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VPG-DVD-166 - SULTANATE OF OMAN The Sultanate Of Oman is a fabulous land full of surprises, a splendid example of original Arabia that extends from the Straits Of Hormuz to the southern Dhofar. Up until the 1970's the third largest country in the Arabian Peninsula was only accessible by various caravan routes but today it boasts an abundance of mysterious desert towns and splendid palaces. The white city of Sohar is the historic harbour of the Islamic world and the 'Gateway To China'. It is still guarded by the white Sohar Fort, a mighty four-storey structure that dates back to the 14th century. The Hajar Mountains extend for almost six hundred kilometres from the Musandam Peninsula in the north to its eastern sections. They are also known as the Oman Mountains and divide the coast from the inland. Oman covers around three hundred thousand square kilometres and is one of the most sparsely settled countries in the world with only one and a half million inhabitants. Nizwa, the religious center of the Omans, has a moving past that manifests itself in the city's defensive fortress. Until the 12th century it was the capital of the Desert State of Oman. Even today this oasis city and trading metropolis has lost none of its former importance. Al-Hamra is the name of a three hundred year old oasis village that dates back to the reign of Imam Saif Bin Sultan. At the end of the 17th century members of the Abriyin Tribe settled here the descendants of whom still live in the Jebal-Akhdar Mountains. Al-Hamra means 'The Red One', an Arabic name that is also to be found in the word 'Alhambra', in Spain's Granada. The Sultanate Of Oman is a treasure trove of rarities. Its twelve thousand year old history is visible throughout the entire country and the beauty of the mysterious Arabian Peninsula is a truly captivating experience.
Vista Point SULTANATE OF...
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 210 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m19s
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VPG-DVD-177 - SEVILLA Seville is a gem of a city and Andalusia's most fascinating metropolis. In the centre of the old town is the Real Alcazar that was originally home to numerous Moorish monarchs and later the domicile of Spanish kings. It's said to be the oldest and most fascinating palace complex in the whole of Europe. Christopher Columbus was welcomed in the palace when he returned from his second voyage to America after having established a trading route with the New World. Its unique mixture of numerous cultures and époques augments the atmosphere of exquisite luxury. With its labyrinth of white alleys, Santa Cruz is the city's old Jewish district and is located close to both the Real Alcazar and the Catedral. Grated windows, flowerpots on the walls and old wooden gates are typical of this area of the city that exemplifies the traditional Andalusian way of life. The Plaza De Toros and the seasonal hustle and bustle of its bullfights, dominates the El Arenal, the city's former harbour district. Designed in the 18th century by Vicente San Martin, the bullfight arena was fully restored in the middle of the 19th century. The Giralda and the Patio De Los Naranjos are the only remains of Sevilla´s Almohadian Mosque. The rest of the temple was destroyed by the Christians. Construction began in 1401 and it became the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. After the Petersdom in Rome and St. Paul's in London it is the third largest Christian building in the world. With its rich cultural inheritance bequeathed by both the Moors and the Christians, Seville is a truly incredible city with a flamboyant way of life and fiery Latin temperament!
Vista Point SEVILLA Spain...
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 210 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m35s
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VPG-DVD-130 - MADRID Madrid is Europe's most elevated metropolis, a royal capital of history, outstanding buildings and cultural treasures. Most of Spain's royal palaces are in Madrid, the capital of Spain since the 17th century. Including the Palacio Real that even today serves as a royal castle. The colossal building of grey granite and limestone owes its impressive appearance to its length of five hundred metres and strategic elevated location. On the southern side of the castle is Madrid's most recent cathedral, La Almudena. It boasts a combination of styles between New Gothic and Classical and was two hundred years in construction. Madrid also has a boulevard that has transformed it into a major metropolis, the Gran Via, that compares in both flair and dimensions with the exquisite streets of Paris and New York, with splendid noble buildings along with the contemporary. What the Gran Via a hundred years ago the Paseo De La Castellana achieved comparable renown at the end of the last millennium: a replica of Manhattan, the Zona Azca. A modern city district with spectacular skyscrapers and spacious streets where chrome, glass and concrete dominate the futuristic skyline. The royal splendour of former times has managed to successfully combine with the contemporary, and today Madrid is no less flamboyant - a city of historic joie de vivre!
