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Prompt: full body view, abracadabra magic foggy forest stones moss swamp twig cute funny little surreal owl in hat, necklace, autumn leaves, 8k, --ar 4:5 --stylize 750 --v 6.1
Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station
Sacramento County, California
Cooling towers reach 426 ft. (130 meters) high.
SMUD nuclear power plant built in 1966, currently serving as a power plant using natural gas and solar to produce electricity. In 1978, instrumentation system failure led to steam generator dryout, an accident that could have possibly done great environmental damage. When the reactor was at power, a failure of the NNI power supply resulted in a loss of main feedwater, which caused a reactor trip. Because instrumentation drift falsely indicated that the steam generator contained enough water, control room operators did not take prompt action to open the EFW flow control valves to establish secondary heat removal. This resulted in steam generator dryout. The plant was decommissioned in 1989.
Sourp Magar or Magaravank is an Armenian monastery located in a forested valley in the Pentadaktylos range in Cyprus. It is de facto located in Northern Cyprus. The Magaravank stands at 530 metres and is about 3 km from the Halevga Forest Station. In addition to its historical interest as a centre of Armenian culture, Sourp Magar is noted for its picturesque location and distant views of the Mediterranean and the mountains in Anatolia. The monastery had close ties with the Armenian Catholicosate of Cicilia, located in Antelias, Lebanon.
Magaravank was founded in the early eleventh century and at that time seems to have belonged to the Coptic Orthodox Church. It was dedicated to Saint Macarius of Alexandria who died in 395 AD. Of the Coptic history of Sourp Magar nothing is known, but sometime before 1425 the monastery was transferred to the Armenians in Cyprus. Armenians had long been resident in Cyprus, but their numbers increased substantially after fall of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in 1375 when its last king Leo V escaped the Mamlukes. The crown of the Kingdom of Armenia subsequently passed to the Lusignan rulers of Cyprus. Armenians continued to migrate to Cyprus as Turkic peoples entered Anatolia and established powerful kingdoms there in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The transfer of Sourp Magar to the Armenians was probably occasioned by these events and the increasing importance of the Armenian community in the Lusignan kingdom.
The Armenians retained control of Sourp Magar and its lands under Venetian and Ottoman rule. In the Ottoman Era, it was often called the Blue Monastery on account of the colour of the doors and windows. In 1642, at the time of Ibrahim I, the establishment was exempted from taxes. This exemption was renewed in 1660 and 1701. Restoration work is recorded to have been undertaken in 1735 and again in 1814, when the larger of the two chapels was reconstructed. Sourp Magar has, over its long history, served a wide range of social functions, from a school and rest-house for pilgrims to an orphanage and summer retreat for the Armenians of Nicosia. Some people lived on-site full-time, a report made in 1935 noting that 17 people resided there. Sourp Magar once housed a collection of manuscripts and other sacred items, but these were re-located to the Holy See of Cilicia in 1947. After the 1974 Turkish invasion, the Armenian community could no longer maintain custodians at Sourp Magar and the complex fell into ruins. Armenians nonetheless retain great attachment to their ancient establishment. Thanks to the efforts of Armenian Cypriot MP Vartkes Mahdessian, three pilgrimages have been made there, the last of which took place on 9 May 2010.
The Sourp Magar consists of an irregular rectangle of two-storied residential buildings constructed around a generous precinct. The site overall slopes gently from west to east. Two small churches or chapels, standing in the north-east part of the central courtyard, stand side-by-side. The largest chapel, with its vault still in place, was built in 1814. The chapels appear to be the vestiges of the side aisles of a fairly large church, the nave of which has more or less disappeared. This nave is represented by a large arch (rebuilt) and the common vestibule between the two chapels. The antiquity of the apses is indicated by the masonry which is close to the eleventh-century parts of the churches at Lythrangomi and Aphendrika on the Karpass Peninsula. The Aphendrika churches have been dated on good authority to the eleventh century and appear to have suffered a similar fate, being ruined by earthquakes in the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
The line of residential buildings facing towards the north and east probably belong to the fifteenth century judging from the shape and style of the Gothic windows and doors. One window has a chevron design, a characteristic feature of later Gothic building in Cyprus (as well old Coptic Cairo). These building were probably put up when the Armenians first took possession of the site. Internally, the buildings are two-storied, with a simple arcade below and a walkway above. The walkway was originally edged by stone posts with wooden lintels. The roofs throughout rested on wooden beams and were covered with curved tiles.
The residential buildings at Sourp Magar are extremely important for the history of architecture in Cyprus, being the best-preserved and most extensive examples of late medieval domestic building on the island, even in their ruined state. Camille Enlart (1862–1927), the doyen of Gothic architecture who visited Cyprus in the nineteenth century, did not mention Sourp Magar in his landmark volume, and the buildings, as a consequence, have not been received the recognition they deserve. The only architectural account was given by George H. Everett Jeffery who, writing in 1918, commented that the east side "retains its architectural character in richly moulded pointed arch windows ... and in a venerable doorway. A large room used as a guest chamber, with the roof supported on a central column at the north-east corner, is of the same date as the eastern façade."
