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Karnaphuli or Khawthlangtuipui is the largest and most important river in Chattogram and the Chattogram Hill Tracts. It is a 667-metre (2,188 ft) wide river in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh. Originating from the Saithah village of Mamit district in Mizoram, India, it flows 270 kilometres (170 mi) southwest through Chattogram Hill Tracts and Chattogram into the Bay of Bengal. Before the Padma, it was the fastest flowing river in Bangladesh. It is said to "represent the drainage system of the whole south-western part of Mizoram.Principal tributaries include the Kawrpui River or Thega River, Tuichawng River and Phairuang River. A large hydroelectric power plant using Karnaphuli river was built in the Kaptai region during the 1960s. The mouth of the river hosts the Port of Chattogram, the largest and busiest seaport of Bangladesh.
Early morning fog envelops the light at Montauk Pt. June 2017
Montauk Light house. Construction on the lighthouse was authorized by the Second United States Congress, under President George Washington it's the 4th oldest lighthouse in USA and the first built in NYC. Was one of the most important lights, guiding many ships form Europe.
Buy this photo on Getty Images : Getty Images
The Fagus Factory (German: Fagus Fabrik or Fagus Werk) is an important example of early modern architecture. The factory was designed by Walter Gropius and Adolf Meyer. It was constructed between 1911 and 1913, with additions and interiors completed in 1925.
In 2011 it was added to the Unesco world heritage list.
Submitted: 05/08/2020
Accepted: 25/08/2020
Castle Rising is an important example of a Norman keep surrounded by two defensive earthworks. The facade and embellishments on the fore building are original and the walls mostly intact.
More....
www.flickr.com/photos/193392045@N04/51518774912/in/datepo...
www.flickr.com/photos/193392045@N04/51519802068/in/datepo...
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Dunluce Castle is a now-ruined medieval castle in Northern Ireland. It is located on the edge of a basalt outcropping in County Antrim (between Portballintrae and Portrush), and is accessible via a bridge connecting it to the mainland. The castle is surrounded by extremely steep drops on either side, which may have been an important factor to the early Christians and Vikings who were drawn to this place where an early Irish fort once stood.
"Located on an important harvesting, gathering and processing site for the Coast Salish peoples, as well as the site of a century-old logging mill camp, echoes of the past add a rich sense of history to this spectacular foreshore park with ocean and mountain views."
It seems each time we travel to Vancouver, we end up in this park. It has a great deal to offer those who walk its trails and for this photographer, plenty of challenging opportunities.
Man Ray worked in a wide range of media including photography,painting,and sculpture often blurring the boundaries between these practices.Obstruction,an assemblage of sixty-three wood coat hangers,is an example of a type of artwork that Dada artist Marcel Duchamp called a readymade,a term that suggests Man Ray's appropriation and manipulation of preexisting,common objects.The sculpture playfully mimics a chandelier,but as the hangers seemingly divide and multiply,Obstruction quickly evolves into a dense tangle of overlapping forms.Cast shadows serve as distorted,immaterial extensions of its physical presence.Man Ray first created extension in 1920,but the present work belongs to an edition of fifteen reproductions he created in 1961 for an important exhibition of kinetic art.
-David Cameron
Our annual Christmas tree hunt. This is a time where not only do we get our tree, we spend some time in silence, being appreciative for all we are blessed with. In this busy time, it is very important we pause. We miss a lot when we are constantly on the go. Consider taking a few minutes a day to
5 of 25 Days of Christmas
Suki always brightens up my day !
Please enlarge the picture, click arrows top right.
It makes Suki feel important :-)
It’s important to show it at the right time :-)
Boris Mikhailov
sasanqua camellia, 'Green 99-031', 'Susy Dirr', j c raulston arboretum, ncsu, raleigh, north carolina
Beautiful blooms put on a show stopping tribute :-)
Susy Dirr, daughter of Dr. Michael and Bonnie Dirr was born with cystic fibrosis, which makes the act of breathing a life and death struggle. Undaunted by her disease, she was valedictorian of her high school class and an honor student at the University of GA, graduating with a degree in advertising a year ahead of her class. Cystic fibrosis did not define Susy as a person. She embraced life with a joyful spirit that was uplifting to everyone around her. She made the world a better place with her compassion for others, her biting wit and brilliant mind. When a soul shines so bright, we see it in all things beautiful. So, as summer fades and hints of autumn are in the air, reflections of these lovely flowers, graceful in form and with the sweet fragrance of newly opened tea, begin to fill our senses. We reflect on Susy’s life and know that a part of her spirit remains with us in the garden.
