TRAVEL TUESDAY 411 - GYTHEIO, GREECE

“We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine.” – Dwight L. Moody

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Gytheio (Greek: Γύθειο) or Gythio, also the ancient Gythium or Gytheion (Ancient Greek: Γύθειον), is a town on the eastern shore of the Mani Peninsula, and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality East Mani, of which it is a municipal unit.  The municipal unit has an area of 197.313 km2.

Gytheio was the seaport of Ancient Sparta, which lies approximately 40 kilometres north of it. It is the site of ancient Cranae, a tiny island where, according to the myth, Paris and Helen spent their first night together before departing for Troy. Gytheio used to be an important port until it was destroyed in 4th century AD, possibly by an earthquake, though its strategic location continued to give it a significant role in Maniot history. Now the seat of the municipality of East Mani, Gytheio is the largest and most important town in Mani.

The lighthouse of Gytheio lies on the small islet of Cranae, to the east of Gythio town. The lighthouse is a whitewashed octagonal construction. It is made of white marble and is 25m high while the height of its focal plane is about 78m. It was built in 1873 and from 1989 it houses the Maritime Museum that displays items from the long nautical history of Gytheio town and the area of Mani in general.

At the first period of its construction, the lighthouse used to work with petrol and its luminosity extended for over 15 nautical miles. However, during World War II, it fell in disuse until 1945, when the Hellenic Navy decided to reconstruct the lighthouse network. Four years later, it started to use acetylene. Today, it flashes every 18 seconds and has a range of 9 nautical miles. The lighthouse of Gytheio is open to the public and constitutes a famous landmark of the town.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 410 - OLD ATHENS, GREECE

“Justice will not come to Athens until those who are not injured are as indignant as those who are injured.” -  Thucydides

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Pláka (Greek: Πλάκα) is the old historical neighbourhood of Athens, clustered around the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis, and incorporating labyrinthine streets and neoclassical architecture. Pláka is built on top of the residential areas of the ancient town of Athens. It is known as the "Neighbourhood of the Gods" due to its proximity to the Acropolis and its many archaeological sites.

Pláka is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists around the year, and is under strict zoning and conservation regulations, as the only neighbourhood in Athens where all utilities (water, power, cable television, telephone, internet, and sewage) lie underground in fully accessible, custom-made tunnelling. Excavations have proven that Adrianou Street is the oldest street in Athens still in continuous use with exactly the same layout since antiquity.

The Anafiotika is a part of Plaka which reminds one of an Aegean island village at the foot of the Acropolis. The area owes its existence to the wishes of Otto the first king of Greece. Upon coming to Greece from Bavaria, Otto decided to build himself a palace. Wanting this palace to be solidly built, he enquired as to who were the best builders in the country. He was no sooner informed that the people of Anafi, a small island in the Cyclades, were famous for their building skills, than he invited the best of them to the capital, to start work on the Palace.

The builders had to have a place to live while works lasted. Knowing that it would be years before they set eyes on their beloved Anafi, and being quite homesick for it, they decided to recreate it, at the foot of the Acropolis. So, they built small white houses in the exact style they used in their home village. And there those little houses remain. Anafiotika, meaning the Anafians’ neighbourhood, is a unique and very charming neighbourhood at the highest point of the Plaka district.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 409 - THE JOY OF TRAVEL

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin

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In the post-COVID world, travelling for pleasure has once again become a viable proposition and the numbers of people travelling throughout the world has become enormous. This week, we have the beginning of the Spring school holidays in Victoria and it is surprising how many people are taking their kids overseas for a vacation – despite the glum outlook for the economy, despite the increased political tensions and risk of warfare in many places around the world, despite the increased likelihood of civil unrest and uncertainty in even traditionally “tourist-safe” destinations. 

Airports are interesting places and it is always revealing just sitting and watching the people go by. Thousands of faces, each with its own story. Some travel for pleasure, some for work, some for family, some because of special reasons for all kinds. Some faces happy, some sad, some apathetic, many showing the fatigue of travel. Yes, despite the rapid pace of travel and ultra-fast airplanes nowadays, travel remains fatiguing and the increased security measures at airports mean great delays. Not to mention the likelihood of flight cancellations and unscheduled layovers.

Nevertheless, travelling is exciting and to see new places (or perhaps to revisit old favourites!), meet new people, immerse oneself in exotic cultures and be surrounded by people speaking in wonderful, strange languages that one doesn't understand is a fantastic prospect!

