Mendel Walking Tour

Last weekend we did the Gregor Johann Mendel in Brno self-paced walking tour published by the Tourist Information Centre.

The tour is about 7,5 km (4.5 miles) and takes 2,5 to 4 hours depending if you add museum visits or not.  The tour connects sites across the city associated with Gregor Johann Mendel, the father of modern genetics, and his life in Brno.

At Mendlovo náměstí (Mendel Square) is the Augustinian Abbey.  In 1843, he joined the monastery as a novice and lived there for more than 40 years.

The abbey sits between the Mendel Museum and the basilica.

After Mendel completed his theology studies in 1848, he served as a pastor for sick people at St. Anne's Hospital. 

At Šilingrovo náměstí is the Barceló hotel.  A very nice, posh hotel that opened in 2012.  The building used to be called the Municipal Courtyard where Mendel hosted meetings and lectures as vice-chairman of the Natural Science Society.

Mendel regularly contributed to the Moravian Academy of Sciences which was housed in Bishop's Court.

After he was ordained as a priest, Mendel gave his first church service at St. Michael's Church, at Dominikánské náměstí on 15 August 1847.

The New Town Hall was one of the places where Mendel participated in flower exhibitions as part of the Agricultural Society.

Mendel was a chief advisor and judge for horticultural exhibitions of the Agricultural Society.  In the 1860s many of these exhibitions were held in the Reduta Theatre.

Mendel taught physics and natural history for 14 years at the German State High School.

There's a plaque on the building in Czech, English, and German.

He gave many presentations at the German Technical University that was established in 1849.  Today it is part of Masaryk University.

In 1881, Mendel served as director of the Moravian Mortgage Bank which was headquartered at the Moravian Land Assembly.  Today the building is the seat of the Czech Constitutional Court.

Near the Bishop's Court is Mendelianum.  The premises used to be home to the Agricultural Society where Mendel was an active member.  Mendelianum presents modern genetics with other branches of science.

Lužánky Park opened in 1786 and is one of the first public parks in Central Europe.  Mendel participated in gardening exhibitions here.

Mendel is buried in the Augustinian Tomb at the Central Cemetery.  I still haven't made it out to the Central Cemetery but it's still on my list.

While we were at the New Town Hall we say some people who were protesting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Я за Україну. Я за Україною. Слава Україні  Stojím za Ukrajinou!  I stand with Ukraine. 

Open-Air Concert

On Thursday, the Janáček Theatre out on a free open-air concert, in front of the theatre, to kick of the start of the 2023-2024 season.

Kája and I met up there after work to enjoy the performances before going to dinner.

There were performances by soloists, a choir and the opera company orchestra.  

Here are a couple of videos I took during the performance.

Kleopatra

On Saturday, I got to experience another first.  Kája surprised me with tickets to Kleopatra, my first Czech language musical.  

Saturday's performance featured Kamila Nývltová in the lead role as Cleopatra and Daniel Hůlka as Caesar.

I didn't understand everything because it was entirely in Czech but it was still an excellent show and I enjoyed it.

I found this video, back from 2010, out on YouTube os scenes from the musical with Kamila Nývltová as Cleopatra.  

©musicalcz

Best of Ephesus Tour, Türkiye

We had booked the Best of Ephesus Tour for Monday which was great.  We were the only two who had booked so we actually ended up on a private tour with our guide Mehmet.  

Our first stop was at a big statue of the Virgin Mary. 

After that we headed to Meryemana, the House of the Virgin Mary, which is about 6 km (3.7 miles) from Ephesus and 17 km (11 miles) from Şirince.  The house is surrounded by pine and olive trees.  It's a Catholic shrine and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A bedridden Augustinian nun in Germany, named Anne Catherine Emmerich, had visions, about the Virgin Mary.  One was a description of the house that the Apostle John had built for the Virgin Mary where she lived out the rest of her life.  An author spent five years transcribing the nun's visions, before she passed away, and a book was published in 1852.

Two expeditions completed in 1891, discovering the match between the location and the nun's visions.  While the Roman Catholic Church has never officially proclaimed the validity of the site, multiple popes have given blessings and visited the house.  Each year on 15 August, pilgrims come to celebrate Mary's Assumption.  In 2004, Pope John Paul II beatified Anne Catherine Emmerich.

On the way to the shrine, you pass a key hole-shaped baptismal pool.

Outside of the house is a "wishing wall" where people write their wishes on paper or fabric.

There is a spring under the house which pilgrims believe to have healing properties.  There are fountains that people can drink from. 

I had to make sure to light a candle for my grandmother.  She would have loved that I came here. 

It was then on to Ephesus which was a city in Ancient Greece located 3 km (2 miles) southwest of Selçuk, 8 km from Şirince, 20 km (12.5 miles) north of Kuşadasi, and 70 km (44 miles) south of Izmir.

Ephesus was built in the 10th century BC.  It was one of the 12-member cities of the Ionian League and became part of the Roman Republic in 129 BC.  It's believed that the Gospel of St. John may have been written here.  

The city was conquered by numerous empires over the centuries and it was completely abandoned by the 15th century.  Ephesus is home to one of the largest Roman archaeological sites in the Eastern Mediterranean and the ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015.

