Travel

AMAZING EMBELLISHED PLACES

by globetrotter_rodrigo. Moldovita Monastery.

If you’ve been inspired so far by our week of Beautiful Embellishments, and you want to go see some for yourself, we’ve got some ideas for you.

Romania is embellished with hundreds of incredibly magnificent monasteries, churches, castles, and towers, spanning centuries of architecture.

The best preserved are the monasteries in the towns of Sucevița, Moldovița, Voroneț, Humor, Suceava, Pătrăuți, Arbore and Probota. These eight monasteries were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1993. They are known as the Painted churches of Moldavia.

Prince Petru Rares, Moldavia’s 16th century ruler, commissioned their elaborate frescoes -- paintings of saints, prophets and biblical scenes adorn the monastery walls. The frescoes have been beautifully preserved.

The monastery at Voronet, founded in 1487, is often dubbed the ‘Oriental Sistine Chapel.’ Its ‘Last Judgment’ fresco is considered to be among the best ever painted.

The Stavropoleos Church has an Arabesque façade. The interior is decorated with ornate carvings and colourful frescoes.

Brasov is a medieval town with ornate Saxon churches and townhouses. Piata Sfatului is gorgeous Baroque squares.

Sighisoara is a beautifully preserved medieval town containing a medieval UNESCO World Heritage listed citadel. The 19th century Peles Castle in Sinaia, built for Romania’s first monarch, King Carol I, has over 100 rooms richly decorated in ebony, mother-of-pearl and leather.

GAZIANTEP ZEUGMA MOSAIC MUSEUM

The Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Turkey is the largest mosaic museum in the world. It contains complicated mosaics, pulled from the ruins of Zeugma, a city which was once a melting pot of western and eastern influences.

The mosaics’ ornate patterns show a number of different scenes from life at the time. From dancing, to feasting, to battles and games.

ABU DHABI GRAND MOSQUE

The floors and columns throughout the Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque are climbing with floral vines of made of embossed and inlaid mother-of-pearl and stone, and layered with gold leaf. The entire building is a giant exercise in beautiful embellishment. It is a fusion of styles from diverse cultures within the Arab world.