My city - Lodz, Poland. The main hall of the Łódź-Fabryczna station. A place that is both historic and modern.
These textiles come from the southern coast of Peru. Fishing was very important. So were pelicans, which were even used to catch fish for humans.
This was once an important building.
Wiki says:
The Frimmersdorf power plant is a lignite power plant in the city of Grevenbroich. In the meantime it was one of the largest lignite power plants in Germany and in the early 1970s the largest in the world. It is located directly at the Garzweiler opencast mine in the Rhenish lignite mining area and originally had 16 power plant blocks. The power plant site extends over a large area.
Currently, there are still two 300 MW units in the German security standby. The various shutdowns of the two units are scheduled for October 1, 2021
IMPORTANT BUILDING is the topic for TUESday 12th January 2021 Group Our Daily Challenge
Veszprém is a town that loves music. What is important to us is not only the professionals, the big names and the mass events, but we also strive to make music an everyday part of our life. We motivate amateurs and hobby musicians, because music builds communities and gives our inhabitants experiences to remember. We are happy to think about the bands that have grown up here, the Street Music Festival, VeszprémFest, and the Auer Violin Festival. We are proud to say that all stars who have once performed here like to return to us thanks to the open and music-loving audience.
Due to this openness we have a school in Veszprém where 400 children are learning folk dance. There are three parallel classical music concert series to a full house, and every weekend we provide concerts and electronic music events to 100-1200 young people. Another result is that, relative to its size, Veszprém is a leading city in organising live music events.
We do not emphasize one single style or event but would like to focus on music itself as a tool of communication among people and communities. Participation is what actually counts, because we believe that music can make life better at individual and collective levels.
This is why we would like to create social areas for playing music, motivate learning to perform music, and bring inspiring events to the town. All in all we would like to simultaneously strengthen and widen basis (and also, if a pyramid has a wider base, its top can reach higher). At the same time, music and culture are both highly beneficial to the financial state of the town and tourism, and this fits the aims of ECoC 2023 Veszprém perfectly.
Soller — The #Mallorca Series. Two weeks on the island with beautiful light, and architecture, wonderful nature and interesting people-Tourists as Inhabitants. Some Scenes need colors, some need black and white. 😊
Important to know: Iguanas are capable of severely injuring people, other animals and themselves when their body language messages are not recognized. Most iguanas clearly sign that trouble is ahead. They nod their head and wave their dewlap side to side.
The dewlap is a fold of loose skin hanging from the neck or throat of an animal, like a cow. Iguanas use their dewlap to communicate. First, an extended dewlap can simply be a greeting. An extended dewlap is often used to say hello to another creature during mating and most generally as a territorial sign. Second, it can be a form of protection. A threatened iguana may extend its dewlap to intimidate a predator into thinking it is much larger than it is. Third, an extended dewlap may be a sign that the iguana is trying to adjust its temperature. An extended dewlap on an iguana basking in the sun is quite normal. It may be catching sun to warm up or catching a breeze to cool off. So it's important to consider "the big picture" when reading an Iguana's body language.
Parts of an iguana... www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=Up3IVbC...
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami FL
It doesn't matter who you are,
man, woman,
old or child,
worker or farmer,
soldier, student or merchant;
it doesn't matter what your political beliefs are
or the religious one
if they ask you what the thing is
most important for humanity,
Answers
Before
After
Always:
Peace!
Non importa chi tu sia,
uomo, donna,
vecchio o fanciullo,
operaio o contadino,
soldato, studente o commerciante;
non importa quale sia il tuo credo politico
o quello religioso
se ti chiedono qual è la cosa
più importante per l’umanità,
rispondi
prima
dopo
sempre:
La pace!
