I refer to love, of course. One moment you're sitting in your office staring out the window. Next you're buying flowers. Making restaurant bookings. Facebooking secretly. Twittering madly. Fitting rings and gliding down the aisle. Da Vinci didn't need to try so hard.

 

Albert and Melanie met on the plane. To extend that story I had them flying circles around the camera. Melanie says of meeting Albert: he was the ultimate gentleman, and that caught her attention. So boys, pay attention to your mom when she tells you to act like one.

high on top is the restored old Partiarchal Cathedral is overlooking the hill of Tzarevets and all other hills ho Veliko Tarnovo.

 

Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgarian: "Велико Търново", romanized: Veliko Tǎrnovo, pronounced [vɛˈliko ˈtɤrnovo]; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province.

 

Often referred as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famously known as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists with its unique architecture. The old part of the town is situated on three hills, Tsarevets, Trapezitsa, and Sveta Gora, rising amidst the meanders of the Yantra. On Tsarevets are the palaces of the Bulgarian emperors and the Patriarchate, the Patriarchal Cathedral, and also a number of administrative and residential edifices surrounded by thick walls.

Trapezitsa is known for its many churches and as the former main residence of the nobility. During the Middle Ages, the town was among the main European centres of culture and gave its name to the architecture of the Tarnovo Artistic School, painting of the Tarnovo Artistic School, and to literature. Veliko Tarnovo is an important administrative, economic, educational, and cultural centre of Northern Bulgaria.

Veliko Tarnovo is one of the oldest settlements in Bulgaria, with a history of more than five millennia. The first traces of human presence, dating from the 3rd millennium BC, were discovered on Trapezitsa Hill.[6]

First Bulgarian state

Tarnovo was a stronghold of the First Bulgarian Empire. A number of coins, specimens and ceramics from the First Bulgarian State were found on the hills on which the capital city of Tarnovgrad stretched. [7] The city was important for the first Bulgarian state. There was an important military garrison in it. In the church of St. Forty Martyrs were found specimens that historians believe are the work of Bulgarians from Volga Bulgaria[requires source].

The Uprising of Asen and Peter began on 26 October 1185, the feast day of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki, and ended with the restoration of Bulgaria with the creation of the Second Bulgarian Empire, ruled by the Asen dynasty.

Veliko Tarnovo, originally Tarnovgrad (Търновград), grew quickly to become the strongest Bulgarian fortification and most prosperous city during the second half of the High and the Late Middle Ages and also most important political, economic, cultural and religious centre of the empire. In the 14th century, the city was described by Bulgarian cleric Gregory Tsamblak as "a very large city, handsome and surrounded by walls, with 12,000 to 15,000 inhabitants".,[7] the fortress of Tsarevets being the primary fortress and strongest bulwark from 1185 to 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces.

 

In the 14th century, as the Byzantine Empire weakened, Tarnovo claimed to be the Third Rome, based on its preeminent cultural influence in Southeastern Europe.

As the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, Tarnovo was a quasi-cosmopolitan city, with many foreign merchants and envoys. Tarnovo is known to have had Armenian, Jewish and Roman Catholic ("Frankish") merchant quarters, besides a dominant Bulgarian population. The discovery of three Gothic heads of statuettes indicates there may have also been a Catholic church.

thx to Wikipedia. For more Information on the further history under the Ottoman rule also please see Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veliko_Tarnovo

 

Flat Top Manor, as it is known to the locals, is also referred to as Moses Cone Manor, Moses Cone Estate, the Moses H. Cone Mansion, or just Flat Top. On the Blue Ridge Parkway it is located at Milepost 294 in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. To most people who travel the Parkway it is simply the Parkway Craft Center, which is the major component of the manor house. It is open to the public from spring through fall and gets over 225,000 visitors annually. The mansion was built by Moses H. Cone and his wife Bertha at the turn of the twentieth century. Its construction was started in 1899 and finished in 1901. It has twenty-three rooms and 13,000 square feet of living space. When Moses began acquiring land in the 1890s in the Blowing Rock area to build the house, he emulated George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Newspaper reporters of the time referred to these builders as "Farmer Cone" and "Farmer Vanderbilt". In 1898 Moses announced he was going to build a mansion in Blowing Rock that cost $25,000 when $200 would buy a habitable home in the area. The mansion is named "Flat Top" manor because of the nearness to Flat Top Mountain, which Moses and Bertha also purchased. It is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The elevation in this area where the house is built is just at 4,500 feet, while Grandfather Mountain, which is only a few miles to the south, has an elevation of nearly 6,000 feet. Moses used his estate to showcase his knowledge of scientific farming. It had extensive orchards, gardens and livestock. When the Blue Ridge Parkway came through and the government took over the property several buildings on the land were torn down. These included houses for workers, a building where washing took place, and a single lane bowling alley. The bowling alley was located in a small building that resembled an elongated outhouse. Only men used the bowling alley, they would roll the ball down the lane and have to walk down the lane themselves to retrieve the ball and set the pins back up. To stop the ball a large bear skin hung on the back wall. The property included several apple orchards including one on a far end of the property called China because "it was on the other side of the world." The Moses H. Cone Memorial Park that contains the mansion is located between Milepost 292 and 295. The house is open to the public and there is no charge for admission. The first floor contains a Craft Center operated by the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild. It also has a National Park Service information desk and a book store. There are tours given by Park Rangers of the second story of the mansion. A visitor can sit in a rocking chair on the large veranda or walk the nearby self-guiding trail to the side of the manor house. The hike around Bass Lake is the most popular. The Craft Center inside the mansion features a gift shop and a craft-person's workshop where various arts and crafts (i.e. pottery, wood carving, textiles, painting, drawing, needlepoint, crocheting) are demonstrated often.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Top_Manor

www.nps.gov/maps/full.html?mapId=e212fcb5-4ff9-4787-bbe4-...

web.archive.org/web/20071227111405/http://www.blueridgehe...

www.virtualblueridge.com/parkway-place/moses-cone-memoria...

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_redstart

 

The black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family (Turdidae), but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae). Other common names are Tithy's redstart, blackstart and black redtail.

  

Taxonomy and systematics

 

The first formal description of the black redstart was by the German naturalist Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin in 1774 under the binomial name Mottacilla ochruros.[3][4] The genus Phoenicurus was introduced by the English naturalist Thomas Forster in 1817.[5] Both parts of the scientific name are from Ancient Greek and refer to the colour of the tail. The genus name Phoenicurus is from phoinix, "red", and -ouros -"tailed", and the specific ochruros is from okhros, "pale yellow" and -ouros.[6]

The black redstart is a member of a Eurasian clade which also includes the Daurian redstart, Hodgson's redstart, the white-winged redstart, and maybe Przevalski's redstart. The present species' ancestors diverged from about 3 million years ago (mya) (Late Pliocene) onwards and spread throughout much of Eurasia from 1.5 mya onward.[7] It is not very closely related to the common redstart. As these are separated by different behaviour and ecological requirements and have not evolved fertilisation barriers, the two European species can nonetheless produce apparently fertile and viable hybrids.[8][9]

There are a number of subspecies which differ mainly in underpart colours of the adult males; different authorities accept between five and seven subspecies. They can be separated into three major groups, according to morphology, biogeography, and mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data.[7][9][10][11]

 

P. o. phoenicuroides group. Basal central and eastern Asian forms which diverged from the ancestral stock as the species slowly spread west (c. 3-1.5 mya). Females and juveniles light grey brown.

•Phoenicurus ochruros phoenicuroides. Tian Shan eastwards to Mongolia. Small; adult males have lower breast, belly and flanks deep rufous, pale wing-patch absent, sometimes white forehead. Overall quite similar to a much darker common redstart with black chest. Females and juveniles are similar to common redstart but have an overall sandier, paler colour and often a distinct buff eye-ring.

•Phoenicurus ochruros murinus. Altai, Tuva, northern China and western Mongolia. Distinguished from the previous Turkestan subspecies by the absence of any contrast in the colour of the head, nape and back, all of which are concolorous dark grey.[12]

•Phoenicurus ochruros rufiventris. Turkmenistan eastwards through Pamir and Alay Mountains to Himalaya. Usually large; adult males like P. o. phoenicuroides, but darker overall, with black back and rufous-chestnut underside. Females with rufous tinge to underside. Exact limits with P. o. phoenicuroides unresolved.

oPhoenicurus ochruros xerophilus. China east of and between ranges of preceding two. Large; colour pattern like P. o. phoenicuroides but paler. Included in P. o. rufiventris by many authorities.[10]

P. o. ochruros group. Western Asian forms, whose lineage separated from the gibraltariensis group c. 1.5–0.5 mya. Females and juveniles intermediate.

•Phoenicurus ochruros ochruros. Eastern Turkey, Alborz, and Caucasus. Small, somewhat intermediate between P. o. phoenicuroides and P. o. gibraltariensis. Generally like latter, but rufous underside, pale wing patch weakly developed.

•Phoenicurus ochruros semirufus. Levant. Small; adult males somewhat similar to rufiventris except in size. Black areas extensive.

P. o. gibraltariensis group. European population, which formed as a distinct subspecies probably during the last ice age. Females and juveniles dark grey.

•Phoenicurus ochruros gibraltariensis. Western Europe east to the Crimea and western Turkey. Neck, upper back and shoulders dark slate grey to black in adult males, lighter than face and neck, pale wing patch strongly developed.

oPhoenicurus ochruros aterrimus. Iberia and Morocco. Neck, upper back and shoulders black in adult males. Wide intergradation with P. o. gibraltariensis and treated as a synonym of it by many authorities.[10]

 

Description

  

The black redstart is 13–14.5 cm (5.1–5.7 in) in length and 12–20 g (0.42–0.71 oz) in weight, similar to the common redstart. The adult male is overall dark grey to black on the upperparts and with a black breast; the lower rump and tail are orange-red, with the two central tail feathers dark red-brown. The belly and undertail are either blackish-grey (western subspecies; see Taxonomy and systematics, above) or orange-red (eastern subspecies); the wings are blackish-grey with pale fringes on the secondaries forming a whitish panel (western subspecies) or all blackish (eastern subspecies). The female is grey (western subspecies) to grey-brown (eastern subspecies) overall except for the orange-red lower rump and tail, greyer than the common redstart; at any age the grey axillaries and underwing coverts are also distinctive (in the common redstart these are buff to orange-red). One-year-old males are similar to females but blacker; the whitish wing panel of the western subspecies does not develop until the second year.[10][11]

 

Distribution and habitat

  

It is a widespread breeder in south and central Europe and Asia and north-west Africa, from Great Britain and Ireland (where local) south to Morocco, east to central China. It is resident in the milder parts of its range, but north-eastern birds migrate to winter in southern and western Europe and Asia, and north Africa. It nests in crevices or holes in buildings.[10][11]

In Britain, it is most common as a passage and winter visitor, with only 20–50 pairs breeding.[13] On passage it is fairly common on the east and south coasts, and in winter on the coasts of Wales and western and southern England, with a few also at inland sites. Migrant black redstarts arrive in Britain in October or November and either move on or remain to winter, returning eastward in March or April. They also winter on the south and east coasts of Ireland.[11]

The species originally inhabited stony ground in mountains, particularly cliffs, but since about 1900 has expanded to include similar urban habitats including bombed areas during and after World War II, and large industrial complexes that have the bare areas and cliff-like buildings it favours; in Great Britain, most of the small breeding population nests in such industrial areas. It will catch passing insects in flight, and migrants often hunt in coastal tide-wrack for flies or tiny crustaceans. Its quick ducks of head and body are robin-like, and its tail is often flicked. The male has a rattling song and a tick call.

Eastern race birds are very rare vagrants in western Europe.

 

Sony Cyber-shot Dsc H2

  

The term binary code can mean several different things:

 

* In mathematics, a binary code can refer to a linear code over the finite field F2 = Z/2Z.

* In computing and telecommunication, it is used for any of a variety of methods of coding data, such as sequences of characters, into sequences of groups of bits, including fixed-width words or bytes, and variable-length codes such as Huffman code and arithmetic coding.

 

In a fixed-width binary code, each letter, digit, or other character, is represented by a sequence of bits of the same length, usually indicated in code tables by the octal, decimal or hexadecimal notation for the value of that sequence of bits interpreted as a binary number.

 

For representing texts in the Latin alphabet often a fixed width 8-bit code is used. The ISO 8859-1 character code uses 8 bits for each bits for each character e.g. "R" is "01010010" and "b" is "01100010"; the block of 8 bits is called a byte; it extended the earlier ASCII code, based on the version of the Latin alphabet used for English, which uses 7 bits to represent 128 characters (0–127).

 

The Unicode standard defines several variable-width encodings and the fixed-with 32-bit (4-byte) UTF-32 code, potentially having room for billions of characters, but using barely more than one million combinations as definable code points.

Jahangiri structure, referred to as Makatib Khana. This is the only inscribed Jahangiri building (1027/1617-18) in the fort, and is well worth a careful examination. It was designed by one of the most accomplished Mughal architects—Abdul Karim titled Mamur Khan, a favourite of both Jahangir and Shahjahan. We will come across his name again when discussing other Jahangiri buildings in the fort and especially Shahjahan's Shah Burj (Royal Tower) discussed later in this rahguzar.

