Amazing Travel Facts USA

Written by Gill Dewar on September 17, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

USA:

When you are traveling with your partner and feeling romantic, there is one state in the world, where you can get legally married if you say out loud three times that the person is your husband or wife.

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel to in order to get married this way?

It is indeed in the mighty state of Texas.

If you publicly announce that the person is your husband or wife three times, your marriage is legal in the eyes of Texas. A few caveats: both parties must be at least 18 years old, unmarried, and not related to each other.

Some more amazing laws in Texas

You Must Warn Your Victims 24 Hours in Advance

If you’re planning a criminal activity in Texas, you must warn your victims within 24 hours of the crime. You must explain the nature of your upcoming crime, orally or in writing, giving your victims fair warning. This strange law is a recent addition to Texas’ anticrime provisions in an effort to reduce crime.

You Can’t Eat Your Neighbor’s Garbage Without Permission

One man’s trash is another man’s criminal conviction in Texas. If you eat your neighbor’s garbage without permission, you may face jail time for trespassing and stealing another’s property.

You Can’t Feather Dust a Public Building

Texas currently prohibits the dusting of any public building with a feather duster. It’s unclear whether the dusting of a building with another tool is legal… or why the state would need to outlaw such an obscure act.

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You Can Watch an Opera Under Water at This Luxury Resort in the Maldives

Written by Gill Dewar on September 14, 2021. Posted in Destination news, Activity, Amazing Facts.

Travel news from around the world

Hurawalhi Island Resort, a luxury resort located on the Lhaviyani Atoll in the Maldives, has revealed its 2021 holiday programming lineup, and it includes a musical spectacular unlike any other.

From Dec. 27 to Jan. 5, guests can visit to experience the “Opera Under the Sea,” a series of performances by renowned Turkish soprano Burcu Hanci in the resort’s 5.8 Undersea Restaurant. In case you didn’t venture a guess, the restaurant gained its name thanks to its location 5.8 meters under the water’s surface. That means diners, and now music lovers too, can enjoy a meal and entertainment while surrounded by stunning marine life and tropical blue waters.

“Burcu Hanci, from Turkey, has had a successful international concert career including performances at the invitation of the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra and the VOICEISTANBUL International Conference,” the hotel shared in a statement. “She has sung the soprano solo in ‘Britten’s War Requiem, Op.66,’ with the Daejeon (Korea) Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed as Ciesca in Puccini’s ‘Gianni Schicchi’ and as Marianne in ‘Der Rosenkavalier’ with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra to name but a few of her accomplishments. Now a Soprano Soloist, Hanci performs at special concerts and classical music festivals all over the world and we are very much looking forward to her performances at Hurawalhi.”

Hanci’s Opera Under the Sea events will take place on Dec. 27, 28, and 30, as well as Jan. 1, 3, 4, and end on Jan. 5.

“Christmas isn’t just for children, with The Great Christmas Treasure Hunt in the lagoon taking place on Christmas Day,” the hotel added in a statement. At the Treasure Hunt, “guests search for fabulous prizes including a 5-night stay at Hurawalhi Island Resort.”

Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, guests can also take part in a number of incredible activities including a bioluminescent night dive, snorkel trips to swim with green sea turtles and manta rays, or take a jet ski safari in search of dolphins.

The holiday festivities close out with a New Year’s Eve celebration including a cocktail party on Dream Island where “guests can wave goodbye to the final sunset of 2021 with champagne and canapés before the grand gala dinner, a lavish event accompanied by live music throughout the night.”

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Amazing travel facts Turkey

Written by Gill Dewar on September 10, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

AMAZING TRAVEL FACTS

Did you know that there is city which has the world’s oldest and biggest covered market? It was built in the 15th century, has 61 covered streets and more than 4000 shops.

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel to visit this market?

The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul, World’s Oldest and Biggest Covered Market.

The Grand Bazaar was commissioned by Mehmet II (1444-1481) immediately after the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul in 1453 to provide financial resources for the Hagia Sophia.

The construction of the Grand Bazaar began in 1461. The Grand Bazaar, which was a wooden structure at the beginning, is now entirely built of stone and brick. Bricks were used for the vaulted arches, cut stones were used at the base of the arches, and walls were built by plastering over bricks or stone.

