This is a shot of an AH-64 Apache helicopter overflying Corfu, Greece on May 21, 2024. The aircraft of the 🇬🇷 Hellenic Army celebrated the 160th anniversary of the Unification of the Ionian Islands and Greece (5.21.1864).

© 2024 by Ioannis C. PAPACHRISTOS, MD Photography / All rights reserved

Unification 1972

The nave of the National Cathedral, Washington DC.

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Rom - Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II

The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument (Italian: Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II) or (Mole del) Vittoriano, called for the synecdoche Altare della Patria (English: Altar of the Fatherland), is a national monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy, located in Rome, Italy. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill. It is currently managed by the Polo Museale del Lazio and is owned by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.

From an architectural perspective, it was conceived as a modern forum, an agora on three levels connected by stairways and dominated by a portico characterized by a colonnade. The complex process of national unity and liberation from foreign domination carried out by King Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, to whom the monument is dedicated, has a great symbolic and representative value, being architecturally and artistically centred on the Italian unification—for this reason the Vittoriano is considered one of the national symbols of Italy.

It also preserves the Altar of the Fatherland (Italian: Altare della Patria), first an altar of the goddess Rome, then also a shrine of the Italian Unknown Soldier, thus adopting the function of a lay temple consecrated to Italy. Because of its great representative value, the entire Vittoriano is often called the Altare della Patria, although the latter constitutes only a part of the monument.

Located in the centre of ancient Rome, and connected to the modern one by the streets that radiate from Piazza Venezia, it has been consecrated to a wide symbolic value representing a lay temple metaphorically dedicated to a free and united Italy—celebrating by virtue the burial of the Unknown Soldier (the sacrifice for the homeland and for the connected ideals).

General description

The Vittoriano is located on the hill of the Capitoline Hill, in the symbolic centre of ancient Rome, and is connected to the modern one thanks to roads that radiate from Piazza Venezia.

Its design is a neoclassical interpretation of the Roman Forum. It features stairways, Corinthian columns, fountains, an equestrian sculpture of Victor Emmanuel II, and two statues of the goddess Victoria riding on quadrigas. On its summit there would have been a majestic portico characterized by a long colonnade and two imposing propylaea, one dedicated to the "unity of the homeland", and the other to the "freedom of the citizens", concepts metaphorically linked to the figure of Victor Emmanuel II.

The base houses the museum of Italian unification, and in 2007 a lift was added to the structure, allowing visitors to access the roof for 360-degree views of Rome. This terrace, which is the highest of the monument, can also be reached via 196 steps that start from the portico.

The structure is 135 m (443 ft) wide, 130 m (427 ft) deep, and 70 m (230 ft) high. If the quadrigae and Winged Victorys are included, the height reaches 81 m (266 ft). It has a total area of 17,550 m2 (188,907 sq ft) and possesses, due to the conspicuous development of the interior spaces, a floor area of 717,000 m2 (7,717,724 sq ft).

One of the architecturally predominant elements of the Vittoriano are the external staircases, which are constituted in the complex by 243 steps, and the portico situated on the top of the monument, which is inserted between two lateral propylaea. The entrance stairway is 41 m (135 ft) wide and 34 m (112 ft) long, the terrace where the Altar of the Fatherland is located is 66 m (217 ft) wide. The maximum depth of the Vittoriano underground reaches 17 m (56 ft) below street level. The colonnade is formed by columns 15 m (49 ft) high and the length of the porch is 72 m (236 ft).

The allegories of the monument mostly represent the virtues and feelings, very often rendered as personifications, also according to the canons of the neoclassical style, which animate the Italians during the Italian unification, or from the revolutions of 1820 to the capture of Rome (1870), through which national unity was achieved. Due to the complex process of unification undertaken by Victor Emmanuel II throughout the second half of the 19th Century, the Italians gave him the epithet of Father of the Fatherland (Italian: Padre della Patria). The only non-allegorical work is the equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II, which is the architectural centre of the Vittoriano.

The monument, as a whole, appears as a sort of marble covering on the northern slope of the Capitoline Hill: it was therefore thought of as a place where it is possible to make an uninterrupted patriotic walk (the path does not in fact have an architectural end, given that the entrances to the highest part are two, one for each propylaeus) among the works present, which almost all have allegorical meanings linked to the history of Italy.[8] Different are the vegetal symbols present, among which the palm, which recalls the "victory", the oak (the "strength"), the laurel (the "victorious peace"), the myrtle (the "sacrifice") and the Olive tree (the "concord").

From a stylistic perspective, the architecture and works of art that embellish the Vittoriano have been conceived with the aim of creating a "national style" to be replicated in other areas. It was designed to communicate the imperial splendours of ancient Rome. Above all, for the realization of the Vittoriano, Giuseppe Sacconi took inspiration from the Neoclassical architecture—the reborn heir of the classical Greek and Roman architecture, on which Italic elements were grafted and eclectic influences added.

The Vittoriano is regarded as a national symbol of Italy and every year it hosts important national celebrations. The largest annual celebrations are Liberation Day (25 April), Republic Day (2 June), and Armed Forces Day (4 November). During these celebrations, the President of Italy and the highest government officials pay tribute to the Italian Unknown Soldier and those who died in the line of duty by laying a laurel wreath.

The Altar of the Fatherland

The Altar of the Fatherland is the most famous part of the Vittoriano and is the one with which it is often identified. Located on the top of the entrance stairway, it was designed by the Brescian sculptor Angelo Zanelli, who won a competition specially held in 1906. It is formed from the side of the Tomb of Italian Unknown Soldier that faces the outside of the building (the other side, which faces inside the Vittoriano, is located in a crypt), from the sacellum of the statue of the goddess Rome (which is exactly above the tomb of the Unknown Soldier) and two vertical marble reliefs that descend from the edges of the aedicula containing the statue of the goddess Rome and which run downwards laterally to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The statue of the goddess Roma present at the Vittoriano interrupted a custom in vogue until the 19th century, by which the representation of this subject was with exclusively warlike traits. Angelo Zanelli, in his work, decided to further characterize the statue by also providing the reference to Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and the arts, as well as of war. The great statue of the deity emerges from a golden background. The presence of the goddess Roma in the Vittoriano underlines the irremissible will of the Unification of Italy patriots to have the Rome as the capital of Italy, an essential concept, according to the common feeling, from the history of the peninsula and the islands of Italian culture.

The general conception of the bas-reliefs located laterally to the statue of the goddess Rome, one to his left and the other to his right, recalls Virgil's Bucolics and Georgics, which complete the triptych of the Altar of the Fatherland with the statue of the Roman divinity.

The allegorical meaning of the bas-reliefs that are inspired by the works of Virgil is linked to the desire to conceptually render the Italian soul. In the Georgics, the reference to the Aeneid is in fact present, and in both the works the industriousness in the work of the Italians is recalled.

The bas-relief on the left of the Altar of the Fatherland represents the Triumph of Labour and the one on the right symbolizes the Triumph of the Patriotic Love where both converge scenically towards the statue of the goddess Rome.