The most impressive ruin has to be the Library of Celsius.  It was built in around 125 AD in memory of Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus who served as governor of Roman Asia.  He paid for the library from his own money and he is buried in a sarcophagus beneath it.  The library was the third-largest in the Greco-Roman world and was home to 12.000 scrolls.  

The library was no longer in use after 400 AD.  The facade was damaged by an earthquake in the 10th or 11th century but archaeologists re-erected it from 1970 to 1978.

The Great Theatre could hold an estimated 25.000 spectators and dates back to the Hellenistic period (3rd-1st century BC) with extensive renovation during the Roman period.  It's believed to have been the the largest theatre in the in the ancient world.

As it was just the two of us, our guide Mehmet used the opportunity to show us everything in great detail.  It would never have been possible with a larger group.

Ephesus was famous for the Temple of Artemis which was nearby.  The temple was completed around 550 BC and it was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  The temple was destroyed by 401 AD.  The only thing left of the temple is a single pillar.

The Basilica of St. John, or rather what's left of it, sits on the slope of Ayasluğ Hill, in Selçuk, about 3,5 km (2.2 miles) from Ephesus.  It was built in the 6th century but was damaged when Turks invaded in 1090.

Many believe that the basilica was built on the tomb of the apostle.  

There's a fortress on the hill above the cathedral but we didn't visit it.

From the basilica you can see the İsa Bey Mosque.  The mosque was built from 1374-1375.  Unfortunately it is currently closed for renovation so we only got to view it at a distance.

Temple, mosque, basilica, and fortress

Saint Helier, Jersey

Saint Helier is the capital of the Bailiwick of Jersey.  With its almost 36.000 people, St. Helier is home to more than a third of the entire island, and it is the island's only town.  As St. Helier is also the name of the parish, most people just call it "town".

St. Helier, located on the south coast of the island, was founded sometime in the mid-12th century.

King George II gave £200 to St. Helier towards construction of a new harbour.  In gratitude, a statue of him was erected in 1751 at Royal Square.  

The statue is the Jersey's zero milestone from which all distances on the island are measured.

Piquet House was used by the military police unit 1924.  The building hasn't been used for anything for a few years.

The States Assembly is Jersey's parliament building.  It shares a complex with the Royal Court, the Bailiff's Chambers, and the Judicial Greffe.

The Parish Church of St. Helier is an Anglican Church that was first built in the 11th century.  For unknown reasons the church was reconsecrated in 1341.

The Jersey Museum and Art Gallery is also home to the Société Jersiaise.  

The Société Jersiaise was founded in 1873 and is committed to preserving Jèrriais - the Norman French dialect spoken on the island.

An obelisk was built in 1855 to commemorate in memory of Pierre Le Sueur, who was elected constable five times, providing the town with clean water and who died in office form overwork.

The toad monument was erected in 2004 at Charing Cross to commemorate Jersey's 800 years of allegiance to the English Crown.

La Croix de la Reine commemorates the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977.

There was an open market on this site for 78 years before being demolished.  The market reopened in 1882.

Liberation Square used to be the eastern terminus of the Jersey Railway which opened in 1870. 

From the rear of the building, 1.186 English-born residents were deported to Germany in September 1942.  

The Liberation sculpture was unveiled in 1995 on the 50th anniversary the end of the German occupation.

Parade Gardens used to be the drilling grounds for the island's garrisoned troops in the early 19th century.  Today is is a popular park in the centre of St. Helier.

The cenotaph was unveiled in 1923 for Armistice Day to honour those soldiers killed in WWI and later WWII.

All Saints Church is an Anglican Church at Parade Gardens.

Howard Davis Park opened in 1939.  There is a walled rose garden and a pond.

At the other end of the park is the Jersey War Graves Cemetery.

The cemetery was dedicated on 26 November 1943 and has graves of American and British servicemen killed in WWII.

On the south side of the park, next to the cemetery, is St. Luke's Church.  It is an Anglo-Catholic Church.  I've never heard of an Anglican/Catholic Church combo before but I guess it's a thing.

The Jersey Opera House opened in 1900 and the current building is a 1922 renovation of the original.  The theatre reopened in 2000.

Havre des Pas is the part of the coastline that was historically used for ship building.  

Today it is beach with some shops and private residences along the coast.

The Havre des Pas Bathing Pool was built by the Jersey Swimming Club and it opened in 1895.

Fort Regent was originally built as a Napoleonic Fort at the top of Mont de la Ville.  It is currently a sports and leisure venue.  Glacis field is a grassy field on the south end with views of the harbour and of the castle.

Elizabeth Castle is a 16th-century castle that sits on a tidal island off the coast of the town.  Today it is a museum.

Freedom Tree was unveiled by Queen in 2005.  It was commissioned to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Jersey's liberation.

Victoria Pier

There was lots to see and do in St. Helier but I wasn't here at the best time.  Tourist season finishes as the end of October so I wasn't able to visit the Jersey War Tunnels because they don't open again until March.  It would have been nice to take a boat trip out to les Minquiers but this too is only available during season.  I'm really glad that I was able to take the island tour on Friday.  I guess that a return visit is in order.