The oldest building is the Cevahir or İç Bedesten. The second oldest building is the Sandal Bedesten. Bedesten, a vaulted and fireproofed segment of the Grand Bazaar, gets its name from bez (cloth) and means cloth seller’s market. Both bedestens are typical examples of classical Ottoman architecture.

The Cevahir Bedesten, initially built for cloth trading and separated from the rest of the Grand Bazaar by four gates, later developed into a market for gold and precious stones. Located in the center of the Grand Bazaar, it also houses a bank.

Named after a type of cloth woven of silk and cotton fibers, the Sandal Bedesten spans an area of 2.435 square meters and is covered by 20 lead-plated domes. The Istanbul Municipality used the Sandal Bedesten as an auction house 1914 to 1980.

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Amazing travel facts Finland

Written by Traveltalksteam on September 6, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

AMAZING TRAVEL FACTS

Did you know that there is a sport where a man has to carry his wife through an obstacle course? Amazing, right?

Legend has it that men stole wives from neighboring villages in the 19th century and this is where it originates from. This competition is now held all over the world, but do you know where the sport was invented? We can travel to see it in July.

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel to cheer them on?

It is indeed Finland.

A wife-carrying contest is actually a lot like it sounds. Men, carrying wives, race through an obstacle course that includes sand, water and fences. The prize for winning the race is the wife’s weight in beer. It’s really all very civilized.

The Wife Carrying World Championships are hosted each July in the Finnish town of Sonkajärven. The contest’s popularity has inspired similar events in the United States, Australia, Ireland and even China, among others. Some contests — like the North American Wife Carrying Championships — award money to winners to pay for travel expenses to compete in the big leagues — Finland. Even celebrity and former U.S. NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman competed at Sonkajärven — although he only ran the last 100 meters of the course, claiming he wasn’t prepared for such a grueling contest.

You’ll find wife-carrying contests all over the globe, but the Finnish competition is the mother race. In 2008, 39 couples competed, and historically, the competition has included Finnish, Japanese, Chinese, Irish, American, Australian, English, Kenyan, Swedish, German, and Estonian competitors [source: Sonkajärvi]. Two Estonians — Margo Uusorg and Birgit Ulricht — share the wife-carrying world record of 55.5 seconds.

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Amazing travel facts USA

Written by Gill Dewar on September 2, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

AMAZING TRAVEL FACTS

Did you know that there is a desert which has beautiful striped hills that look like a layered cake? It has multi-coloured valleys and is called “the Painted Desert”.

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel in order to see this desert?

It is indeed Arizona.

The Painted Desert was named by a Spanish expedition under Francisco Vázquez de Coronado during his 1540 quest to find the Seven Cities of Cibola. He located these some 40 miles (60 km) east of Petrified Forest National Park. Finding the cities were not made of gold, Coronado sent an expedition to find the Colorado River to gain supplies. Passing through the wonderland of colors, they named the area El Desierto Pintado (“The Painted Desert”).

Travellers who decide to visit one of the most amazing deserts of the planet will be able to observe an unusual phenomenon. Sometimes, the desert air is heated to such a degree, that mist of pink or purple is generated from the dust. It’s a great experience to watch this haze. Researchers found out that millions of years ago, a significant part of the current desert was covered with dense forests.

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Underwater ‘forest’ off the coast of Ayia Napa

Written by Gill Dewar on August 30, 2021. Posted in Destination news, Amazing Facts.

Jason deCaires Taylor is the mastermind behind the Museum of Underwater Sculpture Ayia Napa (Musan)

Artist Jason deCaires Taylor has made a big splash in the art world once more – this time with an underwater forest off the coast of party hotspot Ayia Napa in Cyprus.

The Briton is known for creating underwater museums that feature striking sculpture collections. He’s created aquatic sculpture gardens everywhere from Cannes, Mexico, Grenada, the Bahamas, Lanzarote, Norway, Australia, and the Maldives – though this one was partially destroyed after it was deemed offensive.

Titled Museum of Underwater Sculpture Ayia Napa (Musan), his latest submerged endeavour is 200 metres (656ft) off the coast of Pernera Beach and features 93 sculptures on the seabed between eight and 10 metres (26 to 33ft) below the surface.

The exhibition, made with a budget of £846,685 (€1million), opened last month, with divers and snorkelers invited to explore what lies beneath.

