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The Manali-Leh highway
One of the highest and most rugged highways in the world, the journey on the Manali - Leh highway is one that leaves the traveller gasping for breath on all accounts...dream like landscapes taking your breath away at almost every turn and sheer breathlessness from the lack of oxygen as you cross some of the highest roads and mountain passes in the world.
It connects the Manali valley to Kullu valley, Lahaul and Spiti and Ladakh and is open only between June and mid-September when snow is cleared from the road. Prominent passes that one crosses include Rohtang La (3,978m), Baralacha La (5,045m), Lachulung La (5,059m) and Tanglang La (5,325m). Between Lachlung La and Taglang La the road crosses the More plains, a vast desert like expanse at an altitude in excess of 4,500mts.
The journey along the road normally takes two days and many travellers make overnight stops at Jispa and tented camps such as Sarchu. Alternately, overnight stops can be made at Keylong. Owing to the high altitudes and the low-oxygen air, many travelers experience breathlessness, headaches and nausea or in some cases even acute mountain sickness.
The highway was designed, built, constructed and is maintained in its entirety by the Indian Army and is capable of supporting the heaviest of their vehicles. This journey is often referred to as the ultimate challenge for riding and off-roading enthusiansts and attracts bikers from all over the world.
A stand-alone smokestack at the DeLand, Florida airport with newer buildings around it but no evidence of what it was once part of. Backed here by cumulocirrus clouds shot in digital infrared.
97302 (with 97303 at the other end) sits at Barmouth having arrived with the 20:09 Machynlleth Carriage Sidings structure gauging train which ran as far north as Harlech before returning south, and onwards to Derby.
Let the games begin...
In fact, I "hate" those classical landmarks (too crowded)...but I couldn't miss this special one. A couple of weeks ago, my son david learned about the Romans in school and he knew a lot more about the Colosseum than me or my wife did. So it was quite a big deal for him.
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio or Colosseo), is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.
Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started in 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign (81–96). The name "Amphitheatrum Flavium" derives from both Vespasian's and Titus's family name (Flavius, from the gens Flavia).
Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.
Although in the 21st century it stays partially ruined because of damage caused by devastating earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.
The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin.
The Colosseum's original Latin name was Amphitheatrum Flavium, often anglicized as Flavian Amphitheater. The building was constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, hence its original name, after the reign of Emperor Nero. This name is still used in modern English, but generally the structure is better known as the Colosseum. In antiquity, Romans may have referred to the Colosseum by the unofficial name Amphitheatrum Caesareum; this name could have been strictly poetic as it was not exclusive to the Colosseum; Vespasian and Titus, builders of the Colosseum, also constructed an amphitheater of the same name in Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli).
The name Colosseum has long been believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby (the statue of Nero was named after the Colossus of Rhodes). This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios (Sol) or Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.
In the 8th century, a famous epigram attributed to the Venerable Bede celebrated the symbolic significance of the statue in a prophecy that is variously quoted: Quamdiu stat Colisæus, stat et Roma; quando cadet colisæus, cadet et Roma; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus ("as long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world"). This is often mistranslated to refer to the Colosseum rather than the Colossus (as in, for instance, Byron's poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage). However, at the time that the Pseudo-Bede wrote, the masculine noun coliseus was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as the Flavian amphitheatre.
The Colossus did eventually fall, possibly being pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.
The name further evolved to Coliseum during the Middle Ages. In Italy, the amphitheatre is still known as il Colosseo, and other Romance languages have come to use similar forms such as le Colisée (French), el Coliseo (Spanish) and o Coliseu (Portuguese).
Canon EOS 60D
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
Aperture: f/8
Exposure time: 1/125 second
Focal length: 13 mm
ISO Speed 100
Processed with PS CS5 and Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro 2
Another from the smashing Dalston Show 2024.
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Imagine living caged. Imagine a huge wall being built around your home. Imagine this wall destroying trees and causing homes to be demolished. Possibly yours. What would you do?
The Israeli Wall has been comdemned by the UN, and yet it is still being built. The Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign’s most recent map of the Wall’s path, finalized November 2003, reveals that if completed in its entirety, nearly 50% of the West Bank population will be affected by the Wall through loss of land, imprisonment into ghettos, or isolation into Israeli de facto annexed areas .