Li Tien Min
DSC_1961
Labelita Store
[LABELITA] Passion Outfit Fatpack
Passion Outfit (Legacy - Perky - Reborn - Waifu - Lara X)
all info in the blog
Heidi thinks it’s important to train your humans. Once you know how it‘s done it‘s fairly easy she says. You just need to let them know who‘s the boss and find out how to push their buttons. So if you think your human is lazy and the floors need cleaning, just pee on all your paws while in the litter box and then go tour the whole place. You’ll be surprised how fast your servants jump from their couch and start a thorough house cleaning.
Have a happy weekend everyone! I‘ll be doing some cleaning, I guess 😂
Le Bécasseau sanderling a connu d’importantes baisses d’effectif au cours des dernières décennies, probablement à cause de perturbations d’origine humaine et de la pollution dans les lieux d’hivernage et les lieux qu’il fréquente durant la migration.
Pour en savoir plus sur ce magnifique mais fragile limicole:
Référence: faune-especes.canada.ca/situation-oiseaux/oiseau-bird-fra...
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This is the little sandpiper that runs up and down the beach "like a clockwork toy," chasing the receding waves. Plumper and more active than most small sandpipers, and quite pale at most times of year, a good match for dry sand. Sanderlings nest only in limited areas of the far north, but during migration and winter they are familiar sights on coastal beaches all over the world.
Conservation status:
May be seriously declining; some surveys show an 80% drop in numbers in the Americas since early 1970s. Relies heavily on a few staging areas in migration, and vulnerable to destruction of those sites.
Reference:
www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/sanderling
Sainte-Flavie by the beach
This Turkey Vulture was seen carefully preening itself at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve - it also kept its eye trained on me (just in case I collapsed and became a meal)
Paper, Pastel 2025
This painting is one of the series "Eternity".
In painting this picture, I took as a starting point my earlier miniature work "White Day." (2023) nataliantonovich.com/painting/ln/eng/gallery-image/23973?...
Relationship in space is important to impose 'characterization' to the various elements. To infuse believability to an item. In other words; it comes forth from the background and becomes something. They are no longer alone, but present themselves in concert, each enhancing one another's presence.
In such a structure the cloud and even grassy field become involved entities in the picture.
Mostly non-theistic Friends
The actual meeting house is adjacent to the school, which is pictured above.
# I attended here many Sunday mornings when I lived in Chester County. I went there primarily to meditate, as most of the time there was quiet. There were no priests and near the beginning of the hour someone would very briefly read from a verse from the Bible, but other than that there was no mention of God or Christ, hence the term “non-theistic”. On occasion someone in attendance might stand to say whatever was on their mind, but it was brief and their was no further discussion of the subject.
Meditation was very important to me, as I worked many hours in the week and had thee children who required my attention as well as my house that required constant upkeep.
So, these “meetings” was my time to calm myself and gain a bit of peace. I always came away refreshed. And I still practice meditation at home.
Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl ibn Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mughīrah ibn Bardizbah al-Ju‘fī al-Bukhārī 19 July 810 – 1 September 870), or Bukhārī, commonly referred to as Imam al-Bukhari or Imam Bukhari, was a Persian Islamic scholar who was born in Bukhara (the capital of the Bukhara Region (viloyat) of Uzbekistan). He authored the hadith collection known as Sahih al-Bukhari, regarded by Sunni Muslims as one of the most authentic (sahih) hadith collections. He also wrote other books such as Al-Adab al-Mufrad.
Imam al-Bukhari was the great theologian of the East. He collected and recorded about 600 thousand hadith, i.e. legend based on cases of life or some sayings of the Prophet. Out of them, al-Bukhari selected as “flawless” about 7400 hadith to include into the famous “As-Sahih” which became the second most important book after the Koran for the majority of Sunni.
The mausoleum of Imam al-Bukhari presents in all of its magnificence. In the complex that occupies a vast territory, there are mausoleums, mosques, hotel for tourists and pilgrims, souvenir shops and religious literature.
