Where in the World Archives | International Travel News

The Leviathan telescope in Parsontown, Ireland

December 1969 Issue

The Leviathan telescope in Parsontown, Ireland

Out of this world! The word “amateur” is derived from the Latin word “to love.” Irish amateur astronomer William Parsons, the third Earl of Rosse, truly showed his love of stellar science when he designed and constructed The Leviathan, a 72-inch reflector telescope, from 1840 to 1845.

Located at Birr Castle in Parsontown, in central Ireland, the telescope was for 75 years the largest in the world. Among the discoveries made by Lord Rosse was the galaxy M-51, aka the Whirlpool Galaxy.

Seven readers sent in the correct answer by the deadline, and JAMES OLIVER of Memphis, Tennessee, won the drawing. ITN’s stellar Assistant Editor Mary Beltran contributed the photo.

Monument to the Discoveries in Belém, Portugal

December 1969 Issue

Monument to the Discoveries in Belém, Portugal

Originally built out of temporary materials for the Portuguese World’s Fair in 1940, the subject of June’s photo, the Monument to the Discoveries, was recast in concrete in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator (the guy at the top holding a small sailing ship).

Located on the bank of the River Tagus in Belém, near Lisbon, Portugal, the monument was created by architect Cottinelli Telmo and sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida.

ITN readers set a record this month by sending in 395 (!!!) correct answers by the deadline. Congratulations to B.L. KUHLMANN of Corona del Mar, California, who won the drawing.

Memorial for the Battle of Saipan

December 1969 Issue

Memorial for the Battle of Saipan

The Battle of Saipan, June 15-July 9, 1944, was one of the fiercest battles of the Pacific war in World War II. When it became clear that they could not prevail, hundreds of Japanese soldiers and civilians, led by propaganda to believe the Allied troops would treat them barbarically, jumped to their deaths from two cliffs, known today as “Suicide Cliff” and “Banzai Cliff.”

Today, as a statue in a memorial park, Heiwa Kannon, Bodhisattva of Mercy and Peace, gives her blessing to the dead. The park is located four miles from San Roque on the northern tip of Saipan. Banzai Cliff is in the background to the north.

Eight readers sent in the correct answer, and ROBERT C. WILSON of Indian Head, Maryland, won the drawing. We thank Tressie Alvernaz of Lakeside, California, for sending in the photo.

Chocolate Hills in Bohol province, Philippines

December 1969 Issue

Chocolate Hills in Bohol province, Philippines

The scenery is simply delicious!

Geologists debate how the more than 1,200 hills, each 30 to 50 meters high, were formed, but there’s no question that the Chocolate Hills in Bohol province, Philippines, pictured in the April issue, are the area’s most popular attraction.

By the end of the dry season the hills are brown, hence the name. However, many of you, like reader Evenyl Roemmich of Stockton, California, saw them when they were green, in what she termed their “Mint Hill” phase, during the rainy season.

Thirty-eight readers sent in correct answers, and MARJORIE KLINGAMAN of Mexico, Missouri, won the drawing. We thank Sandra and John Scott of Mexico, New York, for sending in the photo.

Ichon-Qala in Khiva, Uzbekistan

December 1969 Issue

Ichon-Qala in Khiva, Uzbekistan

The photo in the March 2009 issue shows the West Gate entrance to Ichon-Qala (the Old City) in Khiva, Uzbekistan.

Six readers sent in the correct answer by the deadline, and VICTOR M. BECKER of Skokie, Illinois, won the drawing. We thank Rick Sinding of Princeton, New Jersey, for sending in the photo.

The Memorial of Adshimushkay, near Kerch, Ukraine

December 1969 Issue

The Memorial of Adshimushkay, near Kerch, Ukraine

Tragedy told in mute stone. . . Beneath these carved limestone cliffs in Adzhimushkay, near Kerch, Ukraine, a series of natural catacombs was expanded by miners, starting in 1830, until a complex underground network was created.