Placed ingeniously, this introverted building on the one hand faces the highly public maidan (Maidan-e-Diwan-e-Aam) to the east, and on the other provides access to the select quad-precinct of the Moti Masjid located to the north, an area also accessible from several royal apartments located in the northern belt of the citadel.

  

(thank you for the favs&comments,i do read them on thursday)

 

Painshill (also referred to as "Pains Hill" in some 19th-century texts[1]), near Cobham, Surrey, England, is one of the finest remaining examples of an 18th-century English landscape park. It was designed and created between 1738 and 1773 by Charles Hamilton. The original house built in the park by Hamilton has since been demolished.

 

Painshill is owned by Elmbridge Borough Council and managed by the Painshill Trust. Painshill, which is open to the public (with entry charge), has been Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[2] In 1998 Painshill was awarded the Europa Nostra Medal for the "Exemplary restoration from a state of extreme neglect, of a most important 18th century landscape park and its extraordinary buildings."[3] In May 2006, Painshill was awarded full collection status for its John Bartram Heritage Collection, by the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG).[4]

 

History

Charles Hamilton was born in 1704 in Dublin, the 9th son and 14th child of the 6th Earl of Abercorn. He was educated at Westminster School and Oxford, and went on two Grand Tours, one in 1725 and a further one in 1732.

 

In 1738 Hamilton began to acquire land at Painshill and, over the years, built up a holding of more than 200 acres (81 ha). His creation was among the earliest to reflect the changing fashion in garden design prompted by the Landscape Movement, which started in England in about 1730. Hamilton used what today are called organic gardening and organic lawn management techniques.[5] It represented the move away from geometric formality in garden design to a new naturalistic formula. Many of the trees and shrubs planted by Hamilton were sent to him from Philadelphia by the naturalist John Bartram. The garden was open to respectable visitors, who were shown round by the head gardener for a tip, and was visited by many well-known figures including two visits by William Gilpin, pioneer of the Picturesque, Thomas Jefferson with John Adams, and Prince Franz of Anhalt-Dessau separately, on special tours of gardens,[6] and the important landscape garden author Thomas Whately. Then as now there was a particular route round the park recommended, designed to bring the visitor upon the successive views with best effect. Views from Painshill were painted on some pieces of the Frog Service commissioned by Catherine the Great of Russia from Wedgwood.[7]

 

Hamilton eventually ran out of money and sold the estate in 1773 to Benjamin Bond Hopkins,[8] who held the estate until his death in 1794.[9] In 1778 Hopkins commissioned architect Richard Jupp to rebuild Painshill House in a different place within the park. The house was later extended in the 19th century by architect Decimus Burton and is now a grade II* listed building.[10]

 

Henry Lawes Luttrell, 2nd Earl of Carhampton (7 August 1743 – 25 April 1821) bought Painshill in 1807 from William Moffat. Luttrell lived at Painshill having fled from the ancestral Luttrellstown Castle near Clonsilla outside Dublin, where his role in crushing the Irish Rebellion in 1798 made it unsafe to stay. (His ancestor Colonel Henry Luttrell had been assassinated in Dublin in 1717 for betraying the Irish to King William III of England.) After his death in 1821, Luttrell's wife Jane lived at Painshill until her death in 1831 when it was sold it to Sir William Cooper, High Sheriff of Surrey.

 

Sir William Cooper and his wife, later his widow, lived there until 1863, and installed Joseph Bramah's suspension bridge and water wheel (which feeds the lake by pumping water from the nearby rier Mole), and planted an arboretum designed by John Claudius Loudon. In 1873, the English poet, literary and social critic, Matthew Arnold, rented Pains Hill Cottage from Mr. Charles J. Leaf and lived there until his death in 1888.[11] In 1904 Charles Combe of Cobham Park purchased and lived in Painshill Park, his son having moved into Cobham Park. Wikipedia

Lake Okeechobee locally referred to as "The Lake", "Florida's Inland Sea", or "The Big O", is the largest freshwater lake in the state of Florida. It is the seventh largest freshwater lake in the United States and the second largest freshwater lake (the largest being Lake Michigan) contained entirely within the contiguous 48 states. However, it is the largest freshwater lake completely within a single one of the lower 48 states. Okeechobee covers 730 square miles (1,900 km2), approximately half the size of the state of Rhode Island, and is exceptionally shallow for a lake of its size, with an average depth of only 9 feet (2.7 metres). The lake is divided between Glades, Okeechobee, Martin, Palm Beach, and Hendry counties. All five counties meet at one point near the center of the lake.

  

The name Okeechobee comes from the Hitchiti words oki (water) and chubi (big). The oldest known name for the lake was Mayaimi (also meaning "big water"), reported by Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda in the 16th century. Slightly later in the 16th century René Goulaine de Laudonnière reported hearing about a large freshwater lake in southern Florida called Serrope. By the 18th century the largely mythical lake was known to British mapmakers and chroniclers by the Spanish name Laguna de Espiritu Santo. In the early 19th century it was known as Mayacco Lake or Lake Mayaca after the Mayaca people, originally from the upper reaches of the St. Johns River, who moved near the lake in the early 18th century. The modern Port Mayaca on the east side of the lake preserves that name. The lake was also called Lake Macaco in the early 19th century.

  

On the southern rim of Lake Okeechobee, three islands—Kreamer, Ritta, and Torey—were once settled by early pioneers. These settlements had a general store, post office, school, and town elections. Farming was the main vocation. The fertile land was challenging to farm because of the muddy muck. Over the first half of the twentieth century, farmers used agricultural tools—including tractors—to farm in the muck. By the 1960s, all of these settlements were abandoned.

  

Credit for the data above is given to the following website:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Okeechobee

The Shard, also referred to as the Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey mixed-use development supertall pyramid-shaped skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter development. Standing 309.6 metres (1,016 feet) high, The Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom. he Shard's construction began in March 2009; it was topped out on 30 March 2012 and inaugurated on 5 July 2012. Practical completion was achieved in November 2012. The tower's privately operated observation deck, The View from The Shard, was opened to the public on 1 February 2013. The glass-clad pyramidal tower has 72 habitable floors, with a viewing gallery and open-air observation deck on the 72nd floor, at a height of 244 metres (801 ft).

Oranjestad is the capital and largest city of Aruba. Oranjestad is located on the southern coast near the western end of the island country. In the local language, Papiamento, Oranjestad is often referred to simply as "Playa". As of 2015, the population of the capital was around 35,000.

 

The town was built around Fort Zoutman shortly after it was built in 1796. Initially, the town had no official name, being known only as the town on the Bay of Horses (Paardenbaai in Dutch), a place from which native-bred[citation needed] horses were raised and exported to neighboring Curaçao. The town has ever since been the capital city of the island.

The city is named after the first King William I of the Netherlands. The name was conferred on the city in the 1820s when interest in Aruba increased due to the discovery of (alluvial) gold deposits.

 

Air Aruba once had its headquarters in Oranjestad. Air Aruba suspended its operations on October 23, 2000.

Tiara Air has had its head office in Oranjestad since 2006, except between 2014 and 2016 when the company suspended services due to the Venezuelan Airline Crisis.

 

Aruba is an island and a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the southern Caribbean Sea, located about 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) west of the main part of the Lesser Antilles and 29 kilometres (18 mi) north of the coast of Venezuela. It measures 32 kilometres (20 mi) long from its northwestern to its southeastern end and 10 kilometres (6 mi) across at its widest point. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, Aruba forms a group referred to as the ABC islands. Collectively, Aruba and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean.

 

Aruba is one of the four countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Saint Maarten; the citizens of these countries are all Dutch nationals. Aruba has no administrative subdivisions, but, for census purposes, is divided into eight regions. Its capital is Oranjestad.

 

Unlike much of the Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather. It has a land area of 179 km2 (69.1 sq mi) and is densely populated, with a total of 102,484 inhabitants at the 2010 Census. Current estimates of the population place it at 116,600 (July 2018 est.) It island lies outside Hurricane Alley.

 

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oranjestad,_Aruba

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aruba

 

Friars Mill refers to a cluster of industrial buildings (some now demolished) that form an important link to Leicester´s textile heritage. They get their name from the site which between the 13th and 16th Centuries had been a Dominican Priory (the Black Friars). The main surviving building, Friars Mill, dates from around 1794 and is one of the earliest factories in Leicester. The others include the Boiler House, Pump House, Bath Lane Mill and Cottages buildings. The Pump House is also known as Sarah´s Engine House, named, it is said, after the wife of the mill owner A.R. Donisthorpe, who bought it in 1866.

Slangkop Lighthouse means ‘snakehead lighthouse’ when it is translated directly into English and also is commonly referred to as the Kommetjie lighthouse.

This Slangkop Lighthouse measures 33 metres tall and is made from sleet. Did you know that this lighthouse is the strongest and tallest cast iron lighthouse on the South African Coast…? Well it is, and has become a popular tourist visiting spot.

The slangkop lighthouse has been operational since March 1919 when it was lit for the very first time. In 1936 the original light was replaced by a 4KW electric lamp… In 1974 that was replaced by a 1.5KW light. And in 1975 the Slangkop lighthouse became fully automated – it lets off 4 flashes of light every 30 seconds. The central point of the Slangkop Lighthouse is located 41 metres above the water ensuring that all ships will see the light coming from it. This lighthouse is so big that it is even visible through the thick mist that frequents the Kommetjie area and the light covers an area of 33 sea miles.

This lighthouse was built because the governor of the Cape of Good Hope, the honourable Sir Frances Hely Hutchinson, wanted to decrease the amount of ship wrecks that were frequenting the Kommetjie shore lines and coastal areas. The lighthouse proved to be a very helpful icon and navigational feature for the sailors in the area. The area around the lighthouse is extremely rocky and very deceptive... the lighthouse forms a great warning and navigational method for the ships.

The inside area of the lighthouse is empty and only contains a stair case and a generator for the light/s. The outside is painted white with a smooth surface which has proven to be an enjoyable surface for abseiling. The views from the top of this Slangkop Lighthouse are ‘far stretching’ and include beach and coastal views of Kommetjie and Long beach… the climb to the top of this lighthouse is steep, but is well worth it for the views.

The Slangkop Lighthouse area falls into the Table Mountain National Park’s Marine Protected area which was proclaimed in order to ensure the sustainable use of marine resources and provide protection for the varied species found in our oceans.

Credit: kommetjie-online.co.za/history/slangkop-lighthouse.html

Miami, FL March 10, 2016.

 

"S/N" is the aircraft's serial number. "L/N" is a Boeing code denoting what order the airframe came off the production line. "F/N" refers to an individual airline's fleet numbering system. Not all airlines use a fleet number; not all manufacturers use a line number.

 

Copyright

All my photographic and video images are copyrighted. All rights are reserved. Please do not use, copy or edit any of my photographs without my written permission. If you want to use my photo for commercial or private use, please contact me. Please do not re-upload my photos at any location on the internet without my written consent.

 

Diospyros nigra, the black sapote, is a species of persimmon. Common names include chocolate pudding fruit, black soapapple and (in Spanish) zapote prieto. The tropical fruit tree is native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia.[1] The common name sapote refers to any soft, edible fruit. Black sapote is not related to white sapote nor mamey sapote. (Wikipedia)

 

I use it to make a healthy version of Chocolate muffins. Really nice!

Viewed from the Lower Town.

 

"The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, commonly referred to as the Château Frontenac, is a historic hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The hotel is situated in Old Quebec, within the historic district's Upper Town, on the southern side of Place d'Armes. The Château Frontenac was designed by Bruce Price, and was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway company. The hotel is managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

 

Opened in 1893, the Châteauesque-styled building has 18 floors; its 79.9-metre (262-foot) height is augmented by the 54 m (177 ft) elevation it sits at. It is one of the first completed grand railway hotels, and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1981. The hotel was expanded on three occasions, with the last major expansion taking place in 1993.

 

Old Quebec (French: Vieux-Québec) is a historic neighbourhood of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Comprising the Upper Town (French: Haute-Ville) and Lower Town (French: Basse-Ville), the area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Administratively, Old Quebec is part of the Vieux-Québec–Cap-Blanc–colline Parlementaire district in the borough of La Cité-Limoilou.

 

The area is commonly referred to as "the Old City" or "Quebec's Old City" in English. It is sometimes referred to as the Latin Quarter (French: Quartier latin) as well, although this title refers more to area around the Séminaire de Québec, the original site of Laval University.

 

Quebec City (/kwɪˈbɛk/ or /kəˈbɛk/; French: Ville de Québec), officially Québec ([kebɛk]), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is the eleventh-largest city and the seventh-largest metropolitan area in Canada. It is also the second-largest city in the province after Montreal. It has a humid continental climate with warm summers coupled with cold and snowy winters.

