View allAll Photos Tagged Dedicated
Day 2 at Brands Hatch for the British Truck Racing Championship Season of 2021 and after Some Very Intense Battles and Superb Victories from Each of the Drivers on Saturday it was time Once again for Each Driver to Strap in and Get the Hammer Down.
The Weather Unlike Saturday was Beautiful with a bright Blue Sky during the Morning which no Doubt Lifted a lot of the Drivers Moods after Saturday had seen Very Grey and Overcast Conditions.
With Four British Truck Races Making Up the Largest Portion of the Days Events it will be interesting to see what Each Driver can do and How they Will Have to Preserve their Machinery to make it through Each Race.
With All Drivers Ready Having gotten up Early to do Final Checks and Adjustments to their Respective Cars it was Time to Get to Work and Take to the Race Track for Another Day of High Sped High Adrenaline Fuelled Action around the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit.
Carbon8 Hyundai Coupe Cup (Qualifying)
Starting the Day off was the Hyundai Coupe Cup A Racing Series Dedicated to the 2.0 Engine Hyundai Cars and a Large Grid of 22 Cars was Present as Qualifying Began.
Lets Take a Look and Find out who Made it to Pole and Took the Fastest Lap.
In First Place Taking Pole Position and the Fastest Lap was (Alistair Dendy) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 58.735 and a Top Speed of 74.03mph. Brilliant Work from Alistair Really Pushing Hard and Keeping his Car Under Control The Entire Time.
In Second Place was (Wayne Rockett) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 59.123 and a Top Speed of 73.55mph. Amazing Job there Wayne Really Going for it and Pushing Hard.
In Third Place was (Alex Cursley) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 59.148 and a Top Speed of 73.52mph. Great Work there Alex Fantastic Driving to take P3 on the Grid for Race 1.
A Superb Flying Start to the Days Action with the Top Three Drivers in Alistair Wayne and Alex All Sitting Quite Close Together in Qualifying and no Doubt Other Drivers will also Be Looking to Fight their way Through the Field in order to try and take that Glory away from them.
With Qualifying Over Lets Turn Our Attention to the Racing and See out of Alistair Wayne or Alex who Had managed to hold their Composure and take that All Important First Victory.
Carbon8 Hyundai Coupe Cup (Race 1 Results)
In First Place Taking the Victory was (Alistair Dendy) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 59.151 and an Average Speed of 55.27mph. Congratulations Alistair a Brilliant Lights to Flag Victory and The Drive and Bravery of a True Champion Well Done.
In Second Place was (Alex Cursley) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Bets Lap Time of 59.022 and an Average Speed of 55.21mph. Brilliant Driving from Alex and Some Amazing Close Racing at Times with Alistair at The Front of the Grid. A Well Deserved Second Place Finnish.
In Third Place was (Wayne Rockett) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 59.085 and an Average Speed of 55.16mph. Nice Work Wayne Fighting Hard and Taking the Final Step on the Podium with a Fantastic Drive and Defence of P3.
What a Brilliant First Race to Kick Start the Day Off with Alistair Dendy in First Place Alex Cursley in Second Place and Wayne Rockett in Third Place. Fantastic Driving from All of you as Well as All the other Drivers in the Race who Were Battling their way Through the Field.
Lets See what Race 2 and the Final Race Brings for the Top Three Drivers and Can Any of them Improve or will Someone Sneak in at the Last Minute to Grab P1 P2 and P3 away from them.
Carbon8 Hyundai Coupe Cup (Race 2 Results)
In First Place Taking the Final Race Victory of the Day for the Hyundai Coupe Championship was (Alistair Dendy) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 58.800 and an Average Speed of 71.74mph. Another Heroic Drive from Alistair Sees Him Take Both Race Wins for The Weekend and No Doubt in my Mind his Family Friends and Team Will be more than Happy for Him. A Truly Deserving Driver of P1.
In Second Place was (Alex Cursley) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 58.795 and an Average Speed of 71.70mph. Another Incredible Drive from Alex Has seen him Take P2 Once Again Brilliant Work to Him and the Team who no Doubt Will be Celebrating this One for a Long Time Coming.
In Third Place was (Johnny Rockett) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 59.372 and an Average Speed of 71.28mph. Amazing Drive there from Johnny Holding off the Charging Wayne Rockett to take P3 and a Proud Moment for The Entire Rocket Family.
Fantastic Racing Today from the Hyundai Coupe 2000 Championship with Some Fierce Competition from The Likes of Wayne Johnny Alex and Alistair Along with The Rest of the Other Drivers as they Fought Hard to Push their Points Tally Even Higher in the Championship. Congratulations Everybody and Good Luck for the Rest of the Season.
CTCRC All-Comers - Racing for Marshals (Race 2 Results)
CTRC was Up Next and After a Great Race Yesterday All of the Drivers were Ready to Strap in and Get to Work.
After a Hectic Day of Qualifying for The CRTC Yesterday it was Samuel Wilson who Grabbed The Pole with Gary Prebble in Second and Mike Saunders in Third Place with the Top Three Separated by Less than A Second Between Them.
Lets Find Out who Has Won in this Last Race of the Weekend for the CTRC Racing For Marshalls Race.
In First Place taking the Victory and The Fastest Lap was (Colin Claxton) in his Ford Escort MK1 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 55.365 and an Average Speed of 76.44mph. Brilliant Driving from Colin Working that Steering Wheel Hard and Putting in some Incredible Flying Laps to Maintain the Gap and Take a Deserving Victory.
In Second Place was (Samuel Wilson) in his Aston Martin V8 Vantage with a Best Lap Time of 51.471 and an Average Speed of 82.44mph. Really Great Drive from Samuel Pushing His Aston Martin as Hard as Possible to try and Catch the Speedy Colin Claxton.
In Third Place was (Malcom Harding) in his Ford Escort MK2 Zakspeed with a Best Lap Time of 51.682 and an Average Speed of 82.38mph. Really Amazing Work there from Malcom A Beautiful Looking Car Paired with a Confident and Determined Driver. A Well Deserved P3.
Amazing Racing from the CTRC as Always at Brands Hatch with the Likes of Colin Samuel and Malcom all taking Superb Victories and Cementing their Names into the Books of History at the Circuit. Fantastic Work to all the other Drivers and Teams out there too Keep Trying and Never Give Up.
Junior Saloon Car Championship (Race 2 Results)
A Fan Favourite Up Next with the Junior Saloon Car Championship and After Some of the Most Incredible Racing Witnessed Yesterday During Race 1 Between the likes of Jamie and Ruben who Went Side by Side for Nearly Four Whole Laps Continuously This Next Race was for Sure Going to be a Head Turner.
Lets Take a Look at the Results and Find Out if Charlie Hand has managed to Come Back Stronger Than Yesterday.
In First Place Taking the Victory and The Fastest Lap was (Charlie Hand) in his Citron Saxo VTR 1600 with a Best Lap Time of 58.614 and an Average Speed of 61.94mph. Congratulations Charlie Another Brilliant Drive for the Final Race Win of the Weekend in Junior Saloon Cars and a Well Deserved Comeback Drive After Yesterdays Race.
In Second Place was (Harvey Caton) in his Citron Saxo VTR 1600 with a Best Lap Time of 58.573 and an Average Speed of 61.89mph. Brilliant Driving there Harvey Pushing the Car Hard through Paddock Hill Bend and Hanging onto that P2 Spot. Amazing Job.
In Third Place was (Will Redford) in his Citron Saxo 1600 with a Best Lap Time of 58.830 and an Average Speed of 61.85mph. Well Done Will A Great Drive to Finnish The Weekend off and No Doubt his Family and Team Will be Celebrating All Thought the Night for that Performance.
Another Brilliant Final Day of Action from the Junior Saloon Car Championship, A Huge Congratulations to the Likes of Charlie Harvey and Will for their Performances and to All of their Fellow Drivers who are also Chasing their Dreams. Keep Working Hard and Improving as much as you can.
Pickup Truck Racing Championship (Race 2 Results)
Now it was the Turn of the Pickup Trucks Championship and with a Large Grid of 20 Light Weight Space Frame Pickup Trucks the Action from Yesterdays Qualifying Proved that This Race for going to be a Very Fast and Hectic One.
During Qualifying Second Fastest Yesterday it was Mark Wilson who Took Pole with Matt Simpson and Tom Jenkins Close Behind him in Second and Third Place. But out of All Three of thease Drivers who will be Brave Enough to Put their Foot Down and Go for it During the Race to take Victory?
In First Place Taking the Race Win and The Fastest Lap was (David O' Regan) in his Pickup Truck 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 52.463 and an Average Speed of 65.64mph. Amazing Driving there from David Especially through Paddock Hill Bend as the Trucks tend to Slide a lot through there but He was Keeping His Pickup Truck on Corse for a Very Well Deserved P1 Finish for the Weekend.
In Second Place was (George Turiccki) in his Pickup Truck 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 52.425 and an Average Speed of 65.61mph. Great Drive there by George Defending His Position Thought the Race and Hanging onto take an Impressive P2 Finish.
In Third Place was (Allen Cooper) in his Pickup Truck 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 52.265 and an Average Speed of 65.52mph. Really Well Driven from Allen to Take that Final P3 Spot on the Podium and to End what Has Been a Fantastic Weekend for the Pickup Trucks Racing Championship.
Brilliant Racing from the Pickup Truck Championship and some Fantastic Winners Across the Weekend with the likes of David George and Allen all Takin Victories. A Huge Well Done to All of the other Drivers who Also were pushing Hard for Victory Don't Give Up and Keep Fighting and Making Improvements to the Pickup Truck.
Legends Cars National Championship with MRF Tyres (Race 4 Results)
Next Up The Legends Cars Championship and During Qualifying Yesterday each Driver was Working Hard out on Track using the Slip Stream Technique in order to Give Themselves a Boost down the Main Straight in order to take Pole Position.
After Qualifying it was The Legends Car of Chris Needham who took that All Important Pole Position with Will Gibson and John Mickel Following Closely Behind in Second and Third Place Respectively.
With Three Races Ahead who would come out on Top in Race 4 and Take Victory.
In First Place Setting the Fastest Lap and Taking the Victory was (Miles Rudmann) in his Legend 34 Ford Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 56.042 and an Average Speed of 76.13mph. Fantastic Driving from Miles who was Really Pushing Hard at the Front of the Grid and Making sure he was Keeping as Many other Drivers Behind him as Possible. Great Drive.
In Second Place was (Will Gibson) in his Legends 34 Ford Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 56.127 and an Average Speed of 76.12mph. Great Driving from Will Who Always knows a Thing or to About How to Control a Legends Car around the Circuit.
In Third Place was (Jack Parker) in his Legends 34 Ford Coupe with a Best Lap Time of 56.085 and an Average Speed of 76.12mph. Fantastic Driving from Jack to Keep Himself in that P3 Position and take a Well Deserved Victory. Great Work there Jack.
An Exciting First Race from the Legends Championship which Currently sees the likes of Miles Will and Jack all Taking Superb Victories During the Corse of Race 4 But With Race 5 About to Start Will Anyone Else Surprise them by Taking Those Positions Away.
Legends Cars National Championship with MRF Tyres (Race 5 Results)
In First Place taking the Victory and Fastest Lap was (Daniel Clark) in his Legends Chevy Sedan 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 55.775 and an Average Speed of 76.90mph. Congratulations Daniel a Fantastic Drive for Victory and A Turley Deserving Victory too after a Storming Drive through the Field.
In Second Place was (Miles Rudman) in his Legends 34 Ford Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 55.524 and an Average Speed of 76.88mph. Another Superb Drive from Miles to take Second Place Showing his Incredible Speed and Commitment to Remain as Close as he Can to Race Winner Daniel.
In Third Place was (Andy Bird) in his Legends Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 55.847 and an Average Speed of 76.85mph. Brilliant Driving there from Andy and Pushing Hard thought the Race to Defend his P3 Position.
What a Race from The Legends Cars with Two New Winners in Daniel Clark and Any Brid both Taking Victories on the Podium during the Race. With One Last Race to go for The Legends Championship can Miles Rudman Redeem Himself and take that Last Race Victory for the Weekend?
Legends Cars National Championship with MRF Tyres (Race 6 Results)
In First Place Taking the Final Race Victory of the Days for The Legends Cras was (John Mickel) in his Legends Ford 34 Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 56.068 and an Average Speed of 66.12mph. Congratulations John a Really Brilliant Final Drive to take the Victory in the Last Race of the Day for Legends His Family no Doubt will be Very Proud of What He has Achieved.
In Second Place was (Will Gibson) in his Legends 34 Ford Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 55.700 and an Average Speed of 66.11mph. Great Driving there from Will Who Has Really Shown All Weekend Why he is More than Deserving to be sitting in that Legends Seat and Racing it. Fantastic P2 Finnish.
In Third Place was (Sean Smith) in his Legends 34 Ford Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 55.839 and an Average Speed of 66.08mph. Congratulations Sean a Really Fantastic Way to Round of the Weekend for You with the Final Spot on the Podium.
What an Incredible Weekend it has been for the Legends Cars national Championship with so Many Different Race Winners in Sean Will Miles Daniel Jack and Andy All Fighting Hard and Taking Home Some Memorable Trophies and Cementing their Statuses in the History Books for Future Generations to See and Become Inspired by. Congratulations to All of the other Drivers who were out there Racing too Keep Working Hard and I Know that you will Achieve your Own Goals with Enough Determination.
British Truck Racing Championship (Race 2 Results)
Finally it was The Time for the Heavy Weights of Motorsport to Make their way out onto the Circuit for the Last Time this Weekend in the British Truck Racing Championship.
After Qualifying Yesterday Which saw Ryan Smith Dominate The Times with Stuart Oliver in Second and David Jenkins in Third Place All Three Drivers were Once Again Ready to Battle it out for The Last Time this Season to Determined who The Champion of 2021 Will Be.
Lets Dive Straight into Race 2 and See who is going to Strike First and Make their Mark on the Race Track.
In First Place Taking the Fastest Lap and The Race Victory was (Ryan Smith) in his Mercedes Actros 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.232 and an Average Speed of 72.19mph. Congratulations Ryan Really Incredible Drive and in Dominant Fashion to take The Win in Race 1 Superb Job.
In Second Place was (Stuart Oliver) in his Volvo VNL 13000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.949 and an Average Speed of 71.34mph. Fantastic Drive there Stuart Fighting Hard and More Determined than Ever Judging by the Way he Threw that Truck Round Paddock Hill Bend Really going for it.
In Third Place was (David Jenkins) in his Man TGX 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:01.146 and an Average Speed of 71.11mph. Fantastic Work there David P3 and a Superb Effort to try and Take Third Place from Stuart Oliver.
What an Incredible First Race with the Top Three in Ryan Stuart and David All Really Pushing Hard and Making their Mark on the Race Track. With Race 3 Coming Up Next who Will be able to try and Overtake Ryan Smith and Stop his Incredible Domination?
British Truck Racing Championship (Race 3 Results)
In First Place Taking the Victory and the Fastest Lap was (Ryan Smith) in his Mercedes Actros 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 58.984 and an Average Speed of 71.78mph. Congratulations Ryan Another Incredible Drive an a Real Determined Charge to Keep that Truck as Far Ahead of All the other Competitors as Possible. Extraordinary Performance.
In Second Place was (Mark Taylor) in his Man TGA 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.395 and an Average Speed of 71.15mph. Great Driving there from Mark who was Pushing Hard and Keeping the Gap to Ensure He got that All Important P2. Fantastic Drive.
In Third Place was (Steven Thomas) in his Man TGA 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.021 and an Average Speed of 71.05mph. Well Done Steven Driving Really Well and Making Sure to Defend from Fourth Place John Newell to Hold onto that P3 Finish.
Another Daring and Exciting Race in which Ryan Smith Once Again Dominates at The Top of the Standings by being an Insane 2 Seconds Faster a Lap Compared to Mark Taylor. A Big Congratulations to Both Mark and Steven for their Respective Finishes too.
Race 4 is up next and This Could be The Race Which Decides the Championship. Will Ryan Smith be able to Hold on or Will David Jenkins in Second Place in the Standings Have other Ideas.
British Truck Racing Championship (Race 4 Results)
In First Place taking the Victory and the Fastest Lap was (David Jenkins) in his Man TGX 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 59.282 and an Average Speed of 71.68mph. Congratulations David a Superb Victory and that Puts Him a Step Closer to Winning the Championship Over Rival Ryan Smith.
In Second Place was (Tom O' Rourke) in his Man TGX 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.985 and an Average Speed of 70.66mph. Congratulations To A Fantastic Drive and so Great to See a New Face in P2 on the Podium Phenomenal Job.
In Third Place was (Martin Gibson) in his Man TGX 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.985 and an Average Speed of 70.59mph. Fantastic Job there Martin Super Driving and Defending Well for that P3 Finish.
With David Jenkins Having Just Won that Last Race it Looks like Race 5 and The Final Race of the Weekend is going to Determine who The Champion for 2021 is in British Truck Racing. Will it be David Jenkins or Will it be Ryan Smith?
British Truck Racing Championship (Race 5 Results)
In First Place Taking The Championship and The Final Race Win of the Weekend is (Ryan Smith) in his Mercedes Actros 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 58.711 and an Average Speed of 72.07mph. Congratulations Ryan you are the 2021 British Truck Racing Champion a Phenomenal Drive All Weekend and through the Season.
In Second Place was (John Newell) in his Man TGS 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.047 and an Average Speed of 70.85mph. Fantastic Race there John Finishing in P2 to Round off the Weekends Racing no Doubt Many Celebrations will be Happening down in the Paddock.
In Third Place was (Shane Brereton) in his Man TGX 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.072 and an Average Speed of 70.82mph. Great Work there Shane Taking a Well Deserved P3 spot on the Podium and Racing with Such Accuracy and Craft thought.
What An Incredible Weekend it has Been for Ryan Smith who is Your British Truck Racing Champion of 2021 on 390 Points. Congratulations Ryan Go out and Celebrate This Moment In Style.
In Second Place in the Standings is David Jenkins on 380 Points who put up one Hell of a Good Fight All Thought the Season with Ryan Smith Non the Less a Well Deserving Second Place in the Championship from Such a Committed Driver.
And Finally In Third Place in the Standings was Martin Gibson on 350 Points who Also Put up an Incredible Fight All Season Having Been Fighting his way Through the Field on More than One Occasion.
A Fantastic End to a Weekend of Incredible Racing and as The Truck Parade and Fireworks Went off I can Imagine that Each Driver Reflected on what they Have Achieved this Year and the Countless People they May have Inspired to go out and Challenge their Dreams of Becoming a Racing Driver.
Until The Next One Keep Racing !
These pictures are dedicated to my “make-up” day that I stole from southern Gansu earlier in the week. As mentioned in the Singing Sand post, I was having breakfast at Charley Johng’s on Wednesday morning and talking with the owner who recommended this day trip.
