On November 24 the exhibition On Antonio Gaudi and Sagrada Familia inaugurated in the Charlemange Wing of Bernini's colonnade around St. Peter's Square, reported The Vatican Today. The exhibition will remain open until 15 January 2012. The exhibition will occupy 800 square metres place. Visitors will be able to understand the history of the Basilica, get to know the next stages of its construction and have a vision of how the Sagrada Familia will look once it is completed. The exhibition presents photographs, models, audiovisual material, and examples of Gaudi's original work. Materials exposed come from the Temple of the Sagrada Familia Museum. In addition to the Sagrada Familia, the exhibition presented exhibits of other buildings of the great architect. The construction of cathedral began in 1882, but its completion date isn't known yet. Gaudi worked on template's construction for 43 years, but during his life it was built only a little part of cathedral. After Gaudi's death, the construction of Sagrada familia continued by differnet architects. Each of them claimed that seeks to build a church "in spirit of Gaudi". Today the area of cathedral is in three times higher than originally conceived. Only 8 of estimated 18 towers are ready. According to experts the construction of holy temple will take another 20 years to complete.

The municipal government of Jiayuguan in northwest China's Gansu province on November 18 kicked off a repair and construction project focused on the western end of China's Great Wall, reported Xinhua. The project will involve repair work on the sections of Great Wall in the city of Jiayuguan, including the Jiayu Pass - the starting point of a section of the Great Wall constructed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It also includes the construction of a world cultural heritage theme park and a heritage inspection center. The project will have a total investment US$ 317 million, mostly financed by the central government. Built in 1372, the Jiayu Pass also served as a vital passage on the ancient Silk Road. It was listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1987. The pass underwent large-scale repairs and maintenance in 1984. The Great Wall was first built during the reign of China's first emperor Qin Shihuang (259-210 B.C.) to keep out foreign invaders. A national survey in 2008 showed that the exact length of the Great Wall built in the Ming Dynasty was 8,851.8 km, stretching from the Hushan section in northeast Liaoning province to the Jiayu Pass. The Great Wall passes through 10 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in northern China, including Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai.

As reported by Yahoo.com, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on November 1 laid the cornerstone for the Grand Mosque of Algiers, a US$ 1.3 billion project that should become the world's third largest mosque. China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) last month was awarded the contract to build the huge monument, facing the sea in the east of Algiers, over four years. The mosque will sit on 20 hectares in the Mohammadia area of the capital. Its minaret soaring 270 meters into the sky, it will hold 120 thousand worshippers, feature a library of 1 million works and seating for 2 thousand. It will also house a museum and a research centre and become the world's third largest mosque after those in Mecca and Saudi Arabia in Medina. Algiers currently has three grand mosques: "Djamaa el-Kebir" built in the 11th century, "Djamaa el-Djedid" built in 1660, and the "Ketchaoua" at the foot of the Casbah, also built during the Ottoman rule in the 17th century.

As reported by PanARMENIAN.net, medieval bridge in Garni will be reconstructed by funding of "U.S. Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP)". The beginning of construction works is planned in 2012. According to Deputy Minister of Culture Arev Samuelian, it's hard to say exactly how long it will take to repair the bridge, presumably from 1-1.5 years. In order to restore the medieval bridge AFCP committed US$ 110 thousand. Medieval bridge in Garni was built in 11th century on the river Azat. In 2010, by means of the budget of the RA some reconstruction work was carried out and was also set restoration projekt for the future. Since its approval by the U.S. Congress in fall 2000, the "U.S. Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation" has funded more than 640 cultural projects in over 100 countries, representing a contribution of nearly US$ 26 million towards the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide.

Barcelona's emblematic "Sagrada Familia" church finally has a completion date - 2026 or 2028, more than 140 years after it was started, reported The Guardian. Joan Rigol, president of the committee charged with finishing the building by Antoni Gaudi, said it should be finished in time for the centenary for the architect's death - or, if not, two years later. Five huge towers are being added to the eccentric building, which is among Spain's most-visited tourist attractions. Originally paid for by subscription, the church was always set to take a long time to build. "My client is in no hurry," Gaudi once said, referring to God. The building was at one stage popularly known as "the cathedral of the poor" and Gaudi himself was known to go begging for contributions - which currently amount to around 500 thousand euro a year. With a roof finally in place, Pope Benedict was able to consecrate it as a basilica last year. But a setback came when a man set fire to the basilica's sacristy in April, with repair work still under way. "The damage is worse than we had thought," said the building's chief architect, Jordi Bonet. Authorities are now considering installing metal detectors at the entrance. "Our new objective is to complete the six central towers, of which five have already been started," said Rigol. The sixth tower will measure 170 meters and contain a lift to carry tourists to the top. "Sagrada Familia", is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926). Although incomplete, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 was consecrated and proclaimed a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI. The construction of "Sagrada Familia" had already commenced in 1882, when Gaudi subsequently took over the project in 1883 he transformed it with his architectural and engineering style-combining Gothic and curvilinear, modernism forms with ambitious structural columns and arches, and including a rich variety of Christian symbols in the design. Gaudi devoted his last years to the project and at the time of his death, less than a quarter of the project was complete. Gaudi died in 1926 after being run over by the city's No 30 tram. He had been living on the "Sagrada Familia" building site and looked so impoverished that it took several hours for doctors to realize who he was. The tram driver thought he had hit a drunken tramp.