The traditional dress of Iceland is today somehow preserved in form of the national dress of Iceland which truly reflects the pure Icelandic heritage. The days are not gone too far, when the people of Iceland used to wear the dresses in the same pattern as they use today on the days of public importance and festive ocassions. The national dress is known as Þjóðbúningurinn and the women of Iceland wear the traditional costumes of many types.

Þjóðbúningurinn – The national costume of Iceland – An image by Helgi Halldórsson

The Faldbúningur is a common traditional dress worn by the Icelandic woman which is a classic costume in use since at least the 17th century. The Faldbúningur includes a hat decorated with a curved sheet-like ornament protruding into the air and exists in two variants. One of which is the krókfaldur and the other is the spaðafaldur. The Peysuföt are black woollen clothes commonly worn by women in the 18-19th century. They usually consisted of a twill skirt and a jacket of fine knitted woollen yearn with a black tail cap.

Faldbúningur – The traditional dress of Iceland

The upphlutur or bodice costume comprises a long black skirt, and a sleeveless bodice ornamented with silver filigree and laced together with a silver chain. Another traditional version is the kyrtill (kyrtle), usually white or blue. It is worn with the tall headdress. The skautbúningur is a richly-embroidered costume worn for special occasions, even as a wedding dress. It comprises a fitted long-sleeved black jacket and long skirt, with embroidery on the breast, cuffs and around the hem of the skirt.

The traditional Upphlutur from Iceland – An image by Awfulknitter on flickr

The traditional men’s wear in Iceland is known as Búningur karla and from its all versions, the most popular is Þjóðbúningur karla which normally consists of consists of woollen breeches or trousers, a usually double buttoned vest and a double buttoned jacket called treyja. Although not a traditional costume, the hátíðarbúningur was conceived as a modernized version of the men’s traditional national costume and is frequently worn instead of a tuxedo to formal events.

Hátíðarbúningur karla – Typical Iceland Male Dress

The footwear in the traditional dress of Iceland traditionally included the shoes made of either fish or sheep-skin, with woollen inlets, were worn with the costumes. Iceland has a magnificent heritage and history and the traditional dress is actually the pure descendant of the ancient dressing techniques.

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The traditional dress of Ukraine is a centuries old unique and distinctive emblem of the Ukrainian culture. This dress has developed after the tremendous variation due to its association with the early Slavonic domination, during which many materials were introduced by the cloth merchants. The traditional dress of Ukraine is also full of ornamental designs, fantastic embroidery and remarkable exposition. Even today, the national dress of Ukraine is hand woven and fabulously decorated. The embroidery is an ancient practice which is applied to the traditional dress of Ukraine and it is varied from region to region in the country, embellished with the antiquated motifs and harmonic arrangements full of colors and exotic stitches.

The Ukrainian people wearing the traditional dresses – Image © andrewlewis.lviv

The traditional dress for men in Ukraine was normally made with sheepskin and leather which was also decorated with embroidery and cords, tassels, and other accessories. The men also wore Kontusz, a long robe, usually reaching to below the knees, with a set of decorative buttons down the front. The elite and noble Ukrainian men also used a long garment, which was known as Zupan. Similarly, a traditional pant was also used, known as Sharovary, which was free to hips, often with assembly at the waist, collected at the bottom near the ankles.

Beautiful Ukrainian women in their folk costumes – Image © Oleksiy Naumov ( flickr )

The traditional dress for women in Ukraine contains the ethnic embroidery and usually, it was made of homemade linen which was produced by loom. In the cold winters, Kozhushankas were worn which were prepared with the sheepskin coat. The coats varied in color from region to region. The edges of Kozhushankas were trimmed with black sheepskin or other differently dyed material. The married women used to wear Ochipok, which was a traditional headdress that covered the entire head with a slit in the back and laces that pull it tightly around the head. Similarly, Namitka is a long, thin fabric wrapped around the head and tied in the back.

The Ukrainian women wearing the traditional floral wreath – Image © Wolodymyr Krywonos

The traditional dress of Ukraine for the unmarried girls is never completed without mentioning a circular head floral decoration. This is the Ukrainian flower wreath, which remains a part of the Ukrainian national attire, and is worn on festive occasions and on holy days. The fragrant flowers give the glamorous and refreshing touch to the costume. Nowadays, the folk dancers wear the flower wreath during their performances.

A Ukrainian woman wearing the alluring handmade ornaments – Image by MariyaZ

Another part and parcel of the traditional dress of Ukraine is the artistic and handmade jewelry usually made with glass beads using strong synthetic threads. Bead work is extremely popular in Carpathian Mountains area, but lots of artists make beaded jewelry in the cities of Lviv and Ternopil. Today, the ancient patterns are mixed with the modern stencils and the Ukrainian women love to wear these traditional ornaments on jeans and shirts.

