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Contest #616 – Bus Terminal #7 (abandoned), Kiev, Ukraine

Approximate coordinates: 50°25’37.89″ N 30°41’14.16″ E

Completed in 1973, The Circus, as locals refer to Kiev Bus Terminal #7, bustled with activity. It was a central hub for all the bus routes passing through Kiev, local, domestic to the Soviet Union, and International.

In 1986, when the Soviet government found it needed buses for the mass evacuation of Pipyat, most of those buses came from #7. Many of those buses did not return, being left in the exclusion zone as too contaminated.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the financial crises that Ukraine suffered proved to be the Circus’ downfall. The station stopped serving international and domestic travel, and then, in 2015, the Kiev government found that it was would cost too much to keep the building open.

There have been a couple of shots of publicity the Circus has had recently. In 2018, the KPOP boy band NCT-U released a video for their hit “Boss” which was filmed to a great extent in the Circus. A CNN article (from which much of this has been paraphrased) was published just last week.

And yet, the building is still crumbling.

Those who found it (all before the hint) were:

  • Walter_V_R
  • Martin de Bock
  • hhgygy
  • Phil Ower
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Nancy Barbato
  • Eloy Cano
  • Farceur
  • Lighthouse
  • Garfield
  • Luís Filipe Miguel
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Contest #615: Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park, on the outskirts of Belfast, Northern Ireland

Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park in south Belfast is one of our most popular parks. It is home to the City of Belfast International Rose Garden, which attracts thousands of visitors to our Rose Week celebrations, which take place in July each year.

Covering more than 128 acres, the park is made up of rolling meadows, copses, woodland and gardens and is home to a wide range of plants and animals. An ideal base for exploring nearby Lagan Valley Regional Park, it contains international camellia trials, a walled garden, a Japanese-style garden with water features for quiet contemplation.

Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park was donated to the people of Belfast by Lady Dixon in 1959, in memory of her late husband, Sir Thomas.

Originally formed in the mid-18th century, as part of the Wilmont estate, the park was first owned by the Stewarts; a farming family from Scotland. The estate was used for growing crops and bleaching linen and the main family house stood on the site of what is now the park’s lower car park.

Here’s a blush rose, with raspberry scent.

Here’s a pink, come taste the edge.

And here, my dear, upon the stair,
is simply the hip of a white-blue rose
I’ve carried up to bed.

—L.L. Barkat, from Love, Etc.

For 2 points, as found before the hint:

  • hhgygy
  • Walter_V_R
  • Nancy Barbato Sinatra
  • Martin de Bock
  • Paul Voestermans
  • Eloy Cano
  • Farceur
  • Lighthouse
  • Phil Ower
  • Garfield
  • Robin Giles

No-one else with the hint!

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Contest #614: The Edge Labyrinth, Hogsback, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Approximate location: 32°36’10.0″S 26°55’02.5″E

The Edge Mountain Retreat is a resort area nestled in the Amathole Mountains. The Edge boasts amazing views of the surrounding countryside, lots of open spaces, and the world’s largest labyrinth in the mode of the one at Chartres Cathedral in France.

A labyrinth is similar to a maze, with some significant differences. Meditative in nature, a labyrinth is not a puzzle so much as a path, a journey to and from the center. The path is tedious but easy to follow with no dead ends.

Large labyrinths like this are often the site of weddings and commitment ceremonies

Those who found their way to the center included:

  • Garfield
  • Phil Ower
  • hhgygy
  • Walter_V_R
  • Lighthouse
  • Martin de Bock
  • Nancy Barbato

and after the hint:

  • Farceur
  • Eloy Cano
  • Paul Voestermans