Iran Part 2 by Poorya Mahdavi

Iran

Part 2 : Architecture

By Poorya Mahdavi

Hello and welcome to the second part of my blog, today we will be discussing Iran's breathtaking architectural talent, today I will show you a few places within Iran which are truely some sight seeing places.

Image source: http://danamotor.ir/Tehran_Azadi_Square_Flowers_2012.jpg

Pictured above is the Azadi tower, it is located in Azadi square within Tehran, it is a symbol of iran, and marks the entrance to the west of the city. Within the tower lies the Azadi museum, a theatre hall, and an art gallery, and sits 23 meters above the ground, and took almost 3 months to be completed and has a total of 286 steps within.

Before the tower was named "Azadi tower" it was known as Shahyad tower, however before the revolution it was a location for protest, and after the revolution had passed, the tower was renamed to Azadi translated to the freedom tower.

image source : http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/thumbs/site_1422_0005-750-0-20151104153828.jpg

The photo shown above is a photo taken within the Golestan palace it is a very important piece of memorabilia as it is one of the oldest monuments in Tehran, it was a sight which belonged to the royal people of iran, and was located within Tehran's citadel which was once closed to the public, it is now open to the public whom can visit the many sight seeing places within the palace such as the marble throne, the pond house and the famous Mirror Hall.

Image source : https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6a/71/e0/6a71e05cb8aa8606151d121ba2ac6717.jpg

Pictured above is the ancient ruins of Persepolis, dating back to 515 BC, it is considered a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1979. The ruins were first commenced by Darius I, and the name Persepolis was given to it as it was the name of the town it resided in. The ruins was a place for surrounding countries to come together bearing gifts for the start of the new year to the residing king of the time.

Make sure to stay tuned for next weeks blog update where we will dive into more detail about the Iranian Culture and food.

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Incase you missed last weeks blog here is a link for it right here!

Part 1: Introduction

http://travelbuddiez.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/iran-by-poorya.html

Aurora borealis by Tori

The Aurora borealis is an amazing lights show, unique to the northern hemisphere which is caused by particles that have been released from the sun and are travelling 18 hours to reach our atmosphere and collide with the particles present in our atmosphere

This was outlined in my previous blog post (link to that post will be at the end of this post if you need a catch up!).

Image source: http://fjordtravel.no/destinations-norway/see-the-northern-lights-in-norway/

There are several contributing factors that make the chances of seeing these lights higher and lower like temperature and clouds, etc., but on my visit there, I was lucky enough to be able to witness this amazing dance in the sky first hand.

Our guide took us out into a large, open area, overlooking a short cliff at about 7:30pm local time where we began our wait. We made a small fire and spoke about the importance of the lights to the indigenous people of Norway, known as the Sami, and all about the culture of the area. By about 11:00pm, we had learned and questioned just about everything there was to know about the Norwegian way of life all while still waiting on the lights to appear.

Due to the light clouds that had formed, the lights weren't coming for us, so close to 1:00am, we decided to head back to the hotel. On the way back, our guide spotted a clearing and chose to try our luck one last time to see the lights. By this point it was 2:30am but we were able to see this amazing natural dance and the 7 hour wait was well worth it.

Stay tuned for next week to read more about Norwegian culture and food!

Image Source: http://sevennaturalwonders.org/index_/seven-natural-wonders/aurora-borealis

- Tori

Don't forget to read last weeks Norway post and stay updated: Introduction to Norway
Be the first to see when Travel Buddiez posts an update on our twitter page

My details: Victoria Porreca (44920216)

Phnom Kulen National Park by Josh

Phnom Kulen National Park

What's up everyone its Josh again talking to you about Phnom Kulen National Park. If you're planning on going here from Phnom Pehn, it would definitely be a day trip, as the trip takes around as long as it takes to Angkor Wat ( around 5 hours) with most of the trip going offroad. However, it's only around an hours drive Angkor Wat, so a combined day trip to both destinations would definitely be a memorable one. Phnom Kulen itself is a large national park, boasting temples on the way in as well as a picturesque waterfall which visitors can swim under. The waterfall and surrounding park are also a photographers dream, whilst the tranquillity of the waterfall is great to experience both alone or with a group of friends. So if you're ever in Phnom Pehn and a have a day to spare, this is definitely a must go. 

India By Akash

Have you ever wondered how it would feel like to experience diverse cultures, one of the seven wonders of the world, food, religion, the history and architecture in one single trip??

NO??  Then it is time to visit INDIA!!

http://www.mapsofindia.com/culture/

The main reason I chose India as the topic of my post is because even though I have lived in India for most of my life but with every new city I visit there is something new I discover.

In my blog I will cover different Indian cities and share my experiences in those cities. So join me in my blog and discover India with me...