The artworks, lowered into the sea using a crane, allude to the relationship between man and nature, with life-size sculptures of children pointing cameras and playing amid 13-tonne blue-tinged trees that catch the light as swimmers paddle overhead.

Made in conjunction with the government of Cyprus, the artworks are intended to resemble a path through the forest floor.

And it’s hoped that the materials will be a haven for sea life.

A launch statement said: ‘The sculptures have been designed and made with materials that attract marine life, and are placed at different depths, thus creating a suitable substrate for marine life at all levels.

‘The sculptures are made of inert materials, with neutral pH, so as not to affect the area adversely. It’s a sandy area and it is expected that over time the biodiversity of the area will be enriched, thanks to the museum.’

The artist describes the sculptures as ‘active catalysts’ in nurturing aquatic life and reefs, meaning Musan will become an evolving and growing underwater forest.

Ayia Napa’s Mayor, Christos Zannettou, said: ‘We believe that with this unique diving museum visitors will be able to enjoy an underwater oasis.’

The past 20 years have seen maritime ecosystems in the Mediterranean deplete radically, with eco-artists like deCaires Taylor determined to make a change.

The qualified diving instructor is preoccupied with man’s impact on the earth in his work, which has a focus on biodiversity.

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Egypt’s ancient King Khufu’s Boat moved from Giza pyramids to new home

Written by Gill Dewar on August 30, 2021. Posted in Destination news, Amazing Facts, MICE.

CAIRO – King Khufu’s Boat, an ancient vessel that is the oldest and largest wooden boat discovered in Egypt, has been painstakingly moved from its longstanding home next to the Giza pyramids to a nearby giant museum, officials said.

The 4 600-year-old vessel, also known as the Solar Boat, was moved to the nearby Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), due to be inaugurated later in 2021.

“The aim of the transportation project is to protect and preserve the biggest and oldest organic artefact made of wood in the history of humanity for the future generations,” the tourism and antiquities ministry said in a statement.

It took 48 hours to transport the cedarwood boat, which is 42 metres long and weighs 20 tons, to its new home. It arrived at the GEM in the early hours of Saturday, the ministry said.

The boat was transported as a single piece inside a metal cage carried on a remote-controlled vehicle imported especially for the operation, said Atef Moftah, supervisor general of the GEM project.

The vessel, discovered in 1954 at the southern corner of the Great Pyramid, has been exhibited for decades at a museum bearing its name at Giza Plateau.

Egypt says the Grand Egyptian Museum, which has been under construction intermittently for 17 years, will contain more than 100 000 artefacts when it opens.

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Thanda Island, Tanzania – new mermaid will help build up reefs

Written by Gill Dewar on August 27, 2021. Posted in Destination news, Amazing Facts, MICE.

Thanda Island, off the Indian Ocean coast of Tanzania, has introduced an underwater mermaid sculpture that doubles as a tool in the private island’s ongoing marine conservation work, which includes growing and preserving the vulnerable coral reef that surrounds the island.

Created by Antigone Meda, island manager and “Head of Magic” at Thanda Island, the bigger-than-life-size concrete sculpture contributes to an expanding artificial reef that is part of an coral nursery beneath the waves of the Shungimbili Island Marine Reserve about 5 minutes by boat from the resort.

The piece is also the first of many mermaid sculptures that Meda intends to create to symbolize “the wonderful women that work on the Thanda Island team.” Made from environment-friendly concrete and cast in fiberglass molds, the sculpture is named “Rianne” for resident marine biologist Rianne Laan, who created the coral nursery in 2018.

Meda, who joined Thanda Island in 2016 and became island manager two years later, drew inspiration for the sculpture from the underwater artwork of British artist Jason Taylor. She only works on mermaid sculptures at night after her work is over, she said, “so this one took about two years. It was worth it — this was a dream project.”

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Amazing travel facts Dubai

Written by Gill Dewar on August 25, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

AMAZING TRAVEL FACTS

The first ever Ferris Wheel opened in the 19th century and many followed since. But a new Ferris wheel is in the making that will be the tallest in the world. It will be 250 meters high and is set to open later this year.

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel to admire the wheel?

It is indeed Dubai! A bit more about it:

Ain Dubai, the world’s tallest and largest observation wheel, is set to open in the fourth quarter of 2021. the wheel – which is 250 metres high – would open later this year.

