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Beautiful painting on the ceiling inside the Qajar Kushak, in Fin Garden, situated in Kashan, Isfahan province of Iran.
Fin Garden is a historical Persian garden, and part of UNESCO World Heritage Site. It contains Kashan's Fin Bath, where Amir Kabir, the Qajarid chancellor, was murdered by an assassin sent by King Nasereddin Shah in 1852. Completed in 1590, the Fin Garden is the oldest extant garden in Iran.
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Rolling incenses hang on the roof of the pagoda to express a peaceful wish for family and life in @ HCMC, Vietnam.
Morning sunlight shines through colorful stained glass windows inside main prayer hall of Nasir al-Mulk Mosque, also known as the Pink mosque, situated in Shiraz, the capital of Fars province of Iran.
Nasir al-Mulk mosque was built during the Qajar era, between 1876 to 1888, by the order of Mirzā Hasan Ali (Nasir ol Molk), a Qajar ruler. It includes extensive colored glass in its facade, and displays other traditional elements such as the Panj Kāse ("five concaved") design.
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Hamer society (and some other tribes) consists of a complex system of age groups. To pass from one age group to another involves complicated rituals. The most significant ceremony for young men is the bull-leaping ceremony, the final test before passing into adulthood and in order to get married. He must jump naked over a number of bulls without falling. If he is able to complete this task, he will become a man and be able to marry a woman. The ceremony lasts three days. Cows are lined up in a row. The initiate, naked (as a symbol of the childhood), has to leap on the back of the first cow, then from one bull to another, until he finally reaches the end of the row. He must not fall of the row and must repeat successfully the test four times to have the right to become a husband. Any boy who fails to complete his four runs, however, will be publicly humiliated: he will be whipped by his female relatives in the middle of the initiation ground and thereafter, for the rest of his life, he will be teased, insulted and beaten by both men and women. Understandably, few novices allow themselves to fail in this way. While the boys walk on cows, Hamar women accompany him: they jump and sing. The more abundant and extensive the initiate’s scars are, the deeper the girls' affection to the boy who is about to become a man is. Totally committed to their initiated sons, the mothers are whipped to blood, in order to prove their courage and accompany their sons during the test. The ceremonies end with several days of feasting, including the typical jumping dances, accompanied by as much sorghum beer as the bull-jumper's family can provide to the visitor. Tourists visit the Hamer hoping to see that traditional leaping ceremony.
© Eric Lafforgue
The Konso are quite a rich tribe, because they have a lot of fields. The villages are really big, organized like wood fortresses, and are ruled by traditional chiefs.
In the village, there are statues, called "Wagas" or "Wakas", which represent dead Konso chiefs or heros who had a heroic life -they killed animals, enemies... But since antique shops have bought the oldest ones, nowadays they tend to be very rare.
The Konso had an interesting tradition after having a fight with an other tribe: they take the tibia bones of their dead ennemies, burn them to ashes, and then dance around.
Before the women were all half nude with a typical white skirt, but as missionaries are very active in the area, they tend to wear Arsenal tee-shirt to hide their breast... There is actually a big challenge in Ethiopia between christian and muslim activits to convert the remote villages.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added in september 2011 the ‘Konso Cultural Landscape of Ethiopia’ to it's World Heritage List.
© Eric Lafforgue
Crosses placed in front of the monument Les Braves, during the ceremonies for the commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of D-Day on Omaha Beach, Normandy, France. The piece, by Anilore Banon, honors the men who died during the WWII Normandy Landings of June 1944, and consist of three parts, “The wings of Hope”, “Rise, Freedom!” and “The Wings of Fraternity”.
Beautiful brickwork & tilework inside the interior chamber of Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhouse, a traditional Iranian public bathhouse in Kashan, Iran. It was constructed in the 16th century, during the Safavid era; however, the bathhouse was damaged in 1778 as a result of an earthquake and was renovated during the Qajar era.
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Beautiful painting of a 12-side star with angular extensions, on the ceiling inside the Qajar Kushak, in Fin Garden, situated in Kashan, Isfahan province of Iran.
Fin Garden is a historical Persian garden, and part of UNESCO World Heritage Site. It contains Kashan's Fin Bath, where Amir Kabir, the Qajarid chancellor, was murdered by an assassin sent by King Nasereddin Shah in 1852. Completed in 1590, the Fin Garden is the oldest extant garden in Iran.
© All rights reserved. You may not use this photo in website, blog or any other media without my explicit permission.
Low angle l view of Rabati Castle, in Akhaltsikhe, Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia.
Rabati Castle was built in the 13th century and had seen many invasions and destructions. In 13th century, the fortress was destroyed by the army of Tamerlane. The majestic fortress was in ruins. Then it was restored, but hundred years later it was again destroyed by Mongolian troops, then came the Ottoman army and the army of the Russian Empire. In times of all the invasions, the fortress was of great strategic importance.
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Asmara is a city of Eritrea, a country of the Africa. It is the capital of Eritea. About five hundred thousand people live in Asmara. The architecture of Asmara was influenced by the Italian colonization.
The town of Asmara was colonized by the Italians. It was colonized in 1889. The town of Asmara became the national capital of the colony in 1897. In 1913 and then later in 1915, Asmara suffered knew some damages because of earthquakes. That is one of the reason why in the 1930’s, the Italians modified the architecture of the city. They built new buildings. Most of the actual center of the town was built by the Italians. The city looked like Roma. Asmara was called "Piccola Roma" (the little Roma). Nowadays, most of the buildings of Asmara have an italian origin. Some shops are still named in Italian.
The three main architectural styles you will find in Asmara are the art deco style, the Victorian style and the Italian new roman style. The Impero Cinema is a famous art deco building of Asmara. As famous as well, there is the Pension Africa, a cubist building. The Europeans at that time used to say that Asmara was a place to experiment “new radical designs”. Some buildings are neo-Romanesque, such as the Roman Catholic Cathedral, some villas are built in a late Victorian style. Art Deco influences are found throughout the city. Architects were restricted by nothing.
There are a lot of religious sites in the town of Asmara. Such as the catholic cathedral, the eclectic cathedral, mosquees, and the copte Nda Mariam cathedral which is one of the most impressive buildings of Asmara. Colored wall pictures done by contemporary artists can be seen in different parts of the town. The town also has traditional markets. It has little shops. The inhabitants are reputed warm and open people.
© Eric Lafforgue
Street view of Procida, a Phlegraean Island located off the coast of Naples, in Campania region, southern Italy.
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View of the beautifully decorated ceiling inside Agha Bozorg Mosque, situated in Kashan, Isfahan province of Iran. It was built in the late 18th century by master-mi'mar Ustad Haj Sa'ban-ali.
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Dusk light over the family chapel in the park garden on Isola Madre, the largest of the Borromean Islands of Lake Maggiore, in Verbano-Cusio-Ossola province, Piedmont region, northwestern Italy.
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Looking up the gap between the escalators at Galeria Kaufhof, a big department store at Alexanderplatz. Renovated 2004-2006. Not as renowned as the KaDeWe but the architecture is much nicer.
土耳其－Istanbul－蓝色清真寺－夜色迷人
Night view of the magnificent Blue Mosque (i.e., Sultan Ahmed Mosque), situated in downtown Istanbul, Istanbul province, Marmara region of Turkey.
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The Maha Kumbh Mela is the largest religious gathering on earth, and takes place every 12 years on the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, the Kumbh Mela took place in Allahabad in 2013 and attracted more than 100 million people...
© Eric Lafforgue