It started at 8:00 a.m. on a coach that picked me up outside her restaurant (before proceeding to a hotel to fill out the rest of the 45 seats). I wasn’t the only foreigner, but I was the only one who didn’t look Chinese (or speak fluent Mandarin). I met some friendly Chinese who were living in Vancouver, and some Hong Kong folks (who are Chinese, but they most certainly distinguish from mainlanders…and most foreigners understand why).
So, off we went on our sojourn with six or seven stops. We drove west through the aforementioned “real” Dunhuang for about 15-20 minutes before the mountains and desert landscape began to resume control.
Our first stop, less than half an hour out of town, was “Old Dunhuang.” Really, they mean to say, “Old Fake Dunhuang,” but I jest. It’s…an area that shoots as a television studio when someone wants to shoot things that look like the Old West, Chinese style. For the bargain price of 40 RMB (about $7 in the current market on 1/10/16), you get to wander around this fairly decent-sized fake fort with fake everything inside…and a random prop fighter jet inside…and, outside, the backdrop of both mountainous sand dunes and snow-capped mountains off in the distance. All in all, it was a rather unique setting – at least one I’d never experienced before.
After 40 minutes there (not 35, not 45, but 40…per Mr. Coach Driver), we all climbed back aboard and headed a little farther west to what I think they call the “Western Caves.” This is a repository of Buddhist art in grottoes west of town, but since the world-famous Mogao Grottoes are nearby (and also in my personal plan for tomorrow morning), I didn’t feel particularly inspired to spend the very cheap and fair price of 15 RMB to see a few pieces of art. In retrospect, perhaps I should have, but who knows? I may be back this way again someday. I did spend my time at the Western Caves enjoying the panoramic view of the same snow-capped mountains and desert from Old Dunhuang with the juxtaposition of this particular oasis (which is apparently why this grotto/temple was built here in the first place).
A few minutes later, we kept making our way west towards Xinjiang. At some point just west of Dunhuang, the old Silk Road split into a northern and southern route. One of the first mountain passes (and forts, where we were heading) along the southern route is Yangguan Pass 70 km. southwest of Dunhuang. It was built in the 1st century AD during the Western Han Dynasty. This place was particularly enjoyable for me. Having been to quite a few sections of the Great Wall (and very much looking forward to the westernmost terminal of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall here in Gansu a few days later), I’m very much accustomed to these historical reproductions…and really love when I find some “real” history; the authentic walls and posts, though 500 years later, are just weather-worn rock.
Yangguan had a very nice mix of both the fake and the real. For 60 RMB (roughly $9), we had access to the completely remade fort with its bastions, gift shops, museum (a very nice one, admittedly), and what not. Out the back of the fort, and about a mile in the distance on a hill, is the original: one of the watchtowers that helped guard travelers for centuries along the Silk Road. To get there, you can walk, take golf carts on steroids (the kind you find at zoos that carry about 12-15 people), or rent a horse. Since I’d ridden a camel the day before and have ridden horses quite a few times, I went the lazy way…and got chauffeured up the hill. The watchtower itself is fenced off – and rightfully so – but, right next to it is a fantastic place to take in the surrounding landscape, with views of the mountains about 50 kilometers off. After a delightful two hours or so at Yangguan, we had lunch as a group at a Chinese restaurant near the fort. (It’s fun to eat with Chinese; the whole table of six, eight, or ten people just order random dishes of food. Everyone gets a bowl of rice then it’s a mini-buffet with your chopsticks from then on out.)
After being well-fed for about $3, we boarded the iron stallion and headed back down to the main road, then back east about 5 kilometers to the only road that turned off this western highway. The only point, it seems, of this side road is to go to Jade Pass (which follows the northern route of the Silk Road about 30 km down and, beyond that another 70-80 kilometers, it ends at Yadan National Park.
First stop down the über-long spur road: Jade Pass. To get there, all vehicles have to pass through a random checkpoint about 20 minutes down the road. Aside from that, it almost feels like you leave planet earth. I have never seen a flatter, more desolate landscape anywhere in my life. I almost imagine it’s what the lunar surface would feel like, with the exception of having a different atmosphere, gravitational pull, and what have you. Anyway, you catch my drift…
Jade Pass is beautiful landscape, minus the fort that you find at Yangguan Pass. The watchtower is in much better shape than those you find at Yangguan. But, unlike Yangguan, where they take better care of the watchtowers, over here at Jade Pass, you find plenty of pea-brained tourists ignoring signs (and fences) and climbing all over the watchtower as if it were a jungle gym. It’s times like these that it’s probably good my Mandarin is so poor. I would probably manage to somehow get myself deported, ironically, for yelling at idiots when I’m frustrated that they have no concept of conserving their own heritage. Running away from idiots as quickly as possible, I snapped a few pictures of the scenery…where more buffoons were blatantly ignoring signs and going where they oughtn’t. So, I cut my time at Jade Pass short and returned to the bus, which was waiting next to what looked to be a promising museum that we didn’t have the time to visit. We were apparently on a pretty tight schedule now.
Boarding the bus, we went a whole five minutes farther north for a stop to see the Han Dynasty Great Wall. Now, a few things to know. When people mention the “Great Wall” of China, it’s actually a series of walls that form a patchwork length that crosses from Shanhaiguan at the eastern terminal (ending famously in the sea), though there is a section in Liaoning province called Hushan that borders North Korea that I’ve been to and claims that it is the rightful eastern terminus of the wall. The western terminus of that wall is nearby (relatively speaking) at Jiayuguan here in Gansu province. The whole patchwork nature of that wall is emphasized by sections like Hushan. I only mention it now because the Great Wall of China refers to the Ming Dynasty wall…mostly built between 1368-1644 (with some sections marginally older, like Juyongguan, which dates to the Yuan Dynasty, immediately before the Ming).
The Han Dynasty wall out here dates to the original dynasty of China…in the 3rd century BC. So the wall here, while not as impressive as the rebuilt Ming sections of the wall in terms of visual appearance floored me because it’s original and almost 2,500 years old. The way the wall here was built (mud, adobe, etc.) is completely different than the Ming wall that came 1,500 years later. It’s shorter – in length (obviously) and height, but much longer in history. There is so little of this wall left here, though, that it would never be worth visiting on its own…or possible. Ten to fifteen minutes here is more than enough to get the “wall experience.”
From there, we were on to the ultimate destination of the day: Yadan National Park. I also discovered the reason we were on such a tight schedule. Yadan National Park is a very large park. Though this is lost in translation, I think the Chinese market it as sort of an “out of this world” experience, though I could be way off base. In reality, this used to be a seabed tens of thousands of years ago and the rock formations that are left here are the remnants of harder rocks that didn’t erode as quickly over time…which gives this park its current appearance.
Yadan National Park is strictly controlled. Admission was 150 or 180 RMB from what I recall (no more than $30) and, like Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan, getting around the park is tightly controlled. (You have to take park-controlled buses from point to point, though at the various points, you can go out and explore the area.)
The landscape at this park, as mentioned, is quite unique. For anyone who has seen Chinese movies (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, for example, or Zhang Yimou’s Hero), the landscape will be familiar. The “far west” scenes in those movies were filmed near here in areas with identical landscapes. (I’m about 90% Hero’s western landscape was filmed just over the provincial border in Xinjiang. Crouching Tiger’s…I’m much less certain.)
After a few stops, we found that we were out in the middle of this out-of-this-world ghost city (Chinese definitely like to call these ghost cities) for a stunning sunset. After staying around for sunset for 30-45 minutes, we finally headed back to the visitor center and then boarded our own coach for the long, flat, 2-3 hour ride back to Dunhuang, where I gladly spent my last night in the nameless hotel before starting Friday’s slow trip back towards Lanzhou. Before bidding farewell to Dunhuang, though, Friday morning had an incredible trip – mostly unphotographed (as photography is forbidden and I tend to follow rules when traveling) of the Mogao Grottoes. More to come…
As usual, I hope you enjoy the pictures. Please feel free to leave any comments, questions, or suggestions.
Chaturbhuj temple (Devanagri: चतुर्भुज मंदिर) is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The name Chaturbhuj (Devanagri: चतुर्भुज) is a derived from Sanskrit words चतु: = four and भुजा = arms, which literally means One who has four arms; and refers to Lord Vishnu.
The temple is Date-able to CIRCA 1100 A.D. This temple is also known as Jatakari (Devanagri:जटकारी) Temple on the name of the village Jatakari (Devanagri:जटकारी), where it is located.
This temple is located near a village Jatakara at Khajuraho. This temple is also known as Jatakari Temple on the name of the village.
It is grouped under southern group of temples, due to is location in southern area of Khajuraho.
This is the only temple in Khajuraho which lacks erotic sculptures.
The temple consists of a sanctum without ambulatory, vestibule, mandapa and an entrance porch. The temple stands on a Modest (chabutara).
Around the wall, there are three bands of sculptures.
The main idol in the temple is of four-armed Lord Vishnu. It is 2.7 meters in height.
______________________________________________
The Khajuraho Group of Monuments in Khajuraho, a town in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur District, about 620 kilometres southeast of New Delhi, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for their erotic sculptures.
Between 950 and 1150, the Chandela monarchs built these temples when the Tantric tradition may have been accepted. In the days before the Mughal conquests, when boys lived in hermitages, following brahmacharya until they became men, they could learn about the world and prepare themselves to become householders through examining these sculptures and the worldly desires they depicted.
The name Khajuraho, ancient "Kharjuravāhaka", is derived from the Sanskrit words kharjura = date palm and vāhaka = "one who carries". Locals living in the Khajuraho village always knew about and kept up the temples as best as they could. They were pointed out to the English in the late 19th century when the jungles had taken a toll on the monuments. In the 19th century, British engineer T.S. Burt arrived in the area, followed by General Alexander Cunningham. Cunningham put Khajuraho on the world map when he explored the site on behalf of the Archaeological Survey of India and described what he found in glowing terms. The Khajuraho Group of Monuments has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is considered to be one of the "seven wonders" of India.
HISTORY
In the 27th Century of Kali Yuga the Mlechcha invaders started attacking Northern India, some Bargujar moved eastward to central India; they ruled over the Northeastern region of Rajasthan, called Dhundhar, and were referred to as Dhundhel or Dhundhela in ancient times, for the region they governed. Later on they called themselves Chandelas; those who were in the ruling class having gotra Kashyap were definitely all Bargujars; they were vassals of Gurjara – Pratihara empire of North India, which lasted from 500 CE to 1300 CE and at its peak the major monuments were built. The Bargujars also built the Kalinjar fort and Neelkanth Mahadev temple, similar to one at Sariska National Park, and Baroli, being Shiva
The city was the cultural capital of Chandel Rajputs, a Hindu dynasty that ruled this part of India from the 10 to 12th centuries. The political capital of the Chandelas was Kalinjar. The Khajuraho temples were built over a span of 200 years, from 950 to 1150. The Chandela capital was moved to Mahoba after this time, but Khajuraho continued to flourish for some time. Khajuraho has no forts because the Chandel Kings never lived in their cultural capital.
The whole area was enclosed by a wall with eight originates, each flanked by two golden palm trees. There were originally over 85 Hindu temples, of which only 25 now stand in a reasonable state of preservation, scattered over an area of about 20 square kilometres. The erotic sculptures were crafted by Chandella artisans. The temples, maintained by the locals, were pointed out to the English in the late 19th century when the jungles had taken a toll on the monuments. Today, the temples serve as fine examples of Indian architectural styles that have gained popularity due to their explicit depiction of sexual life during medieval times.You can see the erotic sculptures on Kandariya Mahadev Temple.
ARCHITECTURE
The temples are grouped into three geographical divisions: western, eastern and southern.
The Khajuraho temples are made of sandstone. The builders didn't use mortar: the stones were put together with mortise and tenon joints and they were held in place by gravity. This form of construction requires very precise joints. The columns and architraves were built with megaliths that weighed up to 20 tons.
The Saraswati temple on the campus of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India, is modeled after the Khajuraho temples.
STATUES AND CARVINGS
The Khajuraho temples contain sexual or erotic art outside the temple or near the deities. Some of the temples that have two layers of walls have small erotic carvings on the outside of the inner wall. It has been suggested that these suggest tantric sexual practices. Some 10% of the carvings contain sexual themes and those reportedly do not depict deities but rather sexual activities between people. The rest depict the everyday life. For example, those depictions show women putting on makeup, musicians, potters, farmers, and other folk. The mundane scenes are all at some distance from the temple deities. A common misconception is that, since the old structures with carvings in Khajuraho are temples, the carvings depict sex between deities.
Another perspective of these carvings is presented by James McConnachie. In his history of the Kamasutra, McConnachie describes the zesty 10% of the Khajuraho sculptures as "the apogee of erotic art":
"Twisting, broad-hipped and high breasted nymphs display their generously contoured and bejewelled bodies on exquisitely worked exterior wall panels. These fleshy apsaras run riot across the surface of the stone, putting on make-up, washing their hair, playing games, dancing, and endlessly knotting and unknotting their girdles....Beside the heavenly nymphs are serried ranks of griffins, guardian deities and, most notoriously, extravagantly interlocked maithunas, or lovemaking couples."
While the sexual nature of these carvings have caused the site to be referred to as the Kamasutra temple, they do not illustrate the meticulously described positions. Neither do they express the philosophy of Vatsyayana's famous sutra. As "a strange union of Tantrism and fertility motifs, with a heavy dose of magic" they belief a document which focuses on pleasure rather than procreation. That is, fertility is moot.
The strategically placed sculptures are "symbolical-magical diagrams, or yantras" designed to appease malevolent spirits. This alamkara (ornamentation) expresses sophisticated artistic transcendence over the natural; sexual images imply a virile, thus powerful, ruler.
Between 950 and 1150, the Chandela monarchs built these temples when the Tantric tradition may have been accepted. In the days before the Mughal conquests, when boys lived in hermitages, following brahmacharya until they became men, they could learn about the world and prepare themselves to become householders through examining these sculptures and the worldly desires they depicted.
While recording the television show Lost Worlds (History Channel) at Khajuraho, Alex Evans, a contemporary stonemason and sculptor gave his expert opinion and forensically examined the tool marks and construction techniques involved in creating the stunning stonework at the sites. He also recreated a stone sculpture under 4 feet that took about 60 days to carve in an attempt to develop a rough idea how much work must have been involved. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to quarry about 400 tons of stone. These temples would have required hundreds of highly trained sculptors.
___________________________________________________________________
Der Tempelbezirk von Khajuraho umfasst eine Gruppe von etwa 20 Tempeln im Zentrum und in der näheren Umgebung der Stadt Khajuraho im indischen Bundesstaat Madhya Pradesh. Sie zählen zum UNESCO-Welterbe.
GESCHICHTE
Nahezu alle Tempel Khajurahos wurde von den Herrschern der Chandella-Dynastie zwischen 950 und 1120 erbaut. Die Chandellas waren ein zwischen dem 10. und 16. Jahrhundert regierender Rajputen-Klan, welcher sich um 950 in Gwalior festsetzte. Im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert waren die Chandellas die führende Macht in Nordindien, wenngleich sie formell noch bis 1018 Vasallen der Pratihara waren.
Nach dem Niedergang der Dynastie im 12. Jahrhundert wurden die Tempel kaum noch oder gar nicht mehr benutzt und blieben dem Wuchs des Dschungels überlassen. Der politisch, militärisch und wirtschaftlich bedeutungslos gewordene Ort lag abseits aller Wege und blieb somit auch in der Zeit des islamischen Vordringens in Nordindien von Zerstörungen verschont. Im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert zählte die einstmals bedeutsame Stadt nur noch etwa 300 Einwohner. Im 19. Jahrhundert wurden die Tempel von den Briten 'wiederentdeckt'. Zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts begannen systematische Sicherungs- und Restaurierungsarbeiten, die schließlich zur Wiederherstellung dieses einzigartigen Architektur-Ensembles führten.
TEMPEL
Ursprünglich gab es in Khajuraho etwa 80 Tempelbauten verstreut auf einer Gesamtfläche von ca. 21 Quadratkilometer, heutzutage sind davon nur noch etwa 20 erhalten, von denen die meisten in zwei Gruppen stehen. Die Mehrzahl der Tempel ist den hinduistischen Hauptgöttern geweiht, einige den Jaina-Tirthankaras. Buddhistische Bauten gab es wohl nicht, jedenfalls wurden keine buddhistischen Skulpturen entdeckt.
Alle Tempel stehen auf 1,50 bis 3 Meter hohen Plattformen (jagatis), die das Bauwerk vor Witterungseinflüssen (Monsunregen) und freilaufenden Tieren schützten. Hinzu kommt eine Sockelzone, die bei den späteren Tempeln (ab ca. 950) mehrfach gestuft ist und durchaus nochmals 3 Meter hoch sein kann. Plattform und Sockel tragen natürlich auch zu einer 'Erhöhung' des aufstehenden Bauwerks im übertragenen Sinn bei.
Die Mehrzahl der Tempeleingänge sind nach Osten, also in Richtung der aufgehenden Sonne ausgerichtet, d. h. die Cella (garbhagriha) liegt im Westen. Bei zwei Tempeln ist es umgekehrt: sie orientieren sich nach Westen, d. h. in Richtung der untergehenden Sonne (Lalguan-Mahadeva-Tempel und Chaturbuja-Tempel). Beide Ausrichtungen sind bei indischen Tempeln seit Jahrhunderten möglich und üblich. Die vorderen zwei Begleitschreine des Lakshmana-Tempels liegen einander gegenüber und sind nach Süden bzw. Norden ausgerichtet.
WESTGRUPPE (Hindu-Tempel)
- Matangeshvara-Tempel (ca. 950)
- Varaha-Tempel (ca. 950)
- Lakshmana-Tempel (ca. 950)
- Devi-Tempel
- Vishvanatha-Tempel (ca. 1000)
- Nandi-Schrein
- Parvati-Schrein
- Jagadambi-Tempel
- Chitragupta-Tempel
- Kandariya-Mahadeva-Tempel (1. Hälfte 11. Jh.)
OSTGRUPPE (Jain-Tempel)
- Parsvanatha-Tempel (ca. 960)
- Adinatha-Tempel (ca. 1050)
- Shantinatha-Tempel
- Ghantai-Tempel (ca. 990)
EINZELTEMPEL (Hindu-Tempel)
- Chausath-Yogini-Tempel (ca. 875)
- Lalguan-Mahadeva-Tempel (ca. 920)
- Brahma-Tempel (ca. 930)
- Khakra-Math-Tempel (ca. 980)
- Vamana-Tempel (ca. 1050)
- Javari-Tempel (ca. 1100)
- Chaturbuja-Tempel (ca. 1120)
- Duladeo-Tempel (ca. 1120)
ARCHITEKTUR
Die Tempel von Khajuraho bieten die Möglichkeit, auf engstem Raum die Entwicklung der indischen Baukunst in einer Zeitspanne von etwa 200 Jahren zu verfolgen − von kleinen (wenig gegliederten, einräumigen und geschlossenen) Tempeln hin zu großen (stark gegliederten, mehrräumigen und offenen) Bauten. Auch die Höhe der Bauten erfährt während dieser Zeit eine enorme Steigerung. Gemeinsam ist nahezu allen Bauten (Ausnahme: Chausath-Yogini-Tempel), dass sie über Dachaufbauten (Shikhara-Türme oder Pyramidendächer) verfügen, die von gerippten amalaka-Steinen und kalasha-Krügen bekrönt werden.
