Travelling
Secondary Comprehensive
School № 662
Report
“Travelling”
Made by Adamyan Ashot
A student of the 9th form
Consulted by
Agarkova Natalia Nikolayevna
Moscow
2006
Introduction
Traveling is one of the ways
of discovering new countries.
Millions
of people all over the world spend their holidays traveling. They travel to see
other continents, modern cities and the ruins of ancient towns, they travel to
enjoy picturesque places, or just for a change of scene. Its always interesting
to discover new things, different ways of life, to meet different people, to
try different food, to listen to different musical rhythms.
Those who live in the country like to go to a big city and spend their time
visiting museums and art galleries, looking at shop windows and dining at
exotic restaurants. City-dwellers usually like a quiet holiday by the sea or in
the mountains, with nothing to do but walk and bathe and laze in the sun.
Most travelers and holiday-makers take a camera with them and take pictures of
everything that interests them - the sights of a city, old churches and
castles, views of mountains, lakes, valleys, plains, waterfalls, forests;
different kinds of trees, flowers and plants, animals and birds.
Later, perhaps years later, they will be reminded by the photos of the happy
time they have had.
People travel by train, by plane, by boat, by car, by bike and on foot. People
travel to have a holidays or to have business. If people have business trips
they choose the fastest transport. They often travel by plane or by train. It
is very expensive but it is very fast. And if people want to have a rest they
choose traveling by boat, by car, on horseback and etc. When you travel by car
or by bike you can stop where you want.
All means of travel have their advantages and disadvantages. And people choose
one according to their plans and destinations.
If we are fond of traveling, we see and learn a lot of things that we can never
see or learn at home, though we may read about them in books and newspapers,
and see pictures of them on TV. The best way to study geography is to travel,
and the best way to get to know and understand people is to meet them in their
own homes. The best way to study geography is to travel, and the best way to
get to know and understand people is to meet them in their own homes.
What attracts tourists to Russia?
Russia has always been a country of mystery attractive for foreigners. There
are lots of villages and towns in Russia famous for their specific
crafts: painted boxes in Palekh, wooden tableware in Khokhloma and toys in Dymkovo.
Thousands of foreigners visit Russia
to enjoy the typical Russian log houses, decorated with wood carvings.
Tourists like to
visit old Russian towns and cities famous for their ancient architecture. They are
especially attracted by Russian orthodox cathedrals, churches and monasteries.
One of the most interesting old cities in Russia
is Novgorod, or Novgorod the Great, as it was called in the
old times. It is a treasury of architecture, painting and applied art created
over the 11th to 17th centuries. The first records of the city on the Volkhov
River date back to the
year of 859. Now Novgorod
has expanded far beyond its former limits. It is an important industrial and
cultural centre, located on the busy highway linking Moscow
and St. Petersburg.
The focal point of
the city is the Detinets, or the Kremlin. The
present-day Kremlin stems largely from the 15th century. Several alterations
made in the 16th and 17th centuries were minor and did not affect its appearance.
Novgorod’s
contribution to the development of Russian culture is outstanding. No other
city excels Novgorod
in the number of ancient monuments of architecture. The Novgorod Museum of
History, Architecture and Art shows visitors the history of the medieval Novgorod. Its artistic
value lies primarily in its collection of medieval icon painting.
There is a lot to see
in Russia, but first of all foreign tourists visit the capital of our country,
Moscow, its political, economic, commercial and cultural centre. They dream of
visiting Red Square, which is called the heart of Moscow. Perhaps, the most ancient monument of Red Square is St. Basil’s Cathedral.
With its nine beautifully painted cupolas, it is a real masterpiece of ancient
Russian architecture.
If you come to Moscow
for the first time, you should by all means visit the Kremlin, which is very
impressive. 
On the territory of the Kremlin you can see
old cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, the State Kremlin
Palace, the Tsar Cannon
and the Tsar Bell, the biggest cannon and bell in the world. The tallest
Kremlin tower, the Spasskaya Tower,
has become the symbol of the country.
If you leave the
Kremlin by the Trinity Gate you will come to the Alexandrovsky Gardens. The first thing to do in the
Gardens is to stand by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, still and silent. Not
far from the Alexandrovsky
Gardens, behind the Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge, you will see Christ the Saviour Cathedral, with its huge beautiful gilded dome.
