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March 2017

 

Zion's Church, Ilulissat, Greenland

One of the northernmost churches in the world, Zions Kirke (Zion's Church), is located approximately 220 miles north of the Arctic Circle in western Greenland. The subject of our January 2017 mystery photo, the church, built in 1782 and restored in 1907, is in the town of Ilulissat, next to Disko Bay.

To cover its building costs, local residents collected dozens of whales and over 200 barrels of whale oil between 1777 and 1779. Over a century later, part of the church was turned into a hospital. In 1929, the building was moved inland and expanded.

Current warnings

As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 42 destinations: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, Jordan, Kenya, North Korea, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Republic of South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen.  

President of The Gambia abdicates

The former president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, peacefully abdicated the presidency to president-elect Adama Barrow on Jan. 21, a day after troops from neighboring Senegal crossed the border, in support of Barrow, on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). 

Gambian military leaders and soldiers refused to resist the Senegalese soldiers, and no shots were fired during the operation. On Jan. 26, President Barrow returned to The Gambia from his self-imposed exile in Senegal.

The Great Pyramid at Giza

The Great Pyramid at Giza, at its original height of 481 feet, was the tallest man-made structure in the world for thousands of years until the 14th century, when it was overtaken by the central spire of England’s Lincoln Cathedral, which collapsed in 1549, although, by then, other churches had eclipsed the pyramid’s height.

Australia wildlife up close

In northeastern Australia at the Fraser Coast Wildlife Sanctuary (79 Mungar Rd., Maryborough, Queensland, Australia; phone +61 07 4122 2080, http://frasercoastwildlifesanctuary.org.au), visitors can interact with dingoes, wallabies, kangaroos, kookaburras and more. Visits are guided, and animal interactions are supervised by staff. 

Toronto tower EdgeWalk

In Toronto, visitors to the highest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere can walk outside along the circumference of the tower’s restaurant’s roof, 1,168 feet above the ground, on the EdgeWalk. 

During the 20-minute EdgeWalk at the CN Tower (301 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2T6, Canada), trekkers are strapped into safety harnesses, allowing them to lean over the roof’s edge. For the mobility impaired, EdgeWalks utilizing a specially designed wheelchair are available.

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