 

The Algonquian people had originally named the area Kébec, an Algonquin word meaning "where the river narrows", because the Saint Lawrence River narrows proximate to the promontory of Quebec and its Cape Diamant. Explorer Samuel de Champlain founded a French settlement here in 1608, and adopted the Algonquin name. Quebec City is one of the oldest European cities in North America. The ramparts surrounding Old Quebec (Vieux-Québec) are the only fortified city walls remaining in the Americas north of Mexico. This area was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 as the "Historic District of Old Québec".

 

The city's landmarks include the Château Frontenac hotel that dominates the skyline and the Citadelle of Quebec, an intact fortress that forms the centrepiece of the ramparts surrounding the old city and includes a secondary royal residence. The National Assembly of Quebec (provincial legislature), the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec), and the Musée de la civilisation (Museum of Civilization) are found within or near Vieux-Québec." - info from Wikipedia.

 

The fall of 2022 I did my 3rd major cycling tour. I began my adventure in Montreal, Canada and finished in Savannah, GA. This tour took me through the oldest parts of Quebec and the 13 original US states. During this adventure I cycled 7,126 km over the course of 2.5 months and took more than 68,000 photos. As with my previous tours, a major focus was to photograph historic architecture.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

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El libro de las Preguntas -(37) Neruda

Typical Mexican La Catrina dolls.

More about these dolls:

"Catrina has come to symbolize not only El Día de los Muertos and the Mexican willingness to laugh at death itself, but originally catrina was an elegant or well-dressed woman, so it refers to rich people,.Death brings this neutralizing force; everyone is equal in the end. Sometimes people have to be reminded." From:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Calavera_Catrina

SN/NC: Hylocereus Undate, Syn. Hylocereus Monacanthus, Selenicereus Megalanthus, Cactaceae Family

  

Hylocereus is a genus of cacti, often referred to as night-blooming cactus (though the term is also used for many other cacti). Several species have large edible fruits, which are known as pitahayas or dragonfruits. Whether Hylocereus is a distinct genus is uncertain as of July 2013.

In the classification of the International Cactaceae Systematics Group of the International Organization for Succulent Plant Study, the genus Hylocereus is one of the six genera of the tribe Hylocereeae. In this classification, the genus Wilmattea Britton & Rose is included in Hylocereus. A 2011 study of the molecular phylogeny of the Cactaceae concluded that neither the tribe nor the genus was monophyletic (i.e. neither comprised all the descendants of a common ancestor). Two species of Hylocereus formed a clade with two species of Selenicereus, suggesting that the genera were not distinct.

  

La pitaya, también conocida con otros nombres como pitahaya, picajón, yaurero, warakko, fruta del dragón o dragon fruit, es una fruta originaria de Centro América de la familia de las cactáceas. Tiene forma ovalada, con espinas por fuera y se pueden encontrar tres variedades: amarilla por fuera y pulpa blanca con semillas por dentro, roja por fuera y pulpa blanca o pulpa roja con semillas por dentro. Es muy aromática y su sabor es muy dulce y agradable, también resulta imprescindible destacar su excelente valor nutricional. Pitahaya, Pitaya o Fruta del dragón (posteriormente) son nombres de una fruta de las especies Hylocereus y Selenicereus, de la familia de Cactaceae, proveniente de América, y se produce en países como Nicaragua, Colombia, Brasil, Perú, Ecuador, Argentina y México. Actualmente en Europa hay plantaciones vegetando con éxito en Málaga y Sevilla, sur de España, y se lleva experimentando con buenos resultados los últimos años en Canarias.

  

Pitaia, uma variante da nossa palma, ou tuna. Deliciosa cactácea e é o nome dado ao fruto de várias espécies de cactos epífitos dos gêneros Hylocereus e Selenicereus, nativas de regiões da América Central e México, também cultivadas em Israel, no Brasil e na China. O termo "pitaia" significa "fruta escamosa". É também chamada de "fruta-dragão" em algumas línguas, como o inglês e em línguas asiáticas. Existem três espécies, todas muito comercializadas pelos seus frutos, que lhes dão os nomes: a pitaia-branca (rosa por fora e branca por dentro), a pitaia-amarela (amarela por fora e branca por dentro) e a pitaia-vermelha (avermelhada por dentro e por fora). Como a planta da pitaia só floresce pela noite (com grandes flores brancas), suas flores são algumas das várias plantas chamadas de "flor da noite". As pitaias de casca vermelha, particularmente, são grande fonte de Vitamina A. Pitaias são ricas em fibras e minerais, principalmente zinco e ferro. as vermelhas são ricas em ferro, as amarelas em zinco. As sementes são pobres em gordura poliinsaturada, e as vermelhas em particular não possuem gordura saturada.Pitaias também possuem quantidades significativas de antioxidantes, que previnem os radicais livres.

  

Pitaya, heerlijke cactus en is de naam die wordt gegeven aan de vrucht van verschillende soorten epifytische cactussen van de geslachten Hylocereus en Selenicereus, afkomstig uit regio's van Midden-Amerika en Mexico, ook gekweekt in Israël, Brazilië en China. De term "pitaya" betekent "geschubd fruit". Het wordt in sommige talen ook "drakenfruit" genoemd, zoals Engelse en Aziatische talen. Er zijn drie soorten, die allemaal erg gecommercialiseerd zijn vanwege hun fruit, waardoor ze de namen krijgen: de witte pitaia (roze van buiten en wit van binnen), de gele pitaia (geel van buiten en wit van binnen) en de rode pitaia ( rood van binnen en van buiten). Omdat de pitaia-plant alleen 's nachts bloeit (met grote witte bloemen), zijn de bloemen enkele van de vele planten die "nachtbloem" worden genoemd. Pita's met een rode huid zijn bijzonder goede bronnen van vitamine A. Pitayas zijn rijk aan vezels en mineralen, vooral zink en ijzer. de rode zijn rijk aan ijzer, de gele aan zink. De zaden bevatten weinig meervoudig onverzadigd vet, en met name de rode bevatten geen verzadigd vet. Pitaias bevatten ook aanzienlijke hoeveelheden antioxidanten, die vrije radicalen voorkomen.

  

Pitaya, Köstlicher Kaktus und ist der Name für die Früchte verschiedener Arten von epiphytischen Kakteen der Gattungen Hylocereus und Selenicereus, die in Regionen Mittelamerikas und Mexikos beheimatet sind und auch in Israel, Brasilien und China angebaut werden. Der Begriff "Pitaya" bedeutet "schuppige Frucht". In einigen Sprachen wie Englisch und Asien wird es auch "Drachenfrucht" genannt. Es gibt drei Sorten, die alle für ihre Früchte stark kommerzialisiert sind und ihnen die Namen geben: die weiße Pitaia (außen rosa und innen weiß), die gelbe Pitaia (außen gelb und innen weiß) und die rote Pitaia (außen) innen und außen rot). Da die Pitaia-Pflanze nur nachts blüht (mit großen weißen Blüten), sind die Blüten einige der vielen Pflanzen, die "Nachtblume" genannt werden. Rothäutige Pitas sind besonders gute Quellen für Vitamin A. Pitayas sind reich an Ballaststoffen und Mineralien, insbesondere Zink und Eisen. Die roten sind reich an Eisen, die gelben an Zink. Die Samen enthalten wenig mehrfach ungesättigtes Fett, und insbesondere die roten enthalten kein gesättigtes Fett. Pitaias enthalten auch erhebliche Mengen an Antioxidantien, die freie Radikale verhindern.

 

Pitaya, une délicieux cactus et c'est le nom donné au fruit de différents types de cactus épiphytes des genres Hylocereus et Selenicereus, originaires des régions d'Amérique centrale et du Mexique, également cultivés en Israël, au Brésil et en Chine. Le terme «pitaya» signifie «fruit écailleux». Il est également appelé «fruit du dragon» dans certaines langues comme l'anglais et les langues asiatiques. Il existe trois variétés, toutes très commercialisées pour leurs fruits, ce qui leur donne les noms: la pitaia blanche (rose à l'extérieur et blanche à l'intérieur), la pitaia jaune (jaune à l'extérieur et blanche à l'intérieur) et la pitaia rouge ( rouge à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur). Parce que la plante pitaia ne fleurit que la nuit (avec de grandes fleurs blanches), les fleurs font partie des nombreuses plantes appelées "fleur de nuit". Les pitas à peau rouge sont particulièrement bonnes sources de vitamine A.

 

Les pitayas sont riches en fibres et en minéraux, en particulier en zinc et en fer. les rouges sont riches en fer, les jaunes en zinc. Les graines sont pauvres en graisses polyinsaturées, et les rouges en particulier ne contiennent pas de graisses saturées. Les pitaias contiennent également des quantités importantes d'antioxydants, qui empêchent les radicaux libres.

Pitaya - Un delizioso cactus ed è il nome dato al frutto di diversi tipi di cactus epifiti dei generi Hylocereus e Selenicereus, originari delle regioni del Centro America e del Messico, coltivati ​​anche in Israele, Brasile e Cina. Il termine "pitaya" significa "frutto squamoso". È anche chiamato "frutto del drago" in alcune lingue come l'inglese e le lingue asiatiche. Esistono tre varietà, tutte altamente commercializzate per il loro frutto, da cui derivano i nomi: la pitaia bianca (rosa all'esterno e bianca all'interno), la pitaia gialla (gialla all'esterno e bianca all'interno) e la pitaia rossa ( rosso dentro e fuori). Poiché la pianta della pitaia fiorisce solo di notte (con grandi fiori bianchi), i fiori sono alcune delle tante piante chiamate "fiore notturno". Le focacce dalla pelle rossa sono fonti particolarmente buone di vitamina A. Le pitaya sono ricche di fibre e minerali, in particolare zinco e ferro. quelle rosse sono ricche di ferro, quelle gialle di zinco. I semi sono poveri di grassi polinsaturi, e quelli rossi in particolare non contengono grassi saturi. Le pitaia contengono anche quantità significative di antiossidanti, che prevengono i radicali liberi.

 

Pitaya ، صبار لذيذ وهو الاسم الذي يطلق على ثمار العديد من نباتات الصبار المشاشية من أجناس Hylocereus و Selenicereus ، موطنها مناطق أمريكا الوسطى والمكسيك ، المزروعة أيضًا في إسرائيل والبرازيل والصين. مصطلح "pitaya" يعني "قشور الفاكهة". وتسمى أيضًا "فاكهة التنين" في بعض اللغات مثل الإنجليزية واللغات الآسيوية. هناك ثلاثة أصناف ، وجميعها يتم تسويقها بشكل كبير لفاكهة ، مما يعطيها الأسماء: البيتيا البيضاء (الوردي من الخارج والأبيض من الداخل) ، والبيتيا الصفراء (الأصفر من الخارج والأبيض من الداخل) ، والبيتيا الحمراء ( أحمر من الداخل والخارج). نظرًا لأن نبات البيتيا يزهر فقط في الليل (بأزهار بيضاء كبيرة) ، فإن الأزهار هي بعض من العديد من النباتات التي تسمى "زهرة الليل". إن البيتا ذات القشرة الحمراء هي مصادر جيدة بشكل خاص لفيتامين أ. وهي غنية بالألياف والمعادن ، وخاصة الزنك والحديد. الحمراء غنية بالحديد والأصفر بالزنك. البذور منخفضة في الدهون المتعددة غير المشبعة ، والبذور الحمراء على وجه الخصوص لا تحتوي على الدهون المشبعة. يحتوي Pitaias أيضًا على كميات كبيرة من مضادات الأكسدة التي تمنع الجذور الحرة.

Iris

is a genus of 260–300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species. As well as being the scientific name, iris is also very widely used as a common name for all Iris species, as well as some belonging to other closely related genera. A common name for some species is 'flags', while the plants of the subgenus Scorpiris are widely known as 'junos', particularly in horticulture. It is a popular garden flower.

 

The iris

is an incredible flower for a lot of reasons; this flower looks great and has a lot of great uses. You will find that iris in Green means rainbow and that can be tied to the variety of different colors that you will find the iris in. This is a great flower for that reason. There is a great floral meaning to the iris which makes it a great flower to give someone as a gift or even give them a plant that they can use again and again. You will find that with this floral meaning, you are sending compliments to the recipient and it also shows that you appreciate their friendship.

  

FOR MORE INFORMATIONS, PLEASE FOLLOW THESE LINKS:

en.canadianflowerdelivery.com/flower-meaning/iris.aspx

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_%28plant%29

  

AND:

THIS FLOWER IS VERY OFTEN USED AS ARMA DECORATIONS

(for example IN FLORENCE AND BRUSSELS)....

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur-de-lis

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbols_of_Brussels

IT IS A SERIOUS SYMBOL ..

MOREOVER V. VAN GOGH REALIZED MANY PICTURES ABOUT THIS SUBJECT

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsz5PU6Dby8

AND IN FLORENCE (ITALY) THERE IS A GARDEN DEDICATED ONLY TO THIS FLOWER

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dej0I7ru94I

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui1XcKtlhU0

 

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“It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera…

they are made with the eye, heart and head.”

[Henry Cartier Bresson]

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Please don't use any of my images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.