(Wikipedia)

Das Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (Nationaldenkmal für Viktor Emanuel II.), in der Regel Vittoriano oder Altare della Patria (Altar des Vaterlands) genannt, ist ein 1927 vollendetes Nationaldenkmal in Rom. Es liegt auf dem Kapitolshügel am Südende der Via del Corso zwischen der Piazza Venezia und dem Forum Romanum, neben dem Trajansforum.

Das Monument ist dem ersten König des neugegründeten Königreichs Italien, Viktor Emanuel II. aus dem Haus Savoyen, gewidmet. Es zählt heute zu den Staatssymbolen der Italienischen Republik. In dem Gebäude befindet sich das Museo del Risorgimento, das an die italienische Staatsgründungsbewegung im 19. Jahrhundert erinnert.

Geschichte

Anlässlich des Todes von König Vittorio Emanuele II. im Jahr 1878 wurde die Errichtung des Denkmals beschlossen. Es wurde ab 1885 von Giuseppe Sacconi errichtet. 1911 fand die Einweihung des noch unfertigen Denkmals anlässlich des 50. Jahrestages der Einigung Italiens zeitgleich mit dem 50. Jahrestag der italienischen Einheit statt. Die Fertigstellung erfolgte erst 1927. Das Denkmal spiegelt die neoklassizistische Stimmung dieser Zeit, die sich in den wuchtigen Marmortreppen, einem zwölf Meter hohen bronzenen Reiterstandbild des Königs und einer monumentalen Säulenreihe am oberen Ende manifestiert. Dieser Portikus ist mit einem ornamentalen Fries aus Temperafarben bemalt, was auf der Nachtaufnahme gut erkennbar ist. Das gigantische Bauwerk stellt sich quer vor die mit 80 Metern Länge nicht kleine Basilika Santa Maria in Aracoeli, die dergestalt, der Gründungsabsicht entsprechend, ebenso wie die dahinterliegenden Gebäude sowohl von der Piazza Venezia, als auch von der Piazza della Repubblica aus nicht mehr zu sehen ist. Von den Römern wird es scherzhaft „Macchina da scrivere“ („Schreibmaschine“) genannt.

Am 12. Dezember 1969 wurde um halb sechs Nachmittags mit zwei im Abstand von zehn Minuten gezündeten Bomben ein Anschlag auf das Denkmal verübt. Zeitgleich fand in Mailand der Bombenanschlag auf der Piazza Fontana statt. Durch den Anschlag wurde niemand verletzt, jedoch blieb der Vittoriano danach für die folgenden Jahrzehnte für die Öffentlichkeit geschlossen. Erst am 24. September 2000 wurde aufgrund einer Initiative des damaligen Präsidenten der Republik Italien, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, wieder Publikumsverkehr zugelassen.

Wie bei vielen nationalen Denkmälern üblich, findet sich ein Grabmal des unbekannten Soldaten und der „Altar des Vaterlandes“ (italienisch Altare della Patria) auf dem Vittoriano. Die ewige Flamme wird Tag und Nacht von zwei Soldaten bewacht. Der Blick geht von dort über das Forum Romanum, die Kaiserforen im Südosten und weit über die Stadt Rom.

Architektur

Die Architektur des Vittoriano wird bestimmt von einer monumentalen korinthischen Portikus, die an ihren Seiten mit ebenfalls korinthischen Pronai abgeschlossen wird. Der Rhythmus der Säulen verleiht dem wuchtigen und im Detail sehr komplexen Bauwerk Einfachheit. Im städtebaulichen Kontext entfaltet es aufgrund seiner Größe eine bauliche Dynamik, die sich aus dem Bezug des Bauwerks zu den sich auf der Piazza Venezia kreuzenden Straßenachsen und aus dem Kontrast zur niedrigeren umgebenden Architektur ergibt.

Sacconi bezieht sich mit seiner Architektur auf antike Monumente wie den Pergamonaltar und das Heiligtum der Fortuna Primigenia in Palestrina. Entsprechend ist das Denkmal als ein großes neoklassizistisches Forum angelegt. Seine über mehrere Ebenen verteilten Terrassen und die Präsenz einer an klassischen Versatzstücken reichen Architektur stellen inmitten der Ruinen des antiken Rom einen symbolischen Bezugsrahmen für das noch junge Italien her.

Zum Zeitpunkt seiner Einweihung im Jahre 1911 zeigt es im Gegenlicht zu einigen ausländischen Pavillons der Weltausstellung in Turin, wie etwa dem Josef Hoffmanns für Österreich, wie sehr die Architektur zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch der akademischen Tradition des Historismus und Eklektizismus verbunden ist.

Das Reiterstandbild des Königs ist ein Werk des Bildhauers Enrico Chiaradia. Auf der Spitze des Vittoriano steht eine Quadriga.

Museen

Innerhalb des Gebäudes befindet sich das Museo del Risorgimento, mit dem Eingang in der Via di San Pietro in Carcere, das eine Dauerausstellung zu den Italienischen Unabhängigkeitskriegen beherbergt. Die Truppenfahnen aufgelöster italienischer Militärverbände sowie die Schiffsflaggen außer Dienst gestellter Kriegsschiffe werden hier ausgestellt (Sacrario delle Bandiere). Darüber hinaus ist eine kleine marinehistorische Sammlung zu sehen.

Im September 2009 eröffnete das Nationalmuseum zur italienischen Emigration (Museo Nazionale dell’Emigrazione Italiana). Es zeigt die italienische Emigration vom Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts bis in die Gegenwart.

(Wikipedia)

downstairs in the Unification Palace, Ho Chi Minh City

Many persons, writers, philosophers, artists all over the world have spoken about this side of life and human being and each one of them following his and her own culture and intellectual and historical background and each of them in his and her own language and it is right to quote them in the original language:

"Questa insostenibile leggerezza dell'essere" is the title of the Italian singer Antonello Venditti (1986)

Rüdesheim am Rhein: Germania auf dem Niederwalddenkmal, Denkmal zur Vereinigung des Deutschen Kaiserreichs 1871- Germania on the Niederwalddenkmal, monument to the unification of the German Empire 1871

+++++++ FROM WIKIPEDIA +++++++

Nepal (English: /nɪˈpɔːl/;[19] Nepali: नेपाल [nepal]), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal,[20] is a sovereign country in South Asia. It is mainly in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It is the 49th largest country by population and 93rd largest country by area. It is landlocked and borders Tibet in the north and India in the south, east and west, while Bangladesh is located only 27 km (17 mi) from its southeastern tip and Bhutan is separated from it by the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the capital and the largest city. Nepal is a multiethnic country, with Nepali as the official language.

The name "Nepal" is first recorded in texts from the Vedic period of the Indian subcontinent, the era in ancient Nepal when Hinduism was founded, the predominant religion of the country. In the middle of the first millennium BC, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Lumbini in southern Nepal. Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of Tibet. The centrally located Kathmandu Valley is intertwined with the culture of Indo-Aryans, and was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala. The Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road was dominated by the valley's traders. The cosmopolitan region developed distinct traditional art and architecture.

