The Leaning Tower of Pisa - Italy

Its construction began in 1174 and spanned 177 years over 3 stages. Right from the beginning the tower began to sink in the unstable soil with a foundation of only 3 meters. Construction was halted for nearly 100 years due to internal political conflicts which allowed the soil to stabilize. Finally engineers tried to correct this mistake by changing the length of the walls on the left hand side of the wall, however, the tower was still leaning; nowadays it is displaced horizontally by approximately 4 meters and continues to displace by approximately 1mm per year. Today it is know as The Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Gallery - Why is the Tower of Pisa leaning?

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Postojna Cave - Slovenia

Postojna Cave is located in the Slovenian town of Postojna. It is the most visited cave in Europe and is one of the best known tourist attractions in  Slovenia. Since its official opening in 1819, over 30 million tourists have visited the caves however visitors have been recorded visiting the passages near to the entrance back to the 13^th century. The caves date back over 2 million years where 1mm of stalactite takes 30 years to form.  There are over 27 km of corridors, chambers and caves that have been eroded and carved through the underground by the Pivka River over the centuries. Throughout history the caves remained largely undiscovered until explorers ventured further and further into the caves where inscriptions have been found and dated to be 700 years old.

New areas of the cave were discovered in 1818 by Luka Čeč, who was preparing the cave for the visit of Francis I, the first Emperor of Austria. One year later, the cave was opened for visitors. Locals seeing the caves as an attraction developed the cave to make it more accessible for visitors. In 1872 railway tracks were laid and visitors were pushed along by the guides, in 1884 electric lighting was added, followed by a gas locomotive, and finally an electric train which now covers about 4km of the tour with the rest on foot.

The cave system has a constant temperature around 8°C and a humidity reaching 95%, a perfect environment for over 200 species of fauna, one unusual amphibian is the endemic olm, the largest trogloditic amphibian in the world. These bizarre pink creatures you can see in an aquarium at the end of the tour. The magic of the caves is undoubtedly the galleries of white stalactites that take the shapes of needles, icicles and even spaghetti. The stalagmites are just as spectacular and some of these join creating great pillars or translucent curtains. The Concert Hall is known for its exceptional acoustics and can accommodate 10 000 people for musical performances, Christmas in the caves is not to be missed. Visitors come from all over the world to admire these magnificent structures and to learn how they were created. A visit to the Postojna Cave is a wonderful experience and a great lesson in speleology (the study of science and exploration of caves).

Gallery - Postojna Cave

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Hierapolis-Pamukkale - Turkey

There is no sight quite like the one you will find on the slopes of Pamukkale, in Turkey near the Aegean Sea. It is considered to be the largest most elaborate calcium formation in the world.  From the distance it looks like a mountain covered with white cottonballs, local people call it Pamukkale which in Turkish means cotton castle (“Pamuk” – cotton, “Kale” – castle). This unique white wonderland is created by calcareous white terraces, shaped in incredible natural frozen cascades. The terraces are made of a gleaming white travertine, a sedimentary rock deposited by water from the local hot springs. In Pamukkale, there are 17 hot springs with temperatures ranging from 35^oC to 100^oC. Water from the hot springs is has a high content of calcium compounds and is carbon dioxide rich, when it reaches the surface and cools, carbon dioxide degases from it then calcium carbonate is deposited. The depositing lasts until the carbon dioxide in the water reaches the level of the carbon dioxide in the air. In the beginning it has a soft consistence which later hardens into travertine creating picturesque swellings and stalagmitics. The roughness of the surface is filled with water creating natural thermal pools. This procces has lasted for more than 14 thousands years on the hillside of Cökelez mountain.  Not only is it the natural beauty of this site that attracts tourists but the unique natural spa it creates, as it is known that the water from these springs has curative powers. People have come for thousands of years to bath in its waters, however the tourist boom in the 80’s and building of new hotels above the springs was detrimental to the springs. In order to protect this area, it was decided to create a National Park in 1988, and as a result the existing hotels were demolished in a dramatic attempt to preserve the site. Visitors can no longer bath in the pools and the flow of water once flowing and abundant is now largely dry and fragile. The best way to visit the pools is to walk up the slope carrying your shoes from the village of Pamukkale below.

In the 2^nd century B.C. above Pamukkale, the Romans built an ancient spa city called Hierapolis around a sacred thermal spring. The city quickly became famous as people came to soothe their ailments and ended up seeing out their days living in the city. Over the centuries the city was destroyed by earthquakes and is standing today as ruins partially restored. The sacred pool, the spiritual centre of the city still remains and can be used for a fee. Today you can still admire the ruins and monuments of ancient Hierapolis. The most famous are ruins of the Domitian gate and ancient Theatre, Temple of Apollo, the Nymphaeum which is a monumental fountain that in the past distributed water to houses located in the city, Necropolis and Martyrium but the most famous is Cleopatra’s pool, the water in this thermal pool is 36-57^oC.

In 1988 Hierapolis-Pamukkale was made a World Heritage Site. Both UNESCO sites are revered by Turkish people and a must see on any visit to this incredible country.

Gallery - Hierapolis-Pamukkale

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