FRÜHZEIT
Abgesehen vom Chausath-Yogini-Tempel, dem ältesten und vollkommen anderen baulichen Traditionen verpflichteten Tempelbau in Khajuraho, bestehen die frühen Tempel nur aus einer − von einem gestuften Pyramidendach bedeckten − Cella (garbhagriha), der im Fall des Brahma-Tempels noch ein Portalvorbau (antarala), im Fall des Varaha-Tempels und des Matangesvara-Tempels jeweils ein kleiner offener Vorraum (mandapa) vorgesetzt ist. Die Außenwände sind nur geringfügig gegliedert und überwiegend steinsichtig.
BLÜHTZEIT
Die Blütezeit der Tempelarchitektur in Khajuraho beginnt mit dem Lakshmana-Tempel (ca. 930−950), der wahrscheinlich vom Maladevi-Tempel in Gyaraspur und von früheren Tempelbauten in Rajasthan beeinflusst ist, die ihrerseits wiederum allesamt auf die beim Bau des Kalika-Mata-Tempels in Chittorgarh (ca. 700) erstmals entwickelten baulichen Innovationen zurückgeführt werden können. Diese sind im Wesentlichen: mehrere hintereinander liegende, aber harmonisch miteinander verbundenen Bauteile (mandapas, antarala und garbhagriha); gleiche Grundfläche von großer Vorhalle (mahamandapa) und Sanktumsbereich; Cella als eigenständiger Baukörper im Innern; Pfeiler − und nicht mehr Wände − als tragende Stützelemente für die Dachaufbauten − dadurch wurde es möglich, die Räume nach außen hin durch balkonähnliche Vorbauten zu öffnen; mehrfache Abstufung und Gliederung der verbliebenen Wandteile außen wie innen − dadurch treten sie gar nicht mehr als 'Wand' in Erscheinung; Fortsetzung der Außenwandgliederung im Dachaufbau.
Beim Lakshmana-Tempel ist die Cella als eigener, innenliegender Baukörper gestaltet und von einem Umgang (pradakshinapatha) umgeben. Der gesamte Sanktumsbereich sowie seine vier Nebenschreine werden − erstmals in Khajuraho − von steil und hoch aufragenden Shikhara-Türmen überhöht; die weniger wichtigen Vorhallen werden auch weiterhin von den insgesamt flacheren, pyramidenförmigen Dächern bedeckt, so dass eine architektonische Steigerung der Tempel − einem Gebirge durchaus vergleichbar − hin zur Cella erreicht wird.
Die wichtigsten Nachfolgebauten des Lakshmana-Tempels sind der Vishvanatha-Tempel (ca. 1000) und der Kandariya-Mahadeva-Tempel (ca. 1050), bei denen wegen der vielfältigen architektonischen Gliederungen und des dichten Skulpturenprogramms eine Stein- bzw. Wandsichtigkeit nicht mehr wahrzunehmen ist.
SKULPTUREN
Auch im Hinblick auf die Entwicklung der indischen Skulptur bieten die Tempel von Khajuraho einen Überblick über ca. 200 Jahre indischer Kunstgeschichte − von den in Architekturelemente eingebundenen und eher unbewegt und statisch erscheinenden Reliefdarstellungen der Frühzeit bis hin zu den beinahe freiplastisch gearbeiteten und durch ihre Posenvielfalt nahezu lebendig wirkenden Figuren.
FRÜHZEITLICHE SKULPTUREN
Die nur wenig gegliederten Außenwände der frühen Tempel von Khajuraho zeigen kaum figürlichen oder ornamentalen Schmuck. Dieser ist, noch stark reliefgebunden, auf die Portale (Lalguan-Mahadeva-Tempel, Brahma-Tempel) sowie auf einige Fensternischen (Matangeshvara-Tempel) beschränkt. Erotische Skulpturen sind in den frühen Tempeln noch nicht zu finden.
SKULPTUREN DER BLÜHTEZEIT
Auch hier ist es der Lakshmana-Tempel, der für Khajuraho neue Zeichen setzt: Während die Außenwände der Vorhallen nur wenig figürliche Reliefs zeigen, sind die Wände des Sanktums überreich mit Skulpturen geschmückt. Darunter finden sich Götterfiguren (devas oder devis), „schöne Mädchen“ (surasundaris) und Liebespaare (mithunas); auch die ersten erotischen Skulpturen sind in den unteren (erdnahen) Feldern der Mittelregister sowie im Figurenfries der Plattform zu sehen. Die mittleren Felder zeigen dagegen zärtliche Liebespaare mit kleineren Begleitfiguren, die oberen Götterfiguren. Eine Hierarchie der Figurenanordnung ist also deutlich wahrnehmbar. Bei den unmittelbaren Nachfolgebauten (Vishvanatha-Tempel, Jagadambi-Tempel und Kandariya-Mahadeva-Tempel) nimmt die Anzahl der Figuren und somit auch der erotischen Darstellungen zu.
Bei den Jain-Tempeln und den späteren Hindu-Tempeln sind kaum noch erotisch-sexuelle Darstellungen zu finden; hier überwiegt die Anzahl der Götterfiguren manchmal sogar die der „schönen Mädchen“.
ARCHÄOLOGISCHES MUSEUM
Zu den Sehenswürdigkeiten im Bereich des Tempelbezirks von Khajuraho gehört auch das im Ortskern gelegene Archäologische Museum (auch Rani Durgavati-Museum genannt). Es beherbergt einige sehr schöne Skulpturen, die im Rahmen der Ausgrabungs- und Restaurierungsarbeiten gefunden und hierher verbracht wurden, weil sie keinem der erhaltenen Tempelbauten direkt zuzuordnen waren.
WIKIPEDIA
The Waterman Monument, dedicated on October 19, 1901 by the Daughters of the American Revolution, is a monument to all the soldiers who lost their lives at Valley Forge. However, its name comes from its gets its more common moniker due location near the only known grave marker, belonging to John Waterman. The Waterman Marker, located on the grand parade ground near the area where Rhode Island regiments encamped, is simply marked as "JW 1778." An inscription to this end is marked on the south side of the monument.
The imposing 50-foot granite obelisk rests on a base ten feet square, raised upon a plinth with three gradations, faced with the inscription: "To the Soldiers of Washington's Army who sleep at Valley Forge, 1777-1778." Set in the base is a large bas-relief in bronze representing the encampment. Above it is the bronze seal of the Daughters. The Colonial flag is carved on the obelisk. The entire monument stands on a piece of ground thirty by thirty square, with an approach from the road ten feet wide and three hundred and sixty-one feet long, given by I. Heston Todd. Historic cannon loaned by the Girard Estate sit beside the monument.
Valley Forge National Historical Park, encompassing 3,466-acres eighteen miles northwest of Philadelphia, preserves and reinterprets the site where the the main body of the Continental Army--between 10,000 and 12,000 troops--was encamped during from December 19, 1778 to June 19, 1778, the American Revolutionary War.
After the Battle of White Marsh (or Edge Hill), Washington chose Valley Forge as an encampment because it was between the Continental Congress in York, Supply Depots in Reading, and British forces in Philadelphia. Undernourished and poorly clothed through the harsh winter, Washington's troops were ravaged by disease, suffering as many as two thousand losses, with thousands more listed as unfit for futy. Despite the conditions, the winter at Valley Forge proved invaluable for the young army, which underwent its first uniform training regimen, under the guidance of Prussian drill master, Baron Friedrich von Steuben.
Valley Forge, named for the iron forge built along Valley Creek in the 1740's, was established as the first state park of Pennsylvania in 1893 by the Valley Forge Park Commission. In 1923, the VFPC was brought under the Department of Forests and Waters and later incorporated into the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1971. In 1976, Pennsylvania gave the park as a gift to the nation for the the Bicentennial. The National Park System established the area as Valley Forge National Historical Park on July 4, 1976.
Valley Forge National Historical Park National Register #66000657 (1966)
LEGOLAND Windsor a theme park dedicated to children aged 3-12 years old and of course big kid adults.
An inspirational land where the kids are the hero and adults relive their childhood.
The fun never stops and imagination knows no bounds, a family attraction like no other.
Set in 150 acres of beautiful parkland, LEGOLAND Windsor is a unique family theme park with over 55 interactive rides, live shows, building workshops, driving schools and attractions.
It's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!
From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park.
Fun Facts about LEGOLAND Windsor
There are 34 LEGO pieces in an average Miniland figure.
The largest model in Miniland is the Canary Wharf Tower which is 5.2 metres tall and took 3 model makers 850 hours to complete using 200,000 LEGO Bricks!
The smallest models are the pigeons in Trafalgar Square which contain 5 LEGO bricks each
New in 2011 - Atlantis Submarine Voyage
Take a deep breath and submerge yourself in an underwater adventure.
Plunge into the depths with this world-first LEGO® submarine ride and immerse yourself in a magical underwater adventure.
So what’s New in 2012
STAR WARS MINILAND EXPERIENCE - The Force has arrived at LEGOLAND
Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND®Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO®Star Wars experience.
LEGOLAND WINDSOR RESORT HOTEL - Now open
An exciting LEGO adventure awaits you, as the amazing 150 room, fully themed LEGOLAND Hotel opens at LEGOLAND Windsor RESORT!
Staying overnight at the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel is a must for all LEGO fans. From the spectacular dragon-guarded entrance and interactive LEGO features through to the brightly coloured pirate splash pool and fully themed bedrooms, the new hotel will inspire imaginations and create laugh-out loud memories. With dedicated indoor play areas, entertainment and a buffet-style restaurant serving child-friendly meals, it’s the perfect family treat.
LOWER MAINLAND, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 30/May/2016 --- GreatStrides is a fundraising walk dedicated to raising funds and awareness for cystic fibrosis. GreatStrides 2016 took place on May 30 in VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver. Further information at: www.cysticfibrosis.ca/walk/ & www.facebook.com/CysticFibrosisVancouver
Photo by Matt Smart.
This picture is for you Ed, to show you how much we appreciate your being so sweet and kind with us!
I'm so glad to be your friend!
LingLing
Mukteshvara Temple (IAST: Mukteśvara; also spelt Mukteswar) is a 10th-century Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. The temple dates back to 950–975 CE and is a monument of importance in the study of the development of Hindu temples in Odisha. The stylistic development the Mukteswar marks the culmination of all earlier developments, and initiates a period of experiment which continues for an entire century, as seen in such temples as the Rajarani Temple and Lingaraj temple, both located in Bhubaneswar. It is one of the prominent tourist attractions of the city.
HISTORY
The Mukteshvara Temple is found to be the earliest work from the Somavamshi period. Most scholars believe the temple is the successor to Parashurameshvara Temple and built earlier to the Brahmeswara Temple (1060 CE). Percy Brown puts the date of construction of the temple to 950 CE. The presence of a torana, which is not part of any other temple in the region, makes this temple unique and some of the representations indicate the builders were starters of a new culture. K.C. Panigrahi places the temple to be built during 966 CE and postulates that the Somavamshi king Yayati I built the temple. He also associates the legend of Kirtivassa to this temple, but the postulation is not accepted as Kirtivasa is associated with Lingaraja, though both were built at the same time for the same deity, Shiva. There is no historic evidence to conclude that Yayati I built the temple.
ARCHITECTURE
This architecture is one of the basic reasons why Mukteshvara Temple is also known as the "Gem of Odisha architecture". The temple faces west and is constructed in a lower basement amidst a group of temples. The pyramidal roof to the jagamohana present in the temple was the first of its kind over the conventional two tier structure. The temple is a small one compared to other larger temples in Bhubaneswar. The temples is enclosed within an octagonal compound wall with elaborate carvings on it. It is believed that the experiment of newer pattern in the temple showed a mature phase compared to its predecessors and culminated the beginning of replication of similar pattern in the later temples in the city. The temple has a porch, called torana, which acts as the gateway to the octagonal compound. The temple has two structures namely, the vimana (structure above the sanctum) and a mukhasala, the leading hall, both of which are built on a raised platform. The temple is the earlies to be built in pithadeula type.
PORCH
The most important feature of the Mukteshvara Temple is the torana, or the arched gateway, dating back to about 900 CE and showing the influence of Buddhist architecture. The arched gateway has thick pillars that have strings of beads and other ornaments carved on statues of smiling women in languorous repose. The porch is a walled chamber with a low, massive roof and internal pillars. The combination of vertical and horizontal lines is skilfully arranged so as to give dignity of buildings of moderate height. This early astylar form of the temple is best illustrated in this temple. The gateway has sculptures that range from elaborate scrolls to pleasant female forms and figures of monkeys and peacocks. The front and back of the arch are similar in design.
VIMANA
The Vimana is square in plan and is built in a raised platform with pilasters in each facade. The shikara is small compared to other temples; it has four Natarajas on and four kirthimukhas on the four faces. The top portion of the shikara has the kalasa. The shikara is 10.5 metres tall, with every inch sculpted with decorative patterns, architectural patterns and sculpted figures. A new form of decoration called bho, possibly developed here, became a prominent feature in later Odishan temples. It is a highly ornate chaitya window crowned by masked demon head and dwarf figures.
SANCTUM
The sanctum is sculpted with beautiful damsels exhibiting feminine charms entwined with nagas and naginis. The sanctum is cubical from the inside with offset walls in the outside.
JAGAMOHANA
This distinctive 10th-century temple is one of the smallest and compact temples. The jagamohana is 35 m tall. It is decorated with intricate carvings by the Vishwakarma Moharana sculptors. The temple is regarded as a gem of Nagara architecture of Kalinga architecture. Except for the rectangular plan of its jaganmohana, it is the earliest example of what may be termed proper Odisha temple type; a vimana with a curvelinear spire and a jaganmohana with a stepped pyramidal roof. The temple's red sandstone is covered with exquisite carvings of lean sadhus or holy men and voluptuous women encrusted with jewels. The images of Ganga and Yamuna are carved next to Chanda and Prachanda. The torana is present in front of the jagamohana. The figure of Lakulisa, seated in bhumispara-mudra and holding a lakuta is present on the lintel of the jagamohana. The figures of Gajalakshmi, Rahu and Ketu are also sculpted in the structure. A small extension from the side roof of the jagamohana has the image of a lion sitting on its hind legs. The exterior walls of the structure are decorated with pilasters with nagas and naginis.
OTHERS
The doorway to the inner sanctum houses the image of Ketu with three hooded snakes, commonly regarded as the ninth planet in the Hindu mythology. There is a tank in the eastern side of the temple and a well in the south-western corner. A dip in the well is believed to cure infertility in women. There are other shrines within the temple complex with lingam inside, which were used as offering shrines. The doorway of the temple is orante. The temple is enclosed by a low compound wall that follows the contours of the temple. The temple has sculptures both inside and outside the structure. The compound walls leaves a very small passage separating the shrine.
RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE
Mukteshvara means "Lord of Freedom". The temple is dedicated to Hindu god Shiva. There are a number of sculptures of skeletal ascetics in teaching or meditation poses. Some scholars correlate the role of the temple as a centre for Tantric initiation with the name Mukteshvara as a possible thesis. The outer face of the compound wall has niches of Hindu deities like Saraswathi, Ganesha and Lakulisha (the fifth century founder of the Pashupata sect of tantric Shaivism). The numerous images of Lakulisha are found in miniature forms within Chaitya arches, showing various mudras like yoga, Bhumispara and vyakyana wit yogapatta tied to their knees. They are accompanied by the images of the disciples. According to tradition, barren women give birth to sons if they take a dip in Madicha Kunda tank in the premises of the temple on the night before Ashokashtami car festival. On the evening, the water in the tank is sold to the public.
IN POPULAR CULTURE
The Department of Tourism of the state government organises a three-day yearly dance function called Mukteswar Dance Festival in the temple premises. This festival celebrates the features of Odissi, the classical dance form of Odisha. Popular Odissi dancers perform during the function, accompanied by instruments like mardal. The event is webcast in the state government portal.
WIKIPEDIA
by Jennifer Books & jwcurry.
