“Cultural Heritage” in Europe Booklet

Bulgaria

THE MONASTERY OF SAINT IVAN OF RILA.

The Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, better known
as the Rila Monastery is the largest and most
famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria.
It is situated in the southwestern Rila Mountains,
117 km (73 mi) south of the capital Sofia in the
deep valley of the Rilska River at an elevation of
1,147 m (3,763 ft) above sea level, inside of Rila
Monastery Nature Park. The monastery is named
after its founder, the hermit Ivan of Rila (876 -
946 AD), and houses around 60 monks.

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Bulgaria

Founded in the 10th century, the Rila Monastery
is regarded as one of Bulgaria's most important
cultural, historical and architectural monuments
and is a key tourist attraction for both Bulgaria
and Southern Europe. As monastery is one of the
most attending touristic destination in the
country, in 1999 it was depicted on the reverse of
the 1 lev banknote.

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Italy

ARAB-NORMAN
(PALERMO-MONREALE-CEFALÙ).

Testimony of the fruitful coexistence between
different cultures, the "Circuit of Arab-Norman
Palermo and the cathedrals of Monreale and
Cefalu", pride of Sicily and the whole of Italy, is
the last Italian site listed as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site.

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Italy

Arab-Norman Palermo includes a series of nine
civil and religious structures dating from the era
of the Norman kingdom of Sicily
(1130-1194):two palaces, three churches, a
cathedral, a bridge, as well as the cathedrals of
Cefalú and Monreale.

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Italy

Collectively, they are an example of a
social-cultural syncretism between Western,
Islamic and Byzantine cultures on the island. They
also bear testimony to the fruitful coexistence of
people of different origins and religions (Muslim,
Byzantine, Latin, Jewish, Lombard and French).

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Italy

THE ANCIENT OPEN AIR THEATRE
(TAORMINA).

With its spectacular views of both the sea and Mt.
Etna, Taormina is the picture-perfect Sicilian
town.

But it’s renowned for another reason, too: its
Greek theater, beautifully positioned to overlook
(you guessed it) the sea and the volcano!

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Italy

Built in the 3rd century B.C., it was largely rebuilt
by the Romans in the 2nd century—and still looks
much like it would have then. After the theater in
Syracuse, it’s Sicily’s largest ancient theater.

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Italy

THE COLOSSEUM IN ROME.

The Colosseum, in particular, is the main symbol
of Rome, the capital of Italy. It is an imposing
construction (the greatest Roman amphitheatre)
measuring 188 meters in length, 156 meters in
width and 57 meters in height, and it is almost
2000 years old (the construction began in the
year 72 under the empire of Vespasian). During
the Roman empire the Colosseum (known then as
Flavian Amphitheatre) allowed more than 50,000
people to enjoy the spectacles: exhibition of
exotic animals, recreation of battles and gladiator
fights.

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Spain

MURCIA CATHEDRAL.

The most important temple in the Region is a
magnificent merge of styles, a catalogue of stone
which summarizes more than six centuries of art
and history.Its construction began in 1394 over
the remains of an old Arabic mosque and in 1462
its vaults were finished. The oldest entrance is La
Puerta de los Apóstoles (the door of the Apostles)

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Spain

It's only storefront is flanked by pointed
archivolts with statues of the apostles on it. La
Puerta de las Cadenas( the door of the Chains)
dates from 1513.From the 15th century dates the
Capilla de Los Vélez.Its baroque main façade
(Imafronte), Jaime Bort’s work, is an exaltation of
levantino art (the 18th century eastern Spain art).
It is divided as an altarpiece into two parts and
three vertical sections.The tower, divided into
five parts, is 92 meters high. Its construction
started in 1511 and the fifth body hosts
twenty-five church bells

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Spain

LAS CLARAS ARABIC PALACE.

On the Islamic-Mudejar palace of the Emir of
Murcia, Ibn Hud, the monastery of Santa Clara
was founded, which since 1365 houses the
Clarisas nuns. In this building come several
centuries of history and different cultures such as
Islamic, Gothic and Baroque. The museum space
and the nuns coexist in total harmony.It
conserves one of the oldest Arabic pools in Spain.

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Spain

THE ROMEA THEATRE.

Over 150 years of history, the Teatro Romea is
one of the most important cultural references of
the city of Murcia. Located in the historic centre,
the building was built in the second half of the
nineteenth century.

The inspired neoclassical facade of the theatre is
marked by an eclectic style, in which three busts
of great musicians are sculpted: Beethoven,
Mozart and Liszt leading the top of it, thus
highlighting the nature of this building dedicated
to the promotion of culture.

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Spain

Since its inception, Teatro Romea has undergone
several renovations motivated by the fire
suffered in the nineteenth century. More
recently, it was restored in 1985.

Since then, Teatro Romea has maintained a stable
program and has been one of the most important
centres of cultural activity in Murcia.

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Turkey

GALATA TOWER

The Galata Tower is one of Istanbul’s most iconic
visuals, overlooking Beyoğlu and Karaköy from its
perched position, while the colorful lights of the
tower can be seen at night from all over the city.

The Galata Tower, Galata Kulesi in Turkish, is one
of the highest and oldest towers of Istanbul. 63
meter (206 feet) high tower provides a panoramic
view of the old town. It was built in the 14th
century by the Genoese colony as part of the
defense wall surrounding their district at Galata
directly opposite ancient Constantinopolis.