Foreigners are usually surprised by the number of churches and cathedrals in
and around the city. There are also a lot of beautiful palaces, old mansions
and monuments in Moscow.
There are more than
80 museums in our capital. The largest museums are the Pushkin
Museum of Fine Arts, whose collections include works of art of the ancient
Orient and ancient Egypt,
and the State Tretyakov Gallery, which houses a rich
collection of Russian painting and Russian icons. Other unique museums in Moscow are the State
History Museum,
the All-Russia Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art, the Polytechnical
Museum and many others. Moscow is famous for its
theatres, too. The best-known of them is the Bolshoi
Opera House. Drama theatres and studios are also very popular.
Another interesting
place to visit in Moscow
is the All-Russia Exhibition Centre which occupies an area of 530 acres. The Exhibition
Centre is situated in a beautiful park. The most admired feature of the
Exhibition Centre is its fountains. The “Friendship of the Nations” and the
“Stone Flower” fountains are the most beautiful. The Exhibition Centre is a
large cultural and commercial complex where different international exhibitions
and fairs are held.
One of the most
famous sights of the city is the Moscow Metro and a journey by Metro will be
unforgettable. In the Metro you do not feel as if you’re underground. This is
due to the unique architecture and the artistic design of the stations, which
are more like palaces. No two stations are alike; most of them have their own appearance.
Of course, every
foreigner should visit St. Petersburg, the
second largest city in Russia
and one of the most splendid cities in the world. It was founded in 1703 by
Peter the Great at the mouth of the Neva
River. Now it is an
important industrial, cultural and educational centre.
St. Petersburg is indeed a wonderful city: at every turn there is something to catch
your eye. The Winter Palace, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the Peter-and-Paul
Fortress, and the Admiralty
Building attract
thousands of tourists from every corner of the world. Petersburg’s many museums house some of the
world’s most famous art collections. The Hermitage and the Russian Museum,
for example, contain the richest collections of pictures in the world.
The city is called the Northern
Venice, because there are 65 rivers, branches and canals there
with artistically decorated bridges. It’s also famous for its beautiful white
nights.
There are a lot of Hero-cities in our country. And I
would recommend that my foreign friends visit one of them. Volgograd is a legendary city, because here
in 1943 the Soviet Army won the great and glorious victory over the fascists.
The city was completely ruined during the war, but now it is a beautiful city
again. It stands on the banks of the great Russian river Volga.
The symbol of Volgograd
is the Mamaev Hill. It was the centre of fighting
during the heroic defence of Stalingrad.
Now there is a great memorial there. Besides, you can visit the Stalingrad Battle
Panorama Museum,
which is situated on the bank of the Volga
River. The centre of Volgograd is the Square
of the Fallen Heroes. In the middle of it there is a granite obelisk and the
common graves of the heroes of the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War. At
the foot of the memorial you can see the Eternal Flame. Now Volgograd is a big industrial and cultural
centre.
There are a lot of other interesting towns and cities
in Russia,
which are all worth visiting.
I have never travelling to other countries but would like to visit London.
London is one of the largest cities in the world. More then 10mln people live
in London and
its suburbs. London
is a city of striking contrasts. Here one can come across the past and the
present, the old and the modern, live side by side in mutual tolerance and
respect.
In London,
one can see architecture of different centuries and styles. It is inseparably
connected with the history of the city. The Romans, the Saxons and the Danes
settled here in turn, after them came the Normans,
and brought the French civilisation. London survived the Plague and the Great
Fire, which followed in 1666. During the Fire all wooden houses were smashed to
the ground and a New London, London of stone with bigger houses and wider
streets was built. During the World War II, many buildings of great historic
value lay in ruins and today the face of London
is changed.
Traditionally London is
divided into several parts: the City, Westminster,
the West End and the East End.
The city first started in the place, which is known as
the City. It is the Heart of London, it’s commercial and business centre. It
occupies a territory of a square mile. During a day, it is full of people,
nearly half a million people work there.
The West End is the
richest part of the city with its beautiful avenues, parks and gardens, grandhotels, theatres and fashionable shops. It is a symbol
of wealth and luxury.
While the City is the money of London
and the West End is the good of London, the East
End is the hands of London, that built the banks
of the City and beautiful mansions and hotels of the West
End. It is a district, inhabited by the workers. There are many
factories and the Port
of London there.