Located on Bluewaters Island, the Ferris wheel is set to be the world’s largest with each glass-enclosed capsule rising up to 820 feet in the air and offering 360-degree panoramas of the Dubai skyline.

The structure is over 200 per cent taller than the first ever Ferris wheel. It will eclipse the 167-metre High Roller in Las Vegas and the 190-metre New York Wheel planned for Staten Island, New York City.

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Amazing travel facts India

Written by Gill Dewar on August 24, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

AMAZING TRAVEL FACTS

There have been large events organised all over the world. But did you know the largest event ever, attracted 120 million people and was held in 2013?

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel to watch this event taking place?

It is indeed the Kumbh Mela festival in India.

The Kumbh Mela gathering of 2013 was the largest peaceful gathering of people ever recorded. This Hindu ceremony is celebrated four times out of each 12-year period.

The site of each gathering rotates between the four rivers that are held sacred by those of the Hindu faith, and draws people from all types of lifestyles to celebrate their faith. Among those who attend are sadhus: Holy men who undergo intense physical trials and remain naked year-round.

The 2013 gathering at Kumbh Mela was so massive that it was considered high-risk by the local healthcare system.

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Amazing travel facts Italy

Written by Gill Dewar on August 24, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

AMAZING TRAVEL FACTS

Did you know that Romeo and Juliet, the famous play by William Shakespeare was set in an Italian city? The story was fictional, but the two families who were fighting really existed and even today you can see Juliet’s balcony.

Do you know which city we need to visit in order to see the famous balcony?

It is indeed Verona.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young Italian star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare’s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays.

WHY IS ROMEO AND JULIET SET IN VERONA?

Romeo and Juliet made Verona famous, turning a lovely but unremarkable town in the shadow of Venice in northeast Italy into one of the world’s most romantic destinations. Many visitors wonder why Shakespeare chose this setting to lay the scene of his most popular play.

The answer is quite simple: he kept to the source material. William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is based on Italian writer Luigi da Porta’s A Recently Re-Discovered Story of Two Noble Lovers with Their Pitiful Death Occurred at the Time of Bartolomeo Della Scala.

Da Porta set his play in 14th century Verona, writing about two young nobles living in neighbouring castles who fall in love but are torn apart by their warring families, to tragic effect. Da Porta wrote the original story after having his own heart broken, and Shakespeare discovered and reinterpreted his own version just a few decades later—keeping the devastating conclusion and setting the same.

While it’s a fictional story, the two families (Montague and Capulet) really existed, and they were 2 influential families of Verona.

“In fair Verona, where we lay our scene” is how Shakespeare describes the setting of his most famous love story, Romeo and Juliet. So poignant is the tale that modern-day lovers still flock to the cobbled streets of Verona, if not for historical accuracy, then certainly for the romance it embodies.

If you visit Verona, you can visit Juliet’s house, and the famous balcony. You’ll also see a bronze statue of Juliet, and tradition has it that rubbing the right breast of the statue will bring love and fertility.

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Amazing travel facts Uganda

Written by Gill Dewar on August 20, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

AMAZING TRAVEL FACTS

Some are fortunate enough to own a Rolex watch, but did you know that there is a country where people eat a Rolex? There, it is a “street food” that is immensely popular.

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel in order to eat a Rolex?

It is indeed Uganda.

A rolex is similar to a vegetable omelet. Cabbage, tomato, and onion are cooked with eggs and then rolled into a chapati, a tortilla-like unleavened flatbread. Rolexes are omnipresent in the local daily life. Grabbing a rolex on the way to work gives Ugandans time to exchange the daily news while they’re waiting to be served. Many people end their adventures at the roadside rolex stall after a night on the town, too. The name is a play on the phrase “rolled eggs.”

The origins of the rolex are unclear, but the most widespread story claims that the dish can be traced back to a single creative chapati seller named Sula, from Busoga, a region in eastern Uganda. He was likely the first person to pair chapati with scrambled eggs.

According to Uganda’s Daily Monitor, when the snack appeared at Makerere University in Kampala, its popularity boomed, driven by the students’ non-stop quest for a fast, cheap, and delicious on-the-go meal.

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Amazing travel facts Hong Kong

Written by Gill Dewar on August 18, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

AMAZING TRAVEL FACTS

Did you know that the world’s highest bar and rooftop bar is at an altitude of 480 meters on the 118th floor of a luxurious hotel? Not only that, the hotel is also the highest in the world.