© All rights reserved

   

The African or Savannah buffalo is traditionally known as the meanest beast in the bush, prone to launch a killing charge at the drop of a hat. Although this is the natural reaction of almost any buffalo that is being shot at, many non-provoked, solitary males like the one in this image also do it. The most common species, a very large black-pelted grassland dweller, can weigh up to 1,750 pounds.

 

In South Africa, we were out for a night drive following a Pride of Lions, which were tracking a herd of Cape Buffalos. One of the large lions jumped on the back of a male buffalo and tried to bite through his spinal cord. The buffalo headed at full speed toward a tree with low hanging branches and knocked him off.

 

Understandably angry, the buffalo turned around and charged our 4x4 at full speed. The guide slammed the gear shift into reverse and the gas pedal to the floor. We went flying backwards over rough ground. The buffalo having made his point backed off on his charge.

 

It was one of the most exciting experiences on the trip, but not one that I would want to repeat.

 

Older males are generally forced out of the group. They tend to be solitary or join bachelor herds. You might hear guides refer to them as "old dagga boys". The word "dagga" is Zulu and means mud - it refers to the fact that they like wallowing in mud.

 

For greater detail, please click on image.

   

The Palace, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.

 

Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scots since the 16th century, and is a setting for state occasions and official entertaining.

 

Queen Elizabeth spends one week in residence at Holyrood Palace at the beginning of each summer, where she carries out a range of official engagements and ceremonies. The 16th century Historic Apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots and the State Apartments, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public throughout the year, except when members of the Royal Family are in residence.

On Rottnest Rottnest Island (Nyungar: Wadjemup), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a 19 km2 (7.3 sq mi) island off the coast of Western Australia, located 18 km (11 mi) west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, Rottnest is an A-class reserve, the highest level of protection afforded to public land.

  

The island was first documented by Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh in 1696, who called it 't Eylandt 't Rottenest ("Rats' Nest Island") after the quokka population that he thought resembled giant rats. Following establishment of the Swan River Colony (now Perth) in 1829, the island was initially used by British settlers for agricultural purposes, and a permanent settlement was built in Thomson Bay. From 1838 to 1931, Rottnest Island was also used as a prison and forced labour camp for over 3,600 Aboriginal people, who were subjected to extremely harsh conditions on the island.[8][9] Other historical uses of the island include as a military site, and for internment camps housing enemy aliens. Many of the island's buildings date from the colonial period, often made from locally quarried limestone, and are now used as accommodation for holidays.

Italien / Toskana / Chianti

 

Radda in Chianti

 

Chianti (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkjanti]), in Italy also referred to as Monti del Chianti ("Chianti Mountains") or Colline del Chianti ("Chianti Hills"), is a mountainous area of Tuscany in the provinces of Florence, Siena and Arezzo, composed mainly of hills and mountains. It is known for the wine produced in and named for the region, Chianti.

 

History

 

The territory of Chianti was initially limited, in the thirteenth century, by the municipalities of Gaiole in Chianti, Radda in Chianti and Castellina in Chianti and thus defined the "Chianti League" (Lega di Chianti).

 

Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, even decided in 1716 to issue an edict in which he officially recognized the boundaries of the Chianti district, which was the first legal document in the world to define a wine production area.

 

The villages of Chianti are often characterized by Romanesque churches and fortified medieval castles, signs of the ancient wars between Siena and Florence or as Monteriggioni, a fortified village north of Siena, on the ancient Via Cassia that leads to Florence.

 

In 1932, the wine designation specified the production limits for Chianti Classico, which is a DOCG (in Italian "Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita", governed by Italian regulations).

 

Geography

 

In addition to the cities already mentioned at the origin of this region, the city of Greve in Chianti radically expresses its connection directly in its name or as Impruneta which claims the name Impruneta in Chianti although it is not an official designation.

 

Agriculture

 

Like all rural regions of Tuscany, there is no monoculture and there are vineyards, olive trees, cereals and potatoes.

 

Silviculture

 

In the lower hills, there is the exploitation of oak woods, on the higher hills those of chestnut and holm oaks. Everywhere there are cypresses.

 

Viticulture

 

The name of Chianti wine refers to a region strictly located in the provinces of Florence, Siena, Arezzo, Pistoia, Pisa and Prato.

 

Cities in the region with explicit reference in their names:

 

Greve in Chianti and its hamlets: Panzano in Chianti, San Polo in Chianti

Radda in Chianti

Gaiole in Chianti

Castellina in Chianti

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Radda in Chianti is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 35 kilometres (22 miles) southeast of Florence and about 15 km (9 miles) north of Siena.

 

Radda in Chianti borders the following municipalities: Castellina in Chianti, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Cavriglia, Gaiole in Chianti, Greve in Chianti.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Das Chianti-Gebiet [ˈkjantigəˌbiːt], auch Colline del Chianti (Chianti-Hügel) oder Monti del Chianti (Chianti-Berge) genannt, ist eine Hügelkette (Gebirgskette) im Zentrum der Toskana, in der schon seit Jahrhunderten Chianti-Wein produziert wird. Das Weinbaugebiet macht ca. ein Drittel der gesamten Toskana aus.

 

Geografie

 

Das Kerngebiet der Hügelkette teilt sich in die Gebiete Chianti fiorentino und Chianti senese auf. Hierbei liegt der fiorentinische Teil am südöstlichen Rand der Metropolitanstadt Florenz und umfasst die Gemeinden Barberino Val d’Elsa, Greve in Chianti, San Casciano in Val di Pesa und Tavarnelle Val di Pesa. Der senesische Teil liegt im Nordosten der Provinz Siena und umfasst Castellina in Chianti, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Gaiole in Chianti, Poggibonsi und Radda in Chianti. Der sogenannte Chianti aretino ist der westliche Teil der Provinz Arezzo zwischen Arno und Chianti und gehört nicht zum Kerngebiet. Ihm gehören die Gemeinden Cavriglia, Bucine, Pergine Valdarno, Montevarchi und San Giovanni Valdarno an. Diese liegen geografisch gesehen im westlichen Valdarno[ (Arnotal).

 

Das Chianti-Gebiet umfasst im Westen Teile des Elsatals (Val d’Elsa) und des Pesatals (Val di Pesa), im Norden das Grevetal (Val di Greve), im Osten Teile des Arnotals (Valdarno) und des Ambratals (Val d’Ambra bzw. Valdambra). Im Südosten grenzt der Chianti an die Crete Senesi, im Südwesten an die Montagnola Senese.

 

In den Hügeln des Chianti entspringen die Flüsse bzw. Torrenti Ambra, Arbia, Bozzone, Greve, Ombrone, Pesa und Staggia. Zudem durchfließt im Westen der Elsa aus Süden und der Montagnola Senese kommend das Gebiet, das im Norden und Nordosten teilweise an den Arno grenzt.

 

Höchste Erhebung im Chianti-Gebiet ist der Berg Monte San Michele, der im Gemeindegebiet von Greve in Chianti liegt. Er erreicht eine Höhe von 893 Metern.

 

Geschichte

 

Das Gebiet wurde zuerst von den Etruskern und danach von den Römern besiedelt. Beide Kulturen hinterließen viele Spuren – auch, was den Weinbau angeht. Erstmals dokumentiert wurde das Gebiet als Clanti im 8. Jahrhundert. Im Mittelalter kämpften Florenz und Siena um die Vorherrschaft in diesem Gebiet. Der Name "Chianti" (Lega del Chianti) stand ursprünglich für einen Militärbund der Städte Radda, Castellina und Gaiole, der im 13. Jahrhundert entstand. Später wurde der Name auf immer größere Gebiete ausgeweitet. Dörfer und Klöster, Burgen und Festungen wurden in dieser Zeit errichtet, die dann später, als es wieder friedlicher wurde, in Landgüter und Villen umgewandelt wurden. In dieser Zeit fanden umfangreiche Waldrodungen statt, um Olivenhaine und Weinberge anzulegen. Diese Veränderungen brachten wirtschaftliche Erfolge und internationalen Ruhm für die Region.

 

Gesamtes Chianti-Gebiet (Weinbau)

 

Das gesamte Chianti-Gebiet erstreckt sich von Pisa (im Nordwesten) bis Montalcino (im Südosten) und ist offiziell in neun Untergebiete geteilt:

 

Chianti Classico (siehe unten)

Chianti Rufina (um Pontassieve)

Chianti Colline Pisane (um Pisa)

Chianti Montalbano (um Carmignano)

Chianti Colli Fiorentini (um Florenz)

Chianti Colli Senesi (um Siena)

Chianti Aretini (um Arezzo)

Chianti Montespertoli

 

Weinbau im Chianti-Classico-Gebiet

 

Es ist im Norden begrenzt von den Vororten von Florenz, im Osten von den Chianti-Bergen, im Süden von Siena und im Westen von den Tälern der Flüsse Pesa und Elsa. Es ist das Kernland des Chianti-Gebietes. Eine 70 km lange Weinstraße (die „Via Chiantigiana“, SS 222) verbindet die beiden großen Städte und führt durch eine großartige Kulturlandschaft. An der Straße liegen viele bekannte Weinorte aufgereiht wie an einer Perlenkette. Nur ein Zehntel des sehr waldigen Gebiets (insgesamt ca. 70.000 Hektar) wird für Weinbau verwendet. Der Gallo Nero (= „Schwarzer Hahn“) ist das Kennzeichen der Chianti-Classico-Weine. Das Consorzio del Marchio Storico Chianti Classico wacht über die Einhaltung der Regeln für guten Chianti.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Radda in Chianti (meist nur Radda) ist eine Gemeinde mit 1470 Einwohnern (Stand 31. Dezember 2022) in der Provinz Siena der Region Toskana in Italien.

 

Geografie

 

Der Ort erstreckt sich über 80 km². Radda liegt im Weinanbaugebiet des Chianti Classico und ist von großen Höhenunterschieden geprägt. So liegt der Hauptort in einer Höhe von 530 Metern, während der tiefstgelegene Stadtteil Lucarelli bei etwa 280 m liegt. Der höchste Punkt der Gemeinde liegt bei 845 m auf dem Monte Querciabella. Im Gemeindegebiet entspringt der Fluss Staggia. Zudem durchfließt der Arbia (6 km) und der Pesa (13 km) den Ort. Die Gemeinde liegt in der klimatischen Einordnung italienischer Gemeinden in der Zone E, 2 245 GG.

 

Zu Ortsteilen (frazioni) zählen Badia a Montemuro (706 m), Castelvecchi (580 m), Colle Petroso (520 m), La Villa (475 m), Lucarelli (285 m), Monterinaldi, Palagio (515 m), Selvole (504 m) und Volpaia (617 m).

 

Die Nachbargemeinden sind Castellina in Chianti, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Cavriglia (AR), Gaiole in Chianti und Greve in Chianti (FI).

 

Geschichte

 

Ergebnissen archäologischer Ausgrabungen zufolge war der Ortskern schon um 2000 v. Chr. bewohnt und wurde im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. wahrscheinlich von den Etruskern besiedelt. Das erste gesicherte Dokument über Radda wurde in einem Schriftstück von Otto III. gefunden und ist auf das Jahr 1002 datiert. 1041 erscheint Radda als Ramda judicaria fiorentina et fesulana in den Aufzeichnungen des Klosters Badia a Coltibuono. Aufgrund seiner Lage zwischen Florenz und Siena war Radda Schauplatz mehrfacher Auseinandersetzungen der beiden Republiken. Als die Florentiner Republik 1250 das Chianti-Gebiet in drei Ligen (Terziere di Radda, Terziere di Gaiole und Terziere di Castellina) aufteilte, wurde Radda Hauptstadt der sogenannten Lega del Chianti. Dieser Status wurde 1415 bestätigt.

 

Gemeindepartnerschaften

 

Radda unterhält eine Gemeindepartnerschaft mit dem südwestfranzösischem Ort Saint-Brice im Arrondissement Cognac.

 

Auszeichnungen

 

Radda in Chianti ist Träger der Bandiera Arancione des Touring Club Italiano.

 

(Wikipedia)

Pier A Harbor House (commonly referred to as City Pier A) is a municipal pier in the Hudson River at Battery Park near the southern end of Manhattan in New York City. Although did not play any role as a major disembarkation point, it has also been nicknamed in recent years as "Liberty Gateway".[4] Pier A is the last surviving historic pier in the city.Pier A was built from 1884 to 1886 to serve as the headquarters of the New York City Board of Dock Commissioners (later known as the Department of Docks); it also served as a home for the Harbor Police.

 

The building's roof, made of tin, was painted green to resemble the colour of oxidized copper. In renovation by the Battery Park City Authority this roof was discarded, and replaced with copper.

 

The pier was expanded in 1900 and again in 1919 with a clock installed in the pier's tower as a memorial to 116,000 US servicemen who died during World War I.[4] The clock is a ship's clock and was donated by Daniel G. Reid, founder of United States Steel Corporation.