Two pretty Ukrainian girls presenting themselves in the National Dress – Image : terry_usa ( flickr )

The female footwear of the traditional dress of Ukraine was made of red and yellow leather, which was also used for decorating skins. The traditional dress of Ukraine also reflects the impressive history and behaviorism of the Ukrainian nation.

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In the Indian Subcontinent, a weapon based Punjabi martial art sport is very popular which is typically associated with the Sikh community. This is known as “Gatka” which is also practiced in some parts of Pakistani Punjab. The weapons are obviously not guns or swords but the wooden sticks that were traditionally being used for sparring. Gatka is mainly a part of many Sikh festivals as combat sport and it has rarely been used in original fights.

Gatka: The Indian Martial Art ( Image: Sanzen )

The participants harmonize their body parts like feet and hands with the sticks that are used as the weapons so this makes the every movement of Gatka very rhythmic. Gatka becomes a ritual exercise when the players also chant the holy verses during their practice. The other skills of Gutka apart from the defensive techniques include the mind alertness and responsiveness in attitude.

The Gatka performer must be fully conversant with the spiritual, physical and mind techniques that are primary requisites of this combat sport of Punjab. Gatka, the Punjabi Martial Art is the phenomenal feature of the Sikh heritage and the Sikh community has also used it in many battles as well.

The brides of the Eastern countries of the lovely planet, especially from Asia are famous around the world for their fascinating and traditional bridal.

Here are some outlandish images of the traditional eastern brides for you;

1- An alluring image of the Bangali bride – Bangladesh

An alluring image of the Bangali bride - Image: banglaguy 1

2- A glamorous Pakistani bride - Pakistan

A glamorous Pakistani bride - Image: be_u_ti_ful_pari

3- A striking image of Malay bride - Malaysia

A striking image of Malay bride - Adam Blicharski

4- An enticing Thai bride – Thailand

An enticing Thai bride - Image: Javier Ortega Figueiral

5- A captivating photo of a Nepalese bride – Nepal

A captivating photo of a Nepalese bride - Image: pgpdesign (paul)

6- A charming Srilankan bride – Sri Lanka

A charming Srilankan bride - Image: Rubi Borgohain

7- A mesmerizing Indian bride – India

A mesmerizing Indian bride - Image by emmasaunders

8- An attractive Indonesian bride – Indonesia

An attractive Indonesian bride - Image: Elaf Bint Fahad Bin Abdulaziz

9- A Persian bride showing ravishing Hannah – Iran

A Persian bride showing ravishing Hannah - Image: Darcy Vasudev

It was a time when the shallow waters were crossed through weak and sluggish bridges that were mostly made of wood and stone. But now, with the passage of time the bridge building art has enormously evolved. Modern science and methadology have introduced new tehniques for constructing the bridges. The construction requires lot of creative designing, hard work and appropiate maintenance of the bridges through out their life.

There is a long list of the amazing bridges of the lovely planet; however, we’re trying to bring before you the most noteworthy of them in this series.

These are the images of some more amazing bridges of the world for your interest.

16- The Brooklyn Bridge in the United States

Brooklyn Bridge in the New York City - Image: Rob NYCity

The Brooklyn Bridge is a bridge in New York City and is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge started in 1869 and took 14 years to complete.The bridge is one of the most magnificent landmarks in New York.

17- The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge of Japan

Akashi Kaikyo Bridge of Japan - Image: T.Hatta

The Akashi Kaikyo Suspension Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world which  is an example of  the greatest engineering feat. It took two million workers and ten years to construct the bridge in which  181,000 tonnes of steel and 1.4 million cubic metres of concrete was used.

18- The Chengyang Bridge of China

Chengyang Bridge in China

This bridge is also known as  Chengyang Wind-Rain Bridge which is a famous bridge in  Dong Minority Region in China. The bridge has a total length of 64.4 meters, and its corridor has a width of 3.4 meters. The net height above the river is about 10 meters.The bridge  serves as the link between two populous villages.

19- The Rialto Bridge or Ponte di Rialto

Rialto Bridge in Venice , Italy - Image: Eric Wester

The Rialto Bridge is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is the oldest bridge across the canal, and was the dividing line for the districts of San Marco and San Polo. The bridge has defied its critics to become one of the architectural icons of Venice.

20-  The Oresund Bridge in Denmark 

Oresund bridge of Denmark - Image: earlesd

The construction of the Øresund Bridge of Denmark began in 1995, and was finished 14 August 1999. The Øresund Bridge is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe, and connects two major metropolitan areas: those of the Danish capital city Copenhagen and the major Swedish city Malmo.

This was the forth episode of the most amazing bridges of the world. In the next episode we’ll present before you some other fantastic bridges of the world. Click the following to visit the first and second part of this series ;