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel in order to have a drink in this rooftop bar?

It is indeed Hong Kong – the Ritz Carlton.

The hotel opened its doors in 2011 and has been the highest hotel in the world since.

It also has the highest rooftop bar in the world.

Designed by Masamichi Katayama, the bar’s large space is split up into an open-air terrace, a long marble bar with stools, lounge areas, and a mini sushi restaurant. The glass-panelled terrace offers almost dizzying views over Victoria Bay and Hong Kong Island – at 8pm, ICC Tower lights up with vibrant designs as part of the Symphony of Lights show.

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Amazing travel facts USA

Written by Gill Dewar on August 18, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

AMAZING TRAVEL FACTS

Did you know that there is a place which is called the diving capital of the world? It has sunken ships, and coral reefs. It even has statues, like a 4500 lbs bronze statue called the “Christ of the Abyss”.

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel in order to dive here?

Frequently called the diving capital of the world, Key Largo, which runs from mile marker 90 to 112, has all the underwater flair you’d expect including sunken ships, statues and coral reefs you have to see to believe.

Hundreds of years ago Florida Keys became 200 smaller islands, of which Key Largo is the longest. This is how it was in the 1500s when Spanish explorers visited the region and named the island “Cayo Largo,” largo meaning long in Spanish.

Fortunately there was a corps of ecological pioneers in South Florida in the late 1950s who realized this underwater gem was in need of preservation.

On December 3, 1959 the control of the ocean bottom to the three mile limit was transferred to the Florida parks system, and on March 15, 1960 President Eisenhower placed the remaining waters beyond the three mile limit to the edge of the Continental Shelf under the control of the Department of the Interior. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park was now a reality and spearfishing and coral collection were prohibited.

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Amazing travel facts Vietnam

Written by Gill Dewar on August 18, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

AMAZING TRAVEL FACTS

But did you know that there is country in the world that serves egg in their coffee? Customers can have the egg coffee one of two ways: hot or cold.

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel in order enjoy this coffee?

It is indeed Vietnam. A bit more about it:

Nguyen Van Dao who was interviewed, said that back in 1946, his father Nguyen Van Giang, a barman at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, ran out of milk to serve with the coffee. In a pinch, he whipped up a mixture of egg yolks and condensed milk, and the rest was history.

As popularity for the beverage grew, so did the business to the Giang Coffee shop in the old quarter of Hanoi today.

The country isn’t the only one to have used eggs in coffee. Several Scandinavian countries also crack egg yolks into coffee grounds, which supposedly making the coffee less bitter. The two versions could not be more different, save for the use of a shared ingredient, the egg. The Vietnamese version tastes like a foamy flan (a Spanish dessert) while the Scandinavian version is said to enhance the coffee, rather than change the taste completely.

The coffee, known locally as Ca Phe Trung, has been so successful that most cafes in Hanoi serve up a version of their own, where tourists and locals alike lined the walls waiting for the beverage.

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Amazing travel facts India

Written by Gill Dewar on August 18, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

AMAZING TRAVEL FACTS

Did you know that there is city which is know as the Pink city? It was painted pink to welcome Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert in 1876.

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel in order admire these beautiful pink buildings?

The city of Jaipur is one of India’s architectural wonders. It houses some of the country’s most ornate royal palaces — elaborate structures designed hundreds of years ago that still captivate visitors today.

Largely built in the 1700s under the order of Rajput ruler Sawai Raja Jai Singh II, Jaipur is surrounded by a city wall and several defensive forts. Conceived as a commercial centre in the state of Rajasthan, it was considered ahead of its time due to the use of grid iron city planning.

A romantic dusty pink hue — which has defined the city since 1876, after it was painted pink to welcome Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert — gives Jaipur its status as the “Pink City,” as it is commonly known.

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Amazing travel facts Belgium

Written by Traveltalksteam on August 13, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

AMAZING TRAVEL FACTS

Did you know that there is a place which sells 800 tons of chocolates per year? It is the world’s number one selling point of chocolate in the whole world. Amazing, right? Do you know where we need to travel to in order to stock up there?

it is actually Brussels Airport!

A staggering 800 tons of chocolates sold a year, Brussels Airport is the number one selling point of chocolate around the world. That works out at around 2 tons of chocolate per day, or a mouth-watering average of 1.5kg of chocolate sold every minute.