From the 1920s modern tiles and other additions were added in many places, while the post-war period brought misguided rebuilding with reinforced concrete. One of the medieval windows had a concrete awning with steel I-beams inserted into it, evidently to provide a place for a toilet and bathroom. Part of the walkway floor in the interior was also rebuilt using reinforced concrete.
The 1974 Turkish invasion precipitated a degree of vandalism and the looting of the site for building materials. Many of the old roof tiles, now rendered valueless by recent prosperity, lie neatly stacked beside the outer walls. Most of the wooden rafters have disappeared. From 2005 the Turkish authorities rebuilt and re-roofed some rooms on the south side of the precinct with the idea of providing refreshments for forest trekkers and there was discussion of further developments. The project, however, has not been continued.
Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.
Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides.
A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.
Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with the support and approval of the TRNC government, while the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union as a whole, and the international community regard it as an occupation force. This military presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are mostly moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", PACE under the name "Turkish Cypriot Community", and Organization of Turkic States with its own name.
Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.
Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the late nineteenth-century and the first half of the twentieth-century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.
The repeated rejections by the British of Greek Cypriot demands for enosis, union with Greece, led to armed resistance, organised by the National Organization of Cypriot Struggle, or EOKA. EOKA, led by the Greek-Cypriot commander George Grivas, systematically targeted British colonial authorities. One of the effects of EOKA's campaign was to alter the Turkish position from demanding full reincorporation into Turkey to a demand for taksim (partition). EOKA's mission and activities caused a "Cretan syndrome" (see Turkish Resistance Organisation) within the Turkish Cypriot community, as its members feared that they would be forced to leave the island in such a case as had been the case with Cretan Turks. As such, they preferred the continuation of British colonial rule and then taksim, the division of the island. Due to the Turkish Cypriots' support for the British, EOKA's leader, Georgios Grivas, declared them to be enemies. The fact that the Turks were a minority was, according to Nihat Erim, to be addressed by the transfer of thousands of Turks from mainland Turkey so that Greek Cypriots would cease to be the majority. When Erim visited Cyprus as the Turkish representative, he was advised by Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the then Governor of Cyprus, that Turkey should send educated Turks to settle in Cyprus.
Turkey actively promoted the idea that on the island of Cyprus two distinctive communities existed, and sidestepped its former claim that "the people of Cyprus were all Turkish subjects". In doing so, Turkey's aim to have self-determination of two to-be equal communities in effect led to de jure partition of the island.[citation needed] This could be justified to the international community against the will of the majority Greek population of the island. Dr. Fazil Küçük in 1954 had already proposed Cyprus be divided in two at the 35° parallel.
Lindley Dan, from Notre Dame University, spotted the roots of intercommunal violence to different visions among the two communities of Cyprus (enosis for Greek Cypriots, taksim for Turkish Cypriots). Also, Lindlay wrote that "the merging of church, schools/education, and politics in divisive and nationalistic ways" had played a crucial role in creation of havoc in Cyprus' history. Attalides Michael also pointed to the opposing nationalisms as the cause of the Cyprus problem.
By the mid-1950's, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey. In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise". This perspective contributed to the willingness of Turkish Cypriots to align themselves with the British, who started recruiting Turkish Cypriots into the police force that patrolled Cyprus to fight EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that sought to rid the island of British rule.
EOKA targeted colonial authorities, including police, but Georgios Grivas, the leader of EOKA, did not initially wish to open up a new front by fighting Turkish Cypriots and reassured them that EOKA would not harm their people. In 1956, some Turkish Cypriot policemen were killed by EOKA members and this provoked some intercommunal violence in the spring and summer, but these attacks on policemen were not motivated by the fact that they were Turkish Cypriots.
However, in January 1957, Grivas changed his policy as his forces in the mountains became increasingly pressured by the British Crown forces. In order to divert the attention of the Crown forces, EOKA members started to target Turkish Cypriot policemen intentionally in the towns, so that Turkish Cypriots would riot against the Greek Cypriots and the security forces would have to be diverted to the towns to restore order. The killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman on 19 January, when a power station was bombed, and the injury of three others, provoked three days of intercommunal violence in Nicosia. The two communities targeted each other in reprisals, at least one Greek Cypriot was killed and the British Army was deployed in the streets. Greek Cypriot stores were burned and their neighbourhoods attacked. Following the events, the Greek Cypriot leadership spread the propaganda that the riots had merely been an act of Turkish Cypriot aggression. Such events created chaos and drove the communities apart both in Cyprus and in Turkey.
On 22 October 1957 Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot replaced Sir John Harding as the British Governor of Cyprus. Foot suggested five to seven years of self-government before any final decision. His plan rejected both enosis and taksim. The Turkish Cypriot response to this plan was a series of anti-British demonstrations in Nicosia on 27 and 28 January 1958 rejecting the proposed plan because the plan did not include partition. The British then withdrew the plan.
In 1957, Black Gang, a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation, was formed to patrol a Turkish Cypriot enclave, the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, against activities of EOKA. The organisation later attempted to grow into a national scale, but failed to gain public support.
