Stained glass
This is a stained glass window at the Bartholomew Dias museum in Mossel Bay in South Africa.
In 1488, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias (c. 1450-1500) became the first European mariner to round the southern tip of Africa, opening the way for a sea route from Europe to Asia. Dias’ ships rounded the perilous Cape of Good Hope and then sailed around Africa’s southernmost point, Cabo das Agulhas, to enter the waters of the Indian Ocean. Portugal and other European nations already had long-established trade ties to Asia, but the arduous overland route had been closed in the 1450s due to the Ottoman Empire’s conquest of the remnants of the Byzantine Empire. A major maritime victory for Portugal, Dias’ breakthrough opened the door to increased trade with India and other Asian powers. It also prompted Genoan explorer Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), then living in Portugal, to seek a new royal patron for a mission to establish his own sea route to the Far East.
We have arrived at my brother's house in Ocean Shores after an arduous trip along the "goat track" that they call the M1 - Pacific Highway that is the main highway from Sydney to the Queensland border. People from overseas must laugh when they travel along the road which is one way each way for a large distance and only two lanes each way in the good parts. They are working on the roads and in some spots we had to slow down to 40 klms per hour so a trip that should have taken around 5 hours, took us over 7 hours.
My brother is looking pretty good and it is hoped that he will be able to go into rehab in a week or so.
Stained glass
This is a stained glass window at the Bartholomew Dias museum in Mossel Bay in South Africa.
In 1488, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias (c. 1450-1500) became the first European mariner to round the southern tip of Africa, opening the way for a sea route from Europe to Asia. Dias’ ships rounded the perilous Cape of Good Hope and then sailed around Africa’s southernmost point, Cabo das Agulhas, to enter the waters of the Indian Ocean. Portugal and other European nations already had long-established trade ties to Asia, but the arduous overland route had been closed in the 1450s due to the Ottoman Empire’s conquest of the remnants of the Byzantine Empire. A major maritime victory for Portugal, Dias’ breakthrough opened the door to increased trade with India and other Asian powers. It also prompted Genoan explorer Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), then living in Portugal, to seek a new royal patron for a mission to establish his own sea route to the Far East.
We have arrived at my brother's house in Ocean Shores after an arduous trip along the "goat track" that they call the M1 - Pacific Highway that is the main highway from Sydney to the Queensland border. People from overseas must laugh when they travel along the road which is one way each way for a large distance and only two lanes each way in the good parts. They are working on the roads and in some spots we had to slow down to 40 klms per hour so a trip that should have taken around 5 hours, took us over 7 hours.
My brother is looking pretty good and it is hoped that he will be able to go into rehab in a week or so.