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| Tasting 'Med spirit' aboard a cruise | |
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By Lee Sun-ho
The Mediterranean is a mostly enclosed sea that has a limited exchange of water with outer oceans. Costa Cruise Ship Concordia, a 114,147-ton, 17-deck vessel which started service under the Italian flag in June 2006, offered a wide range of cruise experiences in the Western Mediterranean for seven nights and eight days in early May.
Costa Concordia’s journey, rotating widely counterclockwise past the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, consisted of docking at a variety of seashore and island locations. It combined a floating resort offering every amenity, comfort and entertainment with opportunities of shore excursions to discuss far-off places mixed with beautiful coastline, pleasant climate, rich history and diverse culture. In addition, intriguing ancient and modern destinations within the Mediterranean where western civilization was born and where the fine art of living tempted 3,780 cruise voyagers from all over the world.
The cruise embarked and disembarked in Civitavecchia (meaning ancient town). Located 80 kilometers northwest of Rome in central Italy, it is today a major cruise and ferry port for Rome geared to ship travel. It is also the gateway to many historic sights of shadows of the ``Eternal City of Rome” as well as the hallowed halls of the Vatican.
The ship sailed for Savona through the Gulf of Genoa. The port used to be the most important place in Italy for heavy industry, associated with the family of Christopher Columbus in the past. Savona was nicknamed the ``City of Popes” as two important popes from there, Pope Sisto IV and his nephew Pope Giulio II, were elected.
Sailing along the French Azzura Coast, the ship continued along the coast of Spain. Barcelona was founded by the Carthaginians, and through the centuries was successfully besieged by many nations. There was a great deal to see in Barcelona as the second largest city in Spain after Madrid. Barcelona today is a global cultural center and a major tourist destination possessing a rich cultural heritage.
Moving southwesterly and guided by the dawn signal of the Punta de Cala Figuera lighthouse of the Balearic Islands of Spain, the ship entered the Bay of Palma. In 902, Palma de Mallorca was conquered by the Arabs, and their reign lasted three centuries. The French occupation of Algeria made the Mediterranean’s commercial routes including the Balearic Islands safer from Turkish and Maghreb pirates. Nowadays Palma as the capital of the Balearic Province (since the 18th century) with 325,000 inhabitants is an ideal place to greet and say goodbye to the Mediterranean lifestyle.
Navigating the open sea in a southeasterly route, the ship began sailing along the Tunisian Coast. Viewing Gozo Island from the front, the ship began to sail into the Port of La Valletta, Malta’s capital for docking procedures. The harbor city became a world heritage site as an open-air museum preserving much of its 16th century architectural masterpieces built.
Malta is a southern European country, located half way between Sicily and Tunisia. Because of the British influence (before independence in 1964), traffic in La Valletta drives on the left. As a member of the eurozone (since 2008), Malta with a population of 450,000 is an internationally-renowned tourist resort, with 1.2 million tourists every year. Located in the center of the Med, Malta is also characterized as an Apostolic See.
Sailing in a northwestern direction toward Sicily, Palermo (named by ancient Greeks as the largest port of all seas), is located on the north coast of Sicily as the port of the Tyrrhenian Sea was the capital of the autonomous region of Sicily.
The mysterious city has been conquered by many other nations, including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. Palermo became Sicily’s cultural, economic and touristic capital, the fifth most-populated city in Italy with around 1.3 million people. Nowadays, it is also gaining through careful redevelopment, preparing to become one of the major cities in the euro-Mediterranean area.
Tourism is one of the most important sources of income for the majority of Mediterranean countries, and cruises have become a major part of the tourism industry in the area. The Costa Concordia cruise liner is a passenger ship dedicated to the pleasure of its voyagers.
The cruise ships operate mostly on routes that return passengers to their original port. A multiple-role crew of 1,110 people as well as the fantastic architectural design and excellent artistic ensemble made the stay in the Mediterranean an incredibly exotic and relaxing on-board-off-board experience.
The writer is an outside director of KunWha Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. in Seoul. He can be reached at kexim2@unitel.co.kr.