The mausoleum of Imam al-Bukhari is one of the main pilgrimage sites in Uzbekistan. The visiting of three shrines in Samarkand – the mausoleums of al-Bukhari, Shakhi-Zinda and Rukhabad – within one day, is called “small Hajj”.
Bud and bloom.
Another client who loved this kind of more 'antique' image of flowers, she did not know which flowers, but there was a colour-scheme in which these fitted!
Of course I could not resist taking some just for me...
M, (*_*)
Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
Rose, orange, bud, bloom, drops, opulent, plenitude, full, blooming, flower, colour, studio, design, black-background, square, NikonD7000, "magda indigo"
В этот день мы отправились в страну башен и легенд, небольшую, но очень живописную республику Ингушетию, и планировали снимать закат уже на перевале Цей-Лоам. Тогда мы были уверены, что время на дорогу мы выделили с приличным запасом и полностью учли предыдущий опыт довольно частых остановок, чтобы запечатлеть что-нибудь красивое.
Дорога к перевалу, как изящная лента, свивалась среди еще заснеженных гор, простираясь вдоль хребтов и бархатных лугов. Это была не просто асфальтированная трасса, а настоящий аттракцион пейзажей, устоять перед красотой которых было практически невозможно. За каждым поворотом открывались новые, впечатляющие виды: скалистые вершины, вздымающиеся до самых небес, и глубокие долины, которые убаюкивали своим одиночеством. На остановках мы видели, как дикие цветы распустились среди камней, делясь с нами своей жизнерадостностью. Слышали тихий шепот быстро текущего где-то вдали ручья и гул мириад насекомых, как только стихал могучий ветер.
Говорят, что время в такие моменты замирает. Допускаю, что так оно и есть, просто происходит не с каждым и точно не с нами в тот день. Часы неумолимо отсчитывали секунды и у нас оставалось не так много драгоценных минут до момента, когда солнце начнёт погружаться за горизонт. Свет становился мягче и самые высокие пики уже укутывались в пушистые облака, готовясь провести эту ночь с комфортом. Вскоре небо окунулось в золотистые и малиново-розовые оттенки, а случайные облака, попадающие в лучи закатного солнца, отражали невероятную палитру цветов.
Поднявшись на перевал, мы оказались в плотном облаке, одном из многих, которые эти каменные великаны с седыми головами, укладывали подле себя. Ветер, словно старый и уставший пастух, подгонял белые тучки будто зазевавшихся овечек, открывая на мгновенье сияющие вершины. Некогда бушующее пламя заката угасло, оставив после себя лишь тлеющие угли, которые продолжали искриться, словно напоминая о том, что где-то внутри них еще осталось пламя и они просто ждут, чтобы их разожгли снова.
Может быть, я не успел на закат в его строгих рамках времени, но я получил массу впечатлений, оказавшись на одном из самых красивых перевалов Кавказа, и это для меня гораздо важнее. В итоге мы обсудили планы на рассветную съемку, и отправились устраиваться на ночлег.
On this day, we set off to the land of towers and legends, a small yet very picturesque republic of Ingushetia, planning to capture the sunset already at the Tsey-Loam Pass. At that time, we were confident that we had allotted enough time for the journey, fully considering our previous experiences of frequent stops to capture something beautiful.
The road to the pass wounds like a graceful ribbon among the still snow-covered mountains, stretching along ridges and velvet meadows. It was not just an asphalted roadway, but a true attraction of landscapes, difficult to resist the beauty of which. With every turn, new, stunning views unfolded: rocky peaks soaring to the very skies and deep valleys that lulled with their solitude. At our stops, we saw wildflowers blooming among the stones, sharing their cheerfulness with us. We could hear the quiet whisper of a rapidly flowing stream somewhere in the distance and the hum of myriad insects as soon as the mighty wind calmed down.
It’s said that time stands still in such moments. I admit that it may be true, but it doesn't happen to everyone, and certainly not to us that day. The clock relentlessly counted the seconds, and we were left with not many precious minutes until the moment the sun would begin to sink below the horizon. The light was growing softer, and the highest peaks were already wrapped in fluffy clouds, preparing to spend the night in comfort. Soon, the sky was immersed in golden and rose-tinted shades, while the scattered clouds caught in the rays of the setting sun reflected an incredible palette of colors.