 

From 1992 onward, the pier was vacant and fell into disrepair. Several proposals for redevelopment fell through; for instance, in 2007, Daniel L. Doctoroff, deputy mayor for economic development, proposed to use the pier building for the ferry terminal to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and other harbor destinations.[10]

 

A restoration of the pier commenced in 2009. Pier A's restaurant and bar, "Pier A Harbor House", opened to the public in November 2014

  

Leather fetishism refers to the sexual fetishism. These materials may be fetishised because the garment acts as a fetishistic surrogate or second skin for the wearer's own skin. The material may be regarded as providing a superstimulus that is more intense than the normal response associated with real skin. This is heightened by the fact that the leather was originally an animal's skin. When sexual arousal is achieved by or dependent on the use of objects, it is referred to as sexual fetishism, or in some instances a paraphilia.

Titterstone Clee Hill, sometimes referred to as Titterstone Clee or, incorrectly, Clee Hill, is a prominent hill in the rural English county of Shropshire.

 

It is one of the Clee Hills, in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

 

Titterstone Clee is the third-highest hill in Shropshire, surpassed only by the nearby Brown Clee Hill (540 metres (1,770 ft)) and Stiperstones (536 metres (1,759 ft)).

 

Much of the higher part of the hill is common land, used for the grazing of sheep, air traffic control services and both working and disused quarries. The summit of Titterstone Clee is bleak, treeless and shaped by decades of quarrying. Many of the industrial structures still remain.

 

Most of the summit of the hill is affected by man-made activity, the result of hill fort construction during the Bronze and Iron Ages and, more recently, by years of mining for coal and quarrying for dolerite, known locally as 'dhustone', for use in road-building. Many derelict quarry buildings scattered over the hill are of industrial archaeological interest as very early examples of the use of reinforced concrete.

Night-blooming cereus is the common name referring to a large number of flowering Cereus cacti that bloom at night. The flowers are short lived, and some of these species, such as Selenicereus grandiflorus, bloom only once a year, for a single night.[1] The night-blooming cereus is also referred to as princess of the night, Honolulu queen (for Hylocereus undatus), and queen of the night.

 

Description

 

Selenicereus grandiflorus

Regardless of genus or species, night-blooming cereus flowers are almost always white, often large, and frequently fragrant.[citation needed] Most of the flowers open after nightfall, and by dawn, most are in the process of wilting. The plants that bear such flowers can be tall, columnar, and sometimes extremely large and tree-like, but more frequently are thin-stemmed climbers. While some night-blooming cereus are grown indoors in homes or greenhouses in colder climates, most of these plants are too large or ungainly for this treatment, and are only found outdoors in tropical areas.

[edit]Cultivation and uses

 

Some night-blooming cereus plants produce fruits which are large enough for people to consume. These include some of the members of the genus Cereus, but most commonly the fruit of the Hylocereus. Hylocereus fruit have the advantage of lacking exterior spines, in contrast to the fruit of cacti such as the Selenicereus fruit, being brightly colored, and having a pleasant taste. Since the late 1990s, Hylocereus fruit have been commercially grown and sold in tropical locations like Australia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Hawaii.[citation needed]

Around 2000, the name dragonfruit was created for promotional purposes in English-speaking countries, undoubtedly influenced by the very successful renaming of "hairy gooseberries" as "kiwifruit" earlier in the 20th century. The unusual exterior of a Hylocereus fruit, with its protruding growths, inspired the reference to dragons. Hylocereus fruits are also called pitaya. Increasing commercial cultivation and the hybridizing of new varieties is occurring for this fairly new crop. However, dragonfruit are usually somewhat expensive during their season (summer) and are still a specialty for most consumers.

This beetle belongs to the Family-Carabidae and Subfamily-Scaratinae. It is sometimes referred to as the "Big-headed Ground Beetle." The family has approximately 40,000 species worldwide, of which about 2,000 can be found in North American and 2,700 are present in Europe. Carabids are usually found in leaf litter, decaying wood, moist ground, under bark, logs, rocks, or in sand along the edges of ponds and rivers. The majority are considered beneficial because they consume live prey including grubs, caterpillars, insects, millipedes, snails and slugs, as well as seeds, decaying plant matter, and carrion.

All ground beetles have a groove on their forelegs (tibiae) that have hairs used for cleaning their antennae and sizeable mandibles used to grasp, crush, or cut food, or to defend against predators or rivals . Many have ridged wing covers (elytra), with some that are fused rendering them flightless. They are fast runners, and some species secrete noxious or caustic fluids if threatened. Many people like to collect ground beetles, as they make interesting pets. They are easy to care for and can reproduce readily given the proper conditions. (Sources: University of Minnesota; Earthlife.net; Wikipedia)

The Madonna of the Magnificat, is a painting of circular or tondo form by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli. It is also referred to as the Virgin and Child with Five Angels. In the tondo, we see the Virgin Mary writing the Magnificat with her right hand, with a pomegranate in her left, as two angels crown her with the Christ child on her lap. It is now in the galleries of the Uffizi, in Florence.

The history of the painting is not known, but the Uffizi acquired it from a private collection in 1784. It may have come from one of the many monasteries suppressed by the Archduke Pietro Leopoldo. There are several copies of the painting, including one in the Louvre and one in the Morgan Library & Museum in New York. In the Louvre's copy, the leftmost angel, crowning the Virgin, is erased, leaving room for a large spread of wings for the highest angel in the trio to the left.

The work portrays the Virgin Mary crowned by two of five angels, a sheer veil covering her flowing blonde hair and a Byzantine style scarf around her shoulders. She is writing the opening of the Magnificat on the right-hand page of a book; on the left page is part of the Benedictus. As Mary writes in the Magnificat, the infant Jesus guides her hand, looking up to the clear blue sky, or perhaps to his mother, softly returning his gaze. In her left hand she holds a pomegranate. The figures are placed in front of a bright and serene landscape, and the framing creates a division between Heaven and earth. To the left, three angels crowd around the Magnificat, seemingly in deep conversation amongst one another.

The Magnificat, a canticle also known as The Song of Mary, is taken from the Gospel of Luke. In this narrative, Mary is visiting her cousin, Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist. As John moves within Elizabeth's womb, Mary praises God for the favor he has bestowed upon her. The Benedictus, also known as The Song of Zechariah, is another canticle taken from the Gospel of Luke, and was the song uttered by Zechariah during the circumcision of his son, John the Baptist.

Many art historians have debated that Mary is thought to be a portrait of Lucrezia Tornabuoni, wife of Piero de' Medici, and the two angels holding the book to be her sons Lorenzo and Giuliano.In Giorgio Vasari's The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Artists, Vasari states:

In the Guardaroba of the Signor Duke Cosimo are two very beautiful female heads in profile by this master, one is said to be the portrait of an inamorata of Giuliano de' Medici, brother of Lorenzo; the other that of Madonna Lucrezia Tornabuoni, Lorenzo's mother.

However, there are no reliable sources that definitively recognize this portrait as the Madonna of the Magnificat, so this hypothesis is largely disregarded. The identity of the Madonna is unknown, and may simply be one of the many generic Madonna figures that Botticelli painted throughout his career.

Conventionally, the Madonna is depicted as a reader rather than a writer. In this painting, Botticelli made the decision to depict her as a writer. Following common Humanist rhetoric, this shift from reading to writing raises more questions. Traditionally, the Magnificat was believed to be an oration by Mary, rather than a written document. This depiction of the Virgin as a writer, however, employs what may be a "rhetoric of impossibility." There is a concept that the literacy and ability to compose writing in women is a "miracle," as no other woman has the ability to obtain the factors that make the Virgin who she is; the virginal, noble figure that is highly revered by all who follow the Bible in a Christian setting. While at first glance, this may appear as a feminist statement about humanist female authors and scholars at the time, it can be analyzed as a backhanded compliment, disregarding the movement towards female literacy and using this "rhetoric of impossibility." Botticelli further intensifies the Virgin's position as a woman writer, juxtaposing her roles as a mother and as an author. The Madonna is simultaneously portrayed as a maternal figure, softly tending to the Christ child, and as an author, exemplifying the aforementioned "rhetoric of impossibility."

It is widely agreed that Botticelli went through three distinct artistic phases, marked by the subjects of his work rather than any shift in artistic style. During the first of these three phases, he maintained a very moderate, average emotional state throughout the content of his paintings, aptly regarded as the "Medici phase". During this phase, Botticelli painted several Madonnas, including another large-scale tondo, Madonna of the Pomegranate. Each of them were incredibly maternal in nature, the soft motherly love of the Virgin accentuated by the tenderness between herself and the Christ child. Botticelli famously painted his female figures, especially his Madonnas, with incredibly pale, porcelain-like faces, with light pink blushing across their noses, cheeks, and mouths. This phase in Botticelli's art was also characterized by the combination of features typically found in court paintings, as well as qualities learned from his study of Classical works. Botticelli juxtaposes the Classical grace of these quasi-courtly paintings with the garb of then-contemporary Florentines.

Much like Madonna of the Pomegranate, this Madonna is seen holding a pomegranate in her left hand. Although there are no definitive arguments regarding the pomegranate seen in the Madonna of the Magnificat, there has been discussion that the pomegranate seen in the other tondo is representative of an anatomically accurate human heart. Pomegranates have been used symbolically throughout artistic eras, beginning in pagan mythology where it symbolized Persephone and her springtime return to earth. With the introduction of Christianity, this symbolism evolved to represent immortality and resurrection. In addition, because of its many seeds, the pomegranate can also symbolize fertility. The pomegranate is often used in Renaissance art to represent the fullness of Jesus' suffering and resurrection. Some experts have noted the cardiac anatomic accuracy of the pomegranate, which may further emphasize this suffering experienced by Jesus in his corporeal form. This accuracy can also be seen in the Madonna of the Magnificat, although the placement is below Christ's heart, whereas the placement of Madonna of the Pomegranate sits right above his heart.

Leather fetishism refers to the sexual fetishism. These materials may be fetishised because the garment acts as a fetishistic surrogate or second skin for the wearer's own skin. The material may be regarded as providing a superstimulus that is more intense than the normal response associated with real skin. This is heightened by the fact that the leather was originally an animal's skin

The DeLorean DMC-12 (commonly referred to simply as The DeLorean as it was the only model ever produced by the company) is a sports car manufactured by John DeLorean's DeLorean Motor Company for the American market in 1981–82. Featuring gull-wing doors with a fiberglass "underbody", to which non-structural brushed stainless steel panels are affixed, the car became iconic for its appearance as a modified time machine in the Back to the Future film trilogy.

 

The first prototype appeared in October 1976, and production officially began in 1981 in Dunmurry, a suburb of south west Belfast, Northern Ireland (with the first DMC-12 rolling off the production line on January 21). During its production, several features of the car were changed, such as the hood style, wheels and interior. Approximately 9,000 DMC-12s were made before production halted in early 1983.

 

The DMC-12 was the only model produced by the company, which would go into liquidation as the US car market went through its largest slump since the 1930s. In 2007, about 6,500 DeLorean Motor cars were believed to still exist.

 

British entrepreneur Stephen Wynne based in Texas started a separate company in 1995 using the "DeLorean Motor Company" name and shortly thereafter acquired the trademark on the stylized "DMC" logo as well as the remaining parts inventory of the original DeLorean Motor Company. The company, at its suburban Humble, Texas location, completes newly assembled cars from new old stock (NOS) parts, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and reproduction parts on a "made to order" basis using existing Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) plates.

The name Iracema refers to an Indian female of the same name, who became part of the History of Ceará.

 

The New Statue

of Iracema

History books say that a Portuguese called Martim Soares Moreno was one of the greatest heroes of the war against the Dutch invasors, in the first half of the 17th century; Martim Moreno chose to live in Ceará, among the Indians.

In the 19th century, José de Alencar, one of the greatest Brazilian writers, wrote a book called Iracema; in the book, Iracema was the wife of Martim Moreno. Iracema provided the strenght that Moreno needed to fight. The name Iracema doesn't appear in the History books, but Alencar said that his novel was inspired by tales he heard since childhood.

Iracema is so entrenched in Fortaleza History that there are five statues of her in the city. The oldest one was dates back to 1965, when the novel Iracema was turning the 100th anniversary, and is located in the beach of Mucuripe.

This statue in the beach of Iracema is known as "Iracema, Guardiã" (Iracema, the Guardian), and is from 1996. Whereas the other statues portray Iracema and her family, this one shows the Indian holding a large bow, as if ready for a battle.

