Several Filipino devotees were nailed to crosses in a re-enactment of a Good Friday ritual, which one of the men dedicated to the victims of the deadly bombings of two churches in Egypt.
Ruben Enaje, 57, who has been re-enacting Jesus Christ’s suffering and death for the past 31 years, said he always prays for the health of his family during the ritual.
But this time he added the victims of the Egyptian attacks, which killed 45 people and wounded dozens on Palm Sunday.
“As long as we trust in the Lord, praying fervently, it’s never too far that the Lord won’t listen,” Enaje said after he was briefly nailed by the hands and feet, grimacing in pain.
The gory spectacle reflects the Philippines’ unique brand of Catholicism, which merges church traditions with folk superstitions.
Many of the mostly impoverished penitents undergo the ritual to atone for sins, pray for the sick or for a better life, and to give thanks for what they believe were God-given miracles.
The Lenten rituals are frowned upon by church leaders in the Philippines, Asia’s largest Roman Catholic nation, especially if the event is used to boost tourism.
The re-enactments of the crucifixion, however, have persisted and became an awaited tourist attraction in this area some 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Manila.
All of those who took part were attended by doctors.
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Showing posts with label Roman Catholic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roman Catholic. Show all posts
Monday, 17 April 2017
Saturday, 4 February 2017
MALTA: What Is Malta?
Malta's landscape contrasts rocky stretches of coast that end in dizzying limestone cliffs with sheltered bays that hide gin-clear water and red-gold beaches. The islands' many marinas jostle with boats, and you can take to the water in sky-blue traditional craft, stately yachts or speedboats. Snorkellers and divers have much to explore underwater as well, a world of caves, crags and wrecks.
Malta is staunchly Roman Catholic but is also home to a beguiling mix of cultures that has stewed together over generations. Traditional Maltese food mixes Sicilian and Middle Eastern flavours, while making use of local ingredients such as rabbit and honey. The Maltese people are warm and welcoming: if you ask for directions, it's likely a local will walk with you to help you find the way. Plenty of 21st-century sophistication can be found, but there are also pockets where you feel you’ve gone back in time, especially on Gozo, where mammoth churches tower over quiet villages.
Malta's geographical location in the centre of the Mediterranean made it an alluring and much-fought-over prize, and the islands are full of majestic above- and below-ground defences. The capital, Valletta, built by the Knights of St John, is a harmonious grid, Mdina and Victoria are fortress-like hilltop towns, and watchtowers dot the coast. Even Malta’s fishing boats resonate with the past, their prows painted with eyes, just like the boats of their Phoenician predecessors.
Malta and Gozo’s astounding prehistoric sites were constructed by sophisticated-seeming temple builders, who also left miniature figurines and mammoth sculptures of ‘fat ladies’, which have survived millennia and are housed in Malta's fascinating museums. Out in the open, gigantic temples and towers from many different eras stand proud, continuing their endless watch over the sea. But the most extraordinary site of all lies underground: Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, a 5000-year-old necropolis carved from the living rock.
Malta is packed with interest, yet is laid-back and easy. There are boat trips, beautiful towns, periwinkle sea, friendly people and soul-feeding views, and you can go from swimming in glinting sea to a clifftop prehistoric site, to a harbourside restaurant, all in the space of a few hours. Combine sightseeing and beaches on Malta with a relaxing stay on Gozo, with its hillocks, small villages and carved-out coast, and you have the perfect holiday.
Gozo
Gozo is known to provide a tranquil haven for a tempo and scene change. The charm of Malta's sister Island is immediately apparent; it's greener, more rural and smaller, with life's rhythms dictated by the seasons, fishing and agriculture.
Steeped in myth, Gozo is thought to be the legendary Calypso's isle of Homer's Odyssey - a peaceful, mystical backwater. Baroque churches and old stone farmhouses dot the countryside. Gozo's rugged landscape and spectacular coastline await exploration with some of the Mediterranean's best dive sites.