As for me, I cannot imagine London
without Thames. In fact, painters and writers
regard the river as the source of inspiration. Turner, Monet, Canatello painted it countless times and their impression
of the river in all seasons can be seen on the walls of museums, throughout the
world. Pope, Spensor and many other poets sang it in
their poems. The most famous books about the Thames
are ‘Three men in a boat’ by Jerome-k-Jerome and ‘The wind in the willows’ by
K. Graham. If there had been no Thames, there would be no London. It was born many centuries ago in the
place, which is known as the City. The City is not only the centre of business.
It’s the burth place of London. London
was born in the place not far from St.
Paul’s cathedral hundreds of years before our era. It
was called Lynn-din (the lonely port) at that time. After the Norman Conquest,
it became Londinium.
If you want to get some glimpses of London,
you’d better start sightseeing with the Tower of London,
that comes first among the historic buildings of the city. It was built as the
fortress after the Norman invasion of England in 1066. It has been used
as the Royal Palace, as an observatory, an arsenal
and a prison. For many visitors the principal attraction is the Crown Jewels,
the finest precious stones of the nation.
A twenty minutes’ walk from the Tower will take you to
another historic building – St. Paul’s
Cathedral, the greatest of English churches. It was built by a famous English
architect Sir Christopher Wren. St.
Paul’s Cathedral, with it’s famous Whispering Gallery,
is considered to be a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture. In one of its
towers hangs one of the largest bells in the world – Great Paul.
Not far from Cathedral is Westminster Abbey. It was
founded by Edward the Confessor in 1050. The best part of the Abbey is a
wonderful chapel, dating back to the 16th century. It is famous for its
magnificent architecture. There are many monuments and statues there. Many
English kings and queens are buried there. Since William the 1st, almost ever
monarch has been crowned in this great church. One of the greatest treasures of
the Abbey is oaken Coronation Chair made in 1300. On the south side of
Westminster Abbey is Poet’s Corner, where the greatest English writers are
buried. Here also are memorials to Shakespeare, Burns, Byron, Scott and so on.
Across the road from Westminster Abbey is Westminster Palace,
which is spread magnificently on the north bank of the Thames.
It is
a remarkable example of Gothic
architecture.
The Tower of
London
The Tower
of London has a very
interesting story behind it. It was begun by a man who was not even English,
William of Normandy. At the time he was the cousin of England's Kind
Edward. It all started because William became outraged when Edward backed down
on his promise to give the throne to William and ended up giving the throne to
his English brother-in-law, Harold. William sailed his army across the English
Channel to conquer England.
On October 14, 1066, he met Harold at Hastings
and conquered him. On Christmas Day later that year, William - now called
William the conqueror - was crowned King of England. Immediately after William
took over as king, he built forts everywhere. One stood in the southeastern
corner of London, near an old Roman wall on the
north bank of the Thames
River. William ordered
that this fort be removed in 1078 to be replaced by a huge stone stronghold.
This would be the "symbol of his power, a fortress for his defense, and a
prison for his enemies". (Fisher, 1987) He named it the Tower of London.
The Tower was finished twenty years later, rising
nearly one hundred feet high, with its walls fifteen feet thick in certain
places. Inside was a chapel, apartments, guardrooms, and crypts. The Tower was
protected by a wide ditch, a new stone wall, the old Roman wall, and the river.
This was done to secure the fact that this tower was a prison that no prisoner
would escape from.
The Bishop of Durham was probably the Tower's first
distinguished prisoner. He was very fat, greedy, and unpopular. He was dragged
to the prison by his brother with his servants and bags of money. But the
Bishop lived very well inside the Tower because he could bribe the guards with
gold. One night in February,1101, he gave a huge banquet with a lot of food and
liquor. When he had gotten the guards very drunk, he pushed his bags through a
window and slid down a rope to freedom.
Around the year 1240, King Henry III made this tower
his home. He whitewashed the tower, widened the grounds to include a church, a
great hall, and other buildings. He renamed the entire new area the Tower of London,
and renamed the Tower the White
Tower. Although the tower
was still a prison, Henry had turned the White Tower
into a breathtaking palace. He entertained many important visitors, many of
which came with animals as gifts. Near the drawbridge of the tower, Henry built
the Lion Tower, a zoo where visitors would be
greeted with roaring beasts. Here is a map of the tower.
