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DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Memphis &Sakkara Around 2900 B.C., when Upper and Lower Egypt became one Great Empire, the Pharaohs declared Memphis, which lies in the southern Nile Delta, as their capital city. During its golden years in the second millennium B.C., Memphis extended 15 km, from Gizeh to Sakkara. Up until the time of the Roman Empire, this ancient city's former buildings had...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Most of the buildings in Thailand's historic village of Mingun date back to the ambitious plans of King Bodawpaya who was convinced that he was an exemplary Hindu-Buddhist sovereign and thus did not permit any criticism of his architectural ideas. An example of his great love of architecture is the elegant white statue of the Settawya Pagoda that was built...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. The stone-built church of the Mission San Carlos Borrom?o De Carmelo rises above the southern district of the picturesque and romantic coastal town of Carmel in the United States. The Carmel Mission was founded in 1771 when Father Juniperro Serra, from Mallorca in Spain, was responsible for the building of the first missionary stations in the United States. The Mission...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. The Santa Barbara Mission is located on a hill above the centre of a famous coastal resort on California's legendary west coast. In 1820 the sacred building's architect wanted to base his design on the architectural and artistic styles of Roman temple construction. While in Spain a Franciscan friar acquired a book that contained details of Pre-Christian buildings designed by...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Twenty kilometres east of the large Dutch port of Rotterdam is an exceptional and captivating landscape of windmills, Kinderdijk. For many centuries the windmills played an important role in the drainage and subsequent reclamation of land in the Netherlands. Up until the 19th century there were more than ten thousand windmills in Holland and even though only a fraction of...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. The Mosteiro De Alcoba?a is a massive, medieval monastery in Alcoba?a and one of the most important historical monuments in Portugal. The creative influence of the monastery's fraternity is still evident and its interior is one of the most beautiful examples of Gothic Cistercian design. King Afonso Henriques promised the construction of the Cistercian monastery in 1147 following a decisive...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. The Batalha Monastery is one of Portugal's masterpieces of Late Gothic architecture and also one of its most important monuments. The monastery was built in thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary who answered the people's prayers during the decisive battle of Aljubarrota and in keeping with the political and historical significance of this victory, the architecture of the monastery is quite...

DVD . Global Treasures . 10 Minutes. In the Lissabon quarter of Bel?m the vast Hieronymit Monastery, the Mosteiro Dos Jer?nimos, covers an area of 300 metres. At one time, its beautiful facade was situated close to the banks of the Tejo and it is no accident that the monastery was built in this location. King Manuel The First wanted the monastery to highlight the...

Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. In the mountain area close to Palermo is the picturesque town of Monreale, a townscape that for more than eight hundred years has been dominated by a single building: Monreale Cathedral was built due to a struggle for power between the Bishop Of Palermo and the Norman King, William The Second. Architecturally, the cathedral possesses a wonderful harmony of styles including...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. An 80 metre high mound of granite in Normandy, Le Mont-Saint -Michel, with its historic buildings is like something from a fairy tale. Powerful fortifications surround both the small town and the abbey at top of the rock, remnants of Mont-Saint- Michel's dramatic past. The three-storey monastery in the northern section, La Merveille, is one of the finest examples of...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Set within the Black Hills in the state of South Dakota is one of the most famous landmarks in the U.S.A., the Mount Rushmore National Memorial: four monumental portraits of the most famous American presidents that have been carved into the granite and symbolize a kind of spectacular tribute to democracy. Since their unveiling in 1941 the huge faces of...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Approximately thirty kilometres southeast of the Finnish city of Oulu is an architectural gem, the Muhoksen Kirkko, the oldest timber built church in Finland that dates back to 1634. The canopy above the pulpit is decorated with a number of exceptional wooden sculptures. It is believed that these figures were manufactured in Germany and brought to the church during The...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. During the Middle Ages, Venice was the most powerful trading metropolis in the Adriatic and Eastern Mediterranean and also a mystical place with a fascinating charisma. Several times a year the sea penetrates the city and overflows onto the Piazza San Marco in which the Basilica, with its Oriental and Byzantine influences, is an impressive sight. Famous personalities such as...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Just fourteen kilometres from Turku is the small, picturesque city of Naantali that is often referred to as Finland's `Summer City'. Its origins, as well as the name, Naantali, are closely connected with a Birgitten monastery that was founded in 1443. Shortly after the creation of the monastery community of monks and nuns a settlement originated close by. For some...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Nefta Four hundred kilometres southwest of the Tunisian capital of Tunis and close to the Algerian border in Bled El Jerid is the delightful oasis town of Nefta. Beyond its bright cupolas and angled roofs is the breathtaking expanse of the enormous Schott Dscherid Salt Plain. What formerly served as the rear guard of the Roman Empire and that was...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. The H?tel Des Invalides was built by King Louis The Fourteenth as a home for soldiers who had been wounded in action. Following completion of the first building construction began on the equally impressive, Dome Des Invalides. Since then the H?tel Des Invalides has replaced its injured soldiers with a military exhibition: today part of the H?tel contains one of...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Approximately 450 kilometres south of Peru's capital of Lima a desolate road leads into the vast terrain of the scant, desert-like highlands. In the midst of this almost lifeless world and surrounded by sandy mountains is the small airport of Nazca. Indeed, a single aircraft once made this region famous. One day while flying here in 1939, American Paul Kosok...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Around seven kilometres west of Lhasa's city centre and set within a huge park is the former summer residence of the Dalai Lama. The Norbuling Ka, or Jewelled Garden, was abandoned in 1959 when the last Dalai Lama made his escape to exile. The occupation and annexation of Tibet by China forced its spiritual and political leader to leave his...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Noto is a charming town with around twenty thousand inhabitants and is one of the most beautiful enclosed Baroque towns in Sicily. However, many of Noto's historic buildings were neglected for many years and are thus in somewhat less than perfect condition. The Catedrale Di San Nicol? also fell into disrepair as a result of continued neglect and this caused...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. It is believed that the origin of the richly decorated Episcopal cathedral of Notre Dame dates back to the time of Bishop Maurice De Sully in 1163. But the majority of the cathedral's present day architecture with its strange and fantastic creatures of ancient mythology, such as the chimeras, was designed in the 19th century. The church owes much of...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. The inhabitants of the Lofots situated in the High North of Europe have made their mark on these islands right up to the present day and have established various wonderful communities such as the picturesque village of Nusfjord, a fishing village that has retained all of its original charm. The village is equivalent to an open-air museum and has become...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. The mighty Olavinlinna Castle rises majestically above the picturesque lakeland scenery of Savonlinna in southern Finland, a former border region that was once the scene of many a bloody battle. The location of the fortress was well chosen as for many centuries the strategically-placed castle on the small granite island had to withstand attack from the Russian army. Large sections...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Proudly, powerfully and surrounded by fortified walls, the Convento De Christo Monastery is situated above the town of Tomar, north of Lisbon. Beyond the near impenetrable fortification was the Portuguese branch of the Order of the Knights Templar. The layout and decoration of the Convento De Christo and its church contain the numerous architectural styles and works of art of...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. Palenque, MexicoIn the midst of a dense rainforest on the foothills of the Usumacinta Mountains is Palenque, one of the most popular archaeological sites in Mexico. The monumental buildings of Palenque, such as the Temple Of The Cross, lay hidden in the rainforest for around 800 years until they were discovered in 1784. The monumental architectural character of this pyramid-like...

DVD. Global Treasures. 10 Minutes. The ruins of the ancient city of Palmyra rise up into the desert sky of Syria. The Hadrian Gate was built in the second century A.D. and highlights the glorious past of this once important trading metropolis in the Near East. Flanked by columns, a majestic twelve hundred metre long avenue was once Palmyra's main street. As with many of...