AM Kerala Tourism & Travels

08/08/2021

Kuthiran Tunnel is Twin-tube tunnel at Kuthiran in Thrissur District of Kerala state in India. It is located on National Highway 544, owned and operated by National Highways Authority of India. It is Kerala's first-ever tunnel for road transport and South India’s Longest 6-lane road tunnel.

(Wikipedia)

29/05/2021

Lakshadweep is a tropical archipelago of 36 atolls and coral reefs in the Laccadive Sea, off the coast of Kerala, India. Not all of the islands are inhabited, and only a few are open to visitors (permits required). Kavaratti, one of the more developed islands, is home to dozens of mosques, including the ornately decorated Ujra Mosque, as well as Kavaratti Aquarium, showcasing regional fish, shark and coral species.

(Wikipedia)

29/05/2021

The Dome of the Rock (Arabic: قبة الصخرة‎) is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was initially completed in 691–92 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik during the Second Fitna on the site of the Second Jewish Temple, destroyed during the Roman Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The original dome collapsed in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1022–23. The Dome of the Rock is in its core one of the oldest extant works of Islamic architecture.
Its architecture and mosaics were patterned after nearby Byzantine churches and palaces, although its outside appearance has been significantly changed in the Ottoman period and again in the modern period, notably with the addition of the gold-plated roof, in 1959–61 and again in 1993. The octagonal plan of the structure may have been influenced by the Byzantine Church of the Seat of Mary (also known as Kathisma in Greek and al-Qadismu in Arabic) built between 451 and 458 on the road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

The Foundation Stone or Noble Rock the temple was built over bears great significance in the Abrahamic religions as the place where God created the world and the first human, Adam. It is also believed to be the site where Abraham attempted to sacrifice his son, and as the place where God's divine presence is manifested more than in any other place, towards which Jews turn during prayer. The site's great significance for Muslims derives from traditions connecting it to the creation of the world and the belief that Muhammad's Night Journey to heaven started from the rock at the center of the structure.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has been called "Jerusalem's most recognizable landmark," along with two nearby Old City structures, the Western Wall, and the "Resurrection Rotunda" in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is the earliest archaeologically-attested religious structure to be built by a Muslim ruler and the building's inscriptions contain the earliest epigraphic proclamations of Islam and of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The inscriptions proved to be a milestone, as afterward they became a common feature in Islamic structures and almost always mention Muhammad. The Dome of the Rock remains a "unique monument of Islamic culture in almost all respects", including as a "work of art and as a cultural and pious document", according to historian Oleg Grabar.

(Wikipedia)

26/04/2021

The Kaaba, also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ('Honored Ka'bah'), is a building at the center of Islam's most important mosque, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is the most sacred site in Islam. It is considered by Muslims to be the Bayt Allah ('House of God') and is the qibla (direction of prayer) for Muslims around the world when performing salah.

Muslims used to, in the early days of Islam, face in the general direction of Jerusalem in their prayers before Kabah. After the Al-Qibla verse revelation to Muhammad, the direction was changed to face the Kaaba.

The Kaaba is believed by Muslims to have been rebuilt several times throughout history, most famously by Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ismail (Ishmael), when he returned to the valley of Mecca several years after leaving his wife Hajar (Hagar) and Ismail there upon Allah's command. Circling the Kaaba seven times counterclockwise, known as Tawaf, is an obligatory rite for the completion of the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages. The area around the Kaaba on which pilgrims circumambulate is called the Mataaf.

The Kaaba and the Mataaf are surrounded by pilgrims every day of the Islamic year, except the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah, known as the Day of Arafah, on which the cloth covering the structure, known as the Kiswah ('Cloth') is changed. However, the most significant increase in their numbers is during Ramadan and the hajj, when millions of pilgrims gather for tawaf. According to the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, 6,791,100 pilgrims arrived for the Umrah pilgrimage in the Islamic year 1439 AH, a 3.6% increase from the previous year, with 2,489,406 others arriving for the 1440 AH Hajj.

(Wikipedia)

31/03/2021

The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. In 1858, Ferdinand de Lesseps formed the Suez Canal Company for the express purpose of building the canal. Construction of the canal lasted from 1859 to 1869 and took place under the auspices of the Ottoman Empire. The canal officially opened on 17 November 1869. It offers vessels a direct route between the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans via the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans and reducing the journey distance from the Arabian Sea to London by approximately 8,900 kilometres (5,500 mi), or 8 days at 24knts to 10 days at 20knts. The canal extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of Suez. Its length is 193.30 km (120.11 mi) including its northern and southern access-channels. In 2020, more than 18,500 vessels traversed the canal (an average of 51.5 per day).

(Wikipedia)

30/03/2021

The Ponnani Jum'ah Masjid, also known as Valiya Jum'ah Palli/Makhdum Mosque, was built in the 16th century AD. Ponnani, once known as the "Little Mecca of Malabar" and the "Jami'at al-Azhar of Malabar", was a prominent center of Islamic learning. It is known that students from as far as Sumatra, Java and Sri Lanka traveled to Ponnani for their spiritual education. The town was described in many sources as "the Land of 23½ Mosques". It currently has around 50 mosques, spread around the town.

(Wikipedia)

06/01/2021

Independence Square

Maidan Nezalezhnosti is the central square of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. One of the city's main squares, it is located on Khreshchatyk Street in the Shevchenko Raion. The square has been known under many different names, but often it is called simply Maidan.

(Wikipedia)

17/10/2020

The Dubai Fountain is a choreographed fountain system located on the 12 hectare manmade Burj Khalifa Lake, at the cenrjter of the Downtown Dubai development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

(Wikipedia)

17/10/2020

The Burj Khalifa, known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With a total height of 829.8 m and a roof height of 828 m, the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest structure and building in the world since its topping out in 2009.

(Wikipedia)

08/08/2020

Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates known for luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture and a lively nightlife scene. Burj Khalifa, an 830m-tall tower, dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline. At its foot lies Dubai Fountain, with jets and lights choreographed to music. On artificial islands just offshore is Atlantis, The Palm, a resort with water and marine-animal parks.

(Wikipedia)

05/08/2020

Situated in Chamoli district at an elevation of 3200 m in Uttarakhand, Mana village lies on the banks of Saraswati river, and is around 5 km from the famous Hindu pilgrimage centre Badrinath. This beautiful hamlet is 24 km from the Indo-China border, making it the last village of India.

(Wikipedia)

24/01/2020

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