Forgotten to buy chocolates during your stay, or looking for that last minute present? Then head to either the Belgian Chocolate House or the Chocolate Kiosk.

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Amazing Travel Facts England

Written by Gill Dewar on August 10, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

England:

Did you know that there are very tiny museums? One is housed inside an elevator shaft (can you believe it!), but the world’s smallest museum, opened in 2016, is housed in a phone booth. The exhibit changes every three months and fits only one visitor at a time.

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel to in order to visit this museum?

Its indeed the Warley Museum in West Yorkshire.

A bit more about it:

Several museums lay claim to the title of “world’s smallest”—the MMuseumm in New York City is housed inside an elevator shaft, while a teeny converted shed in the town of Superior, Arizona calls itself the World’s Smallest Museum by coming in at just 134 square feet.

However, the northern English town of Warley, West Yorkshire, about 25 miles southwest of Leeds, has turned one of those iconic red phone booths into a mini-museum. Inside its four thin, bright-red walls, The Warley Museum shows off memorabilia from the small town’s history, including old photographs, antique jewellery, and glass etchings, and will rotate its exhibits every three months.

While the Warley Museum is being billed by residents as the world’s smallest, locals would like to make that designation official. The Telegraph reports that the Warley Community Association (WCA) has formally applied to the Guinness Book of World Records, hoping that their little red museum—which, like any other non-Tardis phone box, can only fit one visitor at a time—will make it into the big leagues.

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Amazing Travel Facts USA

Written by Gill Dewar on August 10, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

USA:

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel to in order to get married this way?

It is indeed in the mighty state of Texas.

Some more amazing laws in Texas

You Must Warn Your Victims 24 Hours in Advance

You Can’t Eat Your Neighbor’s Garbage Without Permission

One man’s trash is another man’s criminal conviction in Texas. If you eat your neighbor’s garbage without permission, you may face jail time for trespassing and stealing another’s property.

You Can’t Feather Dust a Public Building

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Amazing Travel Facts Colombia

Written by Gill Dewar on August 10, 2021. Posted in Amazing Facts.

Colombia:

Did you know that there is a cathedral built inside a salt mine located about 200 meters underground? It was built in the caverns and tunnels left behind by miners two centuries ago. In 1990, 127 miners, plus a handful of sculptors were brought in to build the current version of the cathedral — located 60 meters below the original cathedral.

Amazing, right?

Do you know where we need to travel to in order to visit this beautiful salt mine cathedral?

The right answer is the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá in Colombia.

Initially, miners prayed in a small sanctuary built inside the caverns. There, they would pray to the Virgin of the Rosary of Guasá, the patron saint of miners, to protect them from toxic gases, explosions and other accidents. That first sanctuary was built in the 1930s.

“The work was very dangerous,” Juan Pablo García, a cathedral administrator, said of mining the Zipaquirá salt deposits, where commercial mining began in 1815. “Every day that they came out of the mine alive was a reason for giving thanks.”

After extracting salt, the miners left in their wake a vast network of grottoes, pits and passageways. Retired mining engineer Jorge Castelblanco says most exhausted mines are simply abandoned and sealed up. But Zipaquirá’s miners and church officials — influential figures in this deeply Catholic country — persuaded the Colombian government to convert the empty spaces into a church in 1953.

Structural problems forced its closure in 1990. That’s when Castelblanco, 127 miners, plus a handful of sculptors were brought in to build the current version of the cathedral — located 200 feet below the original cathedral. (The first sanctuary from the 1930s had been closed earlier because it was unstable).

It was a massive undertaking. Just carving the Stations of the Cross into the walls took five years. Another challenge was transferring the massive rock salt altar from the old site to the new. It weighed 16 tons and workers had to cut it into three pieces to make the move.

The church is also breathing new life into the local economy. Salt mining in Zipaquirá has dwindled, but now tourists and religious pilgrims flock here. The site receives about 600,000 visitors annually.

And although it’s not among the Seven Wonders of the World, Colombia’s Congress proclaimed the Salt Cathedral to be “the first wonder of Colombia.”

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Amazing Travel Facts USA

You Can Watch an Opera Under Water at This Luxury Resort in the Maldives

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Underwater ‘forest’ off the coast of Ayia Napa

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Thanda Island, Tanzania – new mermaid will help build up reefs

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