Ottawa, Canadian Small Change Association, 14 august 1999. 46 unique copies numbered in black rubberstamp & signed in ballpoint, issued as '95 Hitlist Variety 43, this copy dedicated to Lefler.
approx.16 x 13, 15 leaves (one gatefold) japanese sewn white in 8 double stitches with head~ & tailstitches & tipped in plain brown kraft-backed silver foil dustjacket with 3-7/8 x 5-7/8 triptych cover window & plain 4-7/8 x 7-1/8 acetate panel over window in clear plastic photocorners, 31 pp printed rubberstamp over various found substrates with 42 colour photographs mounted in clear plastic photocorners throughout & one leaf white xerographic bond printed 4colour process photocopy glued in, the interior sheets as follows:
1) 14-1/4 x 13 "EXPLOSIVE A EXPLOSIF 1.1 1" railway placard printed orange & black offset both sides, with 4 x 1 photocopy order form (filled out in ballpoint) stuck on & 4 x 6 colour photograph glued on (front cover sheet)
2) approx.11-1/4 x 6 offwhite mayfair card cut & torn irregularly with found pencil graphic occupying all but the top 1/2" overprinted 4 colours rubberstamp recto/4 x 6 brown monochrome photograph mounted in photocorners with black rubberstamp verso
3) 14-3/4 x 11-3/8 offwhite bristol board printed black rubberstamp both sides with red addition recto, with 5 brown monochrome photographs mounted in photocorners (2 recto, 3 verso)
4) 12 x 16-1/2 white card broadside printed black offset (Durm-I Brooks, TEECHA STILL DEH TEECH, np, Jamup Productions, 1993) & folded roughly in half to form a 4 pp 8-1/4 x 12 signature, all printed black rubberstamp with 2 colour photographs mounted in photocorners, one to each inside page
5) 14 x 11 black & white found photograph printed black rubberstamp both sides with 3 colour photographs mounted in photocorners (1 recto, 2 verso)
6) 29 x 8-1/2 white-coated brown cardboard Application for Firearms Acquisition Certificate (F.A.C.) printed black offset & folded to 4 pp, 15-1/2 x 8-1/2 with a 13-1/2 x 8-1/2 gatefold, all printed black rubberstamp with 8 photographs (7 colour, 1 brown monochrome) mounted 2 to a page in photocorners
7) 16 x 1o torn white glossy, bottom half of 4colour offset poster Rambolette (Detroit, Saint Chateaux Galleries, 1987), printed black rubberstamp both sides with 6 colour photographs mounted 3 per side in photocorners
8) 16 x 1o torn white glossy, top half of 4colour poster Rambolette (see leaf 7), printed black rubberstamp both sides with 5 colour photographs mounted in photocorners (a composite of 2 recto, 3 verso)
9) approx.28 x 16 brown paper shopping bag, printed brown & black offset for an unidentifiable Vancouver store, roughly folded in 4 to approx.14 x 11 with 5" flap along bottom & fold at foreëdge,
overprinted black rubberstamp both sides with 3 colour photographs mounted in photocorners (1 recto, 2 verso)
1o) 12-1/4 x 9-1/2 sheet white ribbed card torn at top, printed black rubberstamp both sides with 2 photographs mounted in photocorners (black & white recto, colour verso)
11) 11-1/2 x 8-3/4 white mayfair card with found pencil & marker sketch by Meng Giang recto, printed black rubberstamp both sides with shaped colour photograph mounted in photocorners & torn white bond printed 4colour process photocopy glued verso
12) 13-1/2 x 8-1/2 speckled gold mayfair card torn at bottom with 2 x 3-1/2 white card glued recto printed green offset for Souris & Petitti Advertising/Communications, printed black rubberstamp bothnsides with red additions recto, with 3 colour photographs mounted in photocorners (2 recto, 1 verso)
13) 13-1/4 x 9-1/2 turquoise coarsewove ard torn at top, printed black rubberstamp both sides with 2 colour photographs mounted in photocorners, 1 per side
14) approx.11-3/4 x 11-1/2 unassembled cardboard box with 1'1/4" diameter circular window, printed black & gold offset for Joseph & Zane's The Classic Boxer Short ("The Most Comfortable Underwear You'll Ever Wear"), printed black & brown rubberstamp verso only & signed in blue ballpoint by Books & curry
15) 14-1/4 x 13 "EXPLOSIVE A EXPLOSIF 1.2 1" railway placard printed black & orange offset (rear cover sheet)
cover photograph: jwcurry
7 other contributors ID'd:
Jennifer Books, Meng Giang, Lance LaRocque, Mlina Lore, Gustave Morin, Gio Sampogna, Johan Teveldal
includes:
i) '95 HitList Variety 43, jwcurry (prose, Lefler cameo)
ii) for Peg E, jwcurry (rubbercut portrait of Lefler)
iii) Dedicatee Peggy lefler examines yet another cultural artifact at her table at home at 1357 Lansdowne Avenue in Toronto, perhaps as early as 2jul95, Gustave Morin (photograph, portrait)
iv) Peggy lefler at her table at 1357 Lansdowne Avenue, Toronto, probably 6jul95, Gustave Morin (photograph, portrait)
v) Willowvale Park, Toronto, Peggy lefler as temporary park popcan pickupper, 9jul95, Gio Sampogna (photograph, portrait)
vi*) Willowvale Park, Toronto, jwcurry, Jana & Mlina Lore & Peggy lefler enable this triptych of tableaux vivants typical of the guerrilla stylee style o' still photography, characterized by such highcharge interelemental dynamics, 9jul95, Gio Sampogna (sequence of 3 photographs:
–1. curry, Jana, Mlina, Lefler [maybe amused];
–2. Jana (making a face), curry, Mlina, Lefler [maybe notso amused];
–3. Jana, curry, Mlina, Lefler [no, not amused])
vii*) Willowvale Park, Toronto, jwcurry, Jana Lore, Peggy lefler & Gio.Sampogna almost high on the hill, 9jul95, Gustave Morin (photo, portrait)
viii) Willowvale Park, Toronto, jwcurry & Peggy lefler, 9jul95, Gio Sampogna (photo, portrait)
ix*) Toronto, looking approximately E along Bloor Street from the Grace Street extension to Christie Street & beyond, gustave morin, jwcurry, Jana Lore, Peggy lefler & Mlina Lore all off from the extended shangbreak after celebratory ice cream, 9jul95, Jennifer Books (photo, portrait)
[note: all titling by curry.
asterisked photographs also appeared in Variation 34, 3 april 1997]
A church dedicated to Saint Peter, recorded in Pavia in 604, was renovated by Liutprand, the King of the Lombards (who is buried here) between 720 and 725. The Romanesque church was consecrated by Pope Innocent II in 1132.
"San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro" is the resting place for the relics of Augustine of Hippo ("Saint Augustine") known as a very important early Christian theologian and philosopher, whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He died in 430 in Northern Africa, where he was buried. When Huneric, King of the Arian Vandals, expelled the Catholic bishops, the body was removed to Cagliari (Sardinia).
Liutprand´s uncle Peter, the bishop of Pavia, then transferred the remains - and deposited in this church about 720.
Since 1327 the Augustinians guard the tomb, though the remains at that time were lost until workers digging in the crypt discovered a marble box containing numerous bones. It was claimed, that the name "Augustine" was written in the box with charcoal.
When the Augustinians had to take refuge in Milan in 1700, they carried the relics with them. The church fell into disrepair and was used as a magazine under the Napoleonic occupation. It was finally reconstructed in the late 19th century and reconsecrated in 1896 when the relics of Augustine and the shrine were once again reinstalled.
One of the capitals depicts this centaur, who seems to herd a large group of griffins. Maybe some dwarfs support the centaur, two heads can be seen at the corners.
Is this stockade keeping change at bay? ...the Mississippian Period, from about A.D. 1150-1350 – same dates as the most intensive use of the Town Creek site – was a time of significant political and social change within native communities of the southeastern United States of America, including the establishment of multiple-community political entities known as chiefdoms
___________________________________________
Mount Gilead, NC – 2019NOV10 – The Town Creek Site:
For our 23rd wedding anniversary, after church Joe & I paused for a picnic lunch on our way to Town Creek Site, set high on a low bluff of an oxbow on the west bank of the Little River near its confluence with Town Fork Creek in Mt. Gilead, NC, on the sunny southern side of the ancient Uwharrie Mountain Range located in the southeastern Piedmont region.
The protohistoric Native American ceremonial center – listed in the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark – is the first North Carolina State Historic Site, and it also remains the only state historic site in North Carolina dedicated to American Indian heritage, drawing astronomers, and visitors like us, from far and wide to this fascinating time capsule.
The Native American People legacy carries muffled mystery buried in its background of protohistory, a period that spans prehistory and history, when a culture or civilization had no developed writing but when other cultures notated its existence.
Excavating the earthen mound built of clay – one mound built atop former mounds – has been a focus of archaeological research under one director for more than half a century, an unusual phenomenon in the history of North American archaeology.
People lived here for 12,000 years, but why particularly here? The Town Creek site manager Rich Thompson shared with Joe and me how major rains will turn the ceremonial center into an island surrounded by floodwater then as well as recently, flooding from the parking lot halfway up to the front door of the Visitor Center.
Why the name Indian: fueled by bravery and ignorance financed by greed and arrogance, Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, heading "to India" but reaching the New World, and the Town Creek people vanished with no clue; we have no written record of explanation. Today we see these lovingly-reconstructed structures and can look and learn in amazement and wonder. So we invite you to view the best of our photos we set into 6 mini-themed albums:
• Mount Gilead, NC – 2019NOV10 – The Town Creek Site:
◦ Town Creek Site – 2019NOV10 – Stockade & North Entrance
◦ Town Creek Site – 2019NOV10 – Family Hut on its Burial Site
◦ Town Creek Site – 2019NOV10 – Mound & its Major Hut
◦ Town Creek Site – 2019NOV10 – Minor Ceremonial Hut
◦ Town Creek Site – 2019NOV10 – Ceremonial Center Plaza
◦ Town Creek Site – 2019NOV10 – Little River Bluff Overlook
Hope you also enjoy the 17% of 394 photos we took this day!
Day 2 at Brands Hatch for the British Truck Racing Championship Season of 2021 and after Some Very Intense Battles and Superb Victories from Each of the Drivers on Saturday it was time Once again for Each Driver to Strap in and Get the Hammer Down.
The Weather Unlike Saturday was Beautiful with a bright Blue Sky during the Morning which no Doubt Lifted a lot of the Drivers Moods after Saturday had seen Very Grey and Overcast Conditions.
With Four British Truck Races Making Up the Largest Portion of the Days Events it will be interesting to see what Each Driver can do and How they Will Have to Preserve their Machinery to make it through Each Race.
With All Drivers Ready Having gotten up Early to do Final Checks and Adjustments to their Respective Cars it was Time to Get to Work and Take to the Race Track for Another Day of High Sped High Adrenaline Fuelled Action around the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit.
Carbon8 Hyundai Coupe Cup (Qualifying)
Starting the Day off was the Hyundai Coupe Cup A Racing Series Dedicated to the 2.0 Engine Hyundai Cars and a Large Grid of 22 Cars was Present as Qualifying Began.
Lets Take a Look and Find out who Made it to Pole and Took the Fastest Lap.
In First Place Taking Pole Position and the Fastest Lap was (Alistair Dendy) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 58.735 and a Top Speed of 74.03mph. Brilliant Work from Alistair Really Pushing Hard and Keeping his Car Under Control The Entire Time.
In Second Place was (Wayne Rockett) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 59.123 and a Top Speed of 73.55mph. Amazing Job there Wayne Really Going for it and Pushing Hard.
In Third Place was (Alex Cursley) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 59.148 and a Top Speed of 73.52mph. Great Work there Alex Fantastic Driving to take P3 on the Grid for Race 1.
A Superb Flying Start to the Days Action with the Top Three Drivers in Alistair Wayne and Alex All Sitting Quite Close Together in Qualifying and no Doubt Other Drivers will also Be Looking to Fight their way Through the Field in order to try and take that Glory away from them.
With Qualifying Over Lets Turn Our Attention to the Racing and See out of Alistair Wayne or Alex who Had managed to hold their Composure and take that All Important First Victory.
Carbon8 Hyundai Coupe Cup (Race 1 Results)
In First Place Taking the Victory was (Alistair Dendy) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 59.151 and an Average Speed of 55.27mph. Congratulations Alistair a Brilliant Lights to Flag Victory and The Drive and Bravery of a True Champion Well Done.
In Second Place was (Alex Cursley) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Bets Lap Time of 59.022 and an Average Speed of 55.21mph. Brilliant Driving from Alex and Some Amazing Close Racing at Times with Alistair at The Front of the Grid. A Well Deserved Second Place Finnish.
In Third Place was (Wayne Rockett) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 59.085 and an Average Speed of 55.16mph. Nice Work Wayne Fighting Hard and Taking the Final Step on the Podium with a Fantastic Drive and Defence of P3.
What a Brilliant First Race to Kick Start the Day Off with Alistair Dendy in First Place Alex Cursley in Second Place and Wayne Rockett in Third Place. Fantastic Driving from All of you as Well as All the other Drivers in the Race who Were Battling their way Through the Field.
Lets See what Race 2 and the Final Race Brings for the Top Three Drivers and Can Any of them Improve or will Someone Sneak in at the Last Minute to Grab P1 P2 and P3 away from them.
Carbon8 Hyundai Coupe Cup (Race 2 Results)
In First Place Taking the Final Race Victory of the Day for the Hyundai Coupe Championship was (Alistair Dendy) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 58.800 and an Average Speed of 71.74mph. Another Heroic Drive from Alistair Sees Him Take Both Race Wins for The Weekend and No Doubt in my Mind his Family Friends and Team Will be more than Happy for Him. A Truly Deserving Driver of P1.
In Second Place was (Alex Cursley) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 58.795 and an Average Speed of 71.70mph. Another Incredible Drive from Alex Has seen him Take P2 Once Again Brilliant Work to Him and the Team who no Doubt Will be Celebrating this One for a Long Time Coming.
In Third Place was (Johnny Rockett) in his Hyundai Coupe 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 59.372 and an Average Speed of 71.28mph. Amazing Drive there from Johnny Holding off the Charging Wayne Rockett to take P3 and a Proud Moment for The Entire Rocket Family.
Fantastic Racing Today from the Hyundai Coupe 2000 Championship with Some Fierce Competition from The Likes of Wayne Johnny Alex and Alistair Along with The Rest of the Other Drivers as they Fought Hard to Push their Points Tally Even Higher in the Championship. Congratulations Everybody and Good Luck for the Rest of the Season.
CTCRC All-Comers - Racing for Marshals (Race 2 Results)
CTRC was Up Next and After a Great Race Yesterday All of the Drivers were Ready to Strap in and Get to Work.
After a Hectic Day of Qualifying for The CRTC Yesterday it was Samuel Wilson who Grabbed The Pole with Gary Prebble in Second and Mike Saunders in Third Place with the Top Three Separated by Less than A Second Between Them.
Lets Find Out who Has Won in this Last Race of the Weekend for the CTRC Racing For Marshalls Race.
In First Place taking the Victory and The Fastest Lap was (Colin Claxton) in his Ford Escort MK1 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 55.365 and an Average Speed of 76.44mph. Brilliant Driving from Colin Working that Steering Wheel Hard and Putting in some Incredible Flying Laps to Maintain the Gap and Take a Deserving Victory.
In Second Place was (Samuel Wilson) in his Aston Martin V8 Vantage with a Best Lap Time of 51.471 and an Average Speed of 82.44mph. Really Great Drive from Samuel Pushing His Aston Martin as Hard as Possible to try and Catch the Speedy Colin Claxton.
In Third Place was (Malcom Harding) in his Ford Escort MK2 Zakspeed with a Best Lap Time of 51.682 and an Average Speed of 82.38mph. Really Amazing Work there from Malcom A Beautiful Looking Car Paired with a Confident and Determined Driver. A Well Deserved P3.
Amazing Racing from the CTRC as Always at Brands Hatch with the Likes of Colin Samuel and Malcom all taking Superb Victories and Cementing their Names into the Books of History at the Circuit. Fantastic Work to all the other Drivers and Teams out there too Keep Trying and Never Give Up.
Junior Saloon Car Championship (Race 2 Results)
A Fan Favourite Up Next with the Junior Saloon Car Championship and After Some of the Most Incredible Racing Witnessed Yesterday During Race 1 Between the likes of Jamie and Ruben who Went Side by Side for Nearly Four Whole Laps Continuously This Next Race was for Sure Going to be a Head Turner.
Lets Take a Look at the Results and Find Out if Charlie Hand has managed to Come Back Stronger Than Yesterday.
In First Place Taking the Victory and The Fastest Lap was (Charlie Hand) in his Citron Saxo VTR 1600 with a Best Lap Time of 58.614 and an Average Speed of 61.94mph. Congratulations Charlie Another Brilliant Drive for the Final Race Win of the Weekend in Junior Saloon Cars and a Well Deserved Comeback Drive After Yesterdays Race.
In Second Place was (Harvey Caton) in his Citron Saxo VTR 1600 with a Best Lap Time of 58.573 and an Average Speed of 61.89mph. Brilliant Driving there Harvey Pushing the Car Hard through Paddock Hill Bend and Hanging onto that P2 Spot. Amazing Job.
In Third Place was (Will Redford) in his Citron Saxo 1600 with a Best Lap Time of 58.830 and an Average Speed of 61.85mph. Well Done Will A Great Drive to Finnish The Weekend off and No Doubt his Family and Team Will be Celebrating All Thought the Night for that Performance.
Another Brilliant Final Day of Action from the Junior Saloon Car Championship, A Huge Congratulations to the Likes of Charlie Harvey and Will for their Performances and to All of their Fellow Drivers who are also Chasing their Dreams. Keep Working Hard and Improving as much as you can.
Pickup Truck Racing Championship (Race 2 Results)
Now it was the Turn of the Pickup Trucks Championship and with a Large Grid of 20 Light Weight Space Frame Pickup Trucks the Action from Yesterdays Qualifying Proved that This Race for going to be a Very Fast and Hectic One.
During Qualifying Second Fastest Yesterday it was Mark Wilson who Took Pole with Matt Simpson and Tom Jenkins Close Behind him in Second and Third Place. But out of All Three of thease Drivers who will be Brave Enough to Put their Foot Down and Go for it During the Race to take Victory?
In First Place Taking the Race Win and The Fastest Lap was (David O' Regan) in his Pickup Truck 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 52.463 and an Average Speed of 65.64mph. Amazing Driving there from David Especially through Paddock Hill Bend as the Trucks tend to Slide a lot through there but He was Keeping His Pickup Truck on Corse for a Very Well Deserved P1 Finish for the Weekend.
In Second Place was (George Turiccki) in his Pickup Truck 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 52.425 and an Average Speed of 65.61mph. Great Drive there by George Defending His Position Thought the Race and Hanging onto take an Impressive P2 Finish.
In Third Place was (Allen Cooper) in his Pickup Truck 2000 with a Best Lap Time of 52.265 and an Average Speed of 65.52mph. Really Well Driven from Allen to Take that Final P3 Spot on the Podium and to End what Has Been a Fantastic Weekend for the Pickup Trucks Racing Championship.
Brilliant Racing from the Pickup Truck Championship and some Fantastic Winners Across the Weekend with the likes of David George and Allen all Takin Victories. A Huge Well Done to All of the other Drivers who Also were pushing Hard for Victory Don't Give Up and Keep Fighting and Making Improvements to the Pickup Truck.
Legends Cars National Championship with MRF Tyres (Race 4 Results)
Next Up The Legends Cars Championship and During Qualifying Yesterday each Driver was Working Hard out on Track using the Slip Stream Technique in order to Give Themselves a Boost down the Main Straight in order to take Pole Position.
After Qualifying it was The Legends Car of Chris Needham who took that All Important Pole Position with Will Gibson and John Mickel Following Closely Behind in Second and Third Place Respectively.
With Three Races Ahead who would come out on Top in Race 4 and Take Victory.
In First Place Setting the Fastest Lap and Taking the Victory was (Miles Rudmann) in his Legend 34 Ford Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 56.042 and an Average Speed of 76.13mph. Fantastic Driving from Miles who was Really Pushing Hard at the Front of the Grid and Making sure he was Keeping as Many other Drivers Behind him as Possible. Great Drive.
In Second Place was (Will Gibson) in his Legends 34 Ford Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 56.127 and an Average Speed of 76.12mph. Great Driving from Will Who Always knows a Thing or to About How to Control a Legends Car around the Circuit.
In Third Place was (Jack Parker) in his Legends 34 Ford Coupe with a Best Lap Time of 56.085 and an Average Speed of 76.12mph. Fantastic Driving from Jack to Keep Himself in that P3 Position and take a Well Deserved Victory. Great Work there Jack.
An Exciting First Race from the Legends Championship which Currently sees the likes of Miles Will and Jack all Taking Superb Victories During the Corse of Race 4 But With Race 5 About to Start Will Anyone Else Surprise them by Taking Those Positions Away.
Legends Cars National Championship with MRF Tyres (Race 5 Results)
In First Place taking the Victory and Fastest Lap was (Daniel Clark) in his Legends Chevy Sedan 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 55.775 and an Average Speed of 76.90mph. Congratulations Daniel a Fantastic Drive for Victory and A Turley Deserving Victory too after a Storming Drive through the Field.
In Second Place was (Miles Rudman) in his Legends 34 Ford Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 55.524 and an Average Speed of 76.88mph. Another Superb Drive from Miles to take Second Place Showing his Incredible Speed and Commitment to Remain as Close as he Can to Race Winner Daniel.
