Tag Archives: Traditions

Culture, Documentaries, Profiles, Traditions, Travel, Videos

Culture: A Nomadic Life In The Gobi Desert, Mongolia

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DW Documentary (February 25, 2023) – Otgo is the youngest child of a nomadic family in the Gobi desert. They make their living breeding cattle. Otgo loves their life, in harmony with nature and old traditions. Yet she dreams of becoming a dancer at the opera house in Ulan Bator.

In Mongolia, it is becoming increasingly common for the younger generation to leave traditional life behind. Otgo’s dream would take her far from her family’s yurt. She wants to become a dancer and later, a dance teacher. Her parents leave it up to her to decide how she wants to shape her life. They agree to support her, if she embarks on her great endeavor. In the meantime, Otgo has become an almost indispensable help to the family.

She gets up early in the morning to water the camels with her father, and it fills her with pride that she can help her family. The breathtaking landscape of the Gobi Desert and the strong bonds between the different nomadic families do not make it easy for Otgo to follow her dream. Otgo’s story paints a portrait of her world and of the men and women who have long passed on their culture from generation to generation, through the eyes of a child.

Culture, Traditions, Travel, Videos, Views

West Africa Views: The Cliff Of Bandiagara, Mali

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UNESCO – The Bandiagara site is an outstanding landscape of cliffs and sandy plateaux with some beautiful architecture (houses, granaries, altars, sanctuaries and Togu Na, or communal meeting-places).

Several age-old social traditions live on in the region (masks, feasts, rituals, and ceremonies involving ancestor worship). The geological, archaeological and ethnological interest, together with the landscape, make the Bandiagara plateau one of West Africa’s most impressive sites.

Culture, History, Traditions, Travel, Videos, Views

German Villages: Seiffen – Home Of The Nutcracker

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FRANCE 24 English – For centuries, this small German town has been making these Christmas traditions by hand.

Seiffen is a charming “Toy Story” village in eastern Germany’s wooded Erzgebirge (known in English as the Ore Mountains). Located off the beaten tourist path, minutes from the Czech Republic border, it’s the 19th-century birthplace of nutcrackers, the whimsical wooden figures that are a traditional symbol of Christmas in many cultures.

Cities, Traditions, Travel, Videos, Views

Norway Views: Bergen’s ‘Gingerbread Town’ (2022)

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DW Travel – An entire city made of nearly 2,000 gingerbread houses? Yum! Every year, right around Christmas, the residents of Bergen build this sweet city out of the traditional European Christmas pastry on the southwest coast of Norway. It can be enjoyed up until the end of December. Have you ever tried gingerbread?

Bergen is a city on Norway’s southwestern coast. It’s surrounded by mountains and fjords, including Sognefjord, the country’s longest and deepest. Bryggen features colorful wooden houses on the old wharf, once a center of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire. The Fløibanen Funicular goes up Fløyen Mountain for panoramic views and hiking trails. The Edvard Grieg House is where the renowned composer once lived.

Culture, International, Traditions, Travel, Videos, Views

Culture & Tradition: The Beekeepers Of Slovenia

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UNESCO – In Slovenia, beekeeping is a way of life for many individuals, families and communities, who obtain bee products for food and traditional medicine and use their knowledge and skills to care for the honeybees and the environment.

Communities express a loving and respectful attitude towards bees, and the knowledge, skills and practices relating to their keeping are shaped by centuries of tradition and transmitted from generation to generation. Beekeepers view their bees as teachers and friends. They expand their knowledge and skills through constant research.

Culture, Documentaries, Society, Traditions, Travel, Videos, Views

Qatar: Inside The Emirate’s Culture & Traditions (DW)

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On the surface, Qatar is a dazzling and colorful Arab country, home to sheikhs and big business. But migrant workers without Qatari citizenship make up nearly 90% of Qatar’s total population – the highest such rate in the world.

Anyone traveling to Qatar arrives with plenty of prejudices: that it is a corrupt, filthy-rich emirate full of forced laborers who have no rights; that it is home to businessmen whose practices are, at best, questionable. But for the Qataris themselves, and the millions of guest workers from all over the world who live there, the picture is more nuanced.

Yes, Qatar is a dictatorship with an emir who enjoys almost unlimited power. But at the same time, Qatar is remarkably open and progressive. The emirate is tiny, and yet tremendously fascinating – with its vast desert landscapes, its bizarrely-shaped mountains and its picturesque sandy beaches.

Animals, Culture, Events, Travel, Videos, Views

Austria: Almatrieb Cattle Parade 2022, Tyrolean Alps

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In an annual festive procession in the Tyrolean Alps known as the Almabtrieb, herders and specially groomed cattle descend into the valley after a summer in higher pastures. Their return to the foothill farms is marked with parades, parties and feasting.

The “Almabtrieb” is a custom that goes back 500 years. The steady clang of cowbells accompanies the cattle on their long journey from high alpine pastures back into the valley. Thousands of spectators celebrate their return as Leonhard “Hartl” Thaler leads the herd into town. The 62-year-old is a well-known figure in his Tyrolean hometown of Reith im Alpbachtal – as a farmer, cattle dealer, innkeeper and musician.

Culture, Magazines, Photography, Previews, Stories, Tourism, Travel

Travel Preview: Discover Germany Switzerland & Austria – October 2022

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Discover Germany – October 2022

In the October issue of Discover Germany, Austria & Switzerland we head to Bavaria to discover the German state’s culinary fare. Furthermore, travel writer Stuart Forster delves deeper into the benefits of saunas and explores how Germany and Austria’s sauna traditions hold up to the rest of Europe.

Other topics covered in our latest issue are an interview with soap star Iris Mareike Steen, top seasonal wine picks, modern fashion that reinvents traditional German outfits, including the dirndl, a special focus on one of the DACH region’s most famous breweries,

Germany’s top film production and film processing companies, a look at interior design and architecture trends, the cybersecurity and biotechnology sectors in Germany, and much more.

Culture, History, Profiles, Tourism, Travel, Videos, Views

Views: Water Jousting Tradition In Sète, France

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Like a medieval duel, but on the water: Contestants use lances to try to knock each other out of their boats. Since 1666, water-jousting events have been held yearly in the port city of Sète, southern France.

After a two-year break on account of the coronavirus pandemic, the traditional fisherman’s jousting event has returned. It’s considered the most important event of its kind – the the sport’s world championships. Each year, thousands of spectators and fans flock to the city to take part in the spectacle. The competition rules haven’t changed since 1666!

Culture, Profiles, Stories, Videos, Views

Artisan Views: Handmade Japanese Iron Kettles

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A handmade Japanese iron kettle can cost over $300. For centuries, artisans have made kettles by pouring molten iron into molds and hammering them out once they’ve cooled. These kettles often have beautiful designs but they’re only used for boiling water. You can buy a mass produced stovetop kettle for $20, so what makes these kettles unique? And why are they so expensive?