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<크루즈 여행기 국문요지>
地中海의 멋과 맛
I. 여객선 개요 - 움직이는 호텔처럼 숙식, 편의시설, 부대서비스, 연예행사 등 제공
1. 선박명 : Costa Concordia호 (2006년 6월 건조/취항 이탈리아 국적선)
2. 제원 : 무게 114,147톤, 17개 층, 길이 290.2m, 최대시속 23.2 노트
3. 승선인원 : 총 4,890명 (승객 3,780명+선원 1,110명)
4. 항로 : 서부 지중해 샤르데냐섬과 코르시카섬을 중심으로 시계반대방향
5. 기간 : 7박8일 (5월초).
II. 항로 순 기착지 별 특징 (과거/현재)
1. 치비타베키아 (시칠리아에서 출항 -> 라지오연안으로 입항/정박 -> 하선 및 승선)
a. 로마 서북쪽 80km지점에 위치한 서기 1,000년에 구축된 항구도시
b. 대로마제국의 많은 유적과 바티칸의 장엄함을 맛볼 수 있는 이탈리아의 관문
2. 사보나 (동북방 야간항해 -> 제노아만 경유)
a. 크리스토퍼 컬럼버스가 젊은 시절을 보낸 곳으로 이탈리아 중공업중심지였음
b. 교황의 도시임을 자랑스럽게 여김 (Sisto 4세, Giulio 2세 2명 배출)
3. 바르셀로나 (프랑스 아주라연안 정서방 야간항해 -> 스페인연안)
a. 카르타고인에 의하여 최초로 만들어진 도시: 지난 수세기동안 수많은 인종들의 점령단계를 거침: 현재 스페인 제2의 도시로 성장하였음
b. 오늘날은 풍부한 각종문화유산으로 세계 최대 관광지로 각광을 받고 있음
4. 팔마드마르요카 (스페인연안 동남방 항해->멋진 새벽등대 유도로 배리애릭제도 입항)
a. 300년간의 아랍지배: 그 후 여러 인종들의 각축전을 거쳐 대상업도시로 변모:
프랑스의 알제리아 지배를 계기로 터키와 마그레브의 해적들의 활동이 소멸됨
b. 팔마드마르요카는 쾌적한 지중해생활을 대변하는 인구 325,000의 관광도시: 오늘 날 배리애릭제도의 수도로 발전되어있음
5. 라발레타 (동남방 야간항해 -> 튜니지아연안 주간항해 -> 고조섬을 끼고 오후 입항)
a. 몰타는 최남단 유럽의 섬나라: 16세기 건축물들이 돋보이는 섬 전체가 문화유산 보존지역: 1964년 영국으로부터 독립한 영향으로 자동차의 좌측통행이 그대로 시 행되고 있음
b. 지중해 중앙부에 위치한 국제적으로 명망이 높은 휴양지: 인구 45만 명에 연간 관광객 120만 명이 넘는 로마천주교 聖廳國임이 특징적임
6. 파레르모 (티리니아해의 북서방 주간항해 -> 시칠리아섬의 북안으로 오전 입항)
a. 시칠리아섬 (삼각형모양)의 수도: 고도인 팔레르모는 페니키아, 로마. 그리스, 비잔틴 등 여러나라의 지배: 오랜 세월 변모를 거듭하여온 유서 깊은 도시임
b. 인구 3백만 (이탈리아 5위)의 파레르모는 시칠리아의 문화, 경제, 관광의 중심지로 유로地中海지역의 핵심도시로 탈바꿈하기 위한 재개발노력을 경주하고 있음.
III, 종합소감
1. 地中海 연안국가들은 관광산업이 가장 중요한 산업업종: 크루즈여행이 이를 돕는 핵심적인 역할 담당 (유럽 5개국어 사용 -> 伊, 英. 佛. 獨, 西班牙語 순) 2. Costa Concordia호의 1,110명 선원들의 헌신적인 승객봉사, 선상의 첨단구조물, 거 대한 예술디자인 등: 많은 숭객들의 쾌적한 선상생활을 만끽하게끔 분위기를 조성.
♬ Giuseppe di Stefano(1953년 6월녹음) ♪
Santa Lucia Luntana (먼 싼타루치아)
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