Manka Khala's annual celebrations

The Edinburgh Festival is celebrated in Edinburgh, Scotland during the month of August. Though the festivals are typically celebrated in August, there are a number of other festivals that are celebrated around the year. It is recorded as being the largest art festival in the world. It was established in 1947 by the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF). One of the aims of this organization is to “Provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit”. The artistic goals vied for in the festival would also serve to attract tourists from all over the world.

It is considered as a very important cultural celebration. Typical activities during these festivals revolve around classical music, opera, theatre and dance. There is a very high standard of artistry involved, with the best artists all over the world being highly sought after. The EIF’s assigns an Artistic Director, whose job is to invite artists suitable enough to meet their standards.

The Hub, also known as the home of the EIF, was opened in the year 1999. It was formerly known as “The Highland Tooth”. It is considered to be the best place to find information on all of the festivals occurring. It is a towering Gothic Building situated near the Edinburgh Castle. It is a very popular tourist attraction, while serving as the focal point for the celebrations itself. There are ticketing centers and cafes, with a smattering of arts and craft. The Main Hall is host to a variety of events, namely concerts, banquets and parties. Ceilidhs, which are informal social gatherings involving Scottish folk music, dancing and storytelling, are also typical events.

There are many festivals during this period, with most happening simultaneously. Here is a list of the more well known of the festivals.

1. Edinburgh International Festival

This is the original festival started by the EIF to achieve its goals. Since then, it has been celebrated every August month. The festival pertains to performing arts, with only the most highly regarded artists from opera, theatre, music and dance being invited by the General Director to perform for the festival. There are also workshops and lectures throughout the year to further the spread of information regarding this festival.

2. Edinburgh Fringe

This festival, also known simply as “The Fringe”, is widely considered as the largest arts festival in the world. This event typically revolves around performing arts related to comedy and drama. Some theatre events involve the works of William Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett. Unlike the other festivals, there is usually no selection committee approving entries, hence, there are a wider array of events possible. Because of this, experimental works are often performed in this festival.

3. Edinburgh International Book Festival

Taking place in the last few weeks of August, this book festival is located in Charlotte Square, which is situated near the center of Edinburgh. The festival is attended by renowned authors all over the world. Recent attendees include J.K. Rowling and Ian Rankin. In 2001, additional events such as debates and discussions were introduced to the program. Authors and tourists alike are able to participate in discussions regarding important issues all over the world.

The history of wrestling can easily be traced back to its roots in the Mediterranean. The Ancient Greeks and Romans are credited with developing a number of different styles of wrestling that are still in use today. The sport is easily one of the most primitive sports that can be easily dated back to some five thousands years ago. Ancient Greeks formed the sport out of necessity as it was a means of training and developing soldiers into warriors. They used it in hand to hand combat which also doubled as a means of cardiovascular exercise. Ancient drawings and hieroglyphs mark the walls of some of the great Greek Palaces and stadiums with pictures of ancient wrestlers.

Wrestling history became a means of culture and a right of passage for the early Greeks. Students used to study wrestling as a class during school. It was a respected form of physical activity that took the utmost strength and grace but when used with aggression is a deadly form of combat. In the earliest of Olympic Festivals wrestling took place around 704 B.C. It was common to travel to villages throughout the country and see carnivals and festivals featuring wrestling in some form as entertainment.

As the Roman Empire rose to power and defeated the Greeks the form of wrestling that the Greeks had created began to change. The Greeks felt that the Romans weren’t as adept at wrestling and took the grace and skillfulness out of the sport and the Greeks were worried about maintaining the true history of wrestling. The new conversion of the two empires hence formed Greco-Roman wrestling.

As time passed the sport made its way west and suddenly became popular in the US. It made the same circulation that it made throughout Europe as it traveled from festivals and circuses as a spectator sport. The sport in these days allowed competitors of any size or shape to match up against any opponent. As you can imagine there was some drastic mismatches and severe injuries. Not to mention that gambling on the matches brought out the worst in the athletes as a number of fixed contests were uncovered.

It wasn’t until the formation of the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles or FILA that the sport began to standardize and formulate rules and the sport was first featured in the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis in the form of freestyle.

Wrestling began to become mainstream throughout the states in the 1900’s and found its way onto school campuses. High school wrestling and collegiate programs began to spring up everywhere and are standard throughout the US today.