Vista Point MADRID Spain
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 210 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m28s
Views: 17  | Comments: 0
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VPG-DVD-154 - JALISCO Jalisco is a Mexican Federal State that has two special attributes, its folklore and a drink that's known all over the world, tequila! With 1.7 million inhabitants Guadalajara is Mexico's second largest city. The Plaza De Amras contains some fine decorative ironwork and a circular stage for music events. The city is home to Mexican rodeos and also the broad-brimmed sombrero. It is also believed to be the birthplace of the world famous mariachi music. After breaking with Spain, Guadalajara became the capital of Jalisco. At the beginning of the 20th century it was the second largest city of the new Republic. The city successfully unites its centuries old history with modern times and today is considered to be a perfect example of both modern and traditional Mexico. The Lago De Chapala is Mexico's largest lake and its three thousand kilometre shoreline is extremely beautiful and boasts several large sandy beaches. Located some sixty kilometres from Guadalajara it is also a natural paradise for a variety of waterfowl. Music can heard throughout Mexico and since the 19th century the country's mariachi bands have performed at festivals, wedding ceremonies and indeed almost anywhere that involves fun and celebration. For four hundred years the people in this 'Land Of Tequila' have existed from the juice of the Blue Agaves. In the past tequila was considered to be nothing more than cheap fire-water but today it has become a popular drink throughout the world. Jalisco is a country bursting with tradition, beauty and, of course, tequila!
Vista Point JALISCO The...
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 210 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m26s
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VPG-DVD-198 - GRANADA Since the 7th century B.C., Iberians, Romans and West Goths settled in Granada but it was during Arab rule that the city first gained prominence. Sixty thousand Muslims once lived in the old Moorish city complex on the hill above the ancient district of Albaicin.1 Granada has a truly unique and captivating atmosphere, one that has inspired poets, musicians and countless travellers from all over the world. A lively and contemporary university city and at the same time the guardian of an historic past that draws in a multitude of tourists keen to experience its special charm. In the narrow valleys between the Alhambra and Albaicin Hills the gentle River Darro makes its age-old journey toward the city centre and the houses along the riverside have been restored to a high standard with typical wooden balconies, decorated façades and barred windows. The Banos Arabes are ancient Arab baths that date back to the 11th century. The mighty La Alcazaba Fortress rises up from the top of a hill and is separated from the rest of the Alhambra by huge walls. The city extends to the plains below and in the background are the snow-covered mountain peaks of the Sierra Nevada. The huge Torre De La Vela Watchtower is the highest point of the complex and was the first building of the Nasrides Dynasty. The Alhambra served as a military headquarters, administrative centre and royal residence until the expulsion of the Moors by Christian militia. The interior of the Alhambra is like a hidden treasure that lies expectantly beyond plain red walls, waiting to be discovered. The most famous of the courtyards is the Lion Yard of which the well and ornate arcades took several years to complete. The fiery south of Spain is a fantasy world situated between Europe and Africa. A land of passion and ancient culture: Granada is its shining pearl set amid the evocative landscape of Andalusia.
Vista Point GRANADA Spain
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 210 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m39s
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VPG-DVD-188 - GALICIA Our journey through romantic northern Spain travels south through Galicia along the Atlantic coast. A Coruña is the region's largest industrial city and shipping harbour and it thought to have been founded by the Phoenicians in 60 A.D. The Romans conquered this harbour city that has always been associated with the sea and it was from A Coruña that the invincible Spanish Armada set sail in1588 to invade England. Santiago De Compostela is the capital of Galicia and since the Middle Ages it was, apart from Jerusalem and Rome, the most important pilgrimage destination in Christendom. Half a million pilgrims came here each year from all over Europe and Spain's most religious city continues to attract the faithful. Some centuries ago each of the large villages of the Rias Baixas prospered due to fishing, as did Pontevedra. However, all this changed when its harbour was engulfed by sand some three hundred years ago. In contrast to Spain's many other harbour cities, the old town of Pontevedra is almost the same now as it was in bygone times with cobbled streets, intimate squares and the residential palaces of the city's former elite. Across a huge chain bridge that spans the mouth of a deep river is Galicia`s largest city, Vigo. Its name is of Roman origin and it is believed that Vicus Spacorum was the starting-point of Caesar's campaign against Britannia, as well as a storage area for his Empire's oil, fish and wine. For many centuries A Guarda, 'the Female Guard', has watched over the river border with Portugal and in the wooded mountain city of Monte Santa Tecla the Celts established a settlement that contained more than a thousand buildings that dated back to the 6th and 3rd centuries B.C. and formed part of a prehistoric settlement. Throughout the centuries life in Galicia was not representative of that in the rest of Spain and both Romans and Moors considered it to be too remote for their interests. Maybe that's what makes it such a special place to be!