By 1958, signs of dissatisfaction with the British increased on both sides, with a group of Turkish Cypriots forming Volkan (later renamed to the Turkish Resistance Organisation) paramilitary group to promote partition and the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as dictated by the Menderes plan. Volkan initially consisted of roughly 100 members, with the stated aim of raising awareness in Turkey of the Cyprus issue and courting military training and support for Turkish Cypriot fighters from the Turkish government.
In June 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, was expected to propose a plan to resolve the Cyprus issue. In light of the new development, the Turks rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned shops and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of the segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing, Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On 26 June 1984, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On 9 January 1995, Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.
The crisis reached a climax on 12 June 1958, when eight Greeks, out of an armed group of thirty five arrested by soldiers of the Royal Horse Guards on suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura, were killed in a suspected attack by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos.
After the EOKA campaign had begun, the British government successfully began to turn the Cyprus issue from a British colonial problem into a Greek-Turkish issue. British diplomacy exerted backstage influence on the Adnan Menderes government, with the aim of making Turkey active in Cyprus. For the British, the attempt had a twofold objective. The EOKA campaign would be silenced as quickly as possible, and Turkish Cypriots would not side with Greek Cypriots against the British colonial claims over the island, which would thus remain under the British. The Turkish Cypriot leadership visited Menderes to discuss the Cyprus issue. When asked how the Turkish Cypriots should respond to the Greek Cypriot claim of enosis, Menderes replied: "You should go to the British foreign minister and request the status quo be prolonged, Cyprus to remain as a British colony". When the Turkish Cypriots visited the British Foreign Secretary and requested for Cyprus to remain a colony, he replied: "You should not be asking for colonialism at this day and age, you should be asking for Cyprus be returned to Turkey, its former owner".
As Turkish Cypriots began to look to Turkey for protection, Greek Cypriots soon understood that enosis was extremely unlikely. The Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios III, now set independence for the island as his objective.
Britain resolved to solve the dispute by creating an independent Cyprus. In 1959, all involved parties signed the Zurich Agreements: Britain, Turkey, Greece, and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, respectively. The new constitution drew heavily on the ethnic composition of the island. The President would be a Greek Cypriot, and the Vice-President a Turkish Cypriot with an equal veto. The contribution to the public service would be set at a ratio of 70:30, and the Supreme Court would consist of an equal number of judges from both communities as well as an independent judge who was not Greek, Turkish or British. The Zurich Agreements were supplemented by a number of treaties. The Treaty of Guarantee stated that secession or union with any state was forbidden, and that Greece, Turkey and Britain would be given guarantor status to intervene if that was violated. The Treaty of Alliance allowed for two small Greek and Turkish military contingents to be stationed on the island, and the Treaty of Establishment gave Britain sovereignty over two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
On 15 August 1960, the Colony of Cyprus became fully independent as the Republic of Cyprus. The new republic remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.
The new constitution brought dissatisfaction to Greek Cypriots, who felt it to be highly unjust for them for historical, demographic and contributional reasons. Although 80% of the island's population were Greek Cypriots and these indigenous people had lived on the island for thousands of years and paid 94% of taxes, the new constitution was giving the 17% of the population that was Turkish Cypriots, who paid 6% of taxes, around 30% of government jobs and 40% of national security jobs.
Within three years tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. A constitutional court ruled in 1963 Makarios had failed to uphold article 173 of the constitution which called for the establishment of separate municipalities for Turkish Cypriots. Makarios subsequently declared his intention to ignore the judgement, resulting in the West German judge resigning from his position. Makarios proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution, which would have had the effect of resolving most of the issues in the Greek Cypriot favour. Under the proposals, the President and Vice-President would lose their veto, the separate municipalities as sought after by the Turkish Cypriots would be abandoned, the need for separate majorities by both communities in passing legislation would be discarded and the civil service contribution would be set at actual population ratios (82:18) instead of the slightly higher figure for Turkish Cypriots.
The intention behind the amendments has long been called into question. The Akritas plan, written in the height of the constitutional dispute by the Greek Cypriot interior minister Polycarpos Georkadjis, called for the removal of undesirable elements of the constitution so as to allow power-sharing to work. The plan envisaged a swift retaliatory attack on Turkish Cypriot strongholds should Turkish Cypriots resort to violence to resist the measures, stating "In the event of a planned or staged Turkish attack, it is imperative to overcome it by force in the shortest possible time, because if we succeed in gaining command of the situation (in one or two days), no outside, intervention would be either justified or possible." Whether Makarios's proposals were part of the Akritas plan is unclear, however it remains that sentiment towards enosis had not completely disappeared with independence. Makarios described independence as "a step on the road to enosis".[31] Preparations for conflict were not entirely absent from Turkish Cypriots either, with right wing elements still believing taksim (partition) the best safeguard against enosis.
Greek Cypriots however believe the amendments were a necessity stemming from a perceived attempt by Turkish Cypriots to frustrate the working of government. Turkish Cypriots saw it as a means to reduce their status within the state from one of co-founder to that of minority, seeing it as a first step towards enosis. The security situation deteriorated rapidly.