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 408 - KYTHIRA, GREECE

“In the ancient world, Cythera, one of the Greek islands, was thought to be the birthplace of Venus, goddess of love.” - Helene Adhemar

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Kythira (Greek: Κύθηρα, also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira) is an island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands, although it is distant from the main group. Administratively, it belongs to the Islands regional unit, which is part of the Attica region (although at large distance from Attica itself).

The island is strategically located between the Greek mainland and Crete, and from ancient times until the mid 19th century was a crossroads of merchants, sailors, and conquerors. As such, it has had a long and varied history and has been influenced by many civilisations and cultures. This is reflected in its architecture (a blend of traditional, Aegean and Venetian elements), as well as the traditions and customs, influenced by centuries of coexistence of the Greek, Venetian, and Ottoman cultures.

The rugged terrain of the island is a result of prevailing winds from the surrounding seas which have shaped its shores into steep rocky cliffs with deep bays. The island has many beaches, of various composition and size; only half of them can be reached by road through the mountainous terrain of the island. The Kythirian Straits are nearby. In the photo above is the famous Kapsali beach, near the picturesque village of Kapsali. Restaurants and cafés line the beach and one can bathe in the crystal-clear waters of the quiet bay.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 407 - THE ALHAMBRA, SPAIN

“Perhaps there never was a monument more characteristic of an age and people than the Alhambra; a rugged fortress without, a voluptuous palace within; war frowning from its battlements; poetry breathing throughout the fairy architecture of its halls.” ― Washington Irving

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The Alhambra (Arabic: الْحَمْرَاء‎‎  Al-Ḥamrā, lit. "The Red One"), the complete Arabic form of which was Qalat Al-Hamra, is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It was originally constructed as a small fortress in AD 889 on the remains of Roman fortifications and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Moorish emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada, who built its current palace and walls.

The complex was begun in 1238 by Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar, the first Nasrid emir and founder of the Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state of Al-Andalus. It was built on the Sabika hill, an outcrop of the Sierra Nevada which had been the site of earlier fortresses and of the 11th-century palace of Samuel ibn Naghrillah. Later Nasrid rulers continuously modified the site. The most significant construction campaigns, which gave the royal palaces much of their definitive character, took place in the 14th century during the reigns of Yusuf I and Muhammad V.

After the conclusion of the Christian Reconquista in 1492, the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella (where Christopher Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition), and the palaces were partially altered. In 1526, Charles V commissioned a new Renaissance-style palace in direct juxtaposition with the Nasrid palaces, but it was left uncompleted in the early 17th century. After being allowed to fall into disrepair for centuries, with its buildings occupied by squatters, the Alhambra was rediscovered following the defeat of Napoleon I, whose troops destroyed parts of the site.

The rediscoverers were first British intellectuals and then other American and Northern European Romantic travellers. The most influential of them was Washington Irving, whose Tales of the Alhambra (1832) brought international attention to the site. The Alhambra was one of the first Islamic monuments to become the object of modern scientific study and has been the subject of numerous restorations since the 19th century. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 406 - BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

“The hardest thing in life to learn is which bridge to cross and which to burn.” - David Russell

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Brisbane is the port and the capital city of Queensland, Australia, and Australia’s third largest city. It lies astride the Brisbane River on the southern slopes of the Taylor Range, 19 km above the river’s mouth at Moreton Bay. The site, first explored in 1823 by John Oxley, was occupied in 1824 by a penal colony, which had moved from Redcliffe 35 km northeast.

The name of the City honours Sir Thomas Brisbane, former governor of New South Wales, when the convict settlement was declared a town in 1834. Proclaimed a municipality in 1859, it became the capital of newly independent Queensland that same year. Gazetted a city in 1902, it was joined during the 1920s with South Brisbane to form the City of Greater Brisbane. Its municipal government, headed by a lord mayor, holds very broad powers. The Brisbane statistical division, including the cities of Ipswich and Redcliffe, has close economic and social ties to the city.

The Story Bridge is a heritage-listed steel cantilever bridge spanning the Brisbane River that carries vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the northern and the southern suburbs of Brisbane. It is the longest cantilever bridge in Australia. The road across the bridge is named Bradfield Highway. The bridge connects Fortitude Valley to Kangaroo Point. The Story Bridge opened in 1940 and was tolled until 1947. It is named after prominent public servant John Douglas Story.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 405 - THE SAHARA DESERT

“Where are the people?” the little prince at last took up the conversation again. “It is a little lonely in the desert… ” “It is also lonely among men,” the snake said. ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

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The  Sahara is a desert on the African continent. With an area of 9,200,000 square kilometres, it is the largest hot desert in the world and the third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Arctic. The name "Sahara" is derived from the Arabic word for "desert" in the feminine irregular form. The desert covers much of North Africa, excluding the fertile region on the Mediterranean Sea coast, the Atlas Mountains of the Maghreb, and the Nile Valley in Egypt and the Sudan.