By the 18th century, the Gorkha Kingdom achieved the unification of Nepal. The Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal and later formed an alliance with the British Empire, under its Rana dynasty of premiers. The country was never colonized but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and British India. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951 but was twice suspended by Nepalese monarchs, in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War in the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in the establishment of a secular republic in 2008, ending the world's last Hindu monarchy.

The Constitution of Nepal, adopted in 2015, affirms Nepal as a secular federal parliamentary republic divided into seven provinces. It remains the only multi-party, fully democratic nation in the world currently ruled by a communist party. Nepal was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, and friendship treaties were signed with India in 1950 and the People's Republic of China in 1960. Nepal hosts the permanent secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), of which it is a founding member. Nepal is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Bay of Bengal Initiative. The military of Nepal is the fifth largest in South Asia; it is notable for its Gurkha history, particularly during the world wars, and has been a significant contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations.

Etymology

Before the unification of Nepal, the Kathmandu Valley was known as Nepal.[a] The precise origin of the term Nepāl is uncertain. Nepal appears in ancient Indian literary texts dated as far back as the fourth century BC. However, an absolute chronology can not be established, as even the oldest texts may contain anonymous contributions dating as late as the early modern period. Academic attempts to provide a plausible theory are hindered by the lack of a complete picture of history and insufficient understanding of linguistics or relevant Indo-European and Tibeto-Burman languages.[22]

According to Hindu mythology, Nepal derives its name from an ancient Hindu sage called Ne, referred to variously as Ne Muni or Nemi. According to Pashupati Purāna, as a place protected by Ne, the country in the heart of the Himalayas came to be known as Nepāl.[b] According to Nepāl Mahātmya,[c] Nemi was charged with protection of the country by Pashupati.[23] According to Buddhist mythology, Manjushri Bodhisattva drained a primordial lake of serpents to create the Nepal valley and proclaimed that Adi-Buddha Ne would take care of the community that would settle it. As the cherished of Ne, the valley would be called Nepāl.[24] According to Gopalarājvamshāvali, the genealogy of ancient Gopala dynasty compiled circa 1380s, Nepal is named after Nepa the cowherd, the founder of the Nepali scion of the Abhiras. In this account, the cow that issued milk to the spot, at which Nepa discovered the Jyotirlinga of Pashupatināth upon investigation, was also named Ne.

Norwegian indologist Christian Lassen had proposed that Nepāla was a compound of Nipa (foot of a mountain) and -ala (short suffix for alaya meaning abode), and so Nepāla meant "abode at the foot of the mountain". He considered Ne Muni to be a fabrication.[25] Indologist Sylvain Levi found Lassen's theory untenable but had no theories of his own, only suggesting that either Newara is a vulgarism of sanskritic Nepala, or Nepala is Sanskritization of the local ethnic;[26] his view has found some support though it does not answer the question of etymology.[27][28][29][22] It has also been proposed that Nepa is a Tibeto-Burman stem consisting of Ne (cattle) and Pa (keeper), reflecting the fact that early inhabitants of the valley were Gopalas (cowherds) and Mahispalas (buffalo-herds).[22] Suniti Kumar Chatterji believed Nepal originated from Tibeto-Burman roots – Ne, of uncertain meaning (as multiple possibilities exist), and pala or bal, whose meaning is lost entirely.

History

Ancient Nepal

The painting depicts Gautam Buddha taking seven steps immediately after birth; seven lotuses mark his steps. His mother, Maya, watches over him while grabbing on a Sal tree branch for support, gods and angels celebrate the occasion by showering flowers and playing music.

By 55,000 years ago, the first modern humans had arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa, where they had earlier evolved.[31][32][33] The earliest known modern human remains in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago.[34] The oldest discovered archaeological evidence of human settlements in Nepal dates to around the same time.

After 6500 BC, evidence for the domestication of food crops and animals, construction of permanent structures, and storage of agricultural surplus appeared in Mehrgarh and other sites in what is now Balochistan.[36] These gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilization,[37][36] the first urban culture in South Asia.[38] Prehistoric sites of palaeolithic, mesolithic and neolithic origins have been discovered in the Siwalik hills of Dang district.[39] The earliest inhabitants of modern Nepal and adjoining areas are believed to be people from the Indus Valley Civilization. It is possible that the Dravidian people whose history predates the onset of the Bronze Age in the Indian subcontinent (around 6300 BC) inhabited the area before the arrival of other ethnic groups like the Tibeto-Burmans and Indo-Aryans from across the border.[40] By 4000 BC, the Tibeto-Burmese people had reached Nepal either directly across the Himalayas from Tibet or via Myanmar and north-east India or both.[41] Another possibility for the first people to have inhabited Nepal are the Kusunda people. According to Hogdson (1847), the earliest inhabitants of Nepal were perhaps the Kusunda people, probably of proto-Australoid origin.[42] Stella Kramrisch (1964) mentions a substratum of a race of pre-Dravidians and Dravidians, who were in Nepal even before the Newars, who formed the majority of the ancient inhabitants of the valley of Kathmandu.

By the late Vedic period, Nepal was being mentioned in various Hindu texts, such as the late Vedic Atharvaveda Pariśiṣṭa and in the post-Vedic Atharvashirsha Upanishad.[44] The Gopal Bansa was the oldest dynasty to be mentioned in various texts as the earliest rulers of the central Himalayan kingdom known by the name 'Nepal'.[45] The Gopalas were followed by Kiratas who ruled for over 16 centuries by some accounts.[46] According to the Mahabharata, the then Kirata king went to take part in the Battle of Kurukshetra. In the south-eastern region, Janakpurdham was the capital of the prosperous kingdom of Videha or Mithila, that extended down to the Ganges, and home to King Janaka and his daughter, Sita.

Changu Narayan Temple is one of the oldest temples in Nepal. This two-storied pagoda, rebuilt c. 1700 AD, showcases exquisite woodcraft in every piece of its timber, probably the finest in Nepal.

In the premises of the Changu Narayan Temple, is a stone inscription dated 464 AD, the first in Nepal since the Ashoka inscription of Lumbini (c. 250 BC).

Around 600 BC, small kingdoms and confederations of clans arose in the southern regions of Nepal. From one of these, the Shakya polity, arose a prince who later renounced his status to lead an ascetic life, founded Buddhism, and came to be known as Gautama Buddha (traditionally dated 563–483 BC).[47] Nepal came to be established as a land of spirituality and refuge in the intervening centuries, played an important role in transmitting Buddhism to East Asia via Tibet,[48] and helped preserve Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts.

By 250 BC, the southern regions had come under the influence of the Maurya Empire. Emperor Ashoka made a pilgrimage to Lumbini and erected a pillar at Buddha's birthplace, the inscriptions on which mark the starting point for properly recorded history of Nepal.[49] Ashoka also visited the Kathmandu valley and built monuments commemorating Gautam Buddha's visit there. By the 4th century AD, much of Nepal was under the influence of the Gupta Empire.

In the Kathmandu valley, the Kiratas were pushed eastward by the Lichchhavis, and the Lichchhavi dynasty came into power c. 400 AD. The Lichchhavis built monuments and left a series of inscriptions; Nepal's history of the period is pieced together almost entirely from them.

