Thethi National Park Facts

I have been reading The Travel Book by Lonely Planet, which is full of great stuff. One thing that I saw in there was a suggestion to go to Thethi National Park in Albania, so I wanted to learn a little more about it.

The park is located in the Albanian Alps, which is the northern region of Albania. It covers an area of 2,630 hectacres, and is located along the Theth River. I have seen the park both as the Thethi National Park, or the Theth National Park. It was declared a national park in 1966.

The park features many mountains over 2,500 meters tall, which slopes that are very steep (as can be easily seen by looking at photos of the peaks. The steepness is do in large part to changes in temperature and snow precipitation, which is present for most of the year. There are also many caves (over 170) and waterfalls within the park.

The pictures of the park are certainly inspiring for anyone with an affinity for the outdoors.

The Minaret of Jam - Facts

I have been reading The Travel Book by Lonely Planet, and it's packed with tons of cool stuff.

One interesting I found was the Minaret of Jam, located in western Afghanistan and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is 65 meters high, and was built in the 1190's, entirely by bricks. It still rests on its original base, and it is the second tallest brick minaret in the world (after the Qutub Minar in India).

It is very remote, and was virtually unknown until 1886, when it was "re-discovered" by the Russo-Afghan Boundary Commission. It was thought to be the center of a large empire, as it was the summer capital of the Ghurids. It is surrounded by mountain peaks, which makes for harsh winters, followed by springs filled with heavy snow melt. This is why it is seen as being threatened by erosion.

The Minaret of Jam is a very interesting little piece of history, one that not a lot of people necessarily know very much about.