It stretches from the Red Sea in the east and the Mediterranean in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, where the landscape gradually changes from desert to coastal plains. To the south it is bounded by the Sahel, a belt of semi-arid tropical savanna around the Niger River valley and the Sudan region of sub-Saharan Africa. The Sahara can be divided into several regions, including the western Sahara, the central Ahaggar Mountains, the Tibesti Mountains, the Aïr Mountains, the Ténéré desert, and the Libyan Desert.

For several hundred thousand years, the Sahara has alternated between desert and savanna grassland in a 20,000-year cycle caused by the precession of Earth's axis (about 26,000 years) as it rotates around the Sun, which changes the location of the North African monsoon.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 404 - TINOS ISLAND, GREECE

"Mary means Star of the sea, for as mariners are guided to port by the ocean star, so Christians attain to glory through Mary's maternal intercession." – St. Thomas Aquinas

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Tinos (Greek: Τήνος) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. In antiquity, Tinos was also known as Ophiussa (from ophis, Greek for snake) and Hydroessa (from hydor, Greek for water). The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of approximately 194 square kilometres and a 2011 census population of 8,636 inhabitants.

Tinos is famous amongst Greeks for the Holy Church of Panagia Evangelistria (The Holy Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin), its 80 or so windmills, about 1000 artistic dovecotes, 50 active villages and its Venetian fortifications at the mountain, Exomvourgo. On Tinos, both Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic populations co-exist, and the island is also well known for its famous sculptors and painters, such as Nikolaos Gyzis, Yannoulis Chalepas and Nikiforos Lytras.

 The island is located near the geographical centre of the Cyclades Island complex, and because of the Panagia Evangelistria church, with its reputedly miraculous icon of Virgin Mary that it holds, Tinos is also the centre of a yearly pilgrimage that takes place on the date of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (15 August, "Dekapentavgoustos" in Greek). This is perhaps the most notable and still active yearly pilgrimage in the region of the eastern Mediterranean. Many pilgrims make their way the 800 metres from the ferry wharf to the church on their hands and knees as a sign of devotion.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 403 - CAPRI, ITALY

“There was a magical timelessness to Capri A special atmosphere, and a sense of history.” ― Kitty Pilgrim

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Capri is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town Capri that is located on the island shares the name and is the largest population centre. The island has two harbours, Marina Piccola and Marina Grande (the main port of the island). The separate comune of Anacapri is located high on the hills to the west.

Capri has been a resort since the time of the Roman Republic. Some of the main features of the island include the following: the Marina Piccola (the little harbour), the Belvedere of Tragara (a high panoramic promenade lined with villas), the limestone crags called sea stacks that project above the sea (the Faraglioni), the town of Anacapri, the Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra), and the ruins of the Imperial Roman villas.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 402 - EPIRUS, GREECE

“What I do is the opposite of building walls. I build bridges. A bridge is something that connects instead of separating.” - Santiago Calatrava

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Zagori (Greek: Ζαγόρι), is a region and a municipality in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeli. It has an area of some 1,000 square kilometers and contains 46 villages known as Zagori villages (or Zagorochoria), and is in the shape of an upturned equilateral triangle.

The southern corner of the triangle contains the provincial capital, Ioannina, the south-western side is formed by Mount Mitsikeli (1,810m), and the Aoos river and Mount Tymfi constitute the northern side, and the south-eastern side runs along the Varda river to Mount Mavrovouni (2,100m) near Metsovo. The municipality has an area of 989.796 km2. The population of the area is about 3,700, which gives a population density of 4 inhabitants per square kilometre, compared to an average of 73.8 for Greece as a whole.

Epirus has many centuries-old bridges that resist time. Although these may be found in many places in Greece they are mainly encountered in the mountainous regions of continental Greece, especially Epirus and Thessaly. Once, they gave a solution to the imperative need of people for travelling or the transportation of goods. Today they are turned into monuments, thanks to their flawless technique and their timeless elegance.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 401 - COCHEM, GERMANY

“I like the idea of an enlightened principality. In the early eighteen-hundreds, in Germany, there were princes who built schools, streets, homes. I like that.” – Brunello Cucinelli

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Cochem is the seat of and the biggest area in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With just under 5,000 inhabitants, Cochem falls just behind Kusel, in the like-named district, as Germany's second smallest district seat. Since 7 June 2009, it has belonged to the Verbandsgemeinde of Cochem.

