In the immediate vicinity of Hiroshima, along the coast of the Japanese Inland Sea Seto, lies Itsukushima, a small island of great significance to Japanese history and culture. Itsukushima is home to the most important Shinto shrine in this part of Japan, which is why the island is also known as Miyajima, derived from the … Read more
In all depictions of Buddha’s life, trees play a significant role. In Theravada Buddhism, they are not just a part of nature, but symbolically linked to the stages of the “Awakened One’s” destiny. Some of these trees were considered sacred in Hinduism before Buddha’s arrival, while others became sacred because of Buddha. This also reveals … Read more
“The pursuit of knowledge and discovery is the joy and right of humanity.” – Alexander von Humboldt “The exploration of encounters between nations, the interaction of different cultures, sometimes thousands of kilometers apart, is one of the most exciting branches of science.” “Cultures have always communicated with each other. Communication between cultures allows for new … Read more
My father and my grandfather pitched their tents here before me. True believers for twelve centuries, they settled in this land and none of them had ever heard of an underground palace, nor did those who came before them. And behold! A Frankish man from a faraway land arrived, many days’ journey away, and he … Read more
Many papers and words have been written on this topic, but in talking to people I have learned that very little is actually known about stećci. I first came into contact with stećci about fifteen years ago when I saw the original stećci in front of the Zamaljski Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina during a … Read more
In ancient cultures, libraries were special places where a large number of selected and carefully preserved manuscripts, symbolic representations, and maps, written or engraved on different materials, were stored. They were usually part of a much larger separate complex within the city center for which we do not have a unique name today. These kind … Read more
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the entire Europe was engulfed in centuries-long wars and general poverty, in which urban culture remained preserved only in traces. In such circumstances, all forms of classical art, including the art of garden design, almost completely evaporated and disappeared. The Church, with its monasteries, remained the only bearer … Read more
“In order to fully understand them, truths must also be lived. Amonius Sacas, a Neoplatonist from Alexandria from the 3rd century.” “In 480 BC, enormous military forces of the Persian Empire, composed of over thirty subjugated nations, which, according to Herodotus, numbered more than two million people, set out on a conquest campaign against Europe. … Read more
Glimpsing into the rich and vibrant history of Persia, or Iran, is like looking into a colorful kaleidoscope where many ancient civilizations and cultures of the old world intertwine. The location of the Iranian plateau in the center of the then civilized world connected Iran on one side to Mesopotamia and Anatolia, and on the … Read more
The Greek ship Syracuse, according to some sources the largest ship built in antiquity, rightfully ranks among the most miraculous achievements of ancient shipbuilders. Our knowledge about this ship is largely due to the Greek writer Athenaeus. According to his words, Hiero II, ruler of the Sicilian city of Syracuse (270-215 BC), commissioned the construction … Read more