The island also comes complete with historical sites, forts and amazing panoramas, as well as one of the archipelago's best-preserved prehistoric temples, Ġgantija.
Gozo also possesses a nightlife and cultural calendar all of its own, with some great dining out.
Comino
Situated between Malta and Gozo, the smaller island of Comino is a paradise for snorkelers, divers, windsurfers and ramblers.
Only 3.5 square kilometers, Comino is car-free and apart from one hotel, is virtually uninhabited.
The island's main attraction is the Blue Lagoon. In summer, this sheltered inlet of shimmering aquamarine water over white sand is very popular with day-trippers. Other beaches on the island include Santa Marija Bay and San Niklaw Bay.
Comino is also worth a visit in winter, and is ideal for walkers and photographers. With no urban areas or cars on the island, one can easily smell the scent of wild thyme and other herbs.
Comino was inhabited in the Roman period, but did not have much significance until the Knights arrived. It then had a dual role: hunting grounds and a staging post in the defence of the Maltese Islands against the Ottoman Turks.
The island had proved a useful base for pirates operating in the central Mediterranean and, though stark and barren today, it was home to wild boar and hares when the Knights arrived in 1530. The Grandmasters went to great lengths to ensure that their game on Comino was protected: anyone found breaking the embargo on hunting could expect to serve three years rowing on a galley.
After WWII, Comino remained a backwater until its fortunes revived with tourism in the mid-1960s.
Where to Stay
Comino has one resort hotel, which is ideal for those looking for a tranquil getaway
Malta is staunchly Roman Catholic but is also home to a beguiling mix of cultures that has stewed together over generations. Traditional Maltese food mixes Sicilian and Middle Eastern flavours, while making use of local ingredients such as rabbit and honey. The Maltese people are warm and welcoming: if you ask for directions, it's likely a local will walk with you to help you find the way. Plenty of 21st-century sophistication can be found, but there are also pockets where you feel you’ve gone back in time, especially on Gozo, where mammoth churches tower over quiet villages.
Malta's geographical location in the centre of the Mediterranean made it an alluring and much-fought-over prize, and the islands are full of majestic above- and below-ground defences. The capital, Valletta, built by the Knights of St John, is a harmonious grid, Mdina and Victoria are fortress-like hilltop towns, and watchtowers dot the coast. Even Malta’s fishing boats resonate with the past, their prows painted with eyes, just like the boats of their Phoenician predecessors.
Malta and Gozo’s astounding prehistoric sites were constructed by sophisticated-seeming temple builders, who also left miniature figurines and mammoth sculptures of ‘fat ladies’, which have survived millennia and are housed in Malta's fascinating museums. Out in the open, gigantic temples and towers from many different eras stand proud, continuing their endless watch over the sea. But the most extraordinary site of all lies underground: Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, a 5000-year-old necropolis carved from the living rock.
Malta is packed with interest, yet is laid-back and easy. There are boat trips, beautiful towns, periwinkle sea, friendly people and soul-feeding views, and you can go from swimming in glinting sea to a clifftop prehistoric site, to a harbourside restaurant, all in the space of a few hours. Combine sightseeing and beaches on Malta with a relaxing stay on Gozo, with its hillocks, small villages and carved-out coast, and you have the perfect holiday.
Gozo
Gozo is known to provide a tranquil haven for a tempo and scene change. The charm of Malta's sister Island is immediately apparent; it's greener, more rural and smaller, with life's rhythms dictated by the seasons, fishing and agriculture.
Steeped in myth, Gozo is thought to be the legendary Calypso's isle of Homer's Odyssey - a peaceful, mystical backwater. Baroque churches and old stone farmhouses dot the countryside. Gozo's rugged landscape and spectacular coastline await exploration with some of the Mediterranean's best dive sites.
The island also comes complete with historical sites, forts and amazing panoramas, as well as one of the archipelago's best-preserved prehistoric temples, Ġgantija.
Gozo also possesses a nightlife and cultural calendar all of its own, with some great dining out.