The town centre with the outlying centre of Sehl upstream lies on the Moselle River's left bank, while the constituent centre of Cond lies on its right. A further constituent centre, Brauheck, with its commercial area, air force barracks and new town development, lies in the heights of the Eifel on Bundesstraße 259, some 2 km from the town centre. Emptying into the Moselle in Cochem are the waterways: the Kraklebach, the Ebernacher Bach, the Sehlerbach, the Falzbach, the Märtscheltbach and the Enthetbach.

Worth seeing in Cochem are many historic buildings, castles, churches and old homes. Sightseeing must also include the Pinnerkreuz, a lookout point overlooking the town which can be reached by chairlift and the former Imperial castle (Reichsburg). There is also a promenade along the Moselle. Further points of interest are the historic Senfmühle ("Mustard Mill") and the water gauge house on the Moselle.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 400 - FIJI

“Love is like an ocean, you never truly know the depth of it until you’re really in it.” – Fijian Proverb

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Fiji (Fijian: Viti), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about 2,000 km north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands (of which about 110 are permanently inhabited) and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres.

The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau. About 87% of the total population of 924,610 live on the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts: either in the capital city of Suva; or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi, where tourism is the major local industry; or in Lautoka, where the sugar-cane industry is dominant. The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain.

Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific through its abundant forest, mineral, and fish resources. The currency is the Fijian dollar, with the main sources of foreign exchange being the tourist industry, remittances from Fijians working abroad, bottled water exports, and sugar cane. The Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development supervises Fiji's local government, which takes the form of city and town councils.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 399 - ANDORRA

“Cast no dirt into the well that gives you water.” – Andorran Proverb

Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a sovereign landlocked country and microstate on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees, bordered by France to the north and Spain to the south. Believed to have been created by Charlemagne, Andorra was ruled by the Count of Urgell until 988, when it was transferred to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell. The present principality was formed by a charter in 1278.

It is currently headed by two co-princes: the bishop of Urgell in Catalonia, Spain and the president of France. Its capital and largest city is Andorra la Vella. Andorra is the sixth-smallest state in Europe, with an area of 468 square kilometres and a population of approximately 79,034. The Andorran people are a Romance ethnic group of originally Catalonian descent.

Andorra is the world's 16th-smallest country by land and 11th-smallest by population. Its capital, Andorra la Vella, is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres above sea level. The official language is Catalan, but Spanish, Portuguese, and French are also commonly spoken. Tourism in Andorra brings an estimated 10.2 million visitors to the country annually. Andorra is not a member state of the European Union. It has been a member of the United Nations since 1993.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 398 - AJACCIO, CORSICA

“Water makes me feel at peace. In Corsica, I spend most of my time on the beaches or in the rivers. That's one reason I love it there so much. The water is so clean and fresh - you can drink it straight out of the rivers! This island is my secret garden.” -  Laetitia Casta

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Corsica (French: Corse; Ligurian: Còrsega) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the French mainland, west of the Italian Peninsula and immediately north of the Italian island of Sardinia, which is the land mass nearest to it. A single chain of mountains makes up two-thirds of the island. As of January 2023, it had a population of 351,255.

The island is a territorial collectivity of France. The regional capital is Ajaccio. Although the region is divided into two administrative departments, Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud, their respective regional and departmental territorial collectivities were merged on 1 January 2018 to form the single territorial collectivity of Corsica. As such, Corsica enjoys a greater degree of autonomy than other French regional collectivities; for example, the Corsican Assembly is permitted to exercise limited executive powers. Corsica's second-largest town is Bastia, the prefecture of Haute-Corse.

Corsica was ruled by the Republic of Genoa from 1284 to 1755, when it seceded to become a self-proclaimed, Italian-speaking Republic. In 1768, Genoa officially ceded it to Louis XV of France as part of a pledge for the debts incurred after enlisting French military help in suppressing the Corsican revolt; as a result France annexed the island in 1769. The future Emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte, was a native Corsican, born that same year in Ajaccio: his ancestral home, Maison Bonaparte, is today a visitor attraction and museum.