Main articles: Bloody Christmas (1963) and Battle of Tillyria
An armed conflict was triggered after December 21, 1963, a period remembered by Turkish Cypriots as Bloody Christmas, when a Greek Cypriot policemen that had been called to help deal with a taxi driver refusing officers already on the scene access to check the identification documents of his customers, took out his gun upon arrival and shot and killed the taxi driver and his partner. Eric Solsten summarised the events as follows: "a Greek Cypriot police patrol, ostensibly checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed."
In the morning after the shooting, crowds gathered in protest in Northern Nicosia, likely encouraged by the TMT, without incident. On the evening of the 22nd, gunfire broke out, communication lines to the Turkish neighbourhoods were cut, and the Greek Cypriot police occupied the nearby airport. On the 23rd, a ceasefire was negotiated, but did not hold. Fighting, including automatic weapons fire, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and militias increased in Nicosia and Larnaca. A force of Greek Cypriot irregulars led by Nikos Sampson entered the Nicosia suburb of Omorphita and engaged in heavy firing on armed, as well as by some accounts unarmed, Turkish Cypriots. The Omorphita clash has been described by Turkish Cypriots as a massacre, while this view has generally not been acknowledged by Greek Cypriots.
Further ceasefires were arranged between the two sides, but also failed. By Christmas Eve, the 24th, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had joined talks, with all sides calling for a truce. On Christmas day, Turkish fighter jets overflew Nicosia in a show of support. Finally it was agreed to allow a force of 2,700 British soldiers to help enforce a ceasefire. In the next days, a "buffer zone" was created in Nicosia, and a British officer marked a line on a map with green ink, separating the two sides of the city, which was the beginning of the "Green Line". Fighting continued across the island for the next several weeks.
In total 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the violence. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 103-109 villages fled and were displaced into enclaves and thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were ransacked or completely destroyed.
Contemporary newspapers also reported on the forceful exodus of the Turkish Cypriots from their homes. According to The Times in 1964, threats, shootings and attempts of arson were committed against the Turkish Cypriots to force them out of their homes. The Daily Express wrote that "25,000 Turks have already been forced to leave their homes". The Guardian reported a massacre of Turks at Limassol on 16 February 1964.
Turkey had by now readied its fleet and its fighter jets appeared over Nicosia. Turkey was dissuaded from direct involvement by the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Despite the negotiated ceasefire in Nicosia, attacks on the Turkish Cypriot persisted, particularly in Limassol. Concerned about the possibility of a Turkish invasion, Makarios undertook the creation of a Greek Cypriot conscript-based army called the "National Guard". A general from Greece took charge of the army, whilst a further 20,000 well-equipped officers and men were smuggled from Greece into Cyprus. Turkey threatened to intervene once more, but was prevented by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson, anxious to avoid a conflict between NATO allies Greece and Turkey at the height of the Cold War.
Turkish Cypriots had by now established an important bridgehead at Kokkina, provided with arms, volunteers and materials from Turkey and abroad. Seeing this incursion of foreign weapons and troops as a major threat, the Cypriot government invited George Grivas to return from Greece as commander of the Greek troops on the island and launch a major attack on the bridgehead. Turkey retaliated by dispatching its fighter jets to bomb Greek positions, causing Makarios to threaten an attack on every Turkish Cypriot village on the island if the bombings did not cease. The conflict had now drawn in Greece and Turkey, with both countries amassing troops on their Thracian borders. Efforts at mediation by Dean Acheson, a former U.S. Secretary of State, and UN-appointed mediator Galo Plaza had failed, all the while the division of the two communities becoming more apparent. Greek Cypriot forces were estimated at some 30,000, including the National Guard and the large contingent from Greece. Defending the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was a force of approximately 5,000 irregulars, led by a Turkish colonel, but lacking the equipment and organisation of the Greek forces.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1964, U Thant, reported the damage during the conflicts:
UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting.
The situation worsened in 1967, when a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Greece, and began applying pressure on Makarios to achieve enosis. Makarios, not wishing to become part of a military dictatorship or trigger a Turkish invasion, began to distance himself from the goal of enosis. This caused tensions with the junta in Greece as well as George Grivas in Cyprus. Grivas's control over the National Guard and Greek contingent was seen as a threat to Makarios's position, who now feared a possible coup.[citation needed] The National Guard and Cyprus Police began patrolling the Turkish Cypriot enclaves of Ayios Theodoros and Kophinou, and on November 15 engaged in heavy fighting with the Turkish Cypriots.
By the time of his withdrawal 26 Turkish Cypriots had been killed. Turkey replied with an ultimatum demanding that Grivas be removed from the island, that the troops smuggled from Greece in excess of the limits of the Treaty of Alliance be removed, and that the economic blockades on the Turkish Cypriot enclaves be lifted. Grivas was recalled by the Athens Junta and the 12,000 Greek troops were withdrawn. Makarios now attempted to consolidate his position by reducing the number of National Guard troops, and by creating a paramilitary force loyal to Cypriot independence. In 1968, acknowledging that enosis was now all but impossible, Makarios stated, "A solution by necessity must be sought within the limits of what is feasible which does not always coincide with the limits of what is desirable."
