woman", because there is a cross-like shape of the division lines on the false door.

The mausoleum was constructed according to ancient mausoleums found in Numidia and their architectural design created from mausoleums originates in Egypt and Anatolia. Although the circular mausoleum is constructed from stone and stands on a square base with a pyramid or cone comparable structure at the top. The measurement of tomb is between 60 to 61 meters in diameter but originally believed to be 40 meters tall. Because with the passage of time and natural elements have decreased its height to about 30 meters.

This monument has been the victim of pillage very early on. The base of the monument was once ornamented with 60 Ionic columns whose capitals were stolen. Therefor in the center of the tomb there’re two vaulted chambers “whose contents were perhaps also ransacked by treasure seekers”, that can be reached by a spiral passage approximately seven feet in height and 489 feet in length. The burial chambers are detached by a short passage, and are cut off from the gallery by stone doors prepared by a single slab which can be moved up and down by levers.

Though early rulers tried several time to destroy the monument. But in 1555, the Pasha of Algiers furnished orders to pull down the mausoleum, but the attempt was reckless when big black wasps swarmed out and stung some of the workers to death. At the end of the 18th century, the attempt of Baba Mahommed got in vain to destroy the monument with artillery. However later on the French occupied Algeria the monument was well used by the French Navy for target practice. Lastly, in 1866 it was explored by order of the Emperor Napoleon III, after which the site was ordered to be protected and preserved.

In 1982, the mausoleum along with nearby archeological sites containing monuments from the Byzantine and the Phoenician ages were recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Though these archeological sites remains are protected, but the ruins face continuous threats from urban construction and expansion, open sewage drainage run offs, meager maintenance, and continuous vandalism. Due to these constant problems, these archaeological remains face an indeterminate future.

World's Longest Suspension Bridge in Sochi, Russia

The world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge opened this summer in Sochi National Park, Russia. The pedestrian bridge is located on the extreme corner of the National Park. The beautiful 1,800-foot-long bridge was built over a striking 650 foot gorge, and provides tourist a spectacular view of the mountains and the river below. Moreover theirs is another attraction is bungee jumping. There’re many diverse points on the bridge from which you can bungee. The bridge is part of the AJ Hackett Sochi Sky-park that was opened around the similar time as this bridge. The Sochi Sky-park Bridge was developed in collaboration with New Zealand, and it took two years, used 740 tons of metal and 2,000 cubic meters of concrete to construct. The Bridge is designed to withstand a 9-magnitude earthquake and the concurrent presence of 3,000 people over it.

Lake Heviz Hungary

Lake Heviz is located nearby to the town of Heviz in Hungary, near the western end of Lake Balaton, approximately 8 kilometers away from Keszthely. The Lake Heviz has 47,500 square meters surface area; and it is Europe's largest thermal lake and the second largest thermal lake in the world. The Lake Heviz hot waters has different temperatures diffuse from fissures under the water’s surface, mix with the cold water of the lake to generate a continuous temperature that upholds throughout the season. The water is very rich in carbonic acid, calcium, sulphur, magnesium, hydrogen carbonate and even slightly radioactive substances that are well believed to have medicinal properties.

At the center of the lake is a wooden bath house constructed in the 18th century that looks more or less the same as it was more than two hundred years ago. Stunning water lilies, brought to Hungary at the end of the 19th century, dot the lake supporting the rich ecology. Mist covers the surface slowing down evaporation, and creepers protect the medicinal mud on the bottom of the lake. Lake Heviz-1 the peat-bottomed lake is mainly fed by cold and warm water rich in mineral content originating in springs located in a 40 m deep cave. The flow in the spring is so high that it is fully replenishes the lake every 3 days. The temperature of the Lake Heviz varies between 23-25 °C in winter and 33-36 °C in summer.

The lake’s curative effect is believed to be an effective product of the unique blend of organic and inorganic materials found in the waters. Therefore; Lake Heviz is a biologically active lake and home to a great number of bacteria. Certain of the species found in the waters is rare and unique to the lake. For example, Micromonospora heviziensis, bacteria that is a very potent protein and cellulose decomposer, can only be established here in the entire world. Likewise, for the two thermophile blue green alga species (Pseudanabaena papillaterminata and Pseudanabaena crassa), Lake Heviz is the only Hungarian habitat. Source: Charismatic Planet