by Roumyana Demireva

Created on: July 03, 2008

Oxford, this bustling cosmopolitan city which is a good mixture of old and modern buildings, attracts its visitors with its ancient history, world famous university and colleges and hi-tech community.

Known as the "city of dreaming spires" according to Mathew Arnold, Oxford is world famous with its University of Oxford which is the oldest and one of the most prestigeous universities in the English-speaking world. The old university buildings are beautiful with their harmonious architecture. Many of the tourist attractions in this city are closely connected to the university and colleges.

The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin was the first sightseeing I have visited in Oxford. I was very much fascinated by this church because it is located in the center where the University of Oxford grew. For many years this church was not only a religious place but also a place where education developed. Surrounded by interesting buildings-the University and the colleges this church is a pearl in the crown of Oxford. The 13th century tower of the church gives the visitors the opportunities to have a look at the historic university city. From the tower one can see Radcliffe Square, Radcliffe Camera, Brasenose College and All Souls College.

I found the church inside very beautiful with its triple-gabled pinnacles, inner pinnacles, gargoyles and marvelous statues. Most of all I liked very much the Francesco Bassano the Youngster`s painting of "the Adoration of the Shepherds". Another interesting thing here was the classical organ. "There are only two organs built by the Swiss firm of Metzler Orgelbau. The second organ is in Cambridge Trinity College" told me the local guide. I stayed here for a couple of minutes to enjoy the beautiful sounds of the organ.

During my one day visit here I took Inspector Morse Tour which was about two hours. Following the footsteps of the city`s TV detective who was created by the Oxford author Colin Dexter I found myself in a quite different world of Oxford. The visiting of the scenes of the best-known cases of the Inspector Morse were very amazing for me. There were many anecdotes that made me feel funny. For those who want to enjoy this uncommon tour I recommend to book it in advance because unexpectedly for me this tour was very popular and lots of people want to experience the life and work of Inspector Morse.

I wished to have had more time to visit other interesting things but probably my next visit will last at least a week to have enough time to have a look at more places.

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