In Third Place was (Andy Bird) in his Legends Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 55.847 and an Average Speed of 76.85mph. Brilliant Driving there from Andy and Pushing Hard thought the Race to Defend his P3 Position.
What a Race from The Legends Cars with Two New Winners in Daniel Clark and Any Brid both Taking Victories on the Podium during the Race. With One Last Race to go for The Legends Championship can Miles Rudman Redeem Himself and take that Last Race Victory for the Weekend?
Legends Cars National Championship with MRF Tyres (Race 6 Results)
In First Place Taking the Final Race Victory of the Days for The Legends Cras was (John Mickel) in his Legends Ford 34 Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 56.068 and an Average Speed of 66.12mph. Congratulations John a Really Brilliant Final Drive to take the Victory in the Last Race of the Day for Legends His Family no Doubt will be Very Proud of What He has Achieved.
In Second Place was (Will Gibson) in his Legends 34 Ford Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 55.700 and an Average Speed of 66.11mph. Great Driving there from Will Who Has Really Shown All Weekend Why he is More than Deserving to be sitting in that Legends Seat and Racing it. Fantastic P2 Finnish.
In Third Place was (Sean Smith) in his Legends 34 Ford Coupe 1250 with a Best Lap Time of 55.839 and an Average Speed of 66.08mph. Congratulations Sean a Really Fantastic Way to Round of the Weekend for You with the Final Spot on the Podium.
What an Incredible Weekend it has been for the Legends Cars national Championship with so Many Different Race Winners in Sean Will Miles Daniel Jack and Andy All Fighting Hard and Taking Home Some Memorable Trophies and Cementing their Statuses in the History Books for Future Generations to See and Become Inspired by. Congratulations to All of the other Drivers who were out there Racing too Keep Working Hard and I Know that you will Achieve your Own Goals with Enough Determination.
British Truck Racing Championship (Race 2 Results)
Finally it was The Time for the Heavy Weights of Motorsport to Make their way out onto the Circuit for the Last Time this Weekend in the British Truck Racing Championship.
After Qualifying Yesterday Which saw Ryan Smith Dominate The Times with Stuart Oliver in Second and David Jenkins in Third Place All Three Drivers were Once Again Ready to Battle it out for The Last Time this Season to Determined who The Champion of 2021 Will Be.
Lets Dive Straight into Race 2 and See who is going to Strike First and Make their Mark on the Race Track.
In First Place Taking the Fastest Lap and The Race Victory was (Ryan Smith) in his Mercedes Actros 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.232 and an Average Speed of 72.19mph. Congratulations Ryan Really Incredible Drive and in Dominant Fashion to take The Win in Race 1 Superb Job.
In Second Place was (Stuart Oliver) in his Volvo VNL 13000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.949 and an Average Speed of 71.34mph. Fantastic Drive there Stuart Fighting Hard and More Determined than Ever Judging by the Way he Threw that Truck Round Paddock Hill Bend Really going for it.
In Third Place was (David Jenkins) in his Man TGX 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:01.146 and an Average Speed of 71.11mph. Fantastic Work there David P3 and a Superb Effort to try and Take Third Place from Stuart Oliver.
What an Incredible First Race with the Top Three in Ryan Stuart and David All Really Pushing Hard and Making their Mark on the Race Track. With Race 3 Coming Up Next who Will be able to try and Overtake Ryan Smith and Stop his Incredible Domination?
British Truck Racing Championship (Race 3 Results)
In First Place Taking the Victory and the Fastest Lap was (Ryan Smith) in his Mercedes Actros 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 58.984 and an Average Speed of 71.78mph. Congratulations Ryan Another Incredible Drive an a Real Determined Charge to Keep that Truck as Far Ahead of All the other Competitors as Possible. Extraordinary Performance.
In Second Place was (Mark Taylor) in his Man TGA 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.395 and an Average Speed of 71.15mph. Great Driving there from Mark who was Pushing Hard and Keeping the Gap to Ensure He got that All Important P2. Fantastic Drive.
In Third Place was (Steven Thomas) in his Man TGA 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.021 and an Average Speed of 71.05mph. Well Done Steven Driving Really Well and Making Sure to Defend from Fourth Place John Newell to Hold onto that P3 Finish.
Another Daring and Exciting Race in which Ryan Smith Once Again Dominates at The Top of the Standings by being an Insane 2 Seconds Faster a Lap Compared to Mark Taylor. A Big Congratulations to Both Mark and Steven for their Respective Finishes too.
Race 4 is up next and This Could be The Race Which Decides the Championship. Will Ryan Smith be able to Hold on or Will David Jenkins in Second Place in the Standings Have other Ideas.
British Truck Racing Championship (Race 4 Results)
In First Place taking the Victory and the Fastest Lap was (David Jenkins) in his Man TGX 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 59.282 and an Average Speed of 71.68mph. Congratulations David a Superb Victory and that Puts Him a Step Closer to Winning the Championship Over Rival Ryan Smith.
In Second Place was (Tom O' Rourke) in his Man TGX 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.985 and an Average Speed of 70.66mph. Congratulations To A Fantastic Drive and so Great to See a New Face in P2 on the Podium Phenomenal Job.
In Third Place was (Martin Gibson) in his Man TGX 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.985 and an Average Speed of 70.59mph. Fantastic Job there Martin Super Driving and Defending Well for that P3 Finish.
With David Jenkins Having Just Won that Last Race it Looks like Race 5 and The Final Race of the Weekend is going to Determine who The Champion for 2021 is in British Truck Racing. Will it be David Jenkins or Will it be Ryan Smith?
British Truck Racing Championship (Race 5 Results)
In First Place Taking The Championship and The Final Race Win of the Weekend is (Ryan Smith) in his Mercedes Actros 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 58.711 and an Average Speed of 72.07mph. Congratulations Ryan you are the 2021 British Truck Racing Champion a Phenomenal Drive All Weekend and through the Season.
In Second Place was (John Newell) in his Man TGS 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.047 and an Average Speed of 70.85mph. Fantastic Race there John Finishing in P2 to Round off the Weekends Racing no Doubt Many Celebrations will be Happening down in the Paddock.
In Third Place was (Shane Brereton) in his Man TGX 12000 with a Best Lap Time of 1:00.072 and an Average Speed of 70.82mph. Great Work there Shane Taking a Well Deserved P3 spot on the Podium and Racing with Such Accuracy and Craft thought.
What An Incredible Weekend it has Been for Ryan Smith who is Your British Truck Racing Champion of 2021 on 390 Points. Congratulations Ryan Go out and Celebrate This Moment In Style.
In Second Place in the Standings is David Jenkins on 380 Points who put up one Hell of a Good Fight All Thought the Season with Ryan Smith Non the Less a Well Deserving Second Place in the Championship from Such a Committed Driver.
And Finally In Third Place in the Standings was Martin Gibson on 350 Points who Also Put up an Incredible Fight All Season Having Been Fighting his way Through the Field on More than One Occasion.
A Fantastic End to a Weekend of Incredible Racing and as The Truck Parade and Fireworks Went off I can Imagine that Each Driver Reflected on what they Have Achieved this Year and the Countless People they May have Inspired to go out and Challenge their Dreams of Becoming a Racing Driver.
Until The Next One Keep Racing !
The Memorial Hall is dedicated to the following who
lost their lives during the 1st World War.
C Bond
H Sharp
C V Spiller
E Bond
E R Syrett
A J Williams
F Lesley
S G Rance
H Bronsdon
H Sudbury
C Harper
A Rance
C Taylor
E Hine
E D Hull
A G Tillard
C Evans
T Jones
J Hull
G S Wareham
W Delderfield
L J Sirett
A Barrett
J K Smith
C J Hand
J Barrett
A Payne
At Penrose Park in the Southern Highlands of NSW, there is a shrine dedicated to our Lady of Mercy, represented by a replica of the Icon of Our Lady of Jasna Góra, known as the Black Madonna. The Shrine is run by the Order of St. Paul the First Hermit known as the Pauline Fathers. The Pauline Fathers have been custodians of the original Icon of the Black Madonna since 1382.
The film opens in Gethsemane at night as Jesus Christ (Caviezel), at the height of his cause, prays while his disciples Peter, James, and John (James's brother) sleep. After he wakes them and tells them to pray, Jesus walks to a secluded portion of the forest wherein during his prayer, Satan appears in a hooded ghost-like androgynous, albino form, and tempts him with reasonable doubt, stating - "it is not right for one man to die for their (humanity's) sins." Ignoring it and praying on, Jesus' sweat turns into blood and drips to the ground while a snake emerges from Satan's guise. Jesus hears his disciples call out for him, and he rebukes Satan by crushing the snake's head with a footstomp, and Satan vanishes.
After receiving a bribe of thirty pieces of silver, Judas Iscariot, another of Jesus' disciples, approaches with a group of temple guards and betrays Jesus (by confirmation of his identity) with a simple kiss on the cheek. As the armed guards move in to arrest Jesus, Peter draws his dagger and slashes off the ear of Malchus, one of the guards and a servant of the high priest Caiaphas. Jesus, in turn, heals the ear as he reprimands Peter for his actions. As the disciples flee, the guards secure Jesus, and beat him during the journey to the Sanhedrin.
John informs Mary (mother of Jesus) and Mary Magdalene of the arrest, while Peter follows Jesus and his captors at a distance. Caiaphas holds trial over the objection of some of the other priests, who are expelled from the court. When questioned by Caiaphas if he is the Son of God, Jesus replies, "I am." Caiaphas is horrified, tears his robes in outrage, and Jesus is condemned to death for blasphemy. Peter, secretly watching, is confronted by the surrounding mob for being a follower of Jesus, and he angrily denies this three times. But after cursing at the mob during the third denial, a sobbing Peter flees after remembering that Jesus had foretold this coping of a defense. Meanwhile, a guilt-ridden Judas attempts to return the money he was paid to have Jesus freed, but is refused by the priests. Tormented by demons, he flees the city, finds solitude, and hangs himself from a tree with a rope he finds on a dead donkey at dawn.
Caiaphas brings Jesus before Pontius Pilate to be condemned to death, but after questioning Jesus and finding no fault, a sympathetic Pilate instead relays him to the court of Herod Antipas, as Jesus is from Antipas' ruling town of Nazareth, Galilee. After Jesus is again found not guilty and returned, Pilate offers the crowd options for either him to chastise Jesus, or release him. He then attempts to have Jesus freed by the peoples' choice, between Jesus and a violent criminal Barabbas. To his dismay, the crowd demands to have Barabbas freed and Jesus killed. In an attempt to appease the moment, Pilate orders that he simply be punished. Jesus is brutally scourged, abused, and mocked by the Roman guards as "king of the Jews" with a crown of thorns. However, Caiaphas, with the crowds' verbal backing, continues to demand that Jesus be crucified as a heretic and Barabbas released. Admonished, Pilate washes his hands, takes no responsibility of the incident, and reluctantly orders Jesus' crucifixion. During the course of events, Satan watches Jesus' bloody sufferings with great interest. A dismayed Pilate watches the march, while his wife Claudia, who knows of Jesus' status as a holy man, comforts him. As Jesus labors to carry a heavy wooden cross along the Via Dolorosa to Calvary, a woman avoids the escort of soldiers, and wipes Jesus' face with her veil. Jesus is beaten and pressed by the guards until the unwilling Simon of Cyrene is forced into carrying the cross with him. At the end of their travel, with his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and others witnessing, Jesus is crucified. The very act seems to affect the weathering condition of the earth itself.
As he hangs from the cross, Jesus prays to God asking forgiveness for the people who did this to him, and redeems a criminal as a saint who is crucified beside him. Succumbing to impending death, Jesus gives up his spirit and dies. A single droplet of rain falls from the sky to the ground, triggering a sudden earthquake which destroys the Holy temple and rips the cloth covering the Holy of Holies in two, to the horror of Caiaphas and the other priests. Satan is shown screaming in agonizing defeat. Jesus' lifeless body is taken down from the cross, and entombed. In the end, the healed body of Jesus rises from the dead, and exits the tomb resurrected.
Giovanni Portelli Photography
dedicated to Frederik
Two days after creating "The Prophet and his audience", I returned to that wonderful place in the Emme's river bed (In order to collect pebbles for another project), and was joyfully surprised to find the figures still intact.
While I slowly circled the scenery, a song arose out of my heart, and I felt the drive to add another figure, and to dedicate it to my brother Frederik who died in 1982 at the age of 19; this was one of his favorite songs, and I imagined him to be "somwhere out there", singing that song for me while I was creating a cathedral for him...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey you out there in the cold
Getting lonely getting old
Can you feel me?
Hey you standing in the aisles
With itchy feet and fading smiles
Can you feel me?
Hey you don't help them to bury the light
Don't give in without a fight.
Hey you out there on your own
Sitting naked by the phone
Would you touch me?
Hey you with you ear against the wall
Waiting for someone to call out
Would you touch me?
Hey you, would you help me to carry the stone?
Open your heart, I'm coming home.
But it was only fantasy.
The wall was too high,
As you can see.
No matter how he tried,
He could not break free.
And the worms ate into his brain.
Hey you, out there on the road
Always doing what you're told,
Can you help me?
Hey you, out there beyond the wall,
Breaking bottles in the hall,
Can you help me?
Hey you, don't tell me there's no hope at all
Together we stand, divided we fall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The link leads to the song's official music video which is quite tough and in crass contrast to the peaceful atmosphere at the river (and in my heart), but it reveals the violent world we lived in back then in 1982. Frederik was killed in an accident, but I was (and I am) sure that he left this world by his own choice, and I was for a long time furious with him since he had managed to break free while I had to stay back and to fight for my life.
Meanwhile, I'm in peace with him and his early departure, and I like to imagine that he is "somewhere out there", watching over me and going along with my efforts to break free into my life...
Dedicated to the public in 1968, the Walter. H. Horning Tree Seed Orchard outside Portland, Oregon, has supported healthy trees for nearly 50 years. Thanks to the work completed at this preserve, the BLM and its partners have planted seeds to reforest areas with Douglas-fir, western white pine, sugar pine, western hemlock, western redcedar, and noble fir that will provide shade, recreation, and timber for many future generations to come.
(Photo: Matt Christenson/BLM/2017)
Dedicated to Cédric (the half-brother I will never know) who just passed away... Mon coeur est lourd de chagrin...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY .... FELIZ ANIVERSARIO....
Mom and I thank you for coming into our lives.....
Best wishes for a great day and again, thank you for sharing this wonderful years with us.....
We love you, but I'll tell you a thousand times over the phone....
Sua mae e Eu agradecemos aa voce for ter "vindo" repartir sua vida conosco.
Desejamos a voce um dia lindo, e mais uma vez agradecemos a voce por repartir esses lindos anos conosco.
Prefiriremos falar o quanto te amamos por telefone....
Beijos
The ancient Hindu temple of Changu Narayan is located on a high hilltop that is also known as Changu or Dolagiri. The temple was surrounded by forest with champak tree and a small village, known as Changu Village. The temple is located in Changunarayan VDC of Bhaktapur District, Nepal. This hill is about 8 miles east of Kathmandu and a few miles north of Bhaktapur. The Manahara River flows beside the hill. This shrine is dedicated to Lord Visnu and held in especial reverence by the Hindu people. This temple is considered as the oldest temple in Nepal.
HISTORY OF CHANGU NARAYAN TEMPLE
The pagoda style temple has several masterpieces of 5th and 12th century Nepalese art. According to legends Changu Narayan temple existed as early as 325 A.D. in the time of King Licchavi King Hari Datta Verma and it is one of Nepal's richest structures historically as well as artistically. In the grounds there is a stone pillar inscription of great importance recording the military exploits of King Man Deva who reigned from 496 A.D. to 524 A.D. The first epigraphic evidence of Nepalese history found in the temple premises during the reign of the Licchavi King Mandeva dating back to 464 A.D. shows that Changu had already been established as a sacred site in the 3rd century A.D. It is the earliest inscription known in Nepal. The temple was restored during the lifetime of Ganga Rani, consort of Siva Simha Malla who reigned from 1585 to 1614. There are records of the temple burning in the year of 822 Nepal Samvat (1702 A.D.), after which reconstruction was carried out. More inscriptions in gilt-copper plates were added by Bhaskara Malla in 1708 A.D.
LEGEND ABOUT CHANGU NARAYAN
In ancient time a Gwala, a cow herder, had brought a cow from a Brahman named Sudarshan. The cow was known for producing large quantity of milk. The Gwala used to take the cow to Changu for grazing. At that time Changu was a forest of Champak tree. While grazing the cow it always went to the shade of a particular tree. In the evening when the Gwala took the cow home and started milking the cow he got only very few amount of milk. This continued several days. He became very sad so he called the Brahmin and told him that the cow is not giving enough milk. Brahmin after observing the fact from his own eyes then planned with the Gwala to inspect the activities of cow during the day while she was grazing in the forest. Both Brahmin and Gwala hide themselves behind the trees and spectate the activities of the cow. The cow went into the shade of a particular champak tree. To their surprise a small black boy came out from the tree and started drinking the cow milk. Both became very furious and they thought that the boy must be the devil and tree must be its home. So Brahmin cut down the champak tree. When the Brahmin was cutting down the tree a fresh human blood came out from the tree. Both Brahmin and Gwala became worried and they thought that they have committed the great crime and they started crying.From the tree lord Vishnu emerged out and he told the Brahmin that it was not their fault. Lord Vishnu told them the story that he had committed a heinous crime by killing Sudarshan’s father unknowingly while hunting in the forest. After that he was cursed for the crime. He then wandered on earth on his mouth, the ‘Garuda’ eventually descending on the hill at Changu. There he lived in anonymity, surviving on milk stolen from a cow. When Brahmin cut down the tree, lord Vishnu was beheaded which freed Lord Vishnu from his sins. After hearing these words from Vishnu, Brahmin and Gwala started worshipping the place and they established a small temple in the name of Lord Vishnu. Ever since that day, the site has been held sacred. . Even today we can find the descendant of Sudarshan Brahmin as priest of the temple and the descendents of Gwala as ghutiyars (conservators).
PHYSICAL ASPECTS
Changu Narayan Temple is situated at the top of the hill surrounded by forest of Champ tree. On the main way to temple courtyard, we can find human settlement. People from Newar community live in and around Changu Narayan area. With the development in tourism in this place, we can find many medium and small sized hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. An ancient stone tap is located on the way to Changunaran which is believed to have existed since the time of Lichhavi.