Professional wrestling can basically be categorized today into two main forms international or non folk style and folk style wrestling. International consists mainly of Greco-roman, freestyle and grappling while folk style literally means the wrestling recognized in the area of origin. Examples of folk style are jiu jitsui of Brazil and sumo of Japan not to mention dozens of other less notable styles.

Wrestling has come a long way from its early roots but has kept in tact a number of the same techniques and strategies that made it popular five thousand years ago. The sport has seen a recent explosion in the MMA or mixed martial arts field which features a combination of a number of wrestling fields. The sport is growing rapidly and is sure to be a favorite of many more generations. So goes the history of wrestling.

The continent of Europe and its feel is so very different from that of any other continent or country. Most of the continent is a fine blend between the narrow and tiled streets from the 16th, 17th and 18th century and the skyscrapers dominating the skies and showing the economic might of the continent and it’s comprising nations.

Europe Geographic Location

Europe is mainly defined by the Arctic Ocean towards North, Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Mediterranean Sea down South and the Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea and Black Sea towards east and southeast. Although Russia is the largest country among all the European nations, its contribution towards tourism is almost negligible as compared to most of the western European Countries.

A Brief History

Before the Industrial revolution, Europe was plunged deep into the dark ages. During those times, exploitation of labor, fight for control over land and people and corruption in the churches had made life a living hell for most of the people. Although Industrial revolution struck Europe in the 16th century and changed the things upside down, it also gave wings to art and architecture. It was only during the 16th, 17th and 18th century that great artists and philosophers of the likes of Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Picasso and Galileo were born and changed the way people looked at the world around them.

Most of these men were also responsible for the creation of various breathtaking pieces of art and architecture. Most of the European churches date back to a few centuries and still boast of paintings by master artists of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Places of Interest in Europe

Europe is such a beautiful continent and has so many places that can said as a must visit. But it is almost impossible list beyond a few of them. But, you don’t need to get disheartened because we will try and pack in as much information here as we can and tell you where you can find the rest of the information that you are searching for.

Some of the major cities of Europe are Paris, Munich, Berlin, London, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Helsinki. These are just some of the most important cities in Europe in the context of travel and tourism and also as power centers. But, this goes without saying that there are many other places that are as beautiful as these cities.

Paris – the capital city of France, the city of love, is one of the biggest travel and tourism attractions in Europe. Paris is also called as the fashion capital of the world. There is always something happening in the city and there is something for just about everyone. When in Paris, you should not miss the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre (glass pyramid) and the Notre Dam cathedral.

Berlin – the beer capital of Europe and as well as whole Germany famous with some of the most modern fleet of trains. Apart from huge beer steins, Berlin also boasts some of the finest museums and cathedrals in the world. And of course, you must not miss the Berlin wall – an important, although sad symbol of the previous decades.

Amsterdam – the European capital of pleasures, popular with its wild and free life. The city itself is also very impressive, boasting old cathedrals, great architecture and countless tourist attractions. But Amsterdam is also equally popular with its cuisines and of course, Hash Brownie.

Travelling in Europe

Travelling in Europe is a very pleasant surprise for most of the first timers. Almost entire continent works like a single nation and leaving aside a few, most of the countries use only one currency – Euro, which means that you can save time on exchanging traveler’s checks for local currency and bringing only one currency in many of the European countries.

One of the most popular ways of travelling across Europe is by the Eurail. Eurail is one of the most economical ways of transport across the European countries. Also to be noted here is that a visa issued by any of the European Union member country holds good in all the rest of them too. So, you can use Eurail for travelling between almost any of the European countries and enjoy the breathtaking countryside views on the way.

You can also fly on many of the cheap, no frills flights or make use of the bus service called Eurolines which connects more than 500 European cities. Another popular and fun way of traveling between many cities in Europe is by ship. There are many ferries and large ships that transport people and shipments across different European cities and also offering all the luxuries romantic cruise liner.

Although, we have tried to pack in as much as we could here, we still missed out on so much of what one can see and enjoy in Europe as a tourist. But, we don’t want you to miss out on anything, and in case you are more curious about Europe, so can find more information and take a virtual trip to Europe on the site below. Still one can truly experience Europe only if visit the Old Continent himself!