After 1967 tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an 'attainable solution', many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspiration for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece.
On his arrival, Grivas began by establishing a nationalist paramilitary group known as the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B or EOKA-B), drawing comparisons with the EOKA struggle for enosis under the British colonial administration of the 1950s.
The military junta in Athens saw Makarios as an obstacle. Makarios's failure to disband the National Guard, whose officer class was dominated by mainland Greeks, had meant the junta had practical control over the Cypriot military establishment, leaving Makarios isolated and a vulnerable target.
During the first Turkish invasion, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus territory on 20 July 1974, invoking its rights under the Treaty of Guarantee. This expansion of Turkish-occupied zone violated International Law as well as the Charter of the United Nations. Turkish troops managed to capture 3% of the island which was accompanied by the burning of the Turkish Cypriot quarter, as well as the raping and killing of women and children. A temporary cease-fire followed which was mitigated by the UN Security Council. Subsequently, the Greek military Junta collapsed on July 23, 1974, and peace talks commenced in which a democratic government was installed. The Resolution 353 was broken after Turkey attacked a second time and managed to get a hold of 37% of Cyprus territory. The Island of Cyprus was appointed a Buffer Zone by the United Nations, which divided the island into two zones through the 'Green Line' and put an end to the Turkish invasion. Although Turkey announced that the occupied areas of Cyprus to be called the Federated Turkish State in 1975, it is not legitimised on a worldwide political scale. The United Nations called for the international recognition of independence for the Republic of Cyprus in the Security Council Resolution 367.
In the years after the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus one can observe a history of failed talks between the two parties. The 1983 declaration of the independent Turkish Republic of Cyprus resulted in a rise of inter-communal tensions and made it increasingly hard to find mutual understanding. With Cyprus' interest of a possible EU membership and a new UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 new hopes arose for a fresh start. International involvement from sides of the US and UK, wanting a solution to the Cyprus dispute prior to the EU accession led to political pressures for new talks. The believe that an accession without a solution would threaten Greek-Turkish relations and acknowledge the partition of the island would direct the coming negotiations.
Over the course of two years a concrete plan, the Annan plan was formulated. In 2004 the fifth version agreed upon from both sides and with the endorsement of Turkey, US, UK and EU then was presented to the public and was given a referendum in both Cypriot communities to assure the legitimisation of the resolution. The Turkish Cypriots voted with 65% for the plan, however the Greek Cypriots voted with a 76% majority against. The Annan plan contained multiple important topics. Firstly it established a confederation of two separate states called the United Cyprus Republic. Both communities would have autonomous states combined under one unified government. The members of parliament would be chosen according to the percentage in population numbers to ensure a just involvement from both communities. The paper proposed a demilitarisation of the island over the next years. Furthermore it agreed upon a number of 45000 Turkish settlers that could remain on the island. These settlers became a very important issue concerning peace talks. Originally the Turkish government encouraged Turks to settle in Cyprus providing transfer and property, to establish a counterpart to the Greek Cypriot population due to their 1 to 5 minority. With the economic situation many Turkish-Cypriot decided to leave the island, however their departure is made up by incoming Turkish settlers leaving the population ratio between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots stable. However all these points where criticised and as seen in the vote rejected mainly by the Greek Cypriots. These name the dissolution of the „Republic of Cyprus", economic consequences of a reunion and the remaining Turkish settlers as reason. Many claim that the plan was indeed drawing more from Turkish-Cypriot demands then Greek-Cypriot interests. Taking in consideration that the US wanted to keep Turkey as a strategic partner in future Middle Eastern conflicts.
A week after the failed referendum the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU. In multiple instances the EU tried to promote trade with Northern Cyprus but without internationally recognised ports this spiked a grand debate. Both side endure their intention of negotiations, however without the prospect of any new compromises or agreements the UN is unwilling to start the process again. Since 2004 negotiations took place in numbers but without any results, both sides are strongly holding on to their position without an agreeable solution in sight that would suit both parties.
The date was Apr. 22nd, 1968 and the place was Trafalgar Square, London. My focus was the exiled Melina Mercouri, Greek actress, singer, activist, politician. I had seen her in the film Never on Sunday some years before and, like any twenty year-old male who’d studied Classics and Art History, was promptly enraptured by her. She was in England for a stop on her international FREE GREECE rally campaign to inform the world of what was happening in her country.
In Greece, it was the time of “the Colonels”. The country was being run by a military junta, a dictatorship characterized by right-wing cultural policies, restrictions on civil liberties, and the imprisonment, torture, and exile of political opponents. Wikipedia aside, I know this because I was there, having spent the winter on the Island of Rhodes, returning from Greece to London only three weeks prior to this event. It became dangerous for Greeks to be themselves, and instead were obliged to inform the military and/or police on the activities of people like me. The music for Never on Sunday was composed by Manos Hadjidakis, one of many prominent artists black-listed by the junta; it was illegal to play or listen to his music in Greece. I met a woman in Ioanina who’d had a neat triangle of skin cut from the centre of her cheek.