In 641, Songtsen Gampo of the Tibetan Empire sends Narendradeva back to Licchavi with an army and subjugates Nepal. Parts of Nepal and Licchavi was later under the direct influences of the Tibetan empire.

The Licchavi dynasty went into decline in the late 8th century and was followed by a Thakuri rule. Thakuri kings ruled over the country up to the middle of the 11th century AD; not much is known of this period that is often called the dark period.

Geography

Nepal is of roughly trapezoidal shape, about 800 kilometres (500 mi) long and 200 kilometres (120 mi) wide, with an area of 147,516 km2 (56,956 sq mi). It lies between latitudes 26° and 31°N, and longitudes 80° and 89°E. Nepal's defining geological processes began 75 million years ago when the Indian plate, then part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana, began a north-eastward drift caused by seafloor spreading to its south-west, and later, south and south-east.[78] Simultaneously, the vast Tethyn oceanic crust, to its northeast, began to subduct under the Eurasian plate.[78] These dual processes, driven by convection in the Earth's mantle, both created the Indian Ocean and caused the Indian continental crust eventually to under-thrust Eurasia and to uplift the Himalayas.[78] The rising barriers blocked the paths of rivers creating large lakes, which only broke through as late as 100,000 years ago, creating fertile valleys in the middle hills like the Kathmandu Valley. In the western region, rivers which were too strong to be hampered, cut some of the world's deepest gorges.[79] Immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast trough that rapidly filled with river-borne sediment[80] and now constitutes the Indo-Gangetic Plain.[81] Nepal lies almost completely within this collision zone, occupying the central sector of the Himalayan arc, nearly one-third of the 2,400 km (1,500 mi)-long Himalayas, with a small strip of southernmost Nepal stretching into the Indo-Gangetic plain and two districts in the northwest stretching up to the Tibetan plateau.

Mount Everest, the highest peak on earth, lies on the Nepal-China border.

Nepal is divided into three principal physiographic belts known as Himal-Pahad-Terai.[e] Himal is the mountain region containing snow and situated in the Great Himalayan Range; it makes up the northern part of Nepal. It contains the highest elevations in the world including 8,848.86 metres (29,032 ft) height Mount Everest (Sagarmāthā in Nepali) on the border with China. Seven other of the world's "eight-thousanders" are in Nepal or on its border with Tibet: Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Kangchenjunga, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Manaslu. Pahad is the mountain region that does not generally contain snow. The mountains vary from 800 to 4,000 metres (2,600 to 13,100 ft) in altitude, with progression from subtropical climates below 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) to alpine climates above 3,600 metres (11,800 ft). The Lower Himalayan Range, reaching 1,500 to 3,000 metres (4,900 to 9,800 ft), is the southern limit of this region, with subtropical river valleys and "hills" alternating to the north of this range. Population density is high in valleys but notably less above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) and very low above 2,500 metres (8,200 ft), where snow occasionally falls in winter. The southern lowland plains or Terai bordering India are part of the northern rim of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Terai is the lowland region containing some hill ranges. The plains were formed and are fed by three major Himalayan rivers: the Koshi, the Narayani, and the Karnali as well as smaller rivers rising below the permanent snowline. This region has a subtropical to tropical climate. The outermost range of the foothills called Sivalik Hills or Churia Range, cresting at 700 to 1,000 metres (2,300 to 3,280 ft), marks the limits of the Gangetic Plain; however broad, low valleys called Inner Terai Valleys (Bhitri Tarai Upatyaka) lie north of these foothills in several places.

Köppen climate classification for Nepal

The Indian plate continues to move north relative to Asia at about 50 mm (2.0 in) per year.[88] This makes Nepal an earthquake prone-zone, and periodic earthquakes that have devastating consequences present a significant hurdle to development. Erosion of the Himalayas is a very important source of sediment, which flows to the Indian Ocean.[89] Saptakoshi, in particular, carries a huge amount of silt out of Nepal but sees extreme drop in Gradient in Bihar, causing severe floods and course changes, and is, therefore, known as the sorrow of Bihar. Severe flooding and landslides cause deaths and disease, destroy farmlands and cripple the transport infrastructure of the country, during the monsoon season each year.

Nepal has five climatic zones, broadly corresponding to the altitudes. The tropical and subtropical zones lie below 1,200 metres (3,900 ft), the temperate zone 1,200 to 2,400 metres (3,900 to 7,900 ft), the cold zone 2,400 to 3,600 metres (7,900 to 11,800 ft), the subarctic zone 3,600 to 4,400 metres (11,800 to 14,400 ft), and the Arctic zone above 4,400 metres (14,400 ft). Nepal experiences five seasons: summer, monsoon, autumn, winter and spring. The Himalayas block cold winds from Central Asia in the winter and form the northern limits of the monsoon wind patterns.

Biodiversity

Nepal contains a disproportionately large diversity of plants and animals, relative to its size.[91][92] Nepal, in its entirety, forms the western portion of the eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, with notable biocultural diversity.[93] The dramatic differences in elevation found in Nepal (60 m from sea level in the Terai plains, to 8,848 m Mount Everest)[94] result in a variety of biomes.[91] The Eastern half of Nepal is richer in biodiversity as it receives more rain, compared to western parts, where arctic desert-type conditions are more common at higher elevations.[92] Nepal is a habitat for 4.0% of all mammal species, 8.9% of bird species, 1.0% of reptile species, 2.5% of amphibian species, 1.9% of fish species, 3.7% of butterfly species, 0.5% of moth species and 0.4% of spider species.[92] In its 35 forest-types and 118 ecosystems,[91][f] Nepal harbours 2% of the flowering plant species, 3% of pteridophytes and 6% of bryophytes.

Nepal's forest cover is 59,624 km2 (23,021 sq mi), 40.36% of the country's total land area, with an additional 4.38% of scrubland, for a total forested area of 44.74%, an increase of 5% since the turn of the millennium.[95] The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.23/10, ranking it 45th globally out of 172 countries.[96] In the southern plains, Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion contains some of the world's tallest grasses as well as Sal forests, tropical evergreen forests and tropical riverine deciduous forests.[97] In the lower hills (700 m – 2,000 m), subtropical and temperate deciduous mixed forests containing mostly Sal (in the lower altitudes), Chilaune and Katus, as well as subtropical pine forest dominated by Chir Pine are common. The middle hills (2,000 m – 3,000 m) are dominated by Oak and Rhododendron. Subalpine coniferous forests cover the 3,000 m to 3,500 m range, dominated by Oak (particularly in the west), Eastern Himalayan fir, Himalayan pine and Himalayan hemlock; Rhododendron is common as well. Above 3,500 m in the west and 4,000 m in the east, coniferous trees give way to Rhododendron-dominated alpine shrubs and meadows.

The greater one-horned rhinoceros roams the sub-tropical grasslands of the Terai plains.