In 1377, when Richard II was king, the Tower continued
to be a stronghold. But four years later, on June 14, a group of overtaxed
farmers stormed the Tower. Richard and his brothers safely hid themselves
inside. But the farmers found the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Royal Treasurer, a tax
official, and a doctor. These men were taken to Tower Hill where their heads
where chopped off. Richard later made peace with these farmers. The leader of
the farmers, Wat Tyler, was beheaded. Richard was
eventually thrown into a Tower dungeon, where he was forced to give up the
throne to Henry IV.
Several monarchs died in the Tower of London.
One was thirteen-year-old King Edward V. When his father, King Edward IV died,
his uncle Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, plotted to take the throne for
himself. Richard had the thirteen-year-old king and his younger brother, the
Duke of York, taken to the tower. Lord Hastings, a royal officer, tried to
protect Edward, but was unsuccessful. Hastings'
head was chopped off on the Tower Green, and Edward and his brother were
murdered. These murders most likely took place in the Garden
Tower, which was later renamed the Bloody Tower.
Since the Tower
of London was so
dangerous, King Henry VII formed a personal bodyguard. Henry moved into the
Tower in 1485 after killing Richard III in a battle. His protectors were called
the Yeoman Warders, who to this day still guard the tower. King Henry was a
very frugal man. He seldom gave parties and tried very hard to avoid war, which
both cost a lot of money.
After the death of Henry VII, the Tower of London
was never again used to house an English queen or king. The dungeon was still
used to hold England's
enemies, and the Tower was still used for many celebrations. The marriage of
King Henry VIII to his second wife, Anne Boleyn, took place at the Tower on May
19, 1533. A
huge party was thrown for the next 11 days at the Tower, topped off with an
enormous feast.
But the Tower
of London was not always
a place of celebration. On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed under Henry's
orders at the Tower Green. Anne had been accused of misconduct, but the plain
truth was that she had born a daughter rather than a son, who would become a
future king of England.
This daughter was Elizabeth I, who would later become the Queen of England. Elizabeth was held
prisoner in the Tower for two months by the order of her half sister, Queen
Mary. Mary felt that her throne was being threatened by Elizabeth, so she imprisoned her in the
Tower. If you look really carefully, you can see Anne Boleyn's Ghost about the
tower. She will tell you about the royalty.
Elizabeth was innocent, and people knew it, leading to a public outcry. Elizabeth was released on May 19, 1554 (ironically, May 19
was the day on which Anne Boleyn was married and killed, and the same day that Elizabeth was released
from jail.) In 1558, Elizabeth became the queen
of England.
She spent three days on her coronation in the Tower, to symbolize that it was
her duty to "take possession" of it as the royal monarch of England.
(Fisher, 1987) On January 15, 1559, she left in a festive parade to be crowned
at Westminster Abby. Elizabeth
would never return to the Tower.
In 1603, part of the Tower of London
became a museum. King James I had ordered that the royal jewels be kept in the
Tower Jewel House and be put on display for the Tower visitors. Though its
roots trace back to a non-Englishman, the Tower of London
has had a very interesting place in English history. It has been the sight of
murders, marriages, uproars, museums, and zoos. But the Tower of London
will always be remembered as a "symbol of royal power, a fortress for the
monarch, and a prison for the monarch's enemies".
Conclusion
Many people like traveling and I am no
exception to the rule. Some people like to travel in winter, but most of them
prefer to go travelling in summer, when it is warm
and the sun is shining brightly. There are people who like to travel by train
or by air. In this way they cover large distances and see the far-off places.
If a person likes the sea he decides upon a sea-voyage. Nowadays young people
travel on foot and like to go to the woods or to the mountains. On a trip by
air you dont see much, but you save a lot of time. If
you go by train, you get acquainted with new regions. A sea-voyage is very
pleasant if the sea is calm. The passengers enjoy watching the sea, which is
always ever so beautiful. Many people travel all around our country by car. I
believe that travelling is one of the best pleasures
in the world.
Literature
1.
Encyclopedia Britanica 2006
2.
The official site The
Tower of London
3.
Microsoft Word
