Samye Monastery
First monastery in Tibet founded in the 8th c. Samye means edgeless temple. The monastery combined the Tibetan, Han, and Indian styles of architecture. The Samye Monastery, designed on the plan of the Odantapuri Temple in India, mirrors the structure of the universe according to Buddhist cosmology.

Sari
(saree) Indian garment worn by women, usually made of five to six yards of cloth wrapped in various styles; ornamentation ranges from woven gold and silver threads (zari) to embroidery (resham); the colors, designs, and textures vary regionally. Traditional dress in Rajasthan and Gujarat is the lehenga choli or ghagra choli.

Shamma
Toga or loose wrap worn in Ethiopia, traditionally woven of white cotton with a striped or embroidered border of geometric design. Shammas are garments worn by both men and women, and they reflect social and economic status. Ethiopian aristocracy wore elaborate and colorful silk shammas. The shamma is worn over shirts or dresses or is used as a shawl, thrown over the head and shoulders. Ethiopian Christian women remove the shamma from their heads when meeting others.

Shigatse
Second largest city in Tibet that sits at the confluence of the Nyangchu and Yarlung Tsangbo Rivers, 250 kilometers west of Lhasa, Tibet. Shigatse, the Center of Rear Tibet, at an elevation of 3,800 meters, has a history of more than five centuries as a religious center and residence for all the Panchen Lamas.

Shoton Festival
Celebration in Lhasa, Tibet, to mark the end of the monks’ Yarné, their hundred-day summer retreat. Shoton is the transliteration of two Tibetan words that mean “yogurt banquet”. The festival originated at the Drepung Monastery. At dawn, the monastery unrolls an enormous thangka. Thangkas are composite objects produced by painters and serve as a record of and guide for contemplative experience.

Shwedagon Pagoda
(Shwe Dagon Pagoda) Gilded stupa located in Yangon, Myanmar. The cone-shaped Shwedagon Pagoda, a Buddhist temple complex begun in the 15th c., is constructed of brick and covered with gold. The Shwedagon Pagoda sits upon Singuttara Hill, a holy resting spot of the relics of three Buddhas. The perimeter of the base of the Shwedagon Pagoda is 1,420 feet and its height is 326 feet above the platform. 64 small pagodas and four large pagodas surround the base. The shrines at the base of the Shwedagon Pagoda incorporate yogis, lions, ogres, serpents, and spirits. Shwe means gold: Dagon is a former name of Yangon.

Shwezigon Pagoda
(Shwe Zigon Pagoda, Shweseegon Pagoda) Gilded stupa built during the 11th c. in Pagan, Myanmar that is the prototype for the form and decoration of subsequent Burmese stupas. King Anawrahta built the Shwezigon Pagoda to enshrine sacred relics of the Buddha, including his collarbone, frontlet bone, and a duplicate tooth relic. He built the lower three terraces that comprise the square pyramidal base. King Kyanzittha completed the bell-shaped center part of the stupa after 1086. Glazed Jataka plaques that illustrate the lives of the Buddha; a lion, the stone manoukthiha, one of the original four that guarded the corners at the base of the stupa; and the hti, the crowning finial, are the protypical decorations of the Shwezigon Pagoda. The stupa compound includes rest houses, temples, and the Gandhakuti shrine.

Siq
Entry to Petra, Jordan, a narrow fissure no more than 12 meters wide with walls reaching an elevation of 100 meters. The Siq, its walls lined with niches and channels, was originally paved with cobblestones. Through the opening of the rock of the Siq, the first glimpse of the city of Petra and El Khazneh can be seen.

Sisimiut
Greenland’s second largest municipality with approximately 6,000 residents, primarily Inuit and people of Danish descent. Inuit, the native population, and earlier cultures have lived in Sisimiut for 5,000 years. In 1756, the colony of Sisimiut, originally named Hosteinborg, was established. The primary occupation in Sisimiut is fishing and in 1946, it was the location of Greenland’s first technical school. The Sisimiut Museum is a district museum of the history of its civilization with houses and artifacts from early settlements, in addition to Sisimiut trade, shipping, and industry.