These were the things Melina wanted to subvert, and the junta responded by revoking her citizenship and confiscating her property. It took another six years, but democracy was finally re-established, helped in part by the Turkish invasion of Cypress. The complicated resolution won’t be discussed here, but the new government survived and in 1981 Melina became Minister of Culture, a position she held until a year before her death in 1994.
Here I am, sitting on the parapet with many others who arrived early for the same purpose (to the ongoing infuriation of thousands in the square below), photographing the most important event of my burgeoning love affair with the camera, and my shutter fails. These images were all I managed of Melina, so when I got back to Canada six weeks later I ditched the old Pentax and have been with Nikon ever since.
The grey squirrel's in London's regent's park are so used to people that they'll quite fearlessly rob you of any food you might be eating - like this one did when I was sitting down eating a strawberry & yoghurt breakfast bar (my favourite!)
He got his just desserts however ( . . or didn't) when two jackdaws chased him across the field, hopping & darting in the bushes & promptly robbed him of it.
So he was only left with this small piece . . . which is still more than I got !!
Prompt:
The image presents a stylized, patriotic design featuring two bald eagles and the American flag. Two eagle heads, one slightly larger than the other, are positioned centrally, their bodies merging into wings that spread out to form a heart shape. These wings are not feathered in the traditional sense but are depicted as being made of the American flag.
The stars and stripes of the flag are clearly visible, draped and folded to create the wing/heart shape. Two hands, seemingly of a darker complexion, emerge from the bottom, cradling the eagles and the flag-wings. The hands are positioned with palms facing upwards and fingers slightly curled inwards, suggesting a gesture of protection and care.
The image is set against a plain light gray or off-white background, which accentuates the colors and details of the central motif. The lighting is bright and highlights the textures of the eagles' heads and the fabric of the flag. The overall effect is a symbolic representation of American patriotism and the safeguarding of national values.
#36 of 37 in Serious Compacts May Prompts Challenge
A wonderful exhibition dedicated to writer Miroslav Krleza.
Prompt:
RAW photo, female, 20s, Middle Eastern, seductive expression, standing pose, wearing ornate gold jewelry, colorful patterned bra and skirt with high slits, long brown hair with flowing strands, jeweled headpiece, intricate gold belts and bracelets BREAK fashion photography, portrait photography, full body shot, rule of thirds composition, eye-level angle BREAK soft natural lighting, warm color tones BREAK shot on professional camera, 85mm lens, shallow depth of field BREAK 8k uhd, sharp focus, high quality, photorealistic, highly detailed skin texture
Prompt:
The image presents a surreal, otherworldly desert landscape with science fiction and potentially spiritual themes. The scene features several unusual elements:
* **Celestial Bodies:** A large, swirling, tan-colored planet dominates the sky, along with two smaller, gray moons. This suggests a different solar system or a fantastical version of our own.
* **Alien Figure:** A tall, reptilian or bird-like creature with leathery skin and a beige cloak stands prominently. Its posture and gaze seem directed towards the taller cloaked woman, suggesting interaction or observation.
* **Cloaked Figures:** Three humanoid figures in flowing, cream-colored robes stand in the desert. The central figure is the tallest and appears to be female, her posture suggesting serenity or contemplation. Another shorter figure stands behind her, also possibly female. A third robed figure, seemingly more masculine and draped in darker grey fabric, stands between the branches of a strange, organic structure.
* **Alien Flora:** Unique, tree-like structures with bulbous tops and smooth, dark branches rise from the sand. One of these structures has a large, black sphere embedded within its crown. These forms are unlike any terrestrial plant life, further reinforcing the alien nature of the scene.
* **Desert Landscape:** The setting is a sandy desert with rock formations reminiscent of the American Southwest. The low-growing vegetation adds a touch of life to the desolate environment.
The overall impression is one of a quiet, mysterious encounter or ceremony. The combination of alien and humanoid figures, strange flora, and unique celestial bodies creates a narrative that invites speculation about the nature of the scene and the relationship between the different elements. Is it a first contact scenario? A religious pilgrimage? A depiction of ancient aliens? The image leaves the viewer with more questions than answers, encouraging the imagination to fill in the gaps.
HMS Belfast is a museum ship, originally a Royal Navy light cruiser, permanently moored in London on the River Thames and operated by the Imperial War Museum.
Construction of Belfast, named after the capital city of Northern Ireland and one of ten Town-class cruisers, began in December 1936. She was launched on St Patrick's Day, 17 March 1938. Commissioned in early August 1939 shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, Belfast was initially part of the British naval blockade against Germany. In November 1939 Belfast struck a German mine and spent more than two years undergoing extensive repairs. Returning to action in November 1942 with improved firepower, radar equipment and armour, Belfast was the largest and arguably most powerful cruiser in the Royal Navy at the time. Belfast saw action escorting Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union during 1943, and in December 1943 played an important role in the Battle of North Cape, assisting in the destruction of the German warship Scharnhorst. In June 1944 Belfast took part in Operation Overlord supporting the Normandy landings. In June 1945 Belfast was redeployed to the Far East to join the British Pacific Fleet, arriving shortly before the end of the Second World War. Belfast saw further combat action in 1950–52 during the Korean War and underwent an extensive modernisation between 1956 and 1959. A number of further overseas commissions followed before Belfast entered reserve in 1963.
