Exploring Uzbekistan In a 2018 article, The British newspaper The Telegraph described Uzbekistan as “the most fascinating country you’ve never been to”. Decades of isolation, particularly during Soviet rule, have pushed it down the list …
Turkey: From Anatolia to the Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, also historically known in the West as the Turkish Empire, was a superpower that lasted for 600 years. Parcelled out among the victorious Allied nations …
The Political and Social Climate at the Palace of Versailles. The Palace of Versailles was a place of total luxury from the time of Louis XIV’s initial plans to the end of the French monarchy …
The Bauhaus School and its 100-Year Legacy The Bauhaus School was the brainchild of Walter Gropius of Germany, who reimagined art and utility as a single form that combined architecture, fine arts, and crafts …
Studying Gargoyles and Grotesques
- 7 mins read
Architecture, Blog, British Isles, England, Europe, France, History
Studying Gargoyles and Grotesques Gargoyles and grotesques were a hallmark of the Gothic period of architecture, which grew popular in Western Europe from the 12th to the late 15th centuries, and which was carried over …
Istanbul, Imperial City For more than a thousand years, Constantinople stood as the capital of the Byzantine Empire, surviving numerous attacks and internal rebellions, until the cannons of the Ottoman Empire breached its walls. Constantinople, …
Constructing Versailles, the making of a Palace The Château du Versailles is an iconic destination for all of those interested in French history. A stone’s throw away from Paris, Versailles was the official residence of …
Exploring Newcastle Newcastle (or Newcastle upon Tyne) in northeast England is rich in architectural wonders and steeped in history. It was an important settlement on the River Tyne during Roman times, a thriving commercial hub in …
The London Underground Beneath London is another London, a shadowy counterpart still not mapped in its entirety, but in many ways similar to the London above the ground. According to Peter Ackroyd in London Under (Vintage, 2012), “It …
Xi’an, the Beginning of the Silk Road The bustling city of Xi’an (“Western Peace”) in China’s Shaanxi Province is one of China’s oldest cities and perhaps also its most culturally significant: as the ancient …
Ten key influencers that shaped Queen Victoria’s Britain (Part 1 of 2) This article related to Queen Victoria’s Britain was prepared by one of our Odyssey Program Leaders, Mal Bock. She will be leading this small group …
Designing Paris The Paris that many of us know and love did not always look as it does now. When Napoleon III instructed Hausmann to tear down the urban centre to make way for the …
Armenia: Buildings and Christianity In this post, we will look at examples of Armenia’s buildings and building design before and after its conversion to Christianity. Grigor Lusavorich, later Saint Gregory the Illuminator, was born and …
The Bund The Bund, a stretch of historical buildings lining the western bank of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China (“bund” derives from the Hindustani word band which means “embankment”), was initially a British settlement that at …
Discovering Georgia Standing at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains, the lands of Georgia are filled with wondrous sites just waiting to be discovered. The deep religious devotion of nation’s inhabitants is manifested through the …
Castles, Palaces, and Other Historic Sites of Poland Poland, situated in central Europe between Russia and Germany, welcomes many travellers eager to know more about its history and see its natural beauty. Warsaw is its capital and …
The Ottoman Empire, c. 14th-20th centuries The Ottoman Empire once extended from Iraq to North Africa, from Arabia to the Balkans, even pressing to the walls of Hapsburg Vienna on two separate occasions. Originating from …
Tehran Through Time Tehran, Iran at the foot of the snow-capped Alborz Mountains. Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution that toppled its monarchy and paved the way for an Islamic Republic under its supreme leader, Ayatollah …
India’s Mughal Empire More than 4 centuries ago the Mughal empire was an immensely successful empire, covering the entire subcontinent of India and reaching a population of 100 million at its peak. It is …
The Legacy of the Safavids in Persia Modern-day Iran is a mass of tiled architectural gems and of immense artistry, textiles and culture. But this is all thanks to its to the legacy of its …
The Roman Empire The Roman Empire at its peak covered an area of five million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles) and included territories in Asia, Africa, and the Western European nations around the Mediterranean Sea. …