Having ascended to the pass, we found ourselves enveloped in a dense cloud, one of many that these stone giants with their silver heads laid beside them. The wind, like an old and weary shepherd, nudged the white clouds as if they were dozing sheep, momentarily revealing the shining peaks. The once-raging flames of the sunset had faded, leaving behind only smoldering embers that continued to sparkle, as if reminding us that somewhere within them, the fire still lingered, simply waiting to be rekindled.
Perhaps I didn’t make it to the sunset within its strict confines of time, but I gained a wealth of impressions by being at one of the most beautiful passes in the Caucasus, and that is far more important to me. In the end, we discussed plans for the dawn shoot and set off to find a place to spend the night.
Market Street is an important thoroughfare in San Francisco, California. It begins at The Embarcadero in front of the Ferry Building at the northeastern edge of the city and runs southwest through downtown, passing the Civic Center and the Castro District, to the intersection with Corbett Avenue in the Twin Peaks neighborhood. Beyond this point, the roadway continues as Portola Drive into the southwestern quadrant of San Francisco. Portola Drive extends south to the intersection of St. Francis Boulevard and Sloat Boulevard, where it continues as Junipero Serra Boulevard.
Market Street is the boundary of two street grids. Streets on its southeast side are parallel or perpendicular to Market Street, while those on the northwest are nine degrees off from the cardinal directions.
Market Street is a major transit artery for the city of San Francisco, and has carried in turn horse-drawn streetcars, cable cars, electric streetcars, electric trolleybuses, and diesel buses. Today Muni's buses, trolleybuses, and heritage streetcars (on the F Market line) share the street, while below the street the two-level Market Street Subway carries Muni Metro and BART. While cable cars no longer operate on Market Street, the surviving cable car lines terminate to the side of the street at its intersections with California Street and Powell Street.
Construction
Market Street cuts across the city for three miles (5 km) from the waterfront to the hills of Twin Peaks. It was laid out originally by Jasper O'Farrell, a 26-year old trained civil engineer who emigrated to Yerba Buena, as the town was then known. The town was renamed San Francisco in 1847 after it was captured by Americans during the Mexican-American War. O'Farrell first repaired the original layout of the settlement around Portsmouth Square and then established Market Street as the widest street in town, 120 feet between property lines. (Van Ness now beats it with 125 feet.) It was described at the time as an arrow aimed straight at "Los Pechos de la Chola" (the Breasts of the Maiden), now called Twin Peaks. Writing in Forgotten Pioneers.
Brú na Bóinne (irisch für „Palast des Boyne“, eigentlich „Palast der weißen Kuh“, ist eine im Tal des Boyne (Boyne Valley), nördlich von Dublin im County Meath, Republik Irland, gelegene große Ansammlung prähistorischer Kultstätten, die zwischen 3500 und 2500 v. Chr. entstanden. Einige von ihnen, darunter die mit großen Megalithen eingefassten Grabhügel, sind erhalten geblieben: Die Anlagen von Dowth, Knowth und Newgrange gehören seit 1993 zum UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe.
Brú na Bóinne, Palace of the Boyne or Mansion of the Boyne) is an area in County Meath, Ireland, located in a bend of the River Boyne. It contains one of the world's most important prehistoric landscapes dating from the Neolithic period, including the large Megalithic passage graves of Knowth, Newgrange and Dowth as well as some 90 additional monuments.
Since 1993 the site has been a World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO, known since 2013 as "Brú na Bóinne - Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne".
(Wikipedia)
Even I have to be reminded of this sort of fact from time to time. Especially when depression takes hold and refuses to let go.
Someone out there, has, to feel better that I exist.
When building a castle, access to sufficient water is one of the most important points to consider.
The builders of Ryzmburk Castle in Bohemia certainly took this into account. And so they diverted water from a spring directly into the castle. You can see this access point here. I am quite sure that this spring was one of the main reasons for building the castle in exactly this location.
Even after more than 700 years, the water is still flowing. To me, as a layperson, this looks like good planning.