Israel maintains that the Wall is a temporary structure to physically separate the West Bank from Israel and thus to prevent suicide attacks on Israeli citizens. However the wall’s location, (in some places reaching up to 6km inside Palestinian territory), and projected length, (currently 750km, despite a border with Israel of less than 200km), suggest it is more realistically an additional effort to confiscate Palestinian land, facilitate further colony expansion and unilaterally redraw geopolitical borders all the while encouraging an exodus of Palestinians by denying them the ability to earn a living from their land, reach their schools or work places, access adequate water resources, or reach essential health care. (http://www.palestinemonitor.org/factsheet/wall_fact_sheet.htm/)
A DYING GHETTO
(Exerpt from Chris Hedges' Wall of Horrors)
Qalqiliya is a ghetto. It is completely surrounded by the wall. There is one Israeli military checkpoint to let people into the West Bank or back home again. Only those with special Israeli-issued permits can go in and out of Qalqiliya. It is not the Lodz ghetto or the Warsaw ghetto, but it is a ghetto that would be recognizable to the Jews who were herded into walled enclaves by Pope IV in 1555 and stranded there for generations. Qalqiliya, like all ghettos, is dying. And it is being joined by dozens of other ringed ghettos as the serpentine barrier snaking its way through up and down two sides of the West Bank gobbles up Palestinian land and lays down nooses around Palestinian cities, towns, villages and fields.
Construction began on the barrier in 2002 with the purported intent of safeguarding Israel from suicide bombers and other types of attacks. Although it nominally runs along the 1949 Jordanian-Israeli armistice/Green Line that demarcates the boundary between Israel and the Palestinian-held West Bank, around 80 percent of the barrier actually cuts into Palestinian territories --at some points by as much as 20 kilometers.
If and when the barrier is completed, several years from now, it will see the West Bank cut up into three large enclaves and numerous small ringed ghettos. The three large enclaves will include in the south the Bethlehem/Hebron area and in the north the Jenin/Nablus and Ramallah areas.
B'tselem, a leading Israeli human rights organization that documents conditions in the occupied territories, recently estimated that the barrier will eventually stretch 703 miles around the West Bank, about 450 of which are already completed or under construction. (The Berlin Wall, for comparison, ran 96 miles.) B'tselem also estimates that 500,000 West Bank residents will be directly affected by the barrier (by virtue of residing in areas completely encircled by the wall; by virtue of residing west of the barrier and thus in de facto Israeli territory; or by virtue of residing in East Jerusalem, where Palestinians effectively cannot cross into West Jerusalem).
I stand on Qalqiliya's main street. There is little traffic. Shop after shop is shuttered and closed. The heavy metal doors are secured to the ground with thick padlocks. There are signs in Hebrew and Arabic, fading reminders of a time when commerce was possible. There were, before the wall was built, 42,000 people living here. Mayor Maa'rouf Zahran says at least 6,000 have left. Many more, with the unemployment rate close to 70%, will follow. Over the tip of the wall, in the distance, I can see the tops of the skyscrapers in Tel Aviv. It feels as if it is a plague town, quarantined. Israeli officials, after a few suicide bombers slipped into Israel from Qalqiliya, began to refer to the town as a "hotel for terrorists."
There are hundreds of acres of farmland on the other side of the wall, some of the best farmland in the West Bank, which is harder and harder to reach given the gates, checkpoints and closures. There are some 32 farming villages on the outskirts of Qalqiliya, cut off from their land, sinking into poverty and despair. Olive groves, with trees that are hundreds of years old, have been uprooted and bulldozed into the ground. The barrier is wiping out the middle class in the West Bank, the last bulwark in the West Bank against Islamic fundamentalism. It is plunging the West Bank into the squalor that defines life in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinians struggle to live on less than $ 2 a day. It is the Africanization of Palestinian land...
If the barrier is being built for security, why is so much of the West Bank being confiscated by Israel? Why is the barrier plunging in deep loops into the West Bank to draw far-flung settlements into Israel? Why are thousands of acres of the most fertile farmland and much of the West Bank's aquifers being seized by Israel?
The barrier does not run along the old 1967 border or the 1949 armistice line between Israel and the Arab states, which, in the eyes of the United Nations, delineates Israel and the West Bank. It will contain at least 50% of the West Bank, including the whole of the western mountain aquifer, which supplies the West Bank Palestinians with over half their water. The barrier is the most catastrophic blow to the Palestinians since the 1967 occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
The barrier itself mocks any claim that it is temporary. It costs $ 1 million per mile and will run over $ 2 billion by the time it is completed. It will cut the entire 224-mile length of the West Bank off from Israel, but because of its diversions into the West Bank to incorporate Palestinian land it will be about 400 miles in length. A second barrier is being built on the Jordan River side of the West Bank. To look at a map of the barrier is to miss the point. The barrier interconnects with every other piece of Israeli-stolen real estate in Palestinian territory. And when all the pieces are in place the Israelis will no doubt offer up the little ringed puddles of poverty and despair and misery to the world as a Palestinian state.