Because of Corsica's historical ties to Tuscany, the island has retained many Italian cultural elements and many Corsican surnames are rooted in the Italian peninsula. Corsican, the native tongue and an Italo-Dalmatian language, is recognised as one of France's regional languages. Corsica is the least populated region of metropolitan France, and the third-least populated overall after Mayotte and French Guiana.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 397 - EPHESUS, TURKIYE

“The odd thing about people who had many books was how they always wanted more.”― Patricia A. McKillip

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The library of Celsus is an ancient Roman building in Ephesus, Anatolia, now part of Selçuk, Turkey. It was built in honour of the Roman Senator Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus and completed in 135 AD by Celsus' son, Gaius Julius Aquila (consul, 110 AD). Celsus had been consul in 92 AD, governor of Asia in 115 AD, and a wealthy and popular local citizen. He was a native of nearby Sardis and amongst the earliest men of purely Greek origin to become a consul in the Roman Empire and is honoured both as a Greek and a Roman on the library itself.

Celsus paid for the construction of the library with his own personal wealth. The library was built to store 12,000 scrolls and to serve as a monumental tomb for Celsus. Celsus is buried in a sarcophagus beneath the library, in the main entrance, which is both a crypt containing his sarcophagus and a sepulchral monument to him. It was unusual to be buried within a library or even within city limits, so this was a special honour for Celsus. Not to mention the ultimate dream come true for an ardent bibliophile!

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 396 - BAKU, AZERBAIJAN

“If there were no war, We could construct a bridge between Earth and Mars Melting weapons in an open-hearth furnace.” ― Mammad Araz

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Baku is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located 28 metres below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world and also the largest city in the world located below sea level. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, alongside the Bay of Baku.  

At the beginning of 2009, Baku’s urban population was estimated at just over two million people. Officially, about 25 percent of all inhabitants of the country live in Baku’s metropolitan area. Baku is divided into eleven administrative districts (raions) and 48 townships. Among these are the townships on the islands of the Baku Archipelago, and the town of Oil Rocks built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, 60 kilometres away from Baku.

The Inner City of Baku, along with the Shirvanshah’s Palace and Maiden Tower, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. According to the Lonely Planet’s ranking, Baku is also among the world’s top ten destinations for urban nightlife. The city is the scientific, cultural and industrial centre of Azerbaijan. Many sizeable Azerbaijani institutions have their headquarters there.   The Baku International Sea Trade Port is capable of handling two million tons of general and dry bulk cargoes per year. In recent years, Baku has become an important venue for international events. It hosted the 57th Eurovision Song Contest in 2012, the 2015 European Games, the 2016 European Grand Prix, the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017 and UEFA Euro 2020.

The city is renowned for its harsh winds, which is reflected in its nickname, the “City of Winds”.  Baku has wildly varying architecture, ranging from the Old City core to modern buildings and the spacious layout of the Baku port. Many of the city’s most impressive buildings were built during the early 20th century, when architectural elements of the European styles were combined in eclectic style. Baku thus has an original and unique appearance, earning it a reputation as the “Paris of the East”. In the last decade, countless towers have mushroomed, dwarfing or replacing tatty old Soviet apartment blocks. Some of the finest new buildings are jaw-dropping masterpieces.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 395 - AZERBAIJAN

“Paths are long, Paths are short - Does it make any difference In what country, Or on what path you lose your way?” ― Samad Vurgun

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

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Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan, [ɑːzæɾbɑjˈdʒɑn]), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia (Republic of Dagestan) to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia and Turkey to the west, and Iran to the south. Baku is the capital and largest city.

Azerbaijan is home to a wide variety of landscapes. Over half of Azerbaijan's landmass consists of mountain ridges, crests, highlands, and plateaus which rise up to hypsometric levels of 400–1000 metres (including the Middle and Lower lowlands), in some places (Talis, Jeyranchol-Ajinohur and Langabiz-Alat foreranges) up to 100–120 metres, and others from 0–50 metres and up (Qobustan, Absheron). The rest of Azerbaijan's terrain consists of plains and lowlands.

Azerbaijan's flora consists of more than 4,500 species of higher plants. Due to the unique climate in Azerbaijan, the flora is much richer in the number of species than the flora of the other republics of the South Caucasus. 66 percent of the species growing in the whole Caucasus can be found in Azerbaijan.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 394 - LIMENI, GREECE

“Every rock and stream is a myth.” ― Patrick Leigh Fermor, Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese

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Limeni is a village in Mani, a region in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese. It is an area of wild and unspoilt natural beauty, rich traditions, and great history. It is not as well-known as other parts of Greece, and hence still not very touristic, although there are some wonderful amenities and infrastructure to please even the most demanding visitor.

Limeni is one of the most beautiful coastal villages in Mani and is located three km north of the capital Areopoli. Although it is by no means a beach resort, the crystal clear turquoise waters are perfect for swimming in and for water activities. Several tavernas and restaurants serve deliciously fresh seafood and other wonderful. Traditional Greek dishes. There are comfortable accommodation options too.

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