Comino
Situated between Malta and Gozo, the smaller island of Comino is a paradise for snorkelers, divers, windsurfers and ramblers.
Only 3.5 square kilometers, Comino is car-free and apart from one hotel, is virtually uninhabited.
The island's main attraction is the Blue Lagoon. In summer, this sheltered inlet of shimmering aquamarine water over white sand is very popular with day-trippers. Other beaches on the island include Santa Marija Bay and San Niklaw Bay.
Comino is also worth a visit in winter, and is ideal for walkers and photographers. With no urban areas or cars on the island, one can easily smell the scent of wild thyme and other herbs.
Comino was inhabited in the Roman period, but did not have much significance until the Knights arrived. It then had a dual role: hunting grounds and a staging post in the defence of the Maltese Islands against the Ottoman Turks.
The island had proved a useful base for pirates operating in the central Mediterranean and, though stark and barren today, it was home to wild boar and hares when the Knights arrived in 1530. The Grandmasters went to great lengths to ensure that their game on Comino was protected: anyone found breaking the embargo on hunting could expect to serve three years rowing on a galley.
After WWII, Comino remained a backwater until its fortunes revived with tourism in the mid-1960s.
Where to Stay
Comino has one resort hotel, which is ideal for those looking for a tranquil getaway
Sunday, 20 December 2015
CROATIA: Christmas Tourism In Croatia
With an ice sculpture festival, brass band fanfares and a huge skating rink, Croatia's capital is pulling in growing numbers of winter tourists in the hope of cheering its struggling economy.
In a country better known for summer holidays along its pristine coastline, Zagreb is promoting itself as a festive wonderland aiming to rival Europe's traditional Christmas destinations such as Vienna and Prague.
A packed 'Advent in Zagreb' programme offers special flight and hotel offers, themed walking tours, dozens of concerts and illuminated market stalls, where mulled wine, hearty sausages and cinnamon donuts are among the big hits.
The event, now in its sixth year, has propelled Zagreb to win the title of 'Best Christmas Market' this month from a poll of more than 100,000 travellers on the European Best Destinations website.
"This event is something really really important for our economy here in Zagreb," said Luka Benko from the city's tourist board, outlining the "huge promotion" of the Advent programme in domestic, regional and faraway markets.
"Probably you would say Croatia is a country for sea and summer, but then we are a continental country as well, we are very diversified."
Tourism is crucial for the European Union's newest member as it slowly emerges from six years of recession.
The sector was hard-hit by Croatia's 1990s war of independence from Yugoslavia, but it has since gradually recovered and now accounts for about 17 percent of gross domestic product.
Last year, this Adriatic nation drew in more than 13 million tourists -- more than triple its population.
While most headed to the coastline dotted with hundreds of islands, the Advent programme attracted a record 56,000 visitors to Zagreb in December 2014, marking a 21 percent rise from the previous year.
"We are experiencing the same thing this year. We are hoping to achieve at least these numbers but I'm sure we are going to have much much more," said Benko.
Visitors can download a smartphone app to guide them around the attractions on offer from late November until January 10, ranging from children's art workshops to pastry chef demonstrations and tastings.
Zagreb's growing appeal is mirrored by the rise in places to stay: since 2006, the number of hostels has shot up from five to 43, hotels from 38 to 53 and private accommodation options from 42 to more than 900, Benko said.
The range of bars and restaurants has also significantly increased amidst the graceful Habsburg architecture of the capital, which is home to 800,000 people.
Zagreb is a city that is big enough to offer all the highlights of a typical European capital, but small enough to be walkable with a charming neighbourhood vibe.
She said the Advent programme had infused local people with a sense of optimism at a time of economic sluggishness and changed habits in the largely Roman Catholic country, where Christmas has traditionally been celebrated indoors with family.
"The festive spirit has spread out into the streets and everything feels more exciting," Pisac said.
While tourist industry representatives have hailed the Advent programme, they say more investments and efforts are needed to diversify what Croatia can offer and encourage year-round visitors.