Wenn man eine Burg baut ist der Zugang zu ausreichend Wasser einer der wichtigsten Punkte, die es zu berücksichtigen gilt.
Das haben natürlich auch die Erbauer der Burg Ryzmburk in Böhmen bedacht. Und so haben sie das Wasser einer Quelle direkt in die Burg umgeleitet. Diesen Zugang seht Ihr hier.
Ich bin mir ziemlich sicher, dass diese Quelle einer der Hauptgründe war, die Burg exakt an dieser Stelle zu bauen.
Auch nach mehr als 700 Jahren fliesst das Wasser noch immer. Das sieht für mich als Laie nach einer guten Planung aus.
Posidonia oceanica è una pianta marina endemica del Mediterraneo, della famiglia delle angiosperma, importantissima per la conservazione degli ecosistemi del Mediterraneo.
Questo ecosistema è in grado di catturare CO2 dall’atmosfera, cambiando l’acidità dell’acqua e svolgendo un ruolo fondamentale nella regolazione dell’equilibrio ecologico del mare.
Cresce nei fondali marini a 2 – 40 m di profondità, anche lontano dalle coste. Forma delle praterie sottomarine che hanno una notevole importanza ecologica, costituendo la comunità climax del mar Mediterraneo, proteggendo la linea di costa dall’erosione e ospitando molti organismi animali e vegetali.
......
Posidonia oceanica is a marine plant endemic of the Mediterranean, of the angiosperm family, very important for the conservation of Mediterranean ecosystems.
This ecosystem is able to capture CO2 from the atmosphere, changing the acidity of the water and playing a fundamental role in regulating the ecological balance of the sea.
It grows in the seabed at 2 – 40 m depth, even far from the coasts. It forms underwater meadows that have considerable ecological importance, constituting the climax community of the Mediterranean Sea, protecting the coastline from erosion and hosting many animal and plant organisms.
© Important notice: do not use my images without my written permission, even for a non commercial use. If you're interested in any of my photos you must contact me first. All my images are under full copyright.
© All rights reserved.
Lake Pleasant is an important fresh water reservoir in the midst of dramatic desert landscape. So, naturally, when I first saw this beast I thought "camel". On closer inspection, it turned out to be a wild burro, part of a herd possibly descended from the donkeys brought by Spanish explorers in the 1500s. Yavapai County, Arizona,
IMPORTANT: for non-pro users who read the info on a computer, just enlarge your screen to 120% (or more), then the full text will appear below the photo with a white background - which makes reading so much easier.
The color version of the photo above is here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
So far there's only been one photo in my gallery that hasn't been taken in my garden ('The Flame Rider', captured in the Maggia Valley: www.flickr.com/photos/191055893@N07/53563448847/in/datepo... ) - which makes the image above the second time I've "strayed from the path" (although not very far, since the photo was taken only approximately 500 meters from my house).
Overall, I'll stick to my "only-garden rule", but every once in a while I'll show you a little bit of the landscape around my village, because I think it will give you a better sense of just how fascinating this region is, and also of its history.
The title I chose for the photo may seem cheesy, and it's certainly not very original, but I couldn't think of another one, because it's an honest reflection of what I felt when I took it: a profound sense of peace - although if you make it to the end of this text you'll realize my relationship with that word is a bit more complicated.
I got up early that day; it was a beautiful spring morning, and there was still a bit of mist in the valley below my village which I hoped would make for a few nice mood shots, so I quickly grabbed my camera and went down there before the rising sun could dissolve the magical layer on the scenery.
Most human activity hadn't started yet, and I was engulfed in the sounds of the forest as I was walking the narrow trail along the horse pasture; it seemed every little creature around me wanted to make its presence known to potential mates (or rivals) in a myriad of sounds and voices and noises (in case you're interested, here's a taste of what I usually wake up to in spring, but you best use headphones: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfoCTqdAVCE )
Strolling through such an idyllic landscape next to grazing horses and surrounded by birdsong and beautiful trees, I guess it's kind of obvious one would feel the way I described above and choose the title I did, but as I looked at the old stone buildings - the cattle shelter you can see in the foreground and the stable further up ahead on the right - I also realized how fortunate I was.
