Every country and every family have their own traditions. Poland is known for its 12 dishes consumed on Christmas Eve. As opposed to many other countries, the 24th of December is THE Christmas day when the main celebration takes place. There are so many other things that the Polish do on that day. Let me tell you about a few of them.
San Miguel de Allende has a lot of vibe around it. People either love it or hate it. It’s filled with tourists, it’s not Mexican in a traditional kind of way. So what is there to love? A lot, actually. Here’s my list:
Konya is definitely worth a visit on your way to or from Cappadocia. It’ a very calm place, but I was also surprised by how modern it was. Electric tramways, big avenues, lots of parks, new buildings. All of this surrounding the beautiful, old town filled with history and tradition.
The city was once considered the most important Greek city and the most important trading center in the Mediterranean region. It was built in the 10th century BC. The famous Library of Celsus (at least the facade) is still standing and attracts a lot of tourists every year. Ephesus was also home to one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World – the Temple of Artemis.
Why so interesting? First of all, it might be the oldest city still inhabited in the world! The Bulgarians say that it has been inhabited non-stop for the last 6000 years! Well that’s impressive! It was called Philippopolis, the city of Phillip. The city was originally a Thracian settlement and subsequently was invaded by Persians, Greeks, Celts, Romans, Goths, Huns, Bulgars, Slavs, Russians, Crusaders, and Turks. Woah! That’s quite something! And the remains of those times are still present in the city.
Thessaloniki was founded in 315 BC by King Cassander of Macedonia. It rapidly became a very important center and one of the major cities of the kingdom during the Hellenistic Era. Today, mostly a student city and a gateway to the Halkidiki peninsula. Here are some interesting facts that you probably didn’t know about the city.
I spoke to some locals about the Greek traditions and lifestyle and one of the topics that we touched on was how the funerals are held in the Orthodox tradition. Let’s keep in mind that we are talking about old traditions here and lots of those customs got lost with the time, made more efficient and comfortable.
George Town became the first city in Malaya, and by extension, Malaysia. Today, the city is well known for its cultural diversity, colonial-era architecture, and street food.
Tana Toraja means “The Land of Toraja People”. It’s a region in the highlands of Sulawesi, one of Indonesia’s 17 000 islands. Why are the Toraja interesting? They have very elaborate burial rites. It’s a very remote place, therefore not many tourists come here. But if you take the time and struggle to visit, you will not regret it. I know, I don’t.
You can totally do this trip on your own. The Toraja Land is very welcoming, people are friendly and it’s fairly easy to get to once you arrive in Makassar.