De passagem por S.Felix da Marinha em 2011

Flat Top Manor, as it is known to the locals, is also referred to as Moses Cone Manor, Moses Cone Estate, the Moses H. Cone Mansion, or just Flat Top. On the Blue Ridge Parkway it is located at Milepost 294 in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. To most people who travel the Parkway it is simply the Parkway Craft Center, which is the major component of the manor house. It is open to the public from spring through fall and gets over 225,000 visitors annually. The mansion was built by Moses H. Cone and his wife Bertha at the turn of the twentieth century. Its construction was started in 1899 and finished in 1901. It has twenty-three rooms and 13,000 square feet of living space. When Moses began acquiring land in the 1890s in the Blowing Rock area to build the house, he emulated George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Newspaper reporters of the time referred to these builders as "Farmer Cone" and "Farmer Vanderbilt". In 1898 Moses announced he was going to build a mansion in Blowing Rock that cost $25,000 when $200 would buy a habitable home in the area. The mansion is named "Flat Top" manor because of the nearness to Flat Top Mountain, which Moses and Bertha also purchased. It is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The elevation in this area where the house is built is just at 4,500 feet, while Grandfather Mountain, which is only a few miles to the south, has an elevation of nearly 6,000 feet. Moses used his estate to showcase his knowledge of scientific farming. It had extensive orchards, gardens and livestock. When the Blue Ridge Parkway came through and the government took over the property several buildings on the land were torn down. These included houses for workers, a building where washing took place, and a single lane bowling alley. The bowling alley was located in a small building that resembled an elongated outhouse. Only men used the bowling alley, they would roll the ball down the lane and have to walk down the lane themselves to retrieve the ball and set the pins back up. To stop the ball a large bear skin hung on the back wall. The property included several apple orchards including one on a far end of the property called China because "it was on the other side of the world." The Moses H. Cone Memorial Park that contains the mansion is located between Milepost 292 and 295. The house is open to the public and there is no charge for admission. The first floor contains a Craft Center operated by the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild. It also has a National Park Service information desk and a book store. There are tours given by Park Rangers of the second story of the mansion. A visitor can sit in a rocking chair on the large veranda or walk the nearby self-guiding trail to the side of the manor house. The hike around Bass Lake is the most popular. The Craft Center inside the mansion features a gift shop and a craft-person's workshop where various arts and crafts (i.e. pottery, wood carving, textiles, painting, drawing, needlepoint, crocheting) are demonstrated often.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Top_Manor

www.nps.gov/maps/full.html?mapId=e212fcb5-4ff9-4787-bbe4-...

web.archive.org/web/20071227111405/http://www.blueridgehe...

www.virtualblueridge.com/parkway-place/moses-cone-memoria...

 

[Refer to adjacent image in Photostream "Richard 006/100"].

That description could refer to either me or the photograph. This picture was taken in May 1979 and shows 50027 on the Teignmouth end of the sea wall with the 1937 Hackney Yards to Exeter Riverside. The clay probably came off the Heathfield Branch and staged at Hackney Yards in. Newton Abbot before being tripped to Exeter from where it would join a train for the potteries.

The poor quality of the picture is down to me having to use a very low shutter speed to stand any chance of recording the event.

This picture has never been shared before, even though it is of dubious quality i hope it brings back a few good memories.

Sally B. Duxford refers to the B-17 Flying Fortress, Sally B, which is based at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in eastern England. The aircraft is the last remaining airworthy B-17 in Europe and serves as a flying memorial to the American airmen who died in World War II

 

About the aircraft

A living memorial: Since arriving in the UK in 1975, Sally B has been operated and maintained by B-17 Preservation Ltd to commemorate the thousands of United States Army Air Forces airmen who lost their lives in the European theater during World War II.

Based at Duxford: The bomber is permanently based at the Imperial War Museum (IWM) Duxford, an airfield with a rich military history. It is a frequent highlight at airshows there and throughout Europe.

Film star: Sally B is famous for its role in the 1990 film Memphis Belle and has appeared in other film and television productions.

The people behind Sally B

Elly Sallingboe: The aircraft is named for Elly Sallingboe, who has been the tireless operator of the B-17 since 1982. The effort to keep the bomber flying began with her partner, Ted White, and after his death in a flying accident, Sallingboe took over the monumental task of fundraising and preservation.

B-17 Preservation Ltd: The non-profit organization B-17 Preservation Ltd. operates the aircraft, which is not part of the IWM collection.

Supporters Club: The continued operation of Sally B is made possible by the funding and volunteer work of its dedicated team and the Supporters Club, one of the largest clubs of its kind in the world.

 

Sally B's starboard inner engine has a yellow and black chequered cowling as a tribute to pilot Ted White, who brought the B-17 to the UK and sadly died in a Harvard crash in 1982. The chequered pattern matches the one on his own Harvard, and it serves as a perpetual memorial to him

 

Photo taken at the Imperial War Museum Duxford Cambridgeshire 6th Sept 2025 Battle Of Britain Air Show

I have just completed and paid for a referral to Gender GP.

I have an information gathering session on Wednesday.

I just hope that they can get me everything I need quicker than the current 4 years NHS waiting list for an initial consultation with GIC. If all goes well then I should get a report in about 3 weeks saying I'm a fruitloop and need to be chased by men in white coats with big butterfly nets and hauled away in rusty old bread van ... LOL

Please wish me luck everyone

xxooxx

🌈💖💙💚❤💛💜🌈

 

Lake Okeechobee locally referred to as "The Lake", "Florida's Inland Sea", or "The Big O", is the largest freshwater lake in the state of Florida. It is the seventh largest freshwater lake in the United States and the second largest freshwater lake (the largest being Lake Michigan) contained entirely within the contiguous 48 states. However, it is the largest freshwater lake completely within a single one of the lower 48 states. Okeechobee covers 730 square miles (1,900 km2), approximately half the size of the state of Rhode Island, and is exceptionally shallow for a lake of its size, with an average depth of only 9 feet (2.7 metres). The lake is divided between Glades, Okeechobee, Martin, Palm Beach, and Hendry counties. All five counties meet at one point near the center of the lake.

 

The name Okeechobee comes from the Hitchiti words oki (water) and chubi (big). The oldest known name for the lake was Mayaimi (also meaning "big water"), reported by Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda in the 16th century. Slightly later in the 16th century René Goulaine de Laudonnière reported hearing about a large freshwater lake in southern Florida called Serrope. By the 18th century the largely mythical lake was known to British mapmakers and chroniclers by the Spanish name Laguna de Espiritu Santo. In the early 19th century it was known as Mayacco Lake or Lake Mayaca after the Mayaca people, originally from the upper reaches of the St. Johns River, who moved near the lake in the early 18th century. The modern Port Mayaca on the east side of the lake preserves that name. The lake was also called Lake Macaco in the early 19th century.

 

On the southern rim of Lake Okeechobee, three islands—Kreamer, Ritta, and Torey—were once settled by early pioneers. These settlements had a general store, post office, school, and town elections. Farming was the main vocation. The fertile land was challenging to farm because of the muddy muck. Over the first half of the twentieth century, farmers used agricultural tools—including tractors—to farm in the muck. By the 1960s, all of these settlements were abandoned.

 

Credit for the data above is given to the following website:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Okeechobee

The Millennium Dome, colloquially referred to simply as The Dome, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium. Located on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East London, England, the exhibition was open to the public from 1 January to 31 December 2000. The project and exhibition was the subject of considerable political controversy as it failed to attract the number of visitors anticipated, with recurring financial problems. All of the original exhibition and associated complex has since been demolished. The dome still exists, and it is now a key exterior feature of The O2. The Prime Meridian passes the western edge of the Dome and the nearest London Underground station is North Greenwich on the Jubilee line.

And you can if you want walk over the Dome, and No I didn't .

Alfa Pendular e escritórios de Contumil

 

EXPLORE

 

Bamboo Silhouette

 

Kawayan is Bamboo. Lawiswis refers to the swishing sound bamboo makes when the wind blows.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo

 

Lawiswis Kawayan is a Visayan song in Waray or Winaray dialect spoken in Samar, Leyte and Biliran in the Visayas region in the Philippines. Sorry, I do not know the dialect, I cannot translate the song to English.

 

Ako magtatanom lawiswis kawayan

Akon la kan pikoy palataylatayan

Sabahis nga pikoy ka-waray batasan

Sinmulod ha kwarto, kan inday higdaan.

 

An panyo, an panyo nga may sigarilyo,

Ginpiksi ni Inday kay may sentimiento

An nasisinahan, an nabi- an nabibidu-an

Tungod la han gugma nga waray katuman.

 

An ine nga hugpo lawiswis kawayan

Diin an higugma nga may rayandayan

Magtutugtog dayon mga ginlatayan

Maglipay ngatanan mga kasaangkayan.

 

An ine nga pikoy nga pikoy paglupad murayaw

Natuntong han sanga dagos paparayaw

Binuklad an pako, an pako daw hilaw nga dahon

An iya pagrayhak nga ak ginkinantahan.

 

Hi Mano palabio mahal magbaligya

Adobo sitsaron upod an mantika

Ginpadisan hin luyat nga tarong

Hi mano Palabio mahal la gihapon.

 

Ako magtatanom lawiswis kawayan

Akon la kan pikoy palataylatayan

Sabahis nga pikoy ka-waray batasan

Sinmulod ha kwarto, kan inday higdaan.

 

An panyo, an panyo nga may sigarilyo,

Ginpiksi ni Inday kay may sentimiento

An nasisinahan, an nabi- an nabibidu-an

Tungod la han gugma nga waray katuman.

 

An ine nga hugpo lawiswis kawayan

Diin an higugma nga may rayandayan

Magtutugtog dayon mga ginlatayan

Maglipay ngatanan mga kasaangkayan.

 

An ine nga pikoy nga pikoy paglupad murayaw

Natuntong han sanga dagos paparayaw

Binuklad an pako, an pako daw hilaw nga dahon

An iya pagrayhak nga ak ginkinantahan.

 

Hi Mano palabio mahal magbaligya

Adobo sitsaron upod an mantika

Ginpadisan hin luyat nga tarong

Hi mano Palabio mahal la gihapon.

     

  

Referring to the area south of Hollywood Road, SoHo is the multicultural wine, dine and swanky nightlife side of Central. The upmarket bars and exotic restaurants of SoHo’s historic and narrow streets are chic to the extreme.

 

Come during the day to explore the neighbourhoods attractive fashion boutiques, art galleries and antiques shops. Indulge in lunch and a glass of vino or hang around for sundown, when SoHo really comes into its own.

 

View On Large

 

Jerash, the Gerasa of Antiquity, is the capital and largest city of Jerash Governorate (محافظة جرش), which is situated in the north of Jordan, 48 km (30 miles) north of the capital Amman towards Syria. Jerash Governorate's geographical features vary from cold mountains to fertile valleys from (1250 to 300 meters above sea level), suitable for growing a wide variety of crops.

 

Jerash is known for the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa, also referred to as Antioch on the Golden River. It is sometimes misleadingly referred to as the "Pompeii of the Middle East or Asia", referring to its size, extent of excavation and level of preservation (though Jerash was never buried by a volcano). Jerash is considered one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Near East. It was a city of the Decapolis.

 

More info at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerash

 

© Eddie Chui

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-legged_Gull

  

The Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis), sometimes referred to as Western Yellow-legged Gull (to distinguish it from eastern populations of yellow-legged large white-headed gulls), is a large gull of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of either the Caspian Gull L. cachinnans, or more broadly as a subspecies of the Herring Gull L. argentatus. It is named after the German zoologist Karl Michahelles

  

Classification

  

It is now generally accepted that the Yellow-legged Gull is a full species, but until recently there was much disagreement. For example, British Birds magazine split Yellow-legged Gull from Herring Gull in 1993 but included the Caspian Gull in the former,[2] but the BOU in Great Britain retained the Yellow-legged Gull as a subspecies of the Herring Gull until 2007.[3] DNA research however suggests that Yellow-legged Gull is actually closest to Great Black-backed Gull L. marinus and Armenian Gull L. armenicus, while Caspian Gull is closer to Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull L. fuscus, rather than being each other's closest relatives.[4][5]

  

There are two subspecies of the Yellow-legged Gull:[5]

 

Larus michahellis michahellis Naumann, 1840. Mediterranean.

 

Larus michahellis atlantis (Dwight, 1922), syn. Larus fuscus atlantis Dwight, 1922. Macaronesia (Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores).

  

Birds breeding on the Atlantic coasts of Morocco, Portugal and Galicia (and spreading north from there) are usually also included here, but are sometimes considered to be a third subspecies L. m. lusitanius. Atlantic Ocean birds have darker wings and back by comparison with Mediterranean birds, creating a more pronounced contrast to the white parts.

  

Distribution

   

The breeding range is centred around the Mediterranean Sea. In North Africa it is common in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia and increasing in places. Recent breeding has occurred in Libya and Egypt. In the Middle East a few breed in Israel and Syria with larger numbers in Cyprus and Turkey. In Europe there are colonies all along the Mediterranean coast, and also on the Atlantic islands and coasts north to Brittany and west to the Azores. It also breeds on the west side of the Black Sea; here it overlaps with the Caspian Gull but there is a difference in habitat, with the Yellow-legged Gull preferring sea cliffs and Caspian Gull on flatter shores. In recent decades birds have spread north into central and western Europe. One to four pairs have attempted to breed in southern England since 1995 (sometimes hybrid pairs with Lesser Black-backed Gulls), though colonisation has been very slow.[6]

 

Many birds remain in the same area all year round but others migrate to spend the winter in mild areas of western Europe or head south as far as Senegal, the Gambia and the Red Sea. There is also extensive northward post-breeding dispersal in the late summer, with numbers in southern England high from July to October.[7] It is reported as a vagrant to northeastern North America[8] and Nigeria.