It's hard to imagine now, because Switzerland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world today, but the men and women who had carried these stones and constructed the walls of these buildings were among the poorest in Europe. The hardships the people in some of the remote and little developed valleys in Ticino endured only a few generations ago are unimaginable to most folks living in my country today.
It wasn't uncommon that people had to sell their own kids as child slaves - the girls had to work in factories or in rice fields, the boys as "living chimney brushes" in northern Italy - just because there wasn't enough food to support the whole family through the harsh Ticino winters.
If you wonder why contemporary Swiss historians speak of "slaves" as opposed to child laborers, it's because that's what many of them actually were: auctioned off for a negotiable prize at the local market, once sold, these kids were not payed and in many cases not even fed by their masters (they had to beg for food in the streets or steal it).
Translated from German Wikipedia: ...The Piazza grande in Locarno, where the Locarno Film Festival is held today, was one of the places where orphans, foundlings and children from poor families were auctioned off. The boys were sold as chimney sweeps, the girls ended up in the textile industry, in tobacco processing in Brissago or in the rice fields of Novara, which was also extremely hard work: the girls had to stand bent over in the water for twelve to fourteen hours in all weathers. The last verse of the Italian folk song 'Amore mio non piangere' reads: “Mamma, papà, non piangere, se sono consumata, è stata la risaia che mi ha rovinata” (Mom, dad, don't cry when I'm used up, it was the rice field that destroyed me.)... de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaminfegerkinder
The conditions for the chimney sweeps - usually boys between the age of 8 and 12 (or younger, because they had to be small enough to be able to crawl into the chimneys) - were so catastrophic that many of them didn't survive; they died of starvation, cold or soot in their lungs - as well as of work-related accidents like breaking their necks when they fell, or suffocatig if they got stuck in inside a chimney. This practice of "child slavery" went on as late as the 1950s (there's a very short article in English on the topic here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spazzacamini and a more in depth account for German speakers in this brief clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gda8vZp_zsc ).
Now I don't know if the people who built the old stone houses along my path had to sell any of their kids, but looking at the remnants of their (not so distant) era I felt an immense sense of gratitude that I was born at a time of prosperity - and peace - in my region, my country and my home. Because none of it was my doing: it was simple luck that decided when and where I came into this world.
It also made me think of my own family. Both of my grandparents on my father's side grew up in Ticino (they were both born in 1900), but while they eventually left Switzerland's poorest region to live in its richest, the Kanton of Zurich, my grandfather's parents relocated to northern Italy in the 1920s and unfortunately were still there when WWII broke out.
They lost everything during the war, and it was their youngest daughter - whom I only knew as "Zia" which means "aunt" in Italian - who earned a little money to support herself and my great-grandparents by giving piano lessons to high-ranking Nazi officers and their kids (this was towards the end of the war when German forces had occupied Italy).
I never knew that about her; Zia only very rarely spoke of the war, but one time when I visited her when she was already over a 100 years old (she died at close to 104), I asked her how they had managed to survive, and she told me that she went to the local prefecture nearly every day to teach piano. "And on the way there would be the dangling ones" she said, with a shudder.
I didn't get what she meant, so she explained. Visiting the city center where the high ranking military resided meant she had to walk underneath the executed men and women who were hanging from the lantern posts along the road (these executions - often of civilians - were the Germans' retaliations for attacks by the Italian partisans).
I never forgot her words - nor could I shake the look on her face as she re-lived this memory. And I still can't grasp it; my house in Ticino is only 60 meters from the Italian border, and the idea that there was a brutal war going on three houses down the road from where I live now in Zia's lifetime strikes me as completely surreal.
So, back to my title for the photo above. "Peace". It's such a simple, short word, isn't it? And we use it - or its cousin "peaceful" - quite often when we mean nice and quiet or stress-free. But if I'm honest I don't think I know what it means. My grandaunt Zia did, but I can't know. And I honestly hope I never will.
I'm sorry I led you down such a dark road; I usually intend to make people smile with the anecdotes that go with my photos, but this one demanded a different approach (I guess with this latest image I've strayed from the path in more than one sense, and I hope you'll forgive me).