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Turkey

The Galata Tower really became famous in Turkey
and a part of Ottoman history when in the 17th
century; Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi attempted to fly
from the Galata Tower to Uskudar on the Asian
shore with wings attached to his arms.

After working on this project for many years, he
succeeded one fine day, when the winds carried
him all the way over the Bosphorus to Uskudar.
After this spectacular event, the locals referred to
the tower as the Hezarfen Tower for quite some
time.

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Turkey

It is also during this period that people used the
tower for a strange sport. They tied ropes to the
supports on top of the tower and slid down the rope.
Later they climbed up the rope back to the top of the
tower. Regular competitions were held in this sport
of rope climbing.

At times, the tower was also used by the Mevlevi
Order of the dervishes for their sema ceremonies.

The Galata Tower underwent its last restoration in
1990 and was made open to the public as a tourist
attraction soon after.

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Turkey

EPHESUS

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's
not the same river and he's not the same man'' says,
the famous philosopher of Ephesus, Heraclitus. If
anyone can have the privilege of visiting this
ancient city, they will never be the same again
thanks to the greatness of its structures, the
wisdom and knowledge hidden in each ruin.

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Turkey

The ancient city of Ephesus (Turkish: Efes), located
near the Aegean Sea in modern day Turkey, was
one of the great cities of the Greeks in Asia Minor
and home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the
Seven Wonders of the World. Ephesus is also a
sacred site for Christians due to its association
with several biblical figures, including St. Paul, St.
John the Evangelist and the Virgin Mary.

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Turkey

Ephesus is one of Turkey’s great outdoor museums,
It is the best preserved classical city of the Eastern
Mediterranean and one of the best in the world,
giving a true feeling of life in ancient times.

Ephesus was once a busy seaport but is now six
miles inland.

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Turkey

MOUNTAIN OF GODS – NEMRUT

The Mount Nemrut Tumulus is in Kahta county
which is 86 km east of Adıyaman city.

The Mount Nemrut is one the highest peaks of the
Mesopotamia, and its summit at 2,206 metres
above the sea level contains the tomb of King
Antiochus I of Commagene, commissioned by
himself.

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Turkey

The gigantic statues of gods, each weighing 6 tons
and 10 metres tall, indicate what kind of
super-human effort was spent on the construction
of the tomb.

The statues of gods and the sanctuary formed
along the three aspects of the tumulus are
considered unique, and consequently it was
inscribed in the UNESCO List of World Heritage.

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UK

BIG BEN /PALACE OF WESTMINSTER

Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the
clock at the north end of the Palace of
Westminster in London and is usually extended
to refer to both the clock and the clock tower. The
official name of the tower in which Big Ben is
located was originally the Clock Tower, but it was
renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

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UK

The tower was designed by Augustus Pugin in a
neo-Gothic style. When completed in 1859, its
clock was the largest and most accurate
four-faced striking and chiming clock in the
world.[4] The tower stands 315 feet (96 m) tall,
and the climb from ground level to the belfry is
334 steps. Its base is square, measuring 39 feet
(12 m) on each side. Dials of the clock are 23 feet
(7.0 m) in diameter. On 31 May 2009,
celebrations were held to mark the tower's 150th
anniversary.

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UK

IRONBRIDGE GORGE CIVIL PARISH

The Ironbridge Gorge Civil Parish is a deep gorge
located in Shropshire in England, containing the
River Severn. It is 5,5km2 with steep-sided,
mineral-rich valleys.

It was formed at the end of the last ice age thanks
to a glacial overflow from Lake Lapworth.
Originally called the Severn Gorge, the name
evolved using the famous Iron Bridge name,
which was the first bridge constructed with iron.

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UK

Built in 1779, it linked the industrial town of
Broseley with a mining town of Madeley and the
growing industrial center of Coalbrookdale.

During the early Industrial Revolution, it
provided raw material that revolutionised
industrial processes. These commercial deposits
included coal, iron ore, limestone and fireclay,
allowing rapid growth in the region. It is now
considered as the symbol of the industrial
revolution.

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UK

In 1986, it became one of the first locations in the
UK to be designated as a World Heritage Site.
Today, one may still see remains of mines, pit
mounds, spoil heaps, foundries, factories,
warehouses and other infrastructures important
at the tile. It is now a historic landscape with a
working community and a population of around
4000 people.

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UK

STONEHENGE.

Considered as the best known prehistoric monument in
Europe, Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site and is a British
cultural icon. Located in Wiltshire, England, it consists of a ring
of standing stones of 4 meters height and 2 meters wide,
weighing around 25 tons.

It was built in three different stages, the first monument was an
early henge built about 5,000 years ago while the unique stone
circle was erected in the late Neolithic period about 2500 BC.
The sanctuaries consist of circles of menhirs arranged in a
pattern whose astronomical significance is still being explored.

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UK

The stones were brought from very long distances, between 19
to 150 miles away and dressed using sophisticated techniques
with interlocking joints (unseen at any other prehistoric
monument).

Searchers believe it was a burial ground thanks to different
human bones deposits from 3000 BC. It was legally protected
in 1882 and added to the UNESCO sites in 1986.

Stonehenge was produced by a culture that left no written
records, many aspects still remain unsure such as how it was
built and for what purpose. It is the most architecturally
sophisticated and only surviving lintelled stone circle in the
world.

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PROJECT NO. 2018-1-UK01-KA201-048136

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