In 1967, efforts were initiated to avert Belfast's expected scrapping and preserve her as a museum ship. A joint committee of the Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Museum and the Ministry of Defence was established, and reported in June 1968 that preservation was practical. In 1971 the government decided against preservation, prompting the formation of the private HMS Belfast Trust to campaign for her preservation. The efforts of the Trust were successful, and the government transferred the ship to the Trust in July 1971. Brought to London, she was moored on the River Thames near Tower Bridge in the Pool of London. Opened to the public in October 1971, Belfast became a branch of the Imperial War Museum in 1978. A popular tourist attraction, Belfast receives around a quarter of a million visitors per year.[7] As a branch of a national museum and part of the National Historic Fleet, Core Collection, Belfast is supported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, by admissions income, and by the museum's commercial activities.
PROMPT:
Create a high-quality photograph-like image in a 16:9 wide format that could be featured in a magazine article about the serene life in the countryside. The scene is set in a quaint village along a river in the northwest of Avignon, with an ancient Roman bridge not leading into a house but onto a path or similar structure, emphasizing the bridge's historical significance and rustic charm. Surround the area with old, weathered houses, including a café with a 'TABAC' sign, embodying a rustic and inviting atmosphere. Outside the café, depict two elderly men in well-worn summer attire, showing character and a life well-lived, and two young women, around 18 years old, in simple, slightly worn white summer dresses, engaging in a conversation with expressive and clear faces, highlighting the vibrant community spirit. The entire composition should exude warmth, authenticity, and a high level of detail, capturing the essence of a close-knit community's daily life in the countryside.
"O! What on earth are you up to Clem??"
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"I'm having a party! I've brought out all the goodies and toys, you see!"
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"Yes, I see that, but why do you have Beethoven on the scales??"
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"O, well, if you want to come to the party, I have to weigh you against my feather of truth and justice -- if you balance with it, then you get to come; if you don't, well, I'm afraid that's no treats for you then".
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"But Clem, that isn't very fair, is it? What if one of them is heavier?"
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"O, never fear -- the animals always balance with my feather -- they've never done a single bad thing in their lives! Anyway, they like swinging on the plate! Would you like to be weighed against my feather?"
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"Um no.. I'm busy".
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An overcast day, but carving on my new dolly is well underway, yay! Clem decided to take advantage of the tiny bit of sun to do her interpretation of Maat's feather for prompt no.7 #libra for the #juliac zodiac art challenge 😊 Maat refers to the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, justice, balance, harmony and so forth -- as well as the goddess who personified them -- and shares many similarities with the sign of Libra. In the Egyptian underworld, the hearts of the dead were weighed against the feather of Maat -- if the heart was lighter, or equal in weight, it meant the deceased had led a virtuous life and would go on to paradise; if the heart was heavier, the goddess Ammit would devour it ⚖
Series - Look at the way we live.
Prompts: Look at the way we live. I wasn't hidin' my kid from the world, I was hidin' the world from my kid. From empty souls who just wake up and look to debate. Until you starin' at your seed, you can never relate.
Song Inspiration:
Drake - Emotionless
Created with #midjourney #photoshop
Thank you for your visit, faves, and kind comments. 😊
© AI Art Legends 2022
Sorry that the photos of all the drawings are so bad, and yah this is just the view of this drawing when the overlay is flipped up.
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1. A composition of an object seen and defined from the point of view of another object.
For this prompt I have seen and defined my camera, from the medium of drawing, while my camera has alternatively seen and defined the medium of drawing. To add to this, both of these objects (one material, and one more of and more a phenomenon) have seen and defined the concept and meaning of composition. The reason that I have also included a photo on top of this prompt is because this prompt, when interpreted the way I have interpreted it, must be a continual loop of two pieces. Each piece must be seeing and defining the other piece, in order for it to make sense. To explain this in a somewhat base way, since it took me days to even fully understand it myself, the object seen and defined (in this example my camera) is also being seen and defined by the medium of choice, and the artist creating the work. So since my camera is being seen and defined by both myself, and my art supplies, the camera must also be seeing and defining what it is being defined as. This is why I have included a picture of what my camera is seeing and defining, because this is necessary to fulfill the concept of an object seen and defined from the point of view of another object accurately. My choice in medium and style is also very purposeful, since my inspiration for this was actually the camera obscura. My medium format camera is the closest thing I have to a camera obscura, so that is honestly why I chose to create this work in this way. I wanted to draw this prompt, and when I thought of drawing it made me think of the "Masters" from the Renaissance, most of whom actually traced their initial drawings using a modified form of the camera obscura. There's a quote from Chuck Palahniuk's Diary that says, “Maybe the only thing each of us can see is our own shadow. Carl Jung called this his shadow work. He said we never see others. Instead we see only aspects of ourselves that fall over them. Shadows. Projections. Our associations. The same way old painters would sit in a tiny dark room and trace the image of what stood outside a tiny window, in the bright sunlight. The camera obscura. Not the exact image, but everything reversed or upside down.”, and there's another part of this book when the main character finds a book with notes from her past self saying something like "You can do this with your mind". This quote specifically is something I always think of when drawing, because in some way I feel as though it connects me to my drawing work, because I always feel as though I am in a way tracing with my mind. I really feel that when the term composition is thrown around the majority of people will think it just means the rule of thirds, or simple placement. However I feel that composition is more than this, composition is the visual definition we create when we define our subjects, as visual communicators. So for this composition specifically I chose to do a line drawing of my camera to allude to the use of the camera obscura in drawing, and also to show the concept of how a camera would see and define drawing, while also being seen and defined by the medium. This line drawing is then overlaid with a contrasting image meant to depict what the camera obscura would actually see, which I have used to create a full composition that sees the camera obscura and defines it though the drawing underneath. The image of the drawing can also be flipped up to reveal the full line drawing, which is done purposely to show the interactions between the view of the object seen and the object defined.