Fourth of July decorations around the neighborhood, but not exactly spectacular! Hey, we're old.
Happy Independence Day!
On my Edgewater walks...
Edgewater by Del Webb
Elgin, Illinois - Near 42.0109, -88.3477
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Between the lines, the patterns and the reflections
You can lose your identity
And in this cold geometry lose your humanity
Entre les lignes, les motifs et les reflets
Il y a de quoi perdre son identité
Et dans cette géométrie glacée égarer son humanité...
Liège-Guillemins, Belgium
A shot from under the Fourth Rail Bridge looking up on some of the amazing structure and engineering.
I visited Fraserburgh on Tuesday 13th of November 2018, after a few hours at the harbour I made my way to Kinnaird Lighthouse Museum.
I decided to walk along the harbours path rather than drive, as I made my way towards the museum I came across this historic building.
I post its tragic history below, thanks to Wiki etc for the research.
The Winetower
The Winetower is a small three-storey tower located approximately 50 metres (160 ft) from Kinnaird Head Lighthouse.
The tower has been dated to the 16th-century, and may have gained its name through use as a store associated with the castle
The tower is accessed via the second floor, and contains elaborate carved stone pendants.
It is reputed that in the cave below, one of the Fraser family imprisoned his daughter's boyfriend, leaving him to drown there.
The daughter then jumped from the roof of the tower. There is red paint on the rocks below to illustrate her blood. According to local tradition, the tower is said to be haunted.
Castle
Kinnaird Head Castle and the adjacent Wine Tower are two of the best preserved structures of the ancient “nine castles of the knuckle” situated along the Buchan coast.
The 16th century castle was built by the Frasers of Philorth to demonstrate dominance and power over their planned town of Fraserburgh.
Falling out of fashion, the castle was sold to the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1787 to be converted into Scotland’s first mainland lighthouse, making Kinnaird Head unique among Scotland’s castles.
As well as the tower itself, original features such as the old castle kitchens and elements of the grand hall can be seen by visitors.
Discover the castle’s unique 450 year story of continual reinvention and survival from castle, to lighthouse, to museum.
The adjacent Wine Tower is an ancient pre-reformation building steeped in mystery and curiosity, dramatically perched over the crashing waves.
Visit the upper vaulted chamber of the Wine Tower to view seven preserved roof pendants, carved in stone, showing the Fraser’s family connections and commitment to the faith.
The monument consists of the upstanding remains of a 16th century tower, originally an ancillary building associated with the nearby Kinnaird Head Castle.
The tower retains its original scale and form and contains unusual sculptural detail in the form of seven carved stone bosses.
The bosses depict heraldic symbols of the Frasers and affiliated families, the royal arms of Scotland and the coat of arms of Christ. They demonstrate the familial connections and interests of the Frasers of Philorth.
The tower was built in the 16th century, probably in the latter half of the century. One of the carved bosses bears the Arms of Fraser impaling Ogilvie, commemorating the marriage of Sir Alexander Fraser, 8th Laird of Philorth, and his first wife Magdalen Ogilvie in 1559.
This suggests the tower could not have been built before this date unless the bosses are insertions into an older building. The figure of eight gun loops below the windows in the upper floor also suggest a late 16th century date.
The purpose of the tower is uncertain. It originally stood at the edge of the courtyard of Kinnaird Head Castle flanked by the now demolished doocot tower, and was part of the castle complex. It has been interpreted as a private chapel built for Magdalen Ogilvie, the Roman Catholic wife of Alexander Fraser (Bryce 1987).
The semi-defended nature of the upper chamber may support this interpretation, along with the decoration of one of the carved bosses with the symbols of Christ, known as the Arma Christi.
However, the room is not obviously a chapel; it is oriented north-south with a fireplace occupying the east wall and there are no features indicating a specific ecclesiastical use.
The remaining bosses depict the heraldic symbols of the Frasers and other families, rather than religious symbols.
It is likely the tower has served several different purposes since its construction in the 16th century.
The tower was used as a powder magazine and store during the 19th century and is recorded as being used as a store for the nearby lighthouse in 1914.
Scientific study of the monument would allow us to develop a better understanding of the overall form of the tower (for instance did it have additional fllors) and its relationship with the wider castle complex. It would also help our understanding of the chronology of the site, including its date of origin, original purpose and changing use and status.