Among the notable trees, are the astringent Azadirachta indica, or neem, which is widely used in traditional herbal medicine,[98] and the luxuriant Ficus religiosa, or peepal,[99] which is displayed on the ancient seals of Mohenjo-daro,[100] and under which Gautam Buddha is recorded in the Pali canon to have sought enlightenment.

Most of the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest of the lower Himalayan region is descended from the Tethyan Tertiary flora.[102] As the Indian Plate collided with Eurasia forming and raising the Himalayas, the arid and semi-arid Mediterranean flora was pushed up and adapted to the more alpine climate over the next 40–50 million years.[102][103] The Himalayan biodiversity hotspot was the site of mass exchange and intermingling of the Indian and Eurasian species in the neogene.[104] One mammal species (Himalayan field mouse), two each of bird and reptile species, nine amphibia, eight fish and 29 butterfly species are endemic to Nepal.[92][g]

Himalayan monal (Danphe), the national bird of Nepal,[106] nests high in the himalayas.

Nepal contains 107 IUCN-designated threatened species, 88 of them animal species, 18 plant species and one species of "fungi or protist" group.[107] These include the endangered Bengal tiger, the Red panda, the Asiatic elephant, the Himalayan musk deer, the Wild water buffalo and the South Asian river dolphin,[108] as well as the critically endangered Gharial, the Bengal florican,[91][109] and the White-rumped Vulture, which has become nearly extinct by having ingested the carrion of diclofenac-treated cattle.[110] The pervasive and ecologically devastating human encroachment of recent decades has critically endangered Nepali wildlife. In response, the system of national parks and protected areas, first established in 1973 with the enactment of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973,[111] was substantially expanded. Vulture restaurants[92] coupled with a ban on veterinary usage of diclofenac has seen a rise in the number of white-rumped vultures.[112][110] The community forestry program which has seen a third of the country's population directly participate in managing a quarter of the total forested area has helped the local economies while reducing human-wildlife conflict.[113][114] The breeding programmes[115] coupled with community-assisted military patrols,[116] and a crackdown on poaching and smuggling, has seen poaching of critically endangered tigers and elephants as well as vulnerable rhinos, among others, go down to effectively zero, and their numbers have steadily increased.[117] Nepal has ten national parks, three wildlife reserves, one hunting reserve, three Conservation Areas and eleven buffer zones, covering a total area of 28,959.67 km2 (11,181.39 sq mi), or 19.67% of the total land area,[118] while ten wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.

Politics and government

Politics

Nepal is a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system.[120] It has three political parties recognised in the federal parliament: Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Nepali Congress (NC),[120] and Janata Samajbadi Party, Nepal (JSPN).[120] Of the two major parties both of which officially espouse democratic socialism, NCP is considered leftist while Nepali Congress is considered centrist.[121] During most of the brief periods of democratic exercise in the 1950s and the 1990s, Nepali Congress held majority of seats in parliament; CPN (UML) was its competitor in the 1990s.[122] After the Maoists entered the political process in 2006, they emerged as the third largest party.[123] In the aftermath of the 2017 elections, the first one according to the new constitution, NCP, formed by the merger of CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre) has become the ruling party at the federal level and in six out of seven provinces.[124] The Madhesi coalition, comprising Samajbadi Party, Nepal and Rastriya Janata Party, Nepal, which later merged to form JSPN, formed the provincial government in Province No. 2, though it has negligible presence in the rest of the country.[125][126][127] Though Nepali Congress has a significantly reduced representation, it is the only major opposition to the ruling communist party in all levels of government.

In the 1930s, a vibrant underground political movement arose in the capital, birthing Nepal Praja Parishad in 1936,[129] which was dissolved seven years later, following the execution of the four great martyrs. Around the same time, Nepalis involved in the Indian independence movement started organizing into political parties, leading to the birth of Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal.[130] As communism was trying to find its footing, Nepali Congress was successful in overthrowing the Rana regime in 1951 and enjoyed the overwhelming support of the electorate.[131] In the partyless Panchayat system initiated in 1962 by King Mahendra, monarchy loyalists took turns leading the government; political leaders remained underground, exiled or in prison.[129] A communist insurgency was crushed in its cradle in the 1970s, which led to the eventual coalescence of hitherto scattered communist factions under the United Left Front.

After the joint civil resistance launched by the United Left Front and Nepali Congress overthrew the Panchayat in 1990,[131][132] the Front became CPN (UML), adopted multi-party democracy, and in the brief period, it was in government, introduced welfare programs that remain popular.[122] After the Maoist Party joined mainstream politics, in the aftermath of the peaceful revolution of 2006, it also adopted multi-party democracy as its official line. The transition period between 2006 and 2015 saw sustained protests from the newly formed ethnocentric nationalist movements, principal among them the Madhes Movement. RJPN and SPN advocating equal rights and self-governance for the Madhesi people became major political parties in the Terai, Province No. 2 in particular.

The Mole Antonelliana is a major landmark of the Italian city of Turin. It is named for the architect who built it, Alessandro Antonelli. In Italian "Mole" (literally, "size") indicates a building of monumental proportions. Construction began in 1863, soon after Italian unification and was completed 26 years later, after the architect's death. Today it houses the National Museum of Cinema, and it is believed to be the tallest museum in the world.

The building was conceived and constructed as a synagogue. The Jewish community of Turin had enjoyed full civil rights since 1848, and at the time the construction of the synagogue began, Turin was the capital of the new Italian state, a position it held only from 1860 to 1864. The community, with a budget of 250,000 lire and the intention of having a building worthy of a capital city, hired Antonio Antonelli. Antonelli was notable for having recently added an "idiosyncratic" 121 metre-high dome and spire to the seventeenth-century Church of San Gaudenzio at Novara. He promised to build a synagogue for 280,000 lire.The relationship between Antonelli and the Jewish community was not a happy one. He immediately began to propose a series of modifications which raised the final height to 167 meters, over 46 meters higher than the dome in the original design. Such changes, in addition to greater costs and construction time than were originally anticipated, did not please the Jewish community and construction was halted in 1869 with a provisional roof.

With the removal of the Italian capital to Florence in 1864, the community shrank, but costs and Antonelli's ambition continued to rise. In 1876 the Jewish community, which had spent 692,000 lire for a building that was still far from finished, announced that it was withdrawing from the project. The people of Turin, who had watched the synagogue rise skyward, demanded that the city take over the project, which it did. An exchange was arranged between the Jewish community and the city of Turin for a piece of land on which a handsome Moorish Revival synagogue was quickly built.The Mole was dedicated to Victor Emmanuel II. Antonelli again began construction, which took the height to 146, 153, and finally 167 meters (548 feet). From 1908 to 1938, the city used it to house its Museum of the Risorgimento, which was moved to the Palazzo Carignano in 1938.

A 19th-century stereoscopic photograph showing the Mole with a temporary dome.

On 23 May 1953 a violent cloudburst, accompanied by a tornado, destroyed the uppermost 47 metres of the pinnacle, which was rebuilt in 1961 as a metal structure faced with stone.

Since 2000, the building has housed the Museo Nazionale del Cinema (National Museum of Cinema). The Mole appears on the reverse of the two cent Italian euro coins and was the inspiration for the official emblem of the 2006 Winter Olympics, as well as those of the of the 2005 World Bocce Championships and the 2006 World Fencing Championships.

