Author: Ms. R.

Situated amid the suburban homes of the Oxgangs neighborhood, a 20-minute drive from the city center, stands an imposing boulder of red sandstone measuring over 9 feet (2.75 meters) high, 5 feet (1.55 meters) wide, and 1 foot (0.48 meters) thick. It’s believed the stone has stood in this spot for at least 5,000 years and has witnessed the ever-expanding populace of the nation’s capital. In fact, it’s easily missed by the naked eye, as the stone is engulfed……

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Ryūon-ji Temple, better known today as Mama Kannon or Komakiyama Mamakannon, was originally established in 1492 on Mount Komaki. However, during the 16th-century the temple was relocated to where it stands today on the orders of samurai lord Oda Nobunaga. It’s dedicated to the Thousand-Armed Kannon goddess, and those who pray here are said to be blessed with traffic security, matchmaking, and safe childbirth.  These aren’t rare features for a Buddhist temple in Japan, but this temple is said to……

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Stone buildings and stone walls litter the dry landscape of the Valle Giumentina, an iconic region in the northern sector of Majella National Park, in the Central Italian region of Abruzzo. The huts, known as tholos, are testaments to the agro-pastoral civilization of Abruzzo. Shepherds and farmers, along with their families would dwell inside during the summertime when they were forced to work land away from their homes. The shelters were abandoned around the 1950s, but remain as unique……

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North of Lake Trasimeno in the Italian region of Umbria, near the battlefields of the Second Punic War, a tower leans perilously in the woods above the village of Vernazzano. The tower is among the few visible structures that still remain from a prosperous and sprawling medieval village that once called the region home. The village was progressively abandoned during the 18th-century as a result of the area’s ongoing erosion. Originally constructed along an ancient road in the foothills……

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Located next to the Campbeltown Museum on Hall Street in the center of Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute resides the Lady Linda McCartney Memorial Garden. The tribute was created by friends of the American photographer and musician Linda McCartney, wife of musician Sir Paul McCartney. Linda played a very important role in helping the musician become a success.  The couple lived together in a home at the nearby High Park farm following their marriage in 1969. Tragically, Linda died from……

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Approximately 390 million years ago, a pluton monolith formed in what is now North Carolina. Magma slowly cooled and crystallized beneath the earth’s surface, resulting in the massive body of granite that we know today as Looking Glass Rock. Rising 3,969 feet above the tree-lined slopes of Pisgah National Forest, the rock formation is named after the way frozen rainwater on its surface reflects sunlight like a mirror. Pisgah National Forest was established in 1916, and spans over 500,000……

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