Ticino today is the region with the second highest average life expectancy in Europe (85.2 years), and "The Human Development Index" of 0.961 in 2021 was one of the highest found anywhere in the world, and northern Italy isn't far behind. But my neighbors, many of whom are now in their 90s, remember well it wasn't always so.
That a region so poor it must have felt like purgatory to many of its inhabitants could turn into something as close to paradise on Earth as I can imagine in a person's lifetime should make us all very hopeful. But, and this is the sad part, it also works the other way 'round. And I believe we'd do well to remember that, too.
To all of you - with my usual tardiness but from the bottom of my heart - a happy, healthy, hopeful 2025 and beyond.
Újezd is an important traffic junction as it serves both automotive and tramway traffic. Here you will also find the funicular to the famous Petřín Hill and many cool pubs and bars that are worth a visit. More importantly, there is a memorial to the victims of Communism located at the base of Petřín Hill - it is a rather disturbing series of statues dedicated to the victims of the Communist era between 1948-1989.
The city walls in Piran, view from one tower to the other :)
Piran is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. The town is known for its medieval architecture, with narrow streets and compact houses and it's one of Slovenia's major tourist attractions. Architecture of Piran resembles the Italian Venice, to which it belonged in the past, together with Istria. Most of the buildings, as well as the medieval walls separating the city from the rest of the mainland, also come from this period. In the middle of the town is the Tartini Square, with a monument in memory of Giuseppe Tartini. Nearby are located various important buildings, such as Tartini’s house, first mentioned in 1384 and one of the oldest in town, the Municipal Palace. The area of Piran has been inhabited since ancient times. The name of the town most probably originates from the Greek "pyros", meaning fire, due to ancient lighthouses which were supposed to be on the edge of the marina. From 1283 to 1797, the town became part of the Republic of Venice and then was annexed to the Austrian Empire. In 1954 The town was annexed to Yugoslavia.
City walls - former defensive fortifications erected around the city. The first fortifications were built in the 7th century. Today you can see fortifications from the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. Only the 200-meter-long walls with seven gates have survived. The walls are of uneven height because they were built in different periods - this shows how the architecture of defense has changed. This is one of the best viewpoints on the Old Town and the sea.
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Mury miejskie w Piranie, widok z jednej wieży na kolejną :)
Piran – miasto w Słowenii, siedziba gminy Piran, położone na skalistym cyplu, jest jednym z najatrakcyjniejszych turystycznie miejsc nad słoweńskim Adriatykiem, słynnym ze ze średniowiecznej architektury z wąskimi uliczkami i zwartą zabudową. Swą architekturą o przypomina włoską Wenecję, do której wraz z Istrią należało w przeszłości. Z tego okresu pochodzi też większość zabudowy, a także średniowieczne mury, oddzielające miasto od reszty lądu. Reprezentacyjny plac Tartiniego powstał pod koniec XIX wieku, po zasypaniu wewnętrznego basenu portowego (1894). Mieści się przy nim ratusz i budynek sądu oraz zachowana z obwarowań brama św. Jerzego. Obszar Piranu był zasiedlony od czasów antycznych, a nazwa miasta wywodzi się od greckiego "pyrá", oznaczającego ognisko, ponieważ na krańcu półwyspu zapalano ogień jako punkt orientacyjny dla statków płynących do portu Koper. W 1283 wraz z wybrzeżem Istrii Piran przeszedł pod władzę Republiki Weneckiej, zaś po upadku potęgi Wenecji (1797) Piran przeszedł pod panowanie Habsburgów, zaś w 1954r. znalazł się w granicach Jugosławii.
Mury miejskie - dawne fortyfikacje obronne wzniesione wokół miasta. Pierwsze umocnienia zbudowano już w VII wieku. To, co można zobaczyć dzisiaj to fortyfikacje z przełomu XV i XVI wieku. Zachowały się jedynie mury o długości 200 metrów z siedmioma bramami. Mury mają nierówną wysokość, bo powstawały w różnych okresach – widać dzięki temu jak zmieniała się architektura obronna. To jeden z najlepszych punktów widokowych na położoną na cyplu starówkę.