Croatian tourism's main challenge is to extend the season, and the issue has been on the agenda for a long time.
Zagreb's example Should inspire other attractions and events beyond the "sun and sea" to lure more visitors.
Most Advent guests currently hail from neighbouring Bosnia and Slovenia as well as Italy, but the ambitious marketing push has targeted further afield, including the United States and Asia.
With a return to national growth of around just 1.0 percent forecast for 2015, a broader tourist base would be welcomed by many but those drawn to Zagreb's relaxed Christmas atmosphere may be hoping that it does not get too popular.
"It's very cosy and it has soul," said first-time Italian visitor Franco Rossi, sipping champagne with his wife as a local folk band struck up in central Zrinjevac Square.
In a country better known for summer holidays along its pristine coastline, Zagreb is promoting itself as a festive wonderland aiming to rival Europe's traditional Christmas destinations such as Vienna and Prague.
A packed 'Advent in Zagreb' programme offers special flight and hotel offers, themed walking tours, dozens of concerts and illuminated market stalls, where mulled wine, hearty sausages and cinnamon donuts are among the big hits.
The event, now in its sixth year, has propelled Zagreb to win the title of 'Best Christmas Market' this month from a poll of more than 100,000 travellers on the European Best Destinations website.
"This event is something really really important for our economy here in Zagreb," said Luka Benko from the city's tourist board, outlining the "huge promotion" of the Advent programme in domestic, regional and faraway markets.
"Probably you would say Croatia is a country for sea and summer, but then we are a continental country as well, we are very diversified."
Tourism is crucial for the European Union's newest member as it slowly emerges from six years of recession.
The sector was hard-hit by Croatia's 1990s war of independence from Yugoslavia, but it has since gradually recovered and now accounts for about 17 percent of gross domestic product.
Last year, this Adriatic nation drew in more than 13 million tourists -- more than triple its population.
While most headed to the coastline dotted with hundreds of islands, the Advent programme attracted a record 56,000 visitors to Zagreb in December 2014, marking a 21 percent rise from the previous year.
"We are experiencing the same thing this year. We are hoping to achieve at least these numbers but I'm sure we are going to have much much more," said Benko.
Visitors can download a smartphone app to guide them around the attractions on offer from late November until January 10, ranging from children's art workshops to pastry chef demonstrations and tastings.
Zagreb's growing appeal is mirrored by the rise in places to stay: since 2006, the number of hostels has shot up from five to 43, hotels from 38 to 53 and private accommodation options from 42 to more than 900, Benko said.
The range of bars and restaurants has also significantly increased amidst the graceful Habsburg architecture of the capital, which is home to 800,000 people.
Zagreb is a city that is big enough to offer all the highlights of a typical European capital, but small enough to be walkable with a charming neighbourhood vibe.
She said the Advent programme had infused local people with a sense of optimism at a time of economic sluggishness and changed habits in the largely Roman Catholic country, where Christmas has traditionally been celebrated indoors with family.
"The festive spirit has spread out into the streets and everything feels more exciting," Pisac said.
While tourist industry representatives have hailed the Advent programme, they say more investments and efforts are needed to diversify what Croatia can offer and encourage year-round visitors.
Croatian tourism's main challenge is to extend the season, and the issue has been on the agenda for a long time.
Zagreb's example Should inspire other attractions and events beyond the "sun and sea" to lure more visitors.
Most Advent guests currently hail from neighbouring Bosnia and Slovenia as well as Italy, but the ambitious marketing push has targeted further afield, including the United States and Asia.
With a return to national growth of around just 1.0 percent forecast for 2015, a broader tourist base would be welcomed by many but those drawn to Zagreb's relaxed Christmas atmosphere may be hoping that it does not get too popular.
"It's very cosy and it has soul," said first-time Italian visitor Franco Rossi, sipping champagne with his wife as a local folk band struck up in central Zrinjevac Square.
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