Early afternoon of a freezing cold day of March, somewhere in the southern outskirts of Saint Petersburg, we were boarding a Soviet-style bus bound for the town of Pushkin, located some 24 km to the south of the city. It was first founded as an imperial residence called Tsarskoye Selo (Tsar Village), in the year 1710, soon after the city of Saint Petersburg, at the location … [Read more...]
A Trip to Kronstadt on Kotlin Island in the Gulf of Finland
Some 30 km off the city of Saint Petersburg, on Kotlin island in the Gulf of Finland, there lies Kronstadt. There is the main port of Saint Petersburg and the traditional seat of the Russian Admiralty and the Russian Baltic Fleet's base. The island was captured by Great Peter's forces from the Swedes during the Great Northern War, in the year 1703. The island then served as the … [Read more...]
When I Climbed that Pyramid in Giza
Under no circumstances could I let this opportunity pass without paying a visit to Giza and its pyramids. So, very early one morning, having started at dawn to avoid the traffic, I was passing beside the welcoming Sphinx and I was ascending that corridor, watching those pyramidal tombs swelling in my sight as I was getting closer to them. What an unparalleled emotion does … [Read more...]
Pompei, an Ancient City Preserved in its Entirety
The advent of this new day found me at a hostel in the town of Pompei, Campania, South Italy. The reason I had ended up there; plus the reason that pretty much anyone ever ends up over there; plus the reason that brought this new town of Pompei to its very existence... is no other than the site of the ancient city of Pompei which is located there: the world's best example of … [Read more...]