Greece by Brittany

Yasou! Brittany here! If you haven't noticed already I am taking you away to the land of carbs, lamb, tzatziki and the origin of most of the English language, GREECE!

Photo taken by me at the Acropolis in Athens

I have chosen Greece as my dad is Greek and I have visited both with family, and on a high school history tour last year, and I absolutely loved it! Greece is located in south-eastern Europe and is known for its rich heritage and connection with ancient times, food, islands/beaches and landmarks which have withstood the test of time.

Greece is known for it's summery resort lifestyle, though, I have visited both in winter (December) with family, where the villages my family is from were blanketed with snow and last year in spring (April) on a school tour, where the sun was out and the temperature was in the early to late 20s for the time we were there. During both seasons Greece has been a place I have really enjoyed. Throughout my posts I will show you my favourite parts and hopefully you will be on the next flight over!

Brittany☺

Iran By Poorya

Iran

By Poorya Mahdavi

Hello and welcome all, My country of choice is Iran, I have chosen this country as I like to think of it as my second home as majority of my family relatives live in Iran.

I hope with the information you will gather from my posts you will learn many things about Iran and its beautiful culture.

A bit of background

Iran, also known as Persia is a country in the middle east, I visit Iran almost every year towards December as that is when Winter starts for people residing within Iran, In my own opinion winter is the best time to visit as it is beautiful to see the city enveloped in snow.

image source: http://i.imgur.com/L7mlE.jpg "Tehran Covered in snow"

The cities I have visited within Iran are Tehran, the capital and the largest city, as well as Aligoudarz a much smaller city about 500 km away from the capital, but just as good as this is where I spent most of my time when I was a child vacationing in Iran with my family, as well as Shiraz and Isfahan.

Above is a picture of me and my sister in Shiraz, playing with a bird that picked out a tarot card, which was passed to a man whom would read our fortune.

My love for Iran comes from the culture, people and definitely the food however we will be getting further into that in later blog posts so stay tuned!

- Poorya

Angkor Wat By Josh

Vietnam and Cambodia

Angkor Wat

Hey everyone, Josh here. For my posts I'm going to give you some of my favourite destinations from Vietnam and Cambodia starting with Angkor Wat.  Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world, and is situated around 5 hours drive from Phnom Pehn. The temples walls are decorated with intricate face carvings, whilst monkeys and other wildlife roam the grounds. Because the temple is so large, it takes a few hours to walk around, however elephant tours are offered in different locations around the temple, providing an even more unique experience. 

Keep an eye out for more of my posts if your keen for a bit of Vietnam and Cambodia.

Norway by Tori

Norway is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. During my visit there earlier this year, the temperatures dropped to 1-2 degrees Celsius on a 'warm' day. The snow and atmosphere of the country was gorgeous and I'd love to visit again.

Image Source: http://pcwallart.com/norway-city-snow-wallpaper-1.html

When I visited, I was able to experience so many amazing things like dog sledding and the Aurora borealis; or simply the Northern Lights. This type of Aurora lights are unique to the northern pole (Aurora australis or Southern Lights in the south) and are caused by electrically charges particles being released from the sun and travelling through space to us. When these particles reach our atmosphere, they mix with oxygen and nitrogen hence causing these spectacular lights shows.

More details and pictures are coming up in later blog posts. Hope I capture how extraordinary of a place Norway is for you. Stay Tuned!!

- Tori

Be the first to see when Travel Buddiez posts an update on our twitter page

My details: Victoria Porreca (44920216)

Introduction

Hey everyone, welcome to our travel blog. We're 5 different students from different cultural backgrounds and walks of life. Our posts are our stories from around the world, sharing our unique experiences and different views of some of the most beautiful places to visit. Our group is made up of:

Poorya Mahdavi - I am a 19y/o IT Student at Macquarie University, my favourite hobby includes Skateboarding and playing sports. My background is Persian which is the language spoken from people whom live in Iran, which is my focus for this blog.

Joshua Iacono - I am a 19 year old commerce student and my favourite hobby is following and playing basketball. I've travelled a few places, but one of my favourite trips in particular was to Vietnam and Cambodia.

Akash Chabhadia - I am 19 year old Software Engineering international student at Macquarie University. My hobbies are computer software, golf , horse riding, cricket etc. I have visited places across India, Australia and Europe. My posts will be focused on India.

Victoria Porreca - I am a 19 year old biology student at Macquarie University and my favourite hobby is art and drawing. My favourite places that I have visited was Northern and South-Western Europe. In particular, Italy was my favourite as I got to see a lot of family there. My posts will be focused on Norway.

Brittany Dalamangas - I am a 18 years old IT student majoring in cyber security and hope after graduating to work with ASIO! Love travelling, food and travelling for food:) My favourite places I have visited are Greece, Portugal and Italy! My posts will be focused on Greece.

Here is a group picture.