St. Augustine - the oldest US city

 Lightner Museum

St. Augustine, located in Florida, was founded by a Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1565. It is the oldest city in the US and for that reason is nicknamed an Ancient City or Old City. It is home to the oldest stone fort in the country, Castillo de San Marcos, and the first Spanish mission, Nombre de Dios. As the Spanish settlement, the city has a lot of Spanish Colonial buildings and is a popular tourist destination. Colonial Spanish Quarter is a living museum, which offers an experience of everyday life in 1740’s with the costumed interpreters. The historical building that once was the Alcazar Hotel, today is home to the Lightner Museum. This building of the Spanish Renaissance style is an attraction in itself. The Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse is considered to be the oldest wooden school in the country, but the oldest school is the Voorlezer’s House in Staten Island, NY.

The Festival of the Sun (Inti Raymi) - Peru

The Festival of the Sun (Inti Raymi) Cusco, Peru, June 24. It is the most important Andean festival and the second biggest festival in South America. The festival re-creates a religious celebration of the ancient Incan, who honored Inti - the Sun God. The Inca religion focused on the essential aspect of life, which is sun. It provided light and warmth, which was needed for the growth of crop. Therefore, they prayed to the Sun God for good crops and fertile lands. Today the festival is celebrated not only by locals, but also tourist. It starts a week before June 24 and ends with a big celebration on June 24, which marks the beginning of the Sun’s New Year (in Inca calendar). During the week, the festival offers expositions, day time activities, street fairs, music and evening live concerts. The festival ends with a reenactment of the winter solstice ceremony. The ceremony is full of colorful costumes, traditional dances and parade.