Vista Point GALICIA Spain
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 210 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m24s
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VPG-DVD-204 - COSTA DEL SOL The Costa Del Sol is the name of the southern Mediterranean coast of Spain. In former times a variety of bumpy roads connected the region's sandy bays and remote fishing villages but today its modern roads cater for mass tourism. Almunecar is the main tourist centre on this section of the coast. Once a tranquil fishing village, it's now a busy coastal resort. A wide road separates clean, extensive beaches from huge apartment blocks that were constructed during an amazing transformation of the coastline. Torrox is an Andalusian mountain village that has so far managed to remain off the tourist trail and in which village life continues as it always has done. Since Phoenician times Malaga has been a busy trading port that was defended by the Castillo De Gibralforo that is located on the summit of a mountain. The large bay, with its protective mountain range in the north, enjoys a mild climate throughout the entire year. Around ten kilometres south of Malaga is the modern coastal resort of Torremolinos, since the 1950's a centre of mass tourism. The city developed at a wild pace and soon had all the attributes of a modern holiday resort, with innumerable huge skyscrapers, bars and restaurants and also endless sandy beaches and exciting entertainment facilities. Marbella is the prima donna of the Costa Del Sol and a marvellous rendezvous for the stars of both stage and screen plus a leisure resort for the international jet set. The yachting harbour of Puerto Banus is the true symbol of Marbella and its quay has a colourful variety of bars, cafés, restaurants and exquisite shops. The journey through fiery southern Spain ends with the Rock Of Gibraltar. Dreamy harbour towns cultural metropolises with a Moorish past and Christian buildings and white villages. The Costa Del Sol is full of history and magical atmosphere. The sun is just a bonus!
Vista Point COSTA DEL SOL...
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 210 days ago
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Runtime: 1m24s
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VPG-DVD-192 - CÓRDOBA Cordoba was once the most important metropolis of the Caliphate and today is a city of harmony and contrast. It is a city in which the history of the Caliphs, Romans, Jews and Christians is still very much alive and was the centre of the Arab realm of Al-Andalus that reached its peak in around 1000 A.D. The Ponte Romana extends across the Gudalquivir and leads to the old town. With its sixteen arches the Roman bridge that spans across the river is one of the city's main landmarks. The city's most important building is the Mezquita Catedral in the centre of the old town. It is undoubtedly the most splendid mosque of Moorish-Islamic origin on the Iberian Peninsula. Construction of the main mosque began in 785 A.D. during the rule of Abd-Ar-Rahman The First. The world's third largest mosque was built on the site of a West Gothic Christian church that was built on the remains of a Roman temple. The Plaza Santa Marina dates back to the 17th century and was once used as a bull-fighting arena and also as a theatrical stage. Today it is frequently used as a marketplace. The striking monument of the famous Spanish toreador, Manolete, who was killed during a bullfight inside the arena, occupies a large section of the square. Mighty walls surround the Medina. Some of its old gates have survived such as the Puerta De Almodovar that leads into the Jewish quarter. Once known as a wealthy city, Cordoba was considered to be a worthy prize and was thus well protected and fortified. A combination of the Arabic, Jewish and Christian worlds, Cordoba is most deservedly the Pearl of Andalusia!
Vista Point CÓRDOBA Spain
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 210 days ago
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Runtime: 1m29s
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VPG-DVD-149 - BARCELONA Barcelona is one of the most lively harbour cities on the Mediterranean and after Madrid, Spain's second largest city and the capital of Catalonia. Intimate squares, small palaces and tangled alleys provide a good insight into its history as Iberians, Greeks and Romans once had trading posts there. La Rambla is a wide and shady boulevard that travels through the old town to the harbour and is where life goes on both night and day. It's also where street artists perform, shoeblacks work diligently and portrait painters tout for trade among the passing tourists. The Museu Maritim Drassanes is situated in the royal dockyards that were built when the city was at its zenith. Its buildings are unique examples of Gothic architecture and the vast dimensions of the dockyard allowed thirty ships to be built simultaneously in the name of the Catalonian-Aragon crown. Few parks are as famous as the Park Güell. With this, Antoni Gaudi created a new design concept in this fabulous garden city. At its entrance Gaudi placed a colourful lizard as a symbol of the water that is collected in subterranean cisterns and is used for the distribution of water in the park. The city itself also featured in Gaudi's magnificent fantasies. The Palau Güell was treated to an ostentatious roof with a great array of air shafts and chimneys. But the sight that captures the imagination of most who see it is the amazing façade of the Casa Mila, a unique apartment block without equal. Not a single wall is straight, glass and plaster were used for its façade and colourful ornamental ceramics complete the work. Barcelona is a melting pot that ranges from Gothic to Modernism, a veritable explosion of joie de vivre and creativity.
