HURMA - multicultural blog about travel, culture and art.

 

 


Planning a greener getaway

Roam close to home and do right by the planet.

 

First, let’s acknowledge that there is no truly green holiday, only shades of grey. At home or away, each one of us is a net drain on the planet’s finite resources. But small changes can make a big difference, and travellers today are more willing to scale back their consumption. We might opt for environmentally friendly travel in future, such as taking buses and trains to cut down on airplane carbon emissions. Companies have been quick to exploit this trend, to the point of utter market confusion. A Google search for “green travel” now yields more than one million results. Consumers are wisely suspicious. 

 

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Iran, the Makhneshan mountains

 

Thanks to their colors, these mountains attract many visitors and nature photographers. Moreover, very contrasting color stripes glow most intensely after rain.

 

It was not at all easy for nature to create such art - it took 24 million years of painstaking work to collect mineral deposits, like pouring sand of different colors into a jar. Subsequently, these heavy layers were compressed into rock, and then a small and incredibly slow wave from the collision of the Iranian and Eurasian tectonic plates crushed the landscape into these wonderful waves to complete the effect (at the same time also giving birth to the Alborz Mountains).

 

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Story of Cedar

Among the many tree species that inhabit the humid rainforests of British Columbia, the mighty and fragrant cedar has special significance for the indigenous people.


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Earth: The Seven Mother Earth Ceremonies

The limitations of space and time prevent us from comprehending with any certainty the nature of the spirits who come to us. In the end, we can only surmise their nature and purpose, although it is my belief that basing our assumptions on natural evidence is the best way.


 

Обмеження простору й часу заважають нам з упевненістю зрозуміти природу духів, які приходять до нас. Зрештою, ми можемо лише здогадуватися про їхню природу та мету, хоча я вважаю, що найкраще базувати наші припущення на природних доказах.

 

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Northern Iran

 

 What is life in Iran along the Caspian Sea?

 

 Believe it or not, life here is ordinary and busy. Sometimes sweet, sometimes bitter. The main population of the southern Caspian coast of Iran are Gilaki and Mazandarani people. They are actively engaged in farming and fishing.

 

 They grow up, getting old and enjoy their life on the shores of the largest lake on Earth.

 

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They were people of the forest

Tsimshian people, 1892, Metlakatla.
Tsimshian people, 1892, Metlakatla.

 

A thousand years ago, and many thousands before that, men were cutting down trees in the forests of British Columbia. They split planks to build houses, hollowed out logs for canoes, chopped off choice sections of wood to make tools and weapons. Furniture, dishes, storage containers, kitchen utensils, games and musical instruments were made of wood. The aboriginal people of British Columbia used trees (branches, roots, bark, and wood) as a primary source of raw materials. It is almost impossible to describe their culture without referring to forest products.

 


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Audain Art Museum

 

Traveling around the world, you may come to the general conclusion that cities are just abstractions of international finance – we build what the market demands. But when you meet the works of John and Patricia Patkau, you understand that there are still artists’ hands at work. For example, the Audain Art Museum, which has collected many awards.

 


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The story of the Ukrainian Easter egg

 

The egg is a symbol of new life and rebirth - this meaning was known to all peoples in ancient times. On the territory of Ukraine, even today, the usual egg-eating at the dawn of Easter, after the end of the service in the churches, has been massively popular.

 


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History of Ukrainian embroidery

 

The first embroideries on the territory of Ukraine appeared in the time of the Scythians. Archaeological excavations confirm that male figurines found in Cherkasy, created as early as the 6th century, have in their decoration not only features of Ukrainian clothing of the 18th-19th centuries, but also elements of ancient ornamentation. The Arab traveler also talked about the same ornament in his descriptions of the Rus, which date back to the 10th century.

 


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History of traditional crafts from Esfahan, Iran

 

Isfahan from ancient time is a major center of traditional crafts in Persia. Isfahan's handicrafts include textiles, carpets, woodwork, metalwork, ceramics, painting, and various types of inlay work. The work is done in a variety of settings, including small industrial and bazaar workshops, the homes of artisans and women, and rural handicrafts.

 

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Chinese New Year

 

The Chinese are the first in the world to welcome spring. This holiday is called Chinese New Year and is celebrated for two weeks. Traditionally, it was a time to honor the gods and ancestors, as well as a time for feasting and visiting family members.

 

 

Regional customs and traditions in China vary widely but share the same theme: seeing out the old year and welcoming in the luck and prosperity of a new year. The main Chinese New Year activities include are putting up decorations, offering sacrifices to ancestors,

eating reunion dinner with family on New Year's Eve, giving red envelopes and other gifts, firecrackers and fireworks, and

watching lion and dragon dances.

 

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