  

Description

   

Adults are similar to Herring Gulls but have yellow legs. They have a grey back, slightly darker than Herring Gulls but lighter than Lesser Black-backed Gulls. They are much whiter-headed in autumn, and have more extensively black wing tips with few white spots, just as Lesser Black-backed. They have a red spot on the bill as adults, like the entire complex. There is a red ring around the eye like in the Lesser Black-backed Gull but unlike in the Herring Gull which has a dark yellow ring.

 

First-year birds have a paler head, rump and underparts than those of the Herring Gull, more closely resembling first-year Great Black-backed Gulls in plumage. They have a dark bill and eyes, pinkish grey legs, dark flight feathers and a well-defined black band on the tail. They become lighter in the underparts and lose the upperpart pattern subsequently. By their second winter, birds are essentially feathered like adults, save for the patterned feathers remaining on the wing coverts. However, their bill tips are black, their eyes still dark, and the legs are a light yellow flesh colour.

 

The call is a loud laugh which is deeper and more nasal than the call of the Herring Gull.

  

Diet

  

They are omnivores like most Larus gulls, and they will scavenge on rubbish tips and elsewhere, as well as seeking suitable prey in fields or on the coast, or robbing smaller gulls and other seabirds of their catches.

  

Reproduction

  

Yellow-legged Gulls usually breed in colonies. Eggs, usually three, are laid from mid March to early May and are defended vigorously by this large gull. The nest is a sometimes sparse mound of vegetation built on the ground or on cliff ledges. In some places such as Gibraltar they have started nesting on buildings. The eggs are incubated for 27–31 days and the young birds fledge after 35–40 days.

 

Some refer to this scene as the 'Sedona Towers.' The light and shadows in the setting sun worked magic this evening I'll not soon forget it. Right where I composed this shot, I stepped back slightly, forgetting the danger just behind my stance... Result: A 'Spanish Dagger' direct hit to an ankle... I paid dearly for that misfortune. Three exposure HDR, 1/320 s, 1/160 s, 1/80 s, f/16, ISO 100, EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM @ 50mm, All Rights Reserved 2013 © LouisAnnImage

Brindled (refers to the color) Texas Longhorn cattle enjoying a cool overcast day among the Texas wildflowers. For more info on the Texas Longhorn, please see: www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/LL/atl2.html and www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/texaslonghorn/index.htm

When viewed in large they seem to be giving each other their opinion of being photographed....not sure I would want to hear what they said...Ha Ha!!!

 

About The Spit

 

The Southport Spit (referred to by locals as The Spit) is located north of Main Beach and stretches all the way up to the Gold Coast Seaway. The Spit is a permanent sand structure that separates the Gold Coast Broadwater from the open waters of the Pacific Ocean.

 

While most of the beach along The Spit is often uncrowded, the northern end includes an off-leash dog area which is a popular place for many dog owners. Also at the northern end of The Spit is the Gold Coast sand pumping jetty which forms part of the Gold Coast Seaway’s Sand Bypassing System.

 

There are three main surfing spots at The Spit – the south side of the jetty, the north side of the jetty and just off the southern Seaway wall. Each of these surf spots are directly created by the engineering intervention with local coastal processes. The beach breaks to the central and southern end of The Spit can often provide an uncrowded line-up.

 

The Spit is also home to Sea World, Sea World Resort, the Sheraton Mirage Resort and Spa, Palazzo Versace, Marina Mirage and Doug Jennings Park.

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas

 

Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-largest in the Southwestern United States. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife, with most venues centered on downtown Las Vegas and more to the Las Vegas Strip just outside city limits. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had 641,903 residents in 2020, with a metropolitan population of 2,227,053, making it the 25th-most populous city in the United States.

 

The city bills itself as the Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its luxurious and extremely large casino-hotels. With over 40.8 million visitors annually as of 2023, Las Vegas is one of the most visited cities in the United States. It is a top-three U.S. destination for business conventions and a global leader in the hospitality industry, claiming more AAA Five Diamond hotels than any other city in the world. Las Vegas annually ranks as one of the world's most visited tourist destinations. The city's tolerance for numerous forms of adult entertainment has earned it the nickname "Sin City", and has made Las Vegas a popular setting for literature, films, television programs, commercials and music videos.

 

Las Vegas was settled in 1905 and officially incorporated in 1911. At the close of the 20th century, it was the most populated North American city founded within that century (a similar distinction was earned by Chicago in the 19th century). Population growth has accelerated since the 1960s and into the 21st century, and between 1990 and 2000 the population nearly doubled, increasing by 85.2%. As with most major metropolitan areas, the name of the primary city ("Las Vegas" in this case) is often used to describe areas beyond official city limits. In the case of Las Vegas, this especially applies to the areas on and near the Strip, which are actually in the unincorporated communities of Paradise and Winchester.

 

Additional Foreign Language Tags:

 

(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis"

 

(Nevada) "نيفادا" "内华达州" "नेवादा" "ネバダ" "네바다" "Невада"

 

(Las Vegas) "لاس فيغاس" "拉斯维加斯" "लास वेगास" "ラスベガス" "라스베이거스" "Лас-Вегас"

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanga_Parbat

  

Nanga Parbat (literally, Naked Mountain Urdu: نانگا پربت [nəŋɡaː pərbət̪]) is the ninth highest mountain in the world at 8,126 metres (26,660 ft) above sea level. It is the western anchor of the Himalayas around which the Indus river skirts into the plains of Pakistan. It is located in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, and is locally known as 'Deo Mir' ('mir' meaning 'mountain').[2]

 

Nanga Parbat is one of the eight-thousanders, with a summit elevation of 8,126 metres (26,660 ft).[3] An immense, dramatic peak rising far above its surrounding terrain, Nanga Parbat is also a notoriously difficult climb. Numerous mountaineering deaths in the mid and early 20th century lent it the nickname "killer mountain". Along with K2, it has never been climbed in winter.

  

Location

  

Nanga Parbat forms the western anchor of the Himalayan Range and is the westernmost eight-thousander. It lies just south of the Indus River in the Diamer District of Gilgit–Baltistan in Pakistan. Not far to the north is the western end of the Karakoram range.

  

Notable features

  

Nanga Parbat has tremendous vertical relief over local terrain in all directions.

 

To the south, Nanga Parbat boasts what is often referred to as the highest mountain face in the world: the Rupal Face rises 4,600 m (15,090 ft) above its base. To the north, the complex, somewhat more gently sloped Rakhiot Flank rises 7,000 m (22,966 ft) from the Indus River valley to the summit in just 25 km (16 mi), one of the 10 greatest elevation gains in so short a distance on Earth.[citation needed]

 

Nanga Parbat is one of only two peaks on Earth that rank in the top twenty of both the highest mountains in the world, and the most prominent peaks in the world, ranking ninth and fourteenth respectively. The other is Mount Everest, which is first on both lists.

 

Nanga Parbat along with Namcha Barwa on the Tibetan Plateau mark the west and east ends of the Himalayas.

  

Layout of the mountain

  

The core of Nanga Parbat is a long ridge trending southwest–northeast. The ridge is an enormous bulk of ice and rock. It has three faces, Diamir face, Rakhiot and Rupal. The southwestern portion of this main ridge is known as the Mazeno Wall, and has a number of subsidiary peaks. In the other direction, the main ridge arcs northeast at Rakhiot Peak (7,070 m / 23,196 ft). The south/southeast side of the mountain is dominated by the massive Rupal Face, noted above. The north/northwest side of the mountain, leading to the Indus, is more complex. It is split into the Diamir (west) face and the Rakhiot (north) face by a long ridge. There are a number of subsidiary summits, including North Peak (7,816 m / 25,643 ft) some 3 km north of the main summit. Near the base of the Rupal Face is a beautiful glacial lake called Latbo, above a seasonal shepherds' village of the same name.

  

Climbing history

  

Early attempts

  

Climbing attempts started very early on Nanga Parbat. In 1895 Albert F. Mummery led an expedition to the peak, and reached almost 6,100 m (20,000 ft) on the Diamir (West) Face,[6] but Mummery and two Gurkha companions later died reconnoitering the Rakhiot Face.

 

In the 1930s, Nanga Parbat became the focus of German interest in the Himalayas. The German mountaineers were unable to attempt Mount Everest, as only the British had access to Tibet. Initially German efforts focused on Kanchenjunga, to which Paul Bauer led two expeditions in 1930 and 1931, but with its long ridges and steep faces Kanchenjunga was more difficult than Everest and neither expedition made much progress. K2 was known to be harder still, and its remoteness meant that even reaching its base would be a major undertaking. Nanga Parbat was therefore the highest mountain accessible to Germans and also deemed reasonably possible by climbers at the time.[

  

The first German expedition to Nanga Parbat was led by Willy Merkl in 1932. It is sometimes referred to as a German-American expedition, as the eight climbers included Rand Herron, an American, and Fritz Wiessner, who would become an American citizen the following year. While the team were all strong climbers, none had Himalayan experience, and poor planning (particularly an inadequate number of porters), coupled with bad weather, prevented the team progressing far beyond the Rakhiot Peak northeast of the Nanga Parbat summit, reached by Peter Aschenbrenner and Herbert Kunigk, but they did establish the feasibility of a route via Rakhiot Peak and the main ridge.[8]

 

Merkl led another expedition in 1934, which was better prepared and financed with the full backing of the new Nazi government. Early in the expedition Alfred Drexel died, probably of high altitude pulmonary edema.[9] The Tyrolean climbers Peter Aschenbrenner and Erwin Schneider reached an estimated height of (7,895 m / 25,900 ft) on July 6, but were forced to return because of worsening weather. On July 7 they and 14 others were trapped by a ferocious storm at 7,480 m (24,540 ft). During the desperate retreat that followed, three famous German mountaineers, Uli Wieland, Willo Welzenbach and Merkl himself, and six Sherpas died of exhaustion, exposure and altitude sickness, and several more suffered severe frostbite. The last survivor to reach safety, Ang Tsering, did so having spent seven days battling through the storm.[10] It has been said that the disaster, "for sheer protracted agony, has no parallel in climbing annals."[11]

 

In 1937, Karl Wien led another expedition to the mountain, following the same route as Merkl's expeditions had done. Progress was made, but more slowly than before due to heavy snowfall. Some time around the 14th of June seven Germans and nine Sherpas, almost the entire team, were at Camp IV below Rakhiot Peak when it was overwhelmed by an avalanche. All sixteen men died instantly.[12]

 

The Germans returned in 1938 led by Paul Bauer, but the expedition was plagued by bad weather, and Bauer, mindful of the previous disasters, ordered the party down before the Silver Saddle, halfway between Rakhiot Peak and Nanga Parbat summit, was reached.[13] The following year a small four man expedition, including Heinrich Harrer, explored the Diamir Face with the aim of finding an easier route. They concluded that the face was a viable route, but the Second World War intervened and the four men were interned in India.[14] Harrer's escape and subsequent travels became the subject of his book Seven Years in Tibet.

  

First ascent

 

For a sense of scale, notice a 4-man yellow tent, dwarfed by the peak, near the bottom right. Just above the tent is a large white building.

Nanga Parbat was first climbed, via the Rakhiot Flank (East Ridge), on July 3, 1953 by Austrian climber Hermann Buhl,[15] a member of a German-Austrian team. The expedition was organized by the half-brother of Willy Merkl, Karl Herrligkoffer from Munich, while the expedition leader was Peter Aschenbrenner from Innsbruck, who had participated in the 1932 and 1934 attempts. By the time of this expedition, 31 people had already died on the mountain.[16]

 

The final push for the summit was dramatic: Buhl last 1300 meters continued alone, after his companions had turned back. Under the influence of the drugs pervitin (based on the stimulant methamphetamine used by soldiers during World War II), padutin, and tea from coca leaves, he reached the summit dangerously late, at 7 p.m., the climbing harder and more time-consuming than he had anticipated. His descent was slowed when he lost a crampon. Caught by darkness, he was forced to bivouac standing upright on a narrow ledge, holding a small handhold with one hand. Exhausted, he dozed occasionally, but managed to maintain his balance. He was also very fortunate to have a calm night, so he was not subjected to wind chill. He finally reached his high camp at 7 p.m. the next day, 40 hours after setting out.[17] The ascent was made without oxygen, and Buhl is the only man to have made the first ascent of an 8000 m peak alone.

  

Subsequent attempts and ascents

  

The second ascent of Nanga Parbat was via the Diamir Face, in 1962, by Germans Toni Kinshofer, Siegfried "Siegi" Löw, and A. Mannhardt. The route is now the "standard route" on the mountain. The Kinshofer route does not ascend the middle of the Diamir Face, which is threatened by avalanches from massive hanging glaciers. Instead it climbs a buttress on the left side of the face.

 

In 1970 the brothers Günther and Reinhold Messner made the third ascent of the mountain and the first ascent of the Rupal Face. They were unable to descend by their original route, and instead descended by the Diamir Face, making the first traverse of the mountain. Unfortunately Günther was killed in an avalanche on the Diamir Face. (Messner's account of this incident has been disputed. In 2005 Günther's remains were found on the Diamir Face.)