On one side of the four-faced dome, the first Fibonacci numbers are written with red neon lights: they are part of the artistic work Il volo dei Numeri ("Flight of the numbers").

diggerchair

Unification 1972

View from the Pali lookout, on Oahu island, Hawaii. This was the site of an important battle, part of king Kamehameha's unification campaign of the Hawaiian islands. It would be interesting to know if the inhabitants of the various islands actually saw this as "unification" at the time...

Between Gangneung and Jeongdongjin is Tongil (Unification) Park. On a small spit of beach the former Korean navy destroyer Jeonbuk and a North Korean submarine are on display. I abhor war and the military, but I found these displays to be quite interesting.

Gangneung, Korea

"The regenerated apple"

by

Michelangelo Pistoletto (born 23 June 1933 in Biella)

is an Italian painter, action and object artist, and art theorist. Pistoletto is acknowledged as one of the main representatives of the Italian Arte Povera. His work mainly deals with the subject matter of reflection and the unification of art and everyday life in terms of a Gesamtkunstwerk.

From 1947 until 1958, Pistoletto worked in his father’s restoration workshop in Turin. In the 1950s, he started painting figurative works and self-portraits. In 1959, he participated in the Biennale di San Marino. In the following year, he had his first solo exhibition in the Galleria Galatea in Turin. In the beginning of the 1960s, Pistoletto started painting figurative works and self-portraits which he painted on a monochrome, metallic background. Later on, he combined painting with photography using collage techniques on reflective backgrounds. Eventually, he switched over to printing photorealistic scenes on steel plates polished to a high finish. He did that using the screen-printing method which made the observer almost completely melt in with what was depicted.[1] In the mid-1960s, gallery owner Ileana Sonnabend brought him into contact with an international audience.

© All rights reserved

View On Black

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_building

The Reichstag building (German: Reichstagsgebäude; officially: Plenarbereich Reichstagsgebäude) is a historical edifice in Berlin, Germany, constructed to house the Imperial Diet (German: Reichstag), of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Diet until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire. After World War II, the building fell into disuse; the parliament of the German Democratic Republic (the Volkskammer) met in the Palast der Republik in East Berlin, while the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany (the Bundestag) met in the Bundeshaus in Bonn.

The ruined building was made safe against the elements and partially refurbished in the 1960s, but no attempt at full restoration was made until after German reunification on 3 October 1990, when it underwent a reconstruction led by architect Norman Foster. After its completion in 1999, it once again became the meeting place of the German parliament: the modern Bundestag.

The term Reichstag, when used to connote a diet, dates back to the Holy Roman Empire. The building was built for the Diet of the German Empire, which was succeeded by the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. The latter would become the Reichstag of Nazi Germany, which left the building (and ceased to act as a parliament) after the 1933 fire and never returned; the term Reichstag has not been used by German parliaments since World War II. In today's usage, the German word Reichstag (Imperial Diet Building) refers mainly to the building, while Bundestag (Federal Diet) refers to the institution.

History of the building

Construction of the building began well after the unification of Germany in 1871. Previously, the parliament had assembled in several other buildings in Leipziger Straße in Berlin but these were generally considered too small, so in 1872 an architectural contest with 103 participating architects was carried out to erect a new building. After a short survey of possible sites, a parliamentary committee recommended the east side of the Königsplatz (today, Platz der Republik), which however was occupied by the palace of a Polish-Prussian aristocrat, Athanasius Raczyński.

Work did not start until ten years later though, owing to various problems with purchasing the property and arguments between Wilhelm I, Otto von Bismarck, and the members of the Reichstag about how the construction should be performed. After lengthy negotiations, the Raczyński Palace was purchased and demolished, making way for the new building.

In 1882, another architectural contest was held, with 200 architects participating. This time the winner, the Frankfurt architect Paul Wallot, would actually see his Neo-Baroque project executed. The direct model for Wallot's design was Philadelphia's Memorial Hall, the main building of the 1876 United States Centennial Exhibition.[1] The Reichstag's decorative sculptures, reliefs, and inscriptions were by sculptor Otto Lessing. On 29 June 1884, the foundation stone was finally laid by Wilhelm I, at the east side of the Königsplatz. Before construction was completed by Philipp Holzmann A.G. in 1894,[2] Wilhelm I died (in 1888, the Year of Three Emperors). His eventual successor, Wilhelm II, took a more jaundiced view of parliamentary democracy than his grandfather. The original building was acclaimed for the construction of an original cupola of steel and glass, considered an engineering feat at the time. But its mixture of architectural styles drew widespread criticism.[3]

In 1916 the iconic words Dem Deutschen Volke ("[To] the German people") were carved above the main façade of the building, much to the displeasure of Wilhelm II who had tried to block the adding of the inscription for its democratic significance. After World War I had ended and Wilhelm had abdicated, during the revolutionary days of 1918, Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the institution of a republic from one of the balconies of the Reichstag building on 9 November. The building continued to be the seat of the parliament of the Weimar Republic (1919–1933), which was still called the Reichstag.

Third Reich

The building caught fire on 27 February 1933, under circumstances still not entirely known (see Reichstag fire). This gave a pretext for the Nazis to suspend most rights provided for by the 1919 Weimar Constitution in the Reichstag Fire Decree in an effort to weed out communists and increase state security throughout Germany.

During the 12 years of National Socialist rule, the Reichstag building was not used for parliamentary sessions. Instead, the few times that the Reichstag convened at all, it did so in the Krolloper building, a former opera house opposite the Reichstag building. This applies particularly to the session of 23 March 1933, in which the Reichstag disposed of its powers in favour of the Nazi government in the Enabling Act, another step in the so-called Gleichschaltung ("coordination"). The main meeting hall of the building (which was unusable after the fire) was instead used for propaganda presentations and, during World War II, for military purposes. It was also considered for conversion to a flak tower but was found to be structurally unsuitable.

The building, having never been fully repaired since the fire, was further damaged by air raids. During the Battle of Berlin in 1945, it became one of the central targets for the Red Army to capture due to its perceived symbolic significance. Today, visitors to the building can still see Soviet graffiti on smoky walls inside as well as on part of the roof, which was preserved during the reconstructions after reunification.

Yevgeny Khaldei took the famous picture, Raising a flag over the Reichstag, on 2 May 1945. The picture symbolizes the victory of USSR over nazism.

Cold War

When the Cold War emerged, the building was physically within West Berlin, but only a few metres from the border of East Berlin, which ran around the back of the building and in 1961 was closed by the Berlin Wall. During the Berlin blockade, an enormous number of West Berliners assembled before the building on 9 September 1948, and Mayor Ernst Reuter held a famous speech that ended with "Ihr Völker der Welt, schaut auf diese Stadt!" ("You peoples of the world, look upon this city!")