If you are a participant in this photo, and you would like it removed, message me, and I will remove it promptly.
Prompt: a Native American chief in profile, seamlessly blending into a breathtaking landscape. His face, adorned with a majestic feathered headdress, transforms into rolling hills, flowing rivers, and a starry sky. The feathers merge with the night sky. Evoke a magical, dreamlike atmosphere. The composition should be rich in detail, with a sense of nature and the spiritual world, soft-focus, --ar 11:14 --v 6.1
Digital fine art was created using Midjourney AI v 6.1
6. Design an early warning system for mediocrity.
I'd like to start off by giving the information necessary to fully understand this system, and the reasoning for it. Mediocrity to begin with is an overly humanized concept that has in some way been programmed into most people as something that is "bad". It's generally defined in a very black and white manner, and the issue is that, this is not true. The "mediocrity principle", which is an aspect of the larger "Copernican principle", in my interpretation seems to say that essentially things are what they are. The stories we create for events are factually untrue, and really all there is, is science. Essentially humanity is not as special as we'd like to kid ourselves into believing, from our idealized views of events. This principle begins to create the reality that mediocrity will exist either way, and it is necessary for our society to survive. Mediocrity is like the glue that we need to bind two extremes together, and we can't survive without it. The real issue is that mediocrity is never viewed this way, since our society seems to believe that mediocrity is a threat. However, in reality the greater threat is extremes. Historically the biggest example of this is probably Communism, and the fall of Communism. The basic ideas of Communism seemed great, except for the fact that it perpetuated mediocrity to an extreme, which is a major reason for its failure. When mediocrity is pushed to any extreme, and when we fight it as an extreme, it will cause negative results. So my goal within this informational system is to inform humanity now, before extremes and humanized views of mediocrity become an actual issue.For this prompt my system is defined by a set of "rules" to warn informationally about mediocrity. For this prompt I felt that the idea of warning in a negative or confined way would make no sense, since that implies that mediocrity is a bad thing. As I have stated before mediocrity is a fact of life, and by definition it is neither good nor bad. So my warning system is created to inform about mediocrity and the threats that humanized, and altered visions of mediocrity pose to our society. The real issue is more the issues of extremes, since they are what create such black and white outlooks towards the world. So my system has identified this issue, and it poses an implied solution to stop fighting against something that causes no harm. Mediocrity is really like the necessary mid tones of life, and without mediocrity nothing would survive. It is the foundation our lives are built upon, and it poses no threat in moderation. So the system that I have created, is intended to inform our society early on about the importance of mediocrity, and the dangers that humanized extremes pose. My goal for my system is to not perpetuate any extreme, because as I stated it should be considered as simply what it is. However considering that I am human, this system may be slightly humanized by natural extremes, and this is unescapable with any system. Specifically the system I have created is a factual poster to inform the viewer of how mediocrity needs to be protected. My illustration on the left is meant to depict the Mediocrity principle as an astrological concept, although the moon drawn is the earth's moon my concept was not necessarily to depict one moon, but rather the concept of all moons. This illustration is created to portray the idea of another moon like ours, and the possibility of other life forms, which is part of what the mediocrity principal states. The "rules" of my system are specifically tea dyed to create an aged appearance, to show how the facts about mediocrity are actually old fragments that are in some ways older than we are. I wanted to create something of a lost warning to humanity from the past about our views of mediocrity, yet I wanted to still present these facts in a new light, and in a new way.
Holy crow, that was a long prompt break. About 7 weeks left in my year at home and 49 prompts left...that's 49 prompts in 49 days?! Oh...oh boy. I better get MOVING!
Also, if you'd like a copy of that silly game board IM me! It doesn't work obviously, but it made me laugh while I was putting it together.
CHATSWORTH - A prompt call to 9-1-1 from a passerby brought the Los Angeles City Fire Department and allied agencies to quickly conquer a small non-injury brush fire in the 11500 block of North Topanga Canyon Boulevard on September 29, 2020.
© Photo by Mark Lassman
LAFD Incident: 092920-0711
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