The monument has the potential to enhance our understanding of the date of construction and function of the tower and its relationship to the nearby castle. It can add to our knowledge of construction techniques and architectural preferences of the time, and the way in which the fashion and function of such buildings developed.
The carved stone bosses have the potential to further the study of craftsmanship, design influences and artistic significance and enhance our knowledge of sculpture and heraldry. They can add to our knowledge of the religious, social and political history of late 16th century Scotland.
Contextual Characteristics
The monument is the only surviving ancillary structure of the nearby Kinnaird Head Castle (which was converted into Scotland's first mainland lighthouse in 1787). Although most castles were provided with additional buildings such associated features rarely survive.
Additionally, the seven finely carved stone bosses within the tower are of particular significance. Similar carvings are found at the castles of Gight (scheduled monument reference SM2508; Canmore ID 19800), Craig (listed building reference LB2736; Canmore ID 17245), Towie-Barclay (listed building reference LB16405; Canmore ID 19196) and Delgatie (listed building reference LB16421; Canmore ID 19251).
The bosses in the Wine Towner are particularly well carved and their presence in an otherwise plainly decorated ancillary tower is unusual. The tower therefore is an unusual survival of a structure associated with a late medieval/early modern castle.
The Wine Tower has the potential to broaden our understanding of the nature and chronology of late medieval/early modern defensible houses and their ancillary structures, their place within the landscape of northeast Scotland, and the development and use of such sites over time.
Associative Characteristics
The tower is connected with a legend which tells the story of the 17th century daughter of the head of the Fraser family who fell in love with a piper. Her father imprisoned the piper in a cave which supposedly runs below the Wine Tower and locked his daughter in the tower above.
During a high tide the piper drowned and the daughter leapt to her death from the window to the rocks below. Until recently the lighthouse keepers threw red paint on the spot as a tribute when they were painting the lighthouse.
Statement of National Importance
This monument is of national importance because it makes a significant addition to our understanding of the date, construction, use and development of late medieval/early modern defensible houses and their ancillary structures. It is an impressive structure that retains its field characteristics and contains unusual sculptural detail in the form of seven stone bosses carved with heraldic designs. The tower makes a significant contribution to today's landscape and would have been a prominent part of the historic landscape. The loss or damage of the monument would diminish our ability to appreciate and understand the character and development of tower houses and their ancillary structures. It would reduce our understanding of religious, social and political history during the late medieval and early post-medieval periods, as well as the development of such sites over time.
Archaeology Notes
The Wine Tower is most probably so called because it was the wine-cellar of those who at one time resided in the nearby castle which is now the lighthouse. Under this tower is a cave more than 100 feet in length.
Wine Tower: No satisfactory explanation of its existence has been produced for this tower. It is clearly a 16th century work, subsequent to the first quarter of that century, and built by the Frasers. It is built of very rough masonry in three stories, all vaulted, with walls about 5 ft thick and measures externally 26 feet 7 inches by 21 feet by 27 feet high. It is probably connected with the cave below.
Lord Saltoun (Saltoun 1963) states that the Wine Tower and Kinnaird were 'almost certainly successors one of another'.
They were two of a chain of castles along the Buchan coast probably originated by the Comyns in the 13th century.
It has been associated with one of the north-east’s most gruesome legends.
And now, the mysterious Wine Tower at the Scottish Museum of Lighthouses in Fraserburgh is being opened for guided tours later in the summer.
It was built in the 16th century and the Kinnaird Head structure is the oldest building in the port.
The Wine Tower was said to be a store for the old Fraserburgh Castle and there was even a suggestion it was a hidden Catholic chapel.
But the building is perhaps best known as the site of one of Aberdeenshire’s darkest tales.
Legend has it that in the late 1500s, Sir Alexander Fraser, the 8th Laird of Philorth was so enraged by his daughter, Isobel’s romantic dalliance with a piper that he had the musician chained in a sea cave below the tower.
The piper drowned and the distraught Isobel killed herself by jumping on to the rocks below.
It has been claimed the piper can still be heard playing in the cave during stormy conditions.
The tower used to have four different levels, but only three of these still remain.
Each level can be accessed through hatches and stairs placed on the side of the building and different rooms.
Lynda McGuigan, manager of the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, said they have decided to reopen it after demand from visitors.
She added they had to keep it closed to deter people who damaging the interior.
Ms McGuigan said: “We had a problem with vandals kicking stairs and doors in the past.
“It has not been open on a regular basis and the tours will be an extra.
“We realised people wanted to see inside it, so we are going to open it for a one-off.”
The tower will open for a single daily tour over July and August.