After the war, the building was essentially a ruin. In addition, there was no real use for it, since the seat of government of West Germany had been established in Bonn in 1949. Still, in 1956, after some debate, it was decided that the Reichstag should not be torn down, but be restored instead. However, the cupola of the original building, which had also been heavily damaged in the war, was demolished. Another architectural contest was held, and the winner, Paul Baumgarten, reconstructed the building from 1961–1964, but utterly removing all sumptuous heraldic statues, monuments, decorations and the like that harked back to the mythology of the German past from the inside, but also the largest ones on the outside of the building. In effect, he created a plain building inside the historic Reichstag, retaining only the outer walls stripped of most of their statues and decoration.

The artistic and practical value of his work was the subject of much debate after German reunification. Under the provisions set forth for Berlin by the Allies in the 1971 Four Power Agreement on Berlin, the Bundestag, the parliament of West Germany of that time, was not allowed to assemble formally in West Berlin (even though East Germany was in violation of this provision since it had declared East Berlin its capital). Until 1990, the building was thus used only for occasional representative meetings, and one-off events. It was also used for a widely lauded permanent exhibition about German history called Fragen an die deutsche Geschichte (Questions about German history).

Reunification

The official German reunification ceremony on 3 October 1990, was held at the Reichstag building, including Chancellor Helmut Kohl, President Richard von Weizsäcker, former Chancellor Willy Brandt and many others. The event included huge firework displays[citation needed]. One day later, the parliament of the united Germany would assemble in an act of symbolism in the Reichstag building.

However, at that time, the role of Berlin had not yet been decided upon. Only after a fierce debate, considered by many as one of the most memorable sessions of parliament, did the Bundestag conclude, on 20 June 1991, with quite a slim majority in favour of both government and parliament returning to Berlin from Bonn.

In 1992, Norman Foster won yet another architectural contest for the reconstruction of the building. His winning concept looked very different from what was later executed. Notably, the original design did not include a cupola.

Before reconstruction began, the Reichstag was wrapped by the Bulgarian-American artist Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude in 1995, attracting millions of visitors.[4] The project was financed by the artists through the sale of preparatory drawings and collages, as well as early works of the 1950s and 1960s.

During the reconstruction, the building was first almost completely gutted, taking out everything except the outer walls, including all changes made by Baumgarten in the 1960s. Respect for the historic aspects of the building was one of the conditions stipulated to the architects, so traces of historical events were to be retained in a visible state. Among them were graffiti left by Soviet soldiers after the final battle for Berlin in April–May 1945. Written in Cyrillic script, they include such slogans as "Hitler kaputt" and names of individual soldiers. However, graffiti with racist or sexist themes were removed, in agreement with Russian diplomats at the time.

The reconstruction was completed in 1999, with the Bundestag convening there officially for the first time on 19 April of that year.[5] The Reichstag is now the second most visited attraction in Germany, not least because of the huge glass dome that was erected on the roof as a gesture to the original 1894 cupola, giving an impressive view over the city, especially at night.

Dome

The large glass dome at the very top of the Reichstag has a 360-degree view of the surrounding Berlin cityscape. The main hall of the parliament below can also be seen from inside the dome, and natural light from above radiates down to the parliament floor. A large sun shield tracks the movement of the sun electronically and blocks direct sunlight which would not only cause large solar gain, but dazzle those below. Construction work was finished in 1999 and the seat of parliament was transferred to the Bundestag in April of that year. The dome is open to visitors by prior registration.[

Goseong Unification Observatory - Confine con Corea del Nord.

Un altra coppia di jangseung o guardiano del villaggio.

Jangseung erano tradizionalmente posti ai margini dei villaggi per segnare i confini e spaventare i demoni.

Il guardiano pubblico è una pietra angolare e un dio della strada per proteggere la sicurezza del cancello, delle caserme, delle strade e dei canali marittimi.

In questo caso credo che sia quello di protettori della Corea del Sud.

Goseong Unification Observatory - Border with North Korea.

Another pair of jangseung or village guardians.

Jangseung were traditionally placed at the edge of villages to mark the boundaries and scare away demons.

The public guardian is a cornerstone and a road god to protect the safety of the gate, barracks, roads and sea channels.

In this case I believe it is that of protectors of South Korea.

IMG20240423122125m

F-4 Phantom – 5195 units produced, 63 years of production/service, dozens of monographs, modelling plans, etc., what can go wrong? Well, actually quite many things. Still, after a few setbacks, here it is, my latest model

About the jet

The history of McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II started back in the mid 50’, with the first flight taking place on 27th May 1958. Initially, the F4H-1 (the initial designation before the tri-service unification) started as an unsolicited proposal from McDonnell Douglas, which actually didn’t get much interest. Only after the problems of other Navy fighters led to the necessity of acquiring a new general-purpose fighter, the Phantom as we know could get its chance. After winning the competition against the Vought’s F8U-3 Crusader III submission, the F4H-1 went to service in 1961, with a new designation of F-4B (starting in 1962). Even though F-4B was a revolutionary design for it time, it still had a number of deficiencies, with the most serious ones being slightly too high approach speed, and its AN-APQ-72 radar lacking the look-down, shoot-down capabilities, performing poorly against the ground clutter. As a consequence, after delivering 649 F-4B, in late 1966 McDonnell introduced a new, improved version – the F-4J. This version featured a revised and strengthened internal structure, more powerful J79-GE-10 engines (the smokeless, 10B version was introduced later in 1978), new, wider tires (resulting in bulges on the top part of the wings), a few aerodynamic improvements for decreasing the approach speed (changes to inboard leading edges and slotted stabilator), and most importantly, new AWG-10 radar, with solid-state elements and prominent look-down, shoot-down capabilities. The F-4J served through the Vietnam war until the late 70’, together with the F-4B, and later F-4N (upgraded F-4B). After that, starting from 1978, the selected 265 F-4J underwent an upgrade to F-4S standard (the initial idea was for 302, but the number was reduced), featuring smokeless J79-GE-10B engines, improved electronics, and leading-edge maneuvering slats, similar to those on USAF’s F-4E. In this variant, Phantoms served until 1987 in USN, and 1992 in USMC. In the meantime, 15 F-4J were also sold to UK, to fill the gap left by FGR. 2 Phantoms (F-4M) deployed to the Falkland Islands. These aircraft, known also as F-4J(UK) Phantom F.3s, served from 1984 to 1991. Interestingly, they were greatly appreciated by the RAF pilots, with most of them considering them superior to British Spey-engined variants, mainly due to the much faster response of the J-79 turbojets, in comparison to Rolls-Royce Spey 203 turbofans.

About the building process

While I’ve always appreciated the F-4, I was never a “Phantom Phanatic”. In fact, the idea for this model came to me by accident – I was a bit stuck with other projects, and thinking about different solutions, the idea that 2x3x1 curved slopes would make for an excellent Phantom fuselage went through my mind. I thought that these easy, boxy shapes of F-4 would make for a nice relax after the complex shapes of my F-14 and MiG-29, and so I started. Unfortunately, I made a huge mistake at the very beginning – I used the blueprints from the book, without validating their correctness first, which later cost me a lot of headaches.