In May 1942, after the Wehrmacht defeated the Red Army, which was defending the Kerch Peninsula and Sevastopol, remnants of the Soviet forces along with thousands of civilians fled to the catacombs, where they were besieged by the Germans. Although they had few supplies, the Soviets held out for 170 days until driven out by poison gas and explosives. Only 48 of the original 13,000 defenders survived the siege.

Today this sculpture, the Memorial of Adshimushkay, and a museum mark the site.

One reader sent in the correct answer by the deadline, PAUL E. WICKLUND of Wayzata, Minnesota. We thank Jill and Bob Sullivan of Waynesboro, Virginia, for sending in the picture.

"The Beehive" in Wellington, New Zealand

December 1969 Issue

"The Beehive" in Wellington, New Zealand

Staying right where it is, thank you very much!

January’s photo depicts “The Beehive,” the Executive Wing of New Zealand’s Parliament buildings, located in Wellington, North Island. Based on a sketch drawn on a napkin by Sir Basil Spence, it was built in the 1970s.

Twenty years later there was a proposal to move the entire structure in order to extend the building that houses Parliament, but public outcry nixed that plan and, for now, anyway, the busy Prime Minister and his Cabinet can keep buzzing away on the corner of Molesworth Street and Lambton Quay.

Forty readers sent in the correct answer and ROBERT T. PANDOLFO of Punta Gorda, Florida, won the drawing. We thank Marion Rafferty of Easton, Pennsylvania, for sending in the photo.

Memorial to the Villages Overrun by the Soviets, Warsaw

December 1969 Issue

Memorial to the Villages Overrun by the Soviets, Warsaw

On Sept. 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland from the west. Sixteen days later, on Sept. 17, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, annexed more than half the country and began a reign of repression and murder that would result in hundreds of thousands of Poles being shipped to Siberian labor camps, where uncounted thousands died.

Today in Warsaw, the Memorial to the Villages Overrun by the Soviets is located on Muranowska Street. The cart of crosses, seen in the photo sent by Thomas Elefant of San Jose, California, is only part of the memorial. A row of railroad ties, each bearing the name of a Polish village or city taken over by the Soviets, extends from the front of the cart.

Twenty-two readers sent in correct answers, and LESTER MOTYKA of Lake Zurich, Illinois, won the drawing.

Six Banyan Tree Temple in Guangzhou, China

December 1969 Issue

Six Banyan Tree Temple in Guangzhou, China

Mystery solved! Really, is there anywhere ITN readers haven’t been? (And, in this case, any when, too!)

Jo Ann Scott of Lacey, Washington, sent in this picture of two Buddhas taken on a trip to Asia in 1983, but she couldn’t recollect where she took it. (Note to self: label all those travel pictures ASAP.)

Well, one reader, GARY YOST of Seattle, Washington, just happened upon the same site. . . in the same year (1983) as Jo Ann Scott. . . and took several shots from the same angle that Jo Ann’s picture was taken, complete with workers and building materials.

There are actually three Buddhas at the site, which is the Six Banyan Tree Temple in Guangzhou (formerly Canton), China. They are Amitabha, Sakyamuni and Maitreya, the Buddhas of the Past, Present and Future. (A statue on the far left is not shown in this picture.)

Don’t look for them behind the temple if you go to Guangzhou today. One year after the picture was taken, the main hall was rebuilt to enclose the Buddhas, which have been painted and refurbished. So it really is amazing that Mr. Yost was in just the right place at the right time. — J.A.

The Temple of Canova, Possagno, Italy

December 1969 Issue

The Temple of Canova, Possagno, Italy

At age nine, he sculpted two shrines out of Carrara marble in his hometown of Possagno, Italy, that still can be seen today. At 12, his impromptu sculpture of a lion (made from the butter at a nobleman’s dinner party) won him a lifelong patron. And at 63, two years before his death, Antonio Canova (1757-1822) laid the fist stone of the neoclassical temple that was to bear his name and his tomb: the Temple of Canova, the subject of October’s photo. The temple, located in Possagno, also holds works by Canova and other Italian artists.

Three readers sent in correct answers, and MARTHA JO MOREHOUSE of Glendale, California, won the drawing. We thank Carol and Bert Vorchheimer of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for sending in the photo.