THE TEMPLE ART AND ARCHITECTURE
Changu Narayan is considered to be the oldest temple of Nepal. It remains a milestone in Nepali temple architecture with rich embossed works. The two-storey roofed temple stands on a high plinth of stone. According to Professor Madhan Rimal, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tribhuwan University, the temple is neither in Shikhara Style nor the Pagoda style. It has an architectural style which he would like to describe as a traditional Nepali temple. Many similar features are found at Gokarna Mahadev. The temple is surrounded by sculptures and arts related to Lord Vishnu. Also we can find the temples of lord Shiva, Ashta Matrika, Chhinnamasta, Kileshwor and Krishna inside the courtyard of main temple. There are four entrances to the temple and these gates are guarded by life size pairs of animals such as lions, sarabhas, graffins and elephants on each side of the entrances. The ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu and the other idols are carved in the struts, which support the roof. The entrance door is gilded with carvings of Nagas (snakes). On the main entrance gate (i.e. western entrance gate), we can find the Chakra, Sankha, Kamal and Khadga all at the top of a stone pillar. These stone pillars has inscription in Sanskrit. This inscription is considered to be the oldest inscription of Nepal and the stone inscription pillar was erected by Lichhavi King Manadeva in 464 AD. The following monument are located while visiting the temple from the right side after entering from the main entrance (Eastern gate) to courtyard.
Historical pillar erected by Mandeva in 464 AD
Garuda:- flying vehicle of Lord Vishnu which has got a human face and is a devotee of Vishnu.
Statue of Bhupalendra Malla, King of Kantipur and his queen BhuwanLakshmi.
Chanda Narayan (Garuda Narayan):- 7th century stone sculpture of Vishnu riding on Garuda. This sculpture has been depicted in the 10 rupee paper note issued by Nepal Rastra Bank
Sridhar Vishnu:- 9th century stone sculpture of Vishnu, Laxmi and Garuda which stands on the pedestals of various motifs.
Vaikuntha Vishnu :- 16th century sculpture of Vishnu seated on the lalitason position on the six armed Garuda and Laxmi seated on the lap of Vishnu
Chhinnamasta:- Temple dedicated to Chhinnamasta devi, who beheaded herself, offered her own blood to feed the hungry Dakini and Varnini.
Vishworup:- 7th century stone sculpture- beautifully carved that depicts the scene from the Bhagwat Gita, in which Lord Krishna manifests his universal form to his devotee Arjun.
Vishnu Vikrant :- 7th century sculpture of Trivikram Vishnu that depicts the scene of popular Hindu myth of Lord Vishnu and his beloved Bali Raja.
Narasimha :- 7th century sculpture of Narasimha , an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, killing the demon King Hiranyakasyapa to save his beloved devotee Prahalad.
Kileshwor:- small two storied temples of Lord Shiva, who is believed to have appeared in this place for the protection of the hill.
INFORMATION CENTRE
There is a information centre at the entrance to Changu Village. They issue tickets to tourist. The information center has a public toilet for tourist. Also drinking water facilities is available for tourist. But the drink water facilities have not been managed properly. Only direct tap water is available there. According to Binaya Raj Shrestha, owner of Chagu Museum and the member of temple management committee, on an average 150 foreigners visit Changu.
CHANGU MUSEUM
A private museum is also located on in the Changu Narayan on the way to temple. According to Binaya Raj Shrestha, the owner of the museum, it is the first private museum of Nepal and it has the collection of ancient coins, tools, arts and architectures. There is an excellent collection of ancient, historical, artistic, religious, archaeological, cultural and other rare objects. The museum has a good collection of ancient tools used by Newar family during the medieval period. It was established on the occasion of millennium year 2000 AD with the permission of Changu Narayan VDC. The entrance fee for Nepalese is NRs. 50 and NRs. 300 is charged for foreigner. On an average 35 visitors visit this museum in a day. Mostly foreigners and Nepali students visit this museum.
ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM
There is an ethnographic museum inside the building of the temple which incorporates both objects and photographs collected by Judith Davis. Entrance is INR. 250 for foreigners. There is also a small bookshop.
FESTIVALS AND FAIRS
Since the ancient period, many festivals and fairs have been organized on various occasions. One of the main festivals of Changu is called Changu Narayan Jatra. The festival ‘Mahashanan’ held here as an important festival. On the day of ‘Jugadi Nawami’ and ‘Haribodhini Ekadashi’ special puja is conducted in Changu. Daily puja and aarati is not conducted in temple and on the occasion of family rituals, such as birthday, marriage, etc local conduct not special puja in the temple.
MANAGEMENT APPROACHES
Changu Narayan Temple is on the list of world heritage sites. The valuable stone sculpture and ancient inscriptions have archeological, historical and cultural significance. Changu Narayan VDC is formed a committee called Changu Narayan Temple management Committee which is the responsible body to work for protection, preservation and management. Likewise the Department of Archeology and Palace Management Office, Bhaktapur has also provided assistance on the conservation and preservation of the temple. Many local youth clubs are involved in managing festivals, organizing awareness programs in and around temple area.
THREATS/CHALLENGES
The Manohara stream has long seen rampant mining of sand and stones. Local administration have failed to control the mining activities. Because of the mining activities, the temple area has become prone to landslides. Due to overgrazing in the nearby forest, the chances of soil erosion and landslide are very high.
There is a challenge regarding the security of the unique sculptures. Also the temple is getting older so renovation is necessary. The tourist information center has not been managed properly and they have not maintained good records of tourists. The museum is not issuing ticket bills after payments are made by Nepali visitors. Although Changu is only 8 miles east of Kathmandu, bus service is still lacking which means a newly constructed road to Changu has failed to bring in a significant number of tourists.
WIKIPEDIA
Mingle Media TV and our Red Carpet Report team with reporter Virsil Mitchell were on hand for the 45th Anniversary of LA PRIDE, first LGBT Pride Parade, Music and Arts Festival in West Hollywood.
The three day festival started with a free event on Friday, with performances by Dina Nina Martinez, Ivy Levin, and Angel Haze. Saturday festival goers got to see performances by Wilson Phillips, Tinashe, Kesha, and Wrabel with a Family Skate Appearance by The Fosters' Hayden Byerly & Gavin MacIntosh. The Thunder Ground VIPs were Frankie Grande, Lily Collins, and Aubrey O’Day. Sunday, the final day had the first parade with Grand Marshal: CSW Founding Father, Reverend Troy Perry & Zoey, Community Grand Marshals were the Amazon “Transparent" Cast & Crew including Bradley Whitford, Melora Hardin, Ian Harvie, Alexandra Billings, Jill Soloway, Amy Landecker, ABC Family’s "The Fosters” with Gavin MacIntosh & Tom Phelan, Chasing Life’s Haley Ramm and Special Guest Parade Judge, Roseanne Barr. Festival performances were put on by Becky G, Ty Herndon, Who is Fancy, Eden xo, and Fifth Harmony. Additional special appearances by The Fosters Cast & Peter Paige, Lisa Vanderpump, Pauley Perrette, Frankie Grande, Leslie Jordan & Sally Struthers, Lily Collins, Leslie Jordan & Sally Struthers, and Shaun Ross.
Get the Story from the Red Carpet Report Team, follow us on Twitter and Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/RedCarpetReportTV
www.youtube.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
About LA PRIDE Festival 2015
LA PRIDE's signature, and award-winning annual Los Angeles Transgender, Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Pride Celebration in West Hollywood, a Music & Arts & Festival and Parade return to West Hollywood Friday, June 12th - Sunday June 14th, 2015. Kicking off the 45th Anniversary of LA PRIDE, the first permitted LGBT Pride Parade in the world, is the Free Friday night celebration featuring Lavender Menace, a celebration of women and the return of Trans Party, celebrating the Trans* community. Continuing through the weekend is the Music & Arts Festival featuring killer performances by some of the hottest artists of yesterday and today, along with arts & culture, erotic city, country pavilion, FOX Pride Latino Carnivale and a dedicated youth space full of games. The festival will also see the return of the VIP experience including Thunder Ground, LA's only outdoor roller disco rink. See more at lapride.org.
For more of Mingle Media TV’s Red Carpet Report coverage, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook here:
www.facebook.com/minglemediatvnetwork
www.flickr.com/MingleMediaTVNetwork
Follow our host, Virsil aka Cocoa Buttah on Twitter twitter.com/Cocoa_Buttah
Dedicated to Silver Granny (www.flickr.com/photos/52687822@N05/) for her success in quiz solving!
- L'environnement gris-bleu
The Cathedral of La Plata, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, is the largest Roman Catholic sanctuary in the city of La Plata in Argentina, and one of the largest in Latin America. This Neogothic edifice is located in the geographical center of the city, facing the central square, Plaza Moreno, and the City Hall.
Inspired by the European cathedrals of Amiens and Cologne, its plans were drawn by architect Ernesto Meyer under the direction of city planner Pedro Benoit. The cornerstone was laid in 1884, and it was consecrated as the Parroquia Nuestra Señora de los Dolores in 1902. The parish church, which continued undergoing works, was designated a cathedral in 1932. In the 1930s, fearing that the foundation had been underestimated, workers halted construction. The spires were left unfinished and the exterior brick work was left undressed. In the mid 1990s, an ambitious plan of restoration and completion was carried out. The 1990s plan included the following:
Strengthening the foundation.
Reversing the damage in the bricks and joints.
Completing two spires, six turrets, 200 pinnacles, and 800 needles.
Installing a 25-bell carillon.
Once the bricks were restored, the decision was made to leave them undressed. The building's exposed-brick exterior is thus unusual to some extent, and it makes La Plata Cathedral resemble the brick Gothic style of many churches in northern Europe, such as Uppsala Cathedral in Sweden and Roskilde Cathedral in Denmark. The refurbishment was inaugurated to the public in the year 2000.
With its towers rising 367 feet (112 m), it is among the four tallest churches in the Americas.
Jalakantesvara Temple (Tamil: ஜலகண்டேஸ்வரர் கோவில்) is an temple dedicated to Lord Shiva which is located in the Vellore Fort, Tamil Nadu State, India. The temple of the Vijaynagar period stands inside the Vellore Fort, which is under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India, along with the St. John's Church, Tippu Mahal, Hyder Mahal, Candy Mahal, Badhusha Mahal and the Begum Mahal.
HISTORY
According to legend, there used to a giant ant-hill at the location where the sanctum sanctorum of temple now stands. This ant-hill was surrounded by stagnant water, as a result of collection of rain water, and at some time a Shiva Lingam was placed in this water around the ant hill and worshiped. Chinna Bommi Nayaka, a Vijayanagar chieftain, who was controlling the fort had a dream where the Lord Shiva asked him to build a temple at that location. Nayaka, proceeded to demolish the anthill and build the temple in 1550 AD, and since the Lingam was surrounded by water (called Jalam in Tamil) the deity was called as Jalakandeswarar (translated as "Lord Siva residing in the water"). The temple was built during the reign of the Vijayanagaram king Sadasivadeva Maharaya (1540 - 1572 AD). The temple also has the statue of Sri Akhilandeshwari Amma, the consort of Jalakandeswarar.
ARCHITECTURE
The Jalakantesvara Temple is a fine example of Vijayanagaram Architecture. The temple has exquisite carvings on its gopuram (tower), richly carved stone pillars, large wooden gates and stunning monoliths and sculptures. These Vijayanagara sculptures are similar to the ones present in Soundararajaperumal Temple, Thadikombu, Krishnapuram Venkatachalapathy temple, Srivilliputhur Divya Desam and Alagar Koyil. The Gopuram of the tower is iver 100 ft. in height. The temple also has a Mandapam, with the hall supported by carved stone pillars of dragons, horses and yalis (lion like creature).
The temple itself built in middle of a water tank (called Agazhi in Tamil), and there is water surround the temple like a garland. The circumference of the water tank is 8000 ft. The wedding hall (Kalyana Mantapam) inside the temple has a 2 faced sculpture, that of a bull and an elephant. The water user for bathing the deity (abishekam) is drawn from an ancient well called the Ganga Gouri Thhertam, within the temple.
SPECIALTY
Behind the Nandi statue, there is an earthen lamp, which is said to revolve when some people place their hands on it. The revolving is said to indicate that their wishes have been granted. Some devotees of the temple worship the golden and silver lizard sculptures and the snake sculptures in order to get relief from 'sarpa dosham'.
MUTILATION
The temple was mutilated during the Muslim invasion and capture of Vellore Fort. Following the desecration of the temple during Muslim invasion and rule, worship in the temple was stopped. An Islamic structure was also built to serve as a makeshift mosque, after destroying an Amman (Nagalamman) Temple, which stood on that site. The temple was being used as an arsenal for nearly 400 years. On the fears of desecration, the main deity was moved away to the Jalakanda Vinayakar Temple in Sathuvacheri for safe keeping. The temple was vacant for nearly 400 years. In 1921, the Vellore Fort was handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India for maintenance. At that time, the temple was not used for worship, and the ASI was keen to maintain this status quo. However, in 1981, the deity was smuggled inside the fort and re-installed inside the temple, and worship re-instated.
RE-CONSECRATION 1981
Several attempts had been made in the 20th century, to re-instate the main deity inside the Jalakantesvara Temple. However, the Archaeological Survey of India wanted to maintain the status quo, an did want the temple to be used for worship. However, on 16 March 1981, the deity was removed from the Jalakanda Vinayakar Temple in Sathuvacheri and secretly smuggled inside the fort, hiding it inside a closed truck, and stealthily installed in the early morning hours.
According to AK Seshadhri, author of the book 'Vellore Fort and the Temple through the Ages', "The staff of ASI could do nothing to prevent the forcible action of the mob, except watch the happenings and complain the incident to the police and the district collector. The district authorities took no action, saying that this is a sensitive religious matter and therefore any preventive action would lead to a law and order problem…"
Consequently, the first kumbabishekam after re-consecration was held in 1982, followed by 1997 and 2011. For the third kumbabishekam in 2011, a special gold plated car are made at a cost of INR 30 million, and used nearly 7 kg Gold.
In 2006, the 25th anniversary of the re-consecration of the Jalakantesvara Temple was celebrated by taking out the deity in a grand procession passing through Long Bazaar, Saidapet, Kagitha Pattarai and Main Bazaar of Vellore.
GOVERNMENT TAKE OVER
On Saturday, 22 June 2013, the Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, Government of Tamil Nadu took over the administration of the Jalakantesvara Temple, at the Vellore Fort, following government order dated 18 June 2013, asking the Assistant Commissioner of Vellore to take over the temple and assume charge as the 'Fit Person' (Thakkar) of the temple. Previously the temple was managed by a private trust called Sri Jalakanteswarar Dharma Sthabanam. The private trust had opposed the takeover, by approaching the Madras High Court. However, nearly 10 years of legal proceedings resulted in the court ruling in favor of the Government of Tamil Nadu. However, the temple structure is owned and maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India, with only the administration taken over by the government.
WIKIPEDIA
The Church of Saint Anne is a French Roman Catholic church and part of the Domaine national français located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, near the start of the Via Dolorosa, next to the Lions' Gate.
History of the site
During the Roman period a pagan shrine for the cult of the god of healing (a syncretic mix between the Egyptian god Serapis and the Greek god Asclepius), stood on the grounds next to the two Pools of Bethesda.
A Byzantine basilica was built over the remains of the shrine in the 5th century. Partially destroyed by the Persians in 614, it was subsequently restored. Baldwin I, the first titled Crusader king of Jerusalem, banished his wife Arda to the old Benedictine convent which still existed here in 1104. A small Crusader church, the so-called Moustier, was then erected over the wall separating the northern and southern Pools of Bethesda, among the ruins of the Byzantine church.
The current Church of St Anne was built sometime between 1131 and 1138, during the reign of Queen Melisende. It was erected near the remains of the Byzantine basilica, over the site of a grotto believed by the Crusaders to be the childhood home of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. It is dedicated to Anne and Joachim, the parents of Saint Mary, who according to tradition lived here.
Unlike many other Crusader churches, St. Anne's was not destroyed after the 1187 conquest of Jerusalem by Saladin (Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn). In 1192, Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn converted the building into a madrasa (Islamic educational institution), known as al-Madrasa as-Salahiyya (of Saladin), as is still written in the Arabic inscription above the entrance. In the 15th century it was considered as the most prestigious college in the city, counting among its more prominent students the Islamic jurist and city historian, Mujir al-Din (1456–1522).
During Muslim Ottoman rule in Palestine, Christian pilgrims were only permitted inside the grotto after paying a fee. Eventually the madrasa was abandoned and the former church building fell into disrepair. In 1856, in gratitude for French support during the Crimean War, the Ottoman sultan Abdülmecid I presented it to Napoleon III.
In 1862, the French government dispatched the architect Christophe-Edouard Mauss to Jerusalem for this purpose. In 1873, while working on the renovations, Mauss discovered the vestiges of the Bethesda Pool next to the church.
Since 1878, it has been administered by the Missionaries of Africa, a Catholic order, commonly called the "White Fathers" for the colour of their robes. Between 1882 and 1946 the site has housed a seminary for the training of Greek-Catholic priests.
Built between 1131 and 1138 to replace a previous Byzantine church, and shortly thereafter enlarged by several meters, the church is an excellent example of Romanesque architecture. The three-aisled basilica incorporates cross-vaulted ceilings and pillars, clear clean lines and a somewhat unadorned interior. The nave is separated from the lower lateral aisles by arcades of arches. The high altar, designed by the French sculptor Philippe Kaeppelin incorporates many different scenes. On the front of the altar are depicted the Nativity (left), the Descent from the Cross (center) and the Annunciation (right); on the left-hand end is the teaching of Mary by her mother, on the right-hand end her presentation in the Temple. In the south aisle is a flight of steps leading down to the crypt, in a grotto believed by the Crusaders to be Mary's birthplace. An altar dedicated to Mary is located there. The Byzantine basilica was partly stretched over two water basins, collectively known as the Pools of Bethesda, and built upon a series of piers, one of which still stands today in its entirety.
In 1862, the French architect Christophe-Edouard Mauss was dispatched by his government to Jerusalem with the special assignment of restoring the time-damaged church.
Acoustics
The church's acoustics are particularly suited to Gregorian chant, which makes it a pilgrimage site for soloists and choirs.
Property
The church is listed as one of four French government properties in the Holy Land as part of the "Domaine national français". In line with international law, which treats East Jerusalem as occupied territory, France does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, where the Church of Saint Anne is located. In 1996, during Jacques Chirac's visit to Jerusalem, the French president refused to enter the church until Israeli soldiers who accompanied him left. Similarly in January 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron was involved in an altercation with Israeli security officers at the church.
Jerusalem is an ancient city in West Asia, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both Israel and Palestine claim Jerusalem as their capital; Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there, and the State of Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power. Neither claim, however, is widely recognized internationally.
Throughout its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. The part of Jerusalem called the City of David shows first signs of settlement in the 4th millennium BCE, in the shape of encampments of nomadic shepherds. During the Canaanite period (14th century BCE), Jerusalem was named as Urusalim on ancient Egyptian tablets, probably meaning "City of Shalem" after a Canaanite deity. During the Israelite period, significant construction activity in Jerusalem began in the 10th century BCE (Iron Age II), and by the 9th century BCE, the city had developed into the religious and administrative centre of the Kingdom of Judah. In 1538, the city walls were rebuilt for a last time around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. Today those walls define the Old City, which since the 19th century has been divided into four quarters – the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Since 1860, Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old City's boundaries. In 2022, Jerusalem had a population of some 971,800 residents, of which almost 60% were Jews and almost 40% Palestinians. In 2020, the population was 951,100, of which Jews comprised 570,100 (59.9%), Muslims 353,800 (37.2%), Christians 16,300 (1.7%), and 10,800 unclassified (1.1%).