 

In 1971 Ivan Fiala and Michael Orolin summited Nanga Parbat via Buhl's 1953 route while other expedition members climbed the SE peak (7,600 m / 24,925 ft) above the Silbersattel and the foresummit (7,850 m / 25,760 ft) above the Bazhin Gap.

 

In 1976 a team of four made the sixth summit via a new route on the Rupal Face (second ascent on this face), then named the Schell route after the Austrian team leader. The line had been plotted by Karl Herrligkoffer on a previous unsuccessful attempt.

 

In 1978 Reinhold Messner returned to the Diamir Face and achieved the first completely solo ascent (i.e. always solo above Base Camp) of an 8,000 m peak.

 

In 1984 the French climber Lilliane Barrard became the first woman to climb Nanga Parbat, along with her husband Maurice Barrard.

 

In 1985, Jerzy Kukuczka, Zygmunt Heinrich, Slawomir Lobodzinski (all Polish) and Carlos Carsolio (Mexico) climbed a bold line up the Southeast Pillar (or Polish Spur) on the right-hand side of the Rupal Face, reaching the summit July 13. It was Kukuczka's 9th 8000m summit.[18]

 

Also in 1985, a Polish women's team climbed the peak via the 1962 German Diamir Face route. Wanda Rutkiewicz, Krystyna Palmowska and Anna Czerwinska reached the summit on July 15.[18]

 

"Modern" superalpinism was brought to Nanga Parbat in 1988 with an unsuccessful attempt or two on the Rupal Face by Barry Blanchard, Mark Twight, Ward Robinson and Kevin Doyle.[19]

 

2005 saw a resurgence of lightweight, alpine-style attempts on the Rupal Face:

In August 2005, Pakistani military helicopters rescued Slovenian mountaineer Tomaž Humar, who was stuck under a narrow ice ledge at 5,900 m (19,400 ft) for six days. It is believed to be one of the few successful rescues carried out at such high altitude.[20]

In September 2005, Vince Anderson and Steve House did an extremely lightweight, fast ascent of a new, direct route on the face, earning high praise from the climbing community.[21]

 

On July 17 or 18, 2006, José Antonio Delgado from Venezuela died a few days after reaching the summit, where he was caught by bad weather for six days and was unable to make his way down. He is the only Venezuelan climber, and one of few Latin Americans, to have reached the summit of five eight-thousanders.[22] Part of the expedition and the rescue efforts at base camp were captured on video, as Delgado was the subject of a pilot for a mountaineering television series.[22] Explorart Films, the production company, later developed the project into a feature documentary film called Beyond the Summit, which was scheduled to be released in South America in January 2008.[23]

 

On July 15, 2008, Italian alpinist Karl Unterkircher fell into a crevasse during an attempt to open a new route to the top with Walter Nones and Simon Kehrer. Unterkircher died, but Kehrer and Nones were rescued by the Pakistani army.[24]

 

On July 12, 2009, after reaching the summit, South Korean climber Go Mi-Young fell off a cliff on the descent in bad weather in her race to be the first woman to climb all 14 eight-thousanders.[25]

 

On July 15, 2012 Scottish mountaineers Sandy Allan and Rick Allen made the first ascent of Nanga Parbat via the 10 km-long Mazeno Ridge,[26] and in April 2013 were awarded the Piolet d'Or for their achievement.[

  

Winter climbing

  

Nanga Parbat has yet to be climbed in winter; 28 expeditions have tried this feat as of 2015.

 

Winter expeditions:

 

1988/89 - Polish 12-seater expedition KW Zakopane under the leadership of Maciej Berbeka. They first attempted the Rupal wall and then the Diamir wall. On the Messner route, Maciej Berbeka, Piotr Konopka and Andrzej Osika reached an altitude of about 6500-6800m.

 

1990/91 - Polish-English expedition under the leadership of Maciej Berbeka reached the height of 6600 m on the Messner route, and then Andrzej Osika and John Tinker by the Schell route up the Rupal wall reached a height of 6600m.

 

1991/92 - Polish expedition KW Zakopane under the leadership of Maciej Berbeka from the Rupal valley. This light, bold attack in alpine style on the Schell route reached the height of 7000 m.

 

1992/93 - French expedition Eric Monier and Monique Loscos - Schell route on the south-eastern Rupal wall. They came to BC on December 20. Eric reached January 9 6500 m. January 13 expedition has been completed.

 

1996/97 - two expedition: Polish expedition led by Andrzej Zawada from the Diamir valley, Kinshofer route. During the summit team Zbigniew Trzmiel and Krzysztof Pankiewicz, Trzmiel reached a height of 7800 m. The assault was interrupted because of frostbite. After descending to the base camp, both climbers were evacuated by helicopter to a hospital.

 

British expedition led by Victor Saunders, taking the Kinshofer route on the Diamir wall. Victor Saunders, Dane Rafael Jensen and Pakistani Ghulam Hassan reached the height of 6000m.

 

1997/98 - Polish expedition led by Andrzej Zawada from the Diamir valley, Kinshofer route. Expedition reached the height 6800 m, encountered an unusually heavy snowfall. A falling stone broke Ryszard Pawłowski's leg.

 

2004/05 - Austrian expedition brothers Wolfgang and Gerfried Göschl via the Kinshofer route on the Diamir wall reached the height of 6500m.

 

2006/07 - Polish HiMountain expedition from the Rupal by Schell route. Expedition led by Krzysztof Wielicki, with Jan Szulc, Artur Hajzer, Dariusz Załuski, Jacek Jawień, Jacek Berbeka, Przemysław Łoziński, and Robert Szymczak. Reached a height of 7000m.

 

2007/08 - Italian Simone La Terra started climbing solo at the beginning of December, reaching a height of 6000 m.

 

2008/09 - Polish expedition on the Diamir side. Jacek Teler (leader) and Jarosław Żurawski. Deep snow is not allowed to reach with luggage to the base of the wall, forcing the base camp five kilometers before. Assume camp I at an altitude of 5400 m.

 

2010/11 - two expedition: Sergei Nikolayevich Cygankow in a single expedition Kinshofer route on the Diamir wall reached the 6,000 m. Pulmonary edema ended the expedition.

Tomasz Mackiewicz and Marek Klonowski - Polish expedition "Justice for All - Nanga Dream" by Kinshofer route on the Diamir side. Reached 5100 m.

 

2011/12 - three expedition: Tomasz Mackiewicz, Marek Klonowski and "Krzaq" - Polish expedition "Justice for All - Nanga Dream" by Kinshofer route on the Diamir side. Reached 5500 m.

Denis Urubko and Simone Moro first Diamir side on the Kinshofer route, and then by Messner route in year 2000 reached a height of 6800 m.

 

2012/13 - four expeditions: alone Frenchman Joël Wischnewski on Rupal Face in an alpine style. He was lost in February, the body found in September at an altitude of about 6100 m.[28] He went missing after February 6 and was probably hit by an avalanche.[29]

Italy's Daniele Nardi and French Elisabeth Revol - Mummery Rib on the Diamir reached the height of 6450 m.

Hungarian-American expedition: David Klein, Zoltan Acs and Ian Overton. Zoltan has suffered frostbite while reaching the base and did not participate in the further ascent. David and Ian reached the Diamir wall height of about 5400 m.

Tomasz Mackiewicz and Marek Klonowski - Polish expedition "Justice for All - Nanga Dream" by Schell route on the south-eastern wall of the Rupal. Marek Klonowski reached a height of 6600 m. February 7, 2013 Tomasz Mackiewicz in a lone attack reached a height of 7400 m.

 

2013/14 - four expeditions: Italian Simone Moro, Germany David Göttler and Italy Emilio Previtali - by Rupal wall on the Schell route. Expedition cooperated with Polish expedition. David Göttler on February 28, founded the camp 4 at about 7000 m, March 1, together with Tomasz Mackiewicz reached an altitude of about 7200 m. On the same day David and Simone decided to end the expedition.[30]

Tomasz Mackiewicz, Marek Klonowski, Jacek Teler, Paweł Dunaj, Michał Obrycki, Michał Dzikowski - Polish expedition "Justice for All - Nanga Dream" by Schell route on the south-eastern wall of the Rupal. Expedition cooperated with Italian-German expedition. March 1, Tomasz Mackiewicz and David Göttler reached an altitude of about 7200 m. March 8 at a height of about 5,000 m on the Paweł Dunaj and Michał Obrycki avalanche hit. Both were roughed up and suffered fractures. The rescue operation was successful.

German Ralf Dujmovits Diamir wall, by Reinhold Messner route in 1978 (as a filmmaker this expedition Pole Dariusz Załuski - he had no plan of summit attack). December 30 both came at 5500 m. Jan. 2 because of the threat serac Dujmovits decided to complete the expedition.

Italy's Daniele Nardi. Solo expedition from the Diamir side on Mummery Rib. Italy founded the camp I on the 4900. Reached an altitude of about 5450 m. March 1 decided to end the expedition.

 

2014/15 - four expeditions: Pole Tomasz Mackiewicz and Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol - Nanga Parbat Winter Expedition 2014/2015. The north-west Diamir wall, unfinished road Messner-Hanspeter 2000. They reached 7800m.[31]

Italian Daniele Nardi planning the trip solo summit Mummery Rib on the Diamir wall, accompanied by Roberto Delle Monache (photographer) and Federico Santinii (filmmaker)

4-seater Russian expedition - Nikolay Totmjanin, Sergei Kondraszkin, Valery Szamało, Victor Smith - Schell route on the Rupal Wall. They reached 7150m.[32]

3-person expedition Iran - Reza Bahador, Iraj Maani and Mahmoud Hashemi

  

Taliban attack

  

On June 23, 2013, about 15 extremist militants wearing Gilgit Scouts uniforms shot to death ten foreign climbers (one Lithuanian, three Ukrainians, two Slovakians, two Chinese, one Chinese-American and one Nepali)[33] and one Pakistani guide at Base Camp. Another foreign victim was injured. The attack occurred at around 1AM and was claimed by a local branch of the Taliban. (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan).[

  

References in popular culture

  

Books

  

In the first chapter of Mistress of Mistresses, by E.R. Eddison, the narrator compares his now deceased compatriot, Lessingham, to Nanga Parbat in a descriptive passage:

"I remember, years later, his describing to me the effect of the sudden view you get of Nanga Parbat from one of those Kashmir valleys; you have been riding for hours among quiet richly wooded scenery, winding up along the side of some kind of gorge, with nothing very big to look at, just lush, leafy, pussy-cat country of steep hillsides and waterfalls; then suddenly you come round a corner where the view opens up the valley, and you are almost struck senseless by the blinding splendour of that vast face of ice-hung precipices and soaring ridges, sixteen thousand feet from top to toe, filling a whole quarter of the heavens at a distance of, I suppose, only a dozen miles. And now, whenever I call to mind my first sight of Lessingham in that little daleside church so many years ago, I think of Nanga Parbat." (Mistress of Mistresses, 1935, p.2-3)

Jonathan Neale wrote a book about the 1934 climbing season on Nanga Parbat called Tigers of the Snow. He interviewed many old Sherpas, including Ang Tsering, the last man off Nanga Parbat alive in 1934. The book attempts to narrate what went wrong on the expedition, set against mountaineering history of the early twentieth century, the background of German politics in the 1930s, and the hardship and passion of life in the Sherpa valleys.[36]

  

Movies

  

Nanga Parbat is a movie by Joseph Vilsmaier about the 1970 expedition of brothers Günther Messner and Reinhold Messner.[37]

 

Donald Shebib's 1986 film The Climb covers the story of Hermann Buhl making the first ascent.[38] Seven Years in Tibet features Nanga parbat.

  

Comics

  

Nanda Parbat is a fictional city in the DC Comics universe, patterned after the fictional Shangri-La and the real Nanga Parbat in Pakistan.

  

Nearby peaks

  

Rakhiot Peak

Chongra Peak

Mazeno Peak

Rupal Peak

Laila Peak (Rupal Valley)

Shaigiri

 

The Lysander, affectionately referred to as the ‘Lizzie’, entered RAF service during 1938, and was later to become the first British aircraft based in France to see wartime action. It was withdrawn following the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940.

 

After withdrawal from front line service the Lysander played a vital role in clandestine night flying operations, taking agents and equipment across the Channel into occupied Europe in support of the Resistance groups.

 

Built originally for the RAF as V9552 this aircraft went to Canada in 1942 as a target tug for the RCAF. Post WWII it was sold to a Canadian collector and then, in 1971, went to the Strathallan Collection in Scotland where it was restored to flying condition by late 1979.

 

In 1999, with the aid of a donation from the family of Peter Vaughan Fowler who had flown with 161 Squadron on Lysander operations during World War II, it was repainted in black overall with the markings of his aircraft, bearing the serial V9367. A fixed ladder was installed to allow rapid access to the rear cockpit – as fitted to facilitate picking up agents; a dummy 150 gallon long range fuel tank was attached below the fuselage. In this configuration the Lysander III S.D. (Special Duties) was employed by No. 161 RAF Squadron on clandestine night flying operations from RAF Tempsford and Tangmere between 1942 and 1945.