Vista Point BARCELONA Spain
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 210 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m43s
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VPG-DVD-183 - ANDALUSIA Andalusia in southern Spain is a fantasy land situated between Europe and Africa. In Algarrobo, a white village close to the coast, time seems to have stood still. A place of both inspiration and contemplation. Since Phoenician times the earlier 'Malaca' was a busy trading port that was defended by the Castillo De Gibralforo. The Cathedral, also known as 'La Manquita', symbolises a catholic victory on the former site of a mosque. On the edge of the city centre is the Moorish fortress of Alcazaba that was once a fortified residence on the hills of Castillo. The second largest city in Andalusia also became known as the birthplace of its famous son, world famous artist Pablo Ruiz Picasso. Since the 1950's the modern coastal resort of Torremolinos has attracted mass tourism with a numerous variety of huge hotel skyscrapers, bars and restaurants. In the hilly inland area of the Costa Del Sol is the pretty white mountain village of Mijas. A small hilltop bullfight arena shines bright white along with the houses of the surrounding area. Marbella, the prima donna of the Costa Del Sol, serves as a rendezvous for the stars of stage and screen and a leisure resort for the international jet set. Another short excursion into the mountains near the coast leads to Casares, a sleepy mountain village crowned by the ruins of a Moorish Castle. During the Roman Carthaginian Wars Cadiz played an important role as a trading centre. After the Moors, came the Normans and in 1262, the city fell into the hands of the Christian king, Alfonso. Dreamy harbour towns, cultural metropolises with a Moorish past, Christian buildings and white villages. Beauty in the Garden Of Eden -- that's Andalusia!
Vista Point ANDALUSIA Spain
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 210 days ago
By: travel-video
Runtime: 1m35s
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TMT-DVD-117 - ALHAMBRA Built during the 13th and 14th centuries, the Alhambra is a group of buildings that overlook Granada. The finest example of Moorish architecture, it was a magnificent citadel for the Moorish kings of Spain. When the Moors were expelled from Spain the citadel was mutilated but in the 19th century it was restored to its former glory. Close by is the Palacio Del Generalife, the summer residence of the Moorish rulers the grounds of which contain fabulous gardens. The Moors were a nomadic North African people consisting mainly of Arabs and Berbers. They invaded Spain in the 8th century and were expelled from it in the early 17th century, prior to which most had been exterminated during the Spanish Inquisition. Yet their contribution to Spain in terms of medicine, art, architecture and science, was immeasurable. A people of commerce, learning, imagination and panache who, like so many of their kind throughout history, were eventually persecuted to near extinction.
Terra Mystica ALHAMBRA Spain
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 210 days ago
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Runtime: 1m25s
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OTT-DVD-115 - On Tour...  Route Of The White Town Exploring The White Villages of Andelusia RUTA POR LOS PUEBLOS BLANCOS The White Villages located along the Ruta Por Los Pueblos Blancos shine out of the landscape like a multitude of tiny pearls, an intriguing sight that captures the essence of Spain in the atmospheric simplicity of Andalusia. The Pueblos Blancos are of practical construction. Their thick walls protect against the heat of the sun and they always look new because each year they are treated to a new coat of whitewash. The mighty Castelar De La Frontera was built in the 12th century and the proud old fortress situated above Algeciras can still be admired today. Seventy tightly-packed houses are located within its walls and in 1971 its inhabitants left the Castillo and built a new village on the plains. Today, wooden shutters ensure a degree of privacy and for many centuries thick stone walls protected those who lived here from invasion. The route continues to Jimena De La Frontera where fertile pastures and large slopes with cork oaks and olive trees flank the roads. Ronda enjoys a unique location. It sits on a rock plateau above a steep 165 metre deep canyon. Both the Romans and the Moors, who were defeated by the catholic kings in 1485, left their traces in the city. Due to its location, Ronda was virtually impregnable during the early part of the Middle Ages thus it became one of the last Moorish bastions in Spain. The journey along the edge of the Sierra De Grazalema Nature Park features fertile pastures and lush meadows, overlooked by the peaks of the Penon Grande. The Pueblos look like white spots created by human hand, scattered across a green landscape. To experience the historic flavour of Spain, the Ruta Por Los Pueblos Blancos is well worth traversing!
On Tour... Route Of The...
Categories: Holiday Location and Places 
Added: 210 days ago
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Runtime: 1m28s
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