According to the Hebrew Bible, King David conquered the city from the Jebusites and established it as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel, and his son, King Solomon, commissioned the building of the First Temple. Modern scholars argue that Jews branched out of the Canaanite peoples and culture through the development of a distinct monolatrous—and later monotheistic—religion centred on El/Yahweh. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, assumed central symbolic importance for the Jewish people. The sobriquet of holy city (Hebrew: עיר הקודש, romanized: 'Ir ha-Qodesh) was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, which Christians adopted as their own "Old Testament", was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection there. In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. The city was the first qibla, the standard direction for Muslim prayers (salah), and in Islamic tradition, Muhammad made his Night Journey there in 621, ascending to heaven where he speaks to God, according to the Quran. As a result, despite having an area of only 0.9 km2 (3⁄8 sq mi), the Old City is home to many sites of seminal religious importance, among them the Temple Mount with its Western Wall, Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the areas captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured and later annexed by Jordan. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently effectively annexed it into Jerusalem, together with additional surrounding territory.[note 6] One of Israel's Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the country's undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister (Beit Aghion) and President (Beit HaNassi), and the Supreme Court. The international community rejects the annexation as illegal and regards East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.
Etymology
The name "Jerusalem" is variously etymologized to mean "foundation (Semitic yry' 'to found, to lay a cornerstone') of the pagan god Shalem"; the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city.
Shalim or Shalem was the name of the god of dusk in the Canaanite religion, whose name is based on the same root S-L-M from which the Hebrew word for "peace" is derived (Shalom in Hebrew, cognate with Arabic Salam). The name thus offered itself to etymologizations such as "The City of Peace", "Abode of Peace", "Dwelling of Peace" ("founded in safety"), or "Vision of Peace" in some Christian authors.
The ending -ayim indicates the dual, thus leading to the suggestion that the name Yerushalayim refers to the fact that the city initially sat on two hills.
Ancient Egyptian sources
The Execration Texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 19th century BCE), which refer to a city called rwšꜣlmm or ꜣwšꜣmm, variously transcribed as Rušalimum, or Urušalimum, may indicate Jerusalem. Alternatively, the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba (1330s BCE), which reference an Úrušalim, may be the earliest mention of the city.
Hebrew Bible and Jewish sources
The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua. According to a Midrash, the name is a combination of two names united by God, Yireh ("the abiding place", the name given by Abraham to the place where he planned to sacrifice his son) and Shalem ("Place of Peace", the name given by high priest Shem).
Oldest written mention of Jerusalem
One of the earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states: "I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem", or as other scholars suggest: "Yahweh is the God of the whole earth. The mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem". An older example on papyrus is known from the previous century.
In extra-biblical inscriptions, the earliest known example of the -ayim ending was discovered on a column about 3 km west of ancient Jerusalem, dated to the first century BCE.
Jebus, Zion, City of David
An ancient settlement of Jerusalem, founded as early as the Bronze Age on the hill above the Gihon Spring, was, according to the Bible, named Jebus. Called the "Fortress of Zion" (metsudat Zion), it was renamed as the "City of David", and was known by this name in antiquity. Another name, "Zion", initially referred to a distinct part of the city, but later came to signify the city as a whole, and afterwards to represent the whole biblical Land of Israel.
Greek, Roman and Byzantine names
In Greek and Latin, the city's name was transliterated Hierosolyma (Greek: Ἱεροσόλυμα; in Greek hieròs, ἱερός, means holy), although the city was renamed Aelia Capitolina for part of the Roman period of its history.
Salem
The Aramaic Apocryphon of Genesis of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QapGen 22:13) equates Jerusalem with the earlier "Salem" (שלם), said to be the kingdom of Melchizedek in Genesis 14. Other early Hebrew sources, early Christian renderings of the verse and targumim, however, put Salem in Northern Israel near Shechem (Sichem), now Nablus, a city of some importance in early sacred Hebrew writing. Possibly the redactor of the Apocryphon of Genesis wanted to dissociate Melchizedek from the area of Shechem, which at the time was in possession of the Samaritans. However that may be, later Rabbinic sources also equate Salem with Jerusalem, mainly to link Melchizedek to later Temple traditions.
Arabic names
In Arabic, Jerusalem is most commonly known as القُدس, transliterated as al-Quds and meaning "the holy" or "the holy sanctuary", cognate with Hebrew: הקדש, romanized: ha-qodesh. The name is possibly a shortened form of مدينة القُدس Madīnat al-Quds "city of the holy sanctuary" after the Hebrew nickname with the same meaning, Ir ha-Qodesh (עיר הקדש). The ق (Q) is pronounced either with a voiceless uvular plosive (/q/), as in Classical Arabic, or with a glottal stop (ʔ) as in Levantine Arabic. Official Israeli government policy mandates that أُورُشَلِيمَ, transliterated as Ūrušalīm, which is the name frequently used in Christian translations of the Bible into Arabic, be used as the Arabic language name for the city in conjunction with القُدس, giving أُورُشَلِيمَ-القُدس, Ūrušalīm-al-Quds. Palestinian Arab families who hail from this city are often called "Qudsi" (قُدسي) or "Maqdasi" (مقدسي), while Palestinian Muslim Jerusalemites may use these terms as a demonym.
Given the city's central position in both Jewish nationalism (Zionism) and Palestinian nationalism, the selectivity required to summarize some 5,000 years of inhabited history is often influenced by ideological bias or background. Israeli or Jewish nationalists claim a right to the city based on Jewish indigeneity to the land, particularly their origins in and descent from the Israelites, for whom Jerusalem is their capital, and their yearning for return. In contrast, Palestinian nationalists claim the right to the city based on modern Palestinians' longstanding presence and descent from many different peoples who have settled or lived in the region over the centuries. Both sides claim the history of the city has been politicized by the other in order to strengthen their relative claims to the city, and that this is borne out by the different focuses the different writers place on the various events and eras in the city's history.
Prehistory
The first archaeological evidence of human presence in the area comes in the form of flints dated to between 6000 and 7000 years ago, with ceramic remains appearing during the Chalcolithic period, and the first signs of permanent settlement appearing in the Early Bronze Age in 3000–2800 BCE.
Bronze and Iron Ages
The earliest evidence of city fortifications appear in the Mid to Late Bronze Age and could date to around the 18th century BCE. By around 1550–1200 BCE, Jerusalem was the capital of an Egyptian vassal city-state, a modest settlement governing a few outlying villages and pastoral areas, with a small Egyptian garrison and ruled by appointees such as king Abdi-Heba. At the time of Seti I (r. 1290–1279 BCE) and Ramesses II (r. 1279–1213 BCE), major construction took place as prosperity increased. The city's inhabitants at this time were Canaanites, who are believed by scholars to have evolved into the Israelites via the development of a distinct Yahweh-centric monotheistic belief system.
Archaeological remains from the ancient Israelite period include the Siloam Tunnel, an aqueduct built by Judahite king Hezekiah and once containing an ancient Hebrew inscription, known as the Siloam Inscription; the so-called Broad Wall, a defensive fortification built in the 8th century BCE, also by Hezekiah; the Silwan necropolis (9th–7th c. BCE) with the Monolith of Silwan and the Tomb of the Royal Steward, which were decorated with monumental Hebrew inscriptions; and the so-called Israelite Tower, remnants of ancient fortifications, built from large, sturdy rocks with carved cornerstones. A huge water reservoir dating from this period was discovered in 2012 near Robinson's Arch, indicating the existence of a densely built-up quarter across the area west of the Temple Mount during the Kingdom of Judah.
When the Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE, Jerusalem was strengthened by a great influx of refugees from the northern kingdom. When Hezekiah ruled, Jerusalem had no fewer than 25,000 inhabitants and covered 25 acres (10 hectares).
In 587–586 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire conquered Jerusalem after a prolonged siege, and then systematically destroyed the city, including Solomon's Temple. The Kingdom of Judah was abolished and many were exiled to Babylon. These events mark the end of the First Temple period.
Biblical account
This period, when Canaan formed part of the Egyptian empire, corresponds in biblical accounts to Joshua's invasion, but almost all scholars agree that the Book of Joshua holds little historical value for early Israel.
In the Bible, Jerusalem is defined as lying within territory allocated to the tribe of Benjamin though still inhabited by Jebusites. David is said to have conquered these in the siege of Jebus, and transferred his capital from Hebron to Jerusalem which then became the capital of a United Kingdom of Israel, and one of its several religious centres. The choice was perhaps dictated by the fact that Jerusalem did not form part of Israel's tribal system, and was thus suited to serve as the centre of its confederation. Opinion is divided over whether the so-called Large Stone Structure and the nearby Stepped Stone Structure may be identified with King David's palace, or dates to a later period.
According to the Bible, King David reigned for 40 years and was succeeded by his son Solomon, who built the Holy Temple on Mount Moriah. Solomon's Temple (later known as the First Temple), went on to play a pivotal role in Jewish religion as the repository of the Ark of the Covenant. On Solomon's death, ten of the northern tribes of Israel broke with the United Monarchy to form their own nation, with its kings, prophets, priests, traditions relating to religion, capitals and temples in northern Israel. The southern tribes, together with the Aaronid priesthood, remained in Jerusalem, with the city becoming the capital of the Kingdom of Judah.
Classical antiquity
In 538 BCE, the Achaemenid King Cyrus the Great invited the Jews of Babylon to return to Judah to rebuild the Temple. Construction of the Second Temple was completed in 516 BCE, during the reign of Darius the Great, 70 years after the destruction of the First Temple.
Sometime soon after 485 BCE Jerusalem was besieged, conquered and largely destroyed by a coalition of neighbouring states. In about 445 BCE, King Artaxerxes I of Persia issued a decree allowing the city (including its walls) to be rebuilt. Jerusalem resumed its role as capital of Judah and centre of Jewish worship.
Many Jewish tombs from the Second Temple period have been unearthed in Jerusalem. One example, discovered north of the Old City, contains human remains in a 1st-century CE ossuary decorated with the Aramaic inscription "Simon the Temple Builder". The Tomb of Abba, also located north of the Old City, bears an Aramaic inscription with Paleo-Hebrew letters reading: "I, Abba, son of the priest Eleaz(ar), son of Aaron the high (priest), Abba, the oppressed and the persecuted, who was born in Jerusalem, and went into exile into Babylonia and brought (back to Jerusalem) Mattathi(ah), son of Jud(ah), and buried him in a cave which I bought by deed." The Tomb of Benei Hezir located in Kidron Valley is decorated by monumental Doric columns and Hebrew inscription, identifying it as the burial site of Second Temple priests. The Tombs of the Sanhedrin, an underground complex of 63 rock-cut tombs, is located in a public park in the northern Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sanhedria. These tombs, probably reserved for members of the Sanhedrin and inscribed by ancient Hebrew and Aramaic writings, are dated to between 100 BCE and 100 CE.
When Alexander the Great conquered the Achaemenid Empire, Jerusalem and Judea came under Macedonian control, eventually falling to the Ptolemaic dynasty under Ptolemy I. In 198 BCE, Ptolemy V Epiphanes lost Jerusalem and Judea to the Seleucids under Antiochus III. The Seleucid attempt to recast Jerusalem as a Hellenized city-state came to a head in 168 BCE with the successful Maccabean revolt of Mattathias and his five sons against Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and their establishment of the Hasmonean Kingdom in 152 BCE with Jerusalem as its capital.
In 63 BCE, Pompey the Great intervened in a struggle for the Hasmonean throne and captured Jerusalem, extending the influence of the Roman Republic over Judea. Following a short invasion by Parthians, backing the rival Hasmonean rulers, Judea became a scene of struggle between pro-Roman and pro-Parthian forces, eventually leading to the emergence of an Edomite named Herod. As Rome became stronger, it installed Herod as a client king of the Jews. Herod the Great, as he was known, devoted himself to developing and beautifying the city. He built walls, towers and palaces, and expanded the Temple Mount, buttressing the courtyard with blocks of stone weighing up to 100 tons. Under Herod, the area of the Temple Mount doubled in size. Shortly after Herod's death, in 6 CE Judea came under direct Roman rule as the Iudaea Province, although the Herodian dynasty through Agrippa II remained client kings of neighbouring territories until 96 CE.
Roman rule over Jerusalem and Judea was challenged in the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), which ended with a Roman victory. Early on, the city was devastated by a brutal civil war between several Jewish factions fighting for control of the city. In 70 CE, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple. The contemporary Jewish historian Josephus wrote that the city "was so thoroughly razed to the ground by those that demolished it to its foundations, that nothing was left that could ever persuade visitors that it had once been a place of habitation." Of the 600,000 (Tacitus) or 1,000,000 (Josephus) Jews of Jerusalem, all of them either died of starvation, were killed or were sold into slavery. Roman rule was again challenged during the Bar Kokhba revolt, beginning in 132 CE and suppressed by the Romans in 135 CE. More recent research indicates that the Romans had founded Aelia Capitolina before the outbreak of the revolt, and found no evidence for Bar Kokhba ever managing to hold the city.
Jerusalem reached a peak in size and population at the end of the Second Temple Period, when the city covered two km2 (3⁄4 sq mi) and had a population of 200,000.
Late Antiquity
Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Emperor Hadrian combined Iudaea Province with neighbouring provinces under the new name of Syria Palaestina, replacing the name of Judea. The city was renamed Aelia Capitolina, and rebuilt it in the style of a typical Roman town. Jews were prohibited from entering the city on pain of death, except for one day each year, during the holiday of Tisha B'Av. Taken together, these measures (which also affected Jewish Christians) essentially "secularized" the city. Historical sources and archaeological evidence indicate that the rebuilt city was now inhabited by veterans of the Roman military and immigrants from the western parts of the empire.
The ban against Jews was maintained until the 7th century, though Christians would soon be granted an exemption: during the 4th century, the Roman emperor Constantine I ordered the construction of Christian holy sites in the city, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Burial remains from the Byzantine period are exclusively Christian, suggesting that the population of Jerusalem in Byzantine times probably consisted only of Christians.
Jerusalem.
In the 5th century, the eastern continuation of the Roman Empire, ruled from the recently renamed Constantinople, maintained control of the city. Within the span of a few decades, Jerusalem shifted from Byzantine to Persian rule, then back to Roman-Byzantine dominion. Following Sassanid Khosrau II's early 7th century push through Syria, his generals Shahrbaraz and Shahin attacked Jerusalem (Persian: Dej Houdkh) aided by the Jews of Palaestina Prima, who had risen up against the Byzantines.
In the Siege of Jerusalem of 614, after 21 days of relentless siege warfare, Jerusalem was captured. Byzantine chronicles relate that the Sassanids and Jews slaughtered tens of thousands of Christians in the city, many at the Mamilla Pool, and destroyed their monuments and churches, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This episode has been the subject of much debate between historians. The conquered city would remain in Sassanid hands for some fifteen years until the Byzantine emperor Heraclius reconquered it in 629.
Middle Ages
After the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Byzantine Jerusalem was taken by Umar ibn al-Khattab in 638 CE. Among the first Muslims, it was referred to as Madinat bayt al-Maqdis ("City of the Temple"), a name restricted to the Temple Mount. The rest of the city "was called Iliya, reflecting the Roman name given the city following the destruction of 70 CE: Aelia Capitolina". Later the Temple Mount became known as al-Haram al-Sharif, "The Noble Sanctuary", while the city around it became known as Bayt al-Maqdis, and later still, al-Quds al-Sharif "The Holy, Noble". The Islamization of Jerusalem began in the first year A.H. (623 CE), when Muslims were instructed to face the city while performing their daily prostrations and, according to Muslim religious tradition, Muhammad's night journey and ascension to heaven took place. After 13 years, the direction of prayer was changed to Mecca. In 638 CE the Islamic Caliphate extended its dominion to Jerusalem. With the Muslim conquest, Jews were allowed back into the city. The Rashidun caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab signed a treaty with Christian Patriarch of Jerusalem Sophronius, assuring him that Jerusalem's Christian holy places and population would be protected under Muslim rule. Christian-Arab tradition records that, when led to pray at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the holiest sites for Christians, the caliph Umar refused to pray in the church so that Muslims would not request conversion of the church to a mosque. He prayed outside the church, where the Mosque of Umar (Omar) stands to this day, opposite the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. According to the Gaullic bishop Arculf, who lived in Jerusalem from 679 to 688, the Mosque of Umar was a rectangular wooden structure built over ruins which could accommodate 3,000 worshipers.
When the Arab armies under Umar went to Bayt Al-Maqdes in 637 CE, they searched for the site of al-masjid al-aqsa, "the farthest place of prayer/mosque", that was mentioned in the Quran and Hadith according to Islamic beliefs. Contemporary Arabic and Hebrew sources say the site was full of rubbish, and that Arabs and Jews cleaned it. The Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik commissioned the construction of a shrine on the Temple Mount, now known as the Dome of the Rock, in the late 7th century. Two of the city's most-distinguished Arab citizens of the 10th-century were Al-Muqaddasi, the geographer, and Al-Tamimi, the physician. Al-Muqaddasi writes that Abd al-Malik built the edifice on the Temple Mount in order to compete in grandeur with Jerusalem's monumental churches.
Over the next four hundred years, Jerusalem's prominence diminished as Arab powers in the region vied for control of the city. Jerusalem was captured in 1073 by the Seljuk Turkish commander Atsız. After Atsız was killed, the Seljuk prince Tutush I granted the city to Artuk Bey, another Seljuk commander. After Artuk's death in 1091 his sons Sökmen and Ilghazi governed in the city up to 1098 when the Fatimids recaptured the city.
A messianic Karaite movement to gather in Jerusalem took place at the turn of the millennium, leading to a "Golden Age" of Karaite scholarship there, which was only terminated by the Crusades.
Crusader/Ayyubid period
In 1099, the Fatimid ruler expelled the native Christian population before Jerusalem was besieged by the soldiers of the First Crusade. After taking the solidly defended city by assault, the Crusaders massacred most of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants, and made it the capital of their Kingdom of Jerusalem. The city, which had been virtually emptied, was recolonized by a variegated inflow of Greeks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Georgians, Armenians, Syrians, Egyptians, Nestorians, Maronites, Jacobite Miaphysites, Copts and others, to block the return of the surviving Muslims and Jews. The north-eastern quarter was repopulated with Eastern Christians from the Transjordan. As a result, by 1099 Jerusalem's population had climbed back to some 30,000.
In 1187, the city was wrested from the Crusaders by Saladin who permitted Jews and Muslims to return and settle in the city. Under the terms of surrender, once ransomed, 60,000 Franks were expelled. The Eastern Christian populace was permitted to stay. Under the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin, a period of huge investment began in the construction of houses, markets, public baths, and pilgrim hostels as well as the establishment of religious endowments. However, for most of the 13th century, Jerusalem declined to the status of a village due to city's fall of strategic value and Ayyubid internecine struggles.
From 1229 to 1244, Jerusalem peacefully reverted to Christian control as a result of a 1229 treaty agreed between the crusading Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and al-Kamil, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, that ended the Sixth Crusade. The Ayyubids retained control of the Muslim holy places, and Arab sources suggest that Frederick was not permitted to restore Jerusalem's fortifications.
In 1244, Jerusalem was sacked by the Khwarezmian Tatars, who decimated the city's Christian population and drove out the Jews. The Khwarezmian Tatars were driven out by the Ayyubids in 1247.
Mamluk period
From 1260 to 1516/17, Jerusalem was ruled by the Mamluks. In the wider region and until around 1300, many clashes occurred between the Mamluks on one side, and the crusaders and the Mongols, on the other side. The area also suffered from many earthquakes and black plague. When Nachmanides visited in 1267 he found only two Jewish families, in a population of 2,000, 300 of whom were Christians, in the city. The well-known and far-traveled lexicographer Fairuzabadi (1329–1414) spent ten years in Jerusalem.
The 13th to 15th centuries was a period of frequent building activity in the city, as evidenced by the 90 remaining structures from this time. The city was also a significant site of Mamluk architectural patronage. The types of structures built included madrasas, libraries, hospitals, caravanserais, fountains (or sabils), and public baths. Much of the building activity was concentrated around the edges of the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif. Old gates to the Haram lost importance and new gates were built, while significant parts of the northern and western porticoes along the edge of the Temple Mount plaza were built or rebuilt in this period. Tankiz, the Mamluk amir in charge of Syria during the reign of al-Nasir Muhammad, built a new market called Suq al-Qattatin (Cotton Market) in 1336–7, along with the gate known as Bab al-Qattanin (Cotton Gate), which gave access to the Temple Mount from this market. The late Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay also took interest in the city. He commissioned the building of the Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya, completed in 1482, and the nearby Sabil of Qaytbay, built shortly after in 1482; both were located on the Temple Mount. Qaytbay's monuments were the last major Mamluk constructions in the city.
Modern era
In 1517, Jerusalem and its environs fell to the Ottoman Turks, who generally remained in control until 1917.[180] Jerusalem enjoyed a prosperous period of renewal and peace under Suleiman the Magnificent—including the rebuilding of magnificent walls around the Old City. Throughout much of Ottoman rule, Jerusalem remained a provincial, if religiously important centre, and did not straddle the main trade route between Damascus and Cairo. The English reference book Modern history or the present state of all nations, written in 1744, stated that "Jerusalem is still reckoned the capital city of Palestine, though much fallen from its ancient grandeaur".
The Ottomans brought many innovations: modern postal systems run by the various consulates and regular stagecoach and carriage services were among the first signs of modernization in the city. In the mid 19th century, the Ottomans constructed the first paved road from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and by 1892 the railroad had reached the city.
With the annexation of Jerusalem by Muhammad Ali of Egypt in 1831, foreign missions and consulates began to establish a foothold in the city. In 1836, Ibrahim Pasha allowed Jerusalem's Jewish residents to restore four major synagogues, among them the Hurva. In the countrywide Peasants' Revolt, Qasim al-Ahmad led his forces from Nablus and attacked Jerusalem, aided by the Abu Ghosh clan, and entered the city on 31 May 1834. The Christians and Jews of Jerusalem were subjected to attacks. Ibrahim's Egyptian army routed Qasim's forces in Jerusalem the following month.
Ottoman rule was reinstated in 1840, but many Egyptian Muslims remained in Jerusalem and Jews from Algiers and North Africa began to settle in the city in growing numbers. In the 1840s and 1850s, the international powers began a tug-of-war in Palestine as they sought to extend their protection over the region's religious minorities, a struggle carried out mainly through consular representatives in Jerusalem. According to the Prussian consul, the population in 1845 was 16,410, with 7,120 Jews, 5,000 Muslims, 3,390 Christians, 800 Turkish soldiers and 100 Europeans. The volume of Christian pilgrims increased under the Ottomans, doubling the city's population around Easter time.
In the 1860s, new neighbourhoods began to develop outside the Old City walls to house pilgrims and relieve the intense overcrowding and poor sanitation inside the city. The Russian Compound and Mishkenot Sha'ananim were founded in 1860, followed by many others that included Mahane Israel (1868), Nahalat Shiv'a (1869), German Colony (1872), Beit David (1873), Mea Shearim (1874), Shimon HaZadiq (1876), Beit Ya'aqov (1877), Abu Tor (1880s), American-Swedish Colony (1882), Yemin Moshe (1891), and Mamilla, Wadi al-Joz around the turn of the century. In 1867 an American Missionary reports an estimated population of Jerusalem of 'above' 15,000, with 4,000 to 5,000 Jews and 6,000 Muslims. Every year there were 5,000 to 6,000 Russian Christian Pilgrims. In 1872 Jerusalem became the centre of a special administrative district, independent of the Syria Vilayet and under the direct authority of Istanbul called the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem.
The great number of Christian orphans resulting from the 1860 civil war in Mount Lebanon and the Damascus massacre led in the same year to the opening of the German Protestant Syrian Orphanage, better known as the Schneller Orphanage after its founder. Until the 1880s there were no formal Jewish orphanages in Jerusalem, as families generally took care of each other. In 1881 the Diskin Orphanage was founded in Jerusalem with the arrival of Jewish children orphaned by a Russian pogrom. Other orphanages founded in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 20th century were Zion Blumenthal Orphanage (1900) and General Israel Orphan's Home for Girls (1902).
All My Macro Flowers, I will dedicated to all Woman with Breast Cancer. I just fiend of a friend have die of Breast Cancer 3 year ago, and I want to share we all my friend this
Email from a old friend of my......
How did I find you? Well, it's a sad but at the same time uplifting story. Remember my cousin Carolina? I think her angel wings had something to do with it. Perhaps you already knew this but if not, I'm really sorry to tell you that she died in NYC of breast cancer three years ago. The anniversary of her death is coming up on Sept. 4 and I was looking for her obituary. Thinking of her reminded me that I made a promise to her and still needed to give you a message from her. I was with her in her final weeks of life and during that time we shared some very special, precious and endearing moments alone. During one of those times, we remembered you and laughed pretty hard about some of the fun times we all had together in NYC. One of her favorites was our trip to Great Adventure and the drama she put on pretending to be sick when you got pulled over by the cops. LOL!! After she died I tried to find you on the Internet but no luck back then. Soon after her death, my youngest son was diagnosed with a rare brain malformation which took me and my family on a very difficult journey with him. My son became my only focus and completely consumed every ounce of my existence for the next two years. My son is doing well now and things are pretty much back to normal and as Carolina's anniversary draws near, I remembered my promise to her. So I googled your name and found your photography website where of course you listed your email. You made it very easy to find you! And so now I can finally share this with you... Carolina wanted you to know that she always remembered you "con mucho carino" and she asked me to thank you for the wonderful memories, the laughter, the good times and the many smiles you brought to her life. So "thank you" from Carolina...
Good night..
-Oneida
....After i di reed this email tears run down my eyes......
All my Flowers going to those Brave Woman....
HVargas
These pictures are dedicated to my “make-up” day that I stole from southern Gansu earlier in the week. As mentioned in the Singing Sand post, I was having breakfast at Charley Johng’s on Wednesday morning and talking with the owner who recommended this day trip.
It started at 8:00 a.m. on a coach that picked me up outside her restaurant (before proceeding to a hotel to fill out the rest of the 45 seats). I wasn’t the only foreigner, but I was the only one who didn’t look Chinese (or speak fluent Mandarin). I met some friendly Chinese who were living in Vancouver, and some Hong Kong folks (who are Chinese, but they most certainly distinguish from mainlanders…and most foreigners understand why).
So, off we went on our sojourn with six or seven stops. We drove west through the aforementioned “real” Dunhuang for about 15-20 minutes before the mountains and desert landscape began to resume control.
Our first stop, less than half an hour out of town, was “Old Dunhuang.” Really, they mean to say, “Old Fake Dunhuang,” but I jest. It’s…an area that shoots as a television studio when someone wants to shoot things that look like the Old West, Chinese style. For the bargain price of 40 RMB (about $7 in the current market on 1/10/16), you get to wander around this fairly decent-sized fake fort with fake everything inside…and a random prop jet inside…and, outside, the backdrop of both mountainous sand dunes and snow-capped mountains off in the distance. All in all, it was a rather unique setting – at least one I’d never experienced before.
After 40 minutes there (not 35, not 45, but 40…per Mr. Coach Driver), we all climbed back aboard and headed a little farther west to what I think they call the “Western Caves.” This is a repository of Buddhist art in grottoes west of town, but since the world-famous Mogao Grottoes are nearby (and also in my personal plan for tomorrow morning), I didn’t feel particularly inspired to spend the very cheap and fair price of 15 RMB to see a few pieces of art. In retrospect, perhaps I should have, but who knows? I may be back this way again someday. I did spend my time at the Western Caves enjoying the panoramic view of the same snow-capped mountains and desert from Old Dunhuang with the juxtaposition of this particular oasis (which is apparently why this grotto/temple was built here in the first place).
A few minutes later, we kept making our way west towards Xinjiang. At some point just west of Dunhuang, the old Silk Road split into a northern and southern route. One of the first mountain passes (and forts, where we were heading) along the southern route is Yangguan. This place was particularly enjoyable for me. Having been to quite a few sections of the Great Wall (and very much looking forward to the westernmost terminal of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall here in Gansu a few days later), I’m very much accustomed to these historical reproductions…and really love when I find some “real” history; the authentic walls and posts, though 500 years later, are just weather-worn rock.
Yangguan had a very nice mix of both the fake and the real. For 60 RMB (roughly $9), we had access to the completely remade fort with its bastions, gift shops, museum (a very nice one, admittedly), and what not. Out the back of the fort, and about a mile in the distance on a hill, is the original: one of the watchtowers that helped guard travelers for centuries along the Silk Road. To get there, you can walk, take golf carts on steroids (the kind you find at zoos that carry about 12-15 people), or rent a horse. Since I’d ridden a camel the day before and have ridden horses quite a few times, I went the lazy way…and got chauffeured up the hill. The watchtower itself is fenced off – and rightfully so – but, right next to it is a fantastic place to take in the surrounding landscape, with views of the mountains about 50 kilometers off. After a delightful two hours or so at Yangguan, we had lunch as a group at a Chinese restaurant near the fort. (It’s fun to eat with Chinese; the whole table of six, eight, or ten people just order random dishes of food. Everyone gets a bowl of rice then it’s a mini-buffet with your chopsticks from then on out.)
After being well-fed for about $3, we boarded the iron stallion and headed back down to the main road, then back east about 5 kilometers to the only road that turned off this western highway. The only point, it seems, of this side road is to go to Jade Pass (which follows the northern route of the Silk Road about 30 km down and, beyond that another 70-80 kilometers, it ends at Yadan National Park.
First stop down the über-long spur road: Jade Pass. To get there, all vehicles have to pass through a random checkpoint about 20 minutes down the road. Aside from that, it almost feels like you leave planet earth. I have never seen a flatter, more desolate landscape anywhere in my life. I almost imagine it’s what the lunar surface would feel like, with the exception of having a different atmosphere, gravitational pull, and what have you. Anyway, you catch my drift…
Jade Pass is beautiful landscape, minus the fort that you find at Yangguan Pass. The watchtower is in much better shape than those you find at Yangguan. But, unlike Yangguan, where they take better care of the watchtowers, over here at Jade Pass, you find plenty of pea-brained tourists ignoring signs (and fences) and climbing all over the watchtower as if it were a jungle gym. It’s times like these that it’s probably good my Mandarin is so poor. I would probably manage to somehow get myself deported, ironically, for yelling at idiots when I’m frustrated that they have no concept of conserving their own heritage. Running away from idiots as quickly as possible, I snapped a few pictures of the scenery…where more buffoons were blatantly ignoring signs and going where they oughtn’t. So, I cut my time at Jade Pass short and returned to the bus, which was waiting next to what looked to be a promising museum that we didn’t have the time to visit. We were apparently on a pretty tight schedule now.
Boarding the bus, we went a whole five minutes farther north for a stop to see the Han Dynasty Great Wall. Now, a few things to know. When people mention the “Great Wall” of China, it’s actually a series of walls that form a patchwork length that crosses from Shanhaiguan at the eastern terminal (ending famously in the sea), though there is a section in Liaoning province called Hushan that borders North Korea that I’ve been to and claims that it is the rightful eastern terminus of the wall. The western terminus of that wall is nearby (relatively speaking) at Jiayuguan here in Gansu province. The whole patchwork nature of that wall is emphasized by sections like Hushan. I only mention it now because the Great Wall of China refers to the Ming Dynasty wall…mostly built between 1368-1644 (with some sections marginally older, like Juyongguan, which dates to the Yuan Dynasty, immediately before the Ming).
The Han Dynasty wall out here dates to the original dynasty of China…in the 3rd century BC. So the wall here, while not as impressive as the rebuilt Ming sections of the wall in terms of visual appearance floored me because it’s original and almost 2,500 years old. The way the wall here was built (mud, adobe, etc.) is completely different than the Ming wall that came 1,500 years later. It’s shorter – in length (obviously) and height, but much longer in history. There is so little of this wall left here, though, that it would never be worth visiting on its own…or possible. Ten to fifteen minutes here is more than enough to get the “wall experience.”
From there, we were on to the ultimate destination of the day: Yadan National Park. I also discovered the reason we were on such a tight schedule. Yadan National Park is a very large park. Though this is lost in translation, I think the Chinese market it as sort of an “out of this world” experience, though I could be way off base. In reality, this used to be a seabed tens of thousands of years ago and the rock formations that are left here are the remnants of harder rocks that didn’t erode as quickly over time…which gives this park its current appearance.
Yadan National Park is strictly controlled. Admission was 150 or 180 RMB from what I recall (no more than $30) and, like Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan, getting around the park is tightly controlled. (You have to take park-controlled buses from point to point, though at the various points, you can go out and explore the area.)
The landscape at this park, as mentioned, is quite unique. For anyone who has seen Chinese movies (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, for example, or Zhang Yimou’s Hero), the landscape will be familiar. The “far west” scenes in those movies were filmed near here in areas with identical landscapes. (I’m about 90% Hero’s western landscape was filmed just over the provincial border in Xinjiang. Crouching Tiger’s…I’m much less certain.)
After a few stops, we found that we were out in the middle of this out-of-this-world ghost city (Chinese definitely like to call these ghost cities) for a stunning sunset. After staying around for sunset for 30-45 minutes, we finally headed back to the visitor center and then boarded our own coach for the long, flat, 2-3 hour ride back to Dunhuang, where I gladly spent my last night in the nameless hotel before starting Friday’s slow trip back towards Lanzhou. Before bidding farewell to Dunhuang, though, Friday morning had an incredible trip – mostly unphotographed (as photography is forbidden and I tend to follow rules when traveling) of the Mogao Grottoes. More to come…
As usual, I hope you enjoy the pictures. Please feel free to leave any comments, questions, or suggestions.
LEGOLAND Windsor a theme park dedicated to children aged 3-12 years old and of course big kid adults.
An inspirational land where the kids are the hero and adults relive their childhood.
The fun never stops and imagination knows no bounds, a family attraction like no other.
Set in 150 acres of beautiful parkland, LEGOLAND Windsor is a unique family theme park with over 55 interactive rides, live shows, building workshops, driving schools and attractions.
It's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!
From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park.
Fun Facts about LEGOLAND Windsor
There are 34 LEGO pieces in an average Miniland figure.
The largest model in Miniland is the Canary Wharf Tower which is 5.2 metres tall and took 3 model makers 850 hours to complete using 200,000 LEGO Bricks!
The smallest models are the pigeons in Trafalgar Square which contain 5 LEGO bricks each
New in 2011 - Atlantis Submarine Voyage
Take a deep breath and submerge yourself in an underwater adventure.
Plunge into the depths with this world-first LEGO® submarine ride and immerse yourself in a magical underwater adventure.
So what’s New in 2012
STAR WARS MINILAND EXPERIENCE - The Force has arrived at LEGOLAND
Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND®Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO®Star Wars experience.
LEGOLAND WINDSOR RESORT HOTEL - Now open
An exciting LEGO adventure awaits you, as the amazing 150 room, fully themed LEGOLAND Hotel opens at LEGOLAND Windsor RESORT!
Staying overnight at the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel is a must for all LEGO fans. From the spectacular dragon-guarded entrance and interactive LEGO features through to the brightly coloured pirate splash pool and fully themed bedrooms, the new hotel will inspire imaginations and create laugh-out loud memories. With dedicated indoor play areas, entertainment and a buffet-style restaurant serving child-friendly meals, it’s the perfect family treat.
LEGOLAND Windsor a theme park dedicated to children aged 3-12 years old and of course big kid adults.
An inspirational land where the kids are the hero and adults relive their childhood.
The fun never stops and imagination knows no bounds, a family attraction like no other.
Set in 150 acres of beautiful parkland, LEGOLAND Windsor is a unique family theme park with over 55 interactive rides, live shows, building workshops, driving schools and attractions.
It's amazing what can be built with LEGO bricks - nearly 55 million of them!
From comical camels to fearsome fire-breathing dragons, world landmarks to musical pirates, young and old alike will be fascinated by the incredible LEGO models throughout the park.
Fun Facts about LEGOLAND Windsor
There are 34 LEGO pieces in an average Miniland figure.
The largest model in Miniland is the Canary Wharf Tower which is 5.2 metres tall and took 3 model makers 850 hours to complete using 200,000 LEGO Bricks!
The smallest models are the pigeons in Trafalgar Square which contain 5 LEGO bricks each
New in 2011 - Atlantis Submarine Voyage
Take a deep breath and submerge yourself in an underwater adventure.
Plunge into the depths with this world-first LEGO® submarine ride and immerse yourself in a magical underwater adventure.
So what’s New in 2012
STAR WARS MINILAND EXPERIENCE - The Force has arrived at LEGOLAND
Take a trip to a galaxy far, far away at the UK’s only indoor LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland Experience at the LEGOLAND®Windsor Resort. Enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Follow the chronological path through the Star Wars timeline and retrace the major events of the beloved Saga featuring 2,000 LEGO® models, authentic sounds and lighting effects in the ultimate LEGO®Star Wars experience.
LEGOLAND WINDSOR RESORT HOTEL - Now open
An exciting LEGO adventure awaits you, as the amazing 150 room, fully themed LEGOLAND Hotel opens at LEGOLAND Windsor RESORT!
Staying overnight at the new LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel is a must for all LEGO fans. From the spectacular dragon-guarded entrance and interactive LEGO features through to the brightly coloured pirate splash pool and fully themed bedrooms, the new hotel will inspire imaginations and create laugh-out loud memories. With dedicated indoor play areas, entertainment and a buffet-style restaurant serving child-friendly meals, it’s the perfect family treat.