Before going further, I should mention some of the F-4 models by other people, which were a huge inspiration to me. Of course, there is an excellent F-4B by Mad Physicist , a beautiful F-4B by Carl Greatrix , and a whole series of different F-4s by Justin Davies. However, from the viewpoint of my model, three Phantoms were of particular importance for me. The first one is F-4N by Jonah Padberg. Even though I’ve ended with a very different cockpit design, I’ve started with the modification of his 3-stud wide canopy and angled cockpit section. The next model, is a F-4B by Maks, who made an excellent, SNOT version of the Phantom, which to a large degree influenced some of my design choices. Lastly, there is a huge, 1/15 scale F-4J by crash_cramer, which might be my favorite LEGO model ever. Similarly as in the case of my F-14 Tomcat, I tried to emulate some of his techniques in a smaller scale.

The first assumption was to go for the 3-stud wide canopy, similarly as in my MiG-29. Such solution is much more accurate in this scale and makes the model look much more realistic in my opinion. In fact, I’m so pleased with the outcome here that I will likely rebuild my F-14 in near future to similar standard. The construction itself started with the wings. I’ve always came under impression that similarly to F-15, the angle for the leading edge is 45 degrees. Well, not really. Instead, the angle is 51 degrees, which effectively eliminates any plate-based solutions, leaving the brick-built wing as the only valid option. So instead of getting a nice, simple, sturdy 45 degrees wing, I had to go with a brick-built one, which combined with the main landing gear solution and folding mechanism, proved to be a nightmare. After figuring it out, the next challenge was to design the angled cockpit area. Here, the solutions from Jonah’s model were of great help. With those two pieces in place, the rest went relatively smoothly, leading to the stage presented in WiP pictures. And then, having 85% of a model ready, I checked the validity of my blueprints. I was able to get my hands on the original F-4 factory drawing on the Aviation Archives website, and all my drawings turned out to be off by a considerable margin. Fortunately, I’m not the only person dissatisfied by the quality of available blueprints, and I was able to find this awesome website, with a set of 100% accurate drawings, based on the factory ones, including the cross-sections. That was good news, the bad one was that my fuselage was too short, too high, and too wide. So I had to lower the whole fuselage by a plate, elongate it by 2 studs, and modify it from 10-stud wide, to 9-stud wide. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard, but after lowering the fuselage, it became evident that the angling of the front section is too steep. This, in turn, required a complete revision of the already most problematic section, consuming an awful lot of time. But after all these problems, I finally got a model, with which I am quite satisfied.

About the model

The model represents a McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II in a 1/33 scale. The camouflage is based on the F-4J from VF-96 squadron, BuNo. 155800, callsign “Showtime100”, deployed on the USS Constellation aircraft carrier in Vietnam, around 1972. This particular aircraft, on the 10th of May 1972, was credited with 3 MiG-17 kills, being flown by pilot Lt Randy Cunningham and RIO Lt(jg) Willy Driscoll. This effectively made them the only Navy aces of the Vietnam war, as they already had 2 kills on their account. You may also note that they flew a “borrowed” plane, as the name on the cockpit is that of Lowell “Gus” Eggert, who later commanded the USS Constellation from 1974 onward. As usual, the model possesses a number of features: openable cockpits, working flaps, foldable wings, working horizontal and vertical tails, retractable landing gear and tailhook. I’m rather pleased with the functionality, as most of the features, especially the landing gear, are much more reliable than in e.g. my MiG-29. The loadout comprises 4 AIM-7E Sparrows, 4 AIM-9G Sidewinders, and a centerline 600 gal. fuel tank. Also, under the wings, there are outboard pylons for two 370 gal. fuel tanks, which are visible on some of the photos. The credit for the stand design goes to Jerac. There is a small discrepancy in the camouflage – in principle nearly all USN phantoms had an all-white underside, with an exception of some late 80s’, extremely dull, low-vis versions. Unfortunately, due to the brick-built nature of the wing, I was unable to make them white on the bottom. For a moment, I contemplated utilizing huge white stickers, but it wouldn’t look all that great, and it would make the wings extremely modification-unfriendly. Still, the final effect is not that bad. So, please enjoy, and let me know what is your opinion on this model.

"The U Jonáše house on Pernštýnské náměstí is one of the historical symbols of Pardubice, it is part of the city's heritage zone and a cultural monument.

The interiors of the house have been preserved from the late Gothic period - they are associated with the construction before the fire in 1507. The preserved part of the Dom U Jonáše building shows the state before the great fire in 1538, especially the unique vault on the ground floor. Early Renaissance elements are represented by the torso of a wall painting with a plant motif. The radical reconstruction of the city after the fire in 1538 brought the unification of the architecture of the historic center into one whole. This is evidenced, for example, by arched attics and terracotta window linings . Most of the preserved painting decoration comes from the end of the 16th century. The Baroque style became more significant only after 1704, in 1797 there was an extensive modification of the facade, which gave the house a specific appearance. The rich stucco decoration became the dominant manifestation of the new artistic solution. The Old Testament theme with the central figure of the prophet Jonah in the open jaws of a whale is often attributed to the Pardubice sculptor Jakub Teplé (1729–1802). In the 19th century, efforts were made to save the stucco decoration, the overall reconstruction of the facade was carried out in 1993–1994. The reconstruction of the building was carried out in three stages starting in the 1970s.

It is currently used by the East Bohemian Gallery in Pardubice for holding fine art exhibitions, the specialist department offers guided tours of ongoing exhibitions, lectures, discussions with important personalities and meetings with artists.

Pardubice (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpardubɪtsɛ]; German: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument reservation.

Pardubice is known as the centre of industry, which represents an oil refinery or an electronic equipment plant. The city is well known for its sport events, which include the Velká pardubická steeplechase in horse racing, the Golden Helmet of Pardubice in motorcycle racing, and the Czech Open international chess and games festival.

The name Pardubice is derived from the personal Polish name Porydęb. It was the name of the leader of the monks who came here from Poland. For the first time the name was recorded in the form of Pordobice.

Pardubice is located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) east of Prague. The city lies at the confluence of the Elbe and Chrudimka rivers. There are several fishponds, artificial lakes and oxbow lakes of the Elbe in the municipal territory.

Pardubice is located in the East Elbe Table, in the eastern part of the Polabí lowland. The highest point is the hill Stropinský vrch at 258 m (846 ft) above sea level, located on the southeastern municipal border.

The first written mention of Pardubice is from 1295, when Pope Boniface VIII took over the protection of the local Church of Saint Bartholomew with the order of Canons Regular of the Penitence of the Blessed Martyrs. In the first half of the 14th century, the settlement was acquired by a noble family, later known as Lords of Pardubice. In 1340, when Pardubice was inherited by Arnošt of Pardubice, it was first referred to as a city.

Bohemia (Latin Bohemia, German Böhmen, Polish Czechy) is a region in the west of the Czech Republic. Previously, as a kingdom, they were the center of the Czech Crown. The root of the word Czech probably corresponds to the meaning of man. The Latin equivalent of Bohemia, originally Boiohaemum (literally "land of Battles"), which over time also influenced the names in other languages, is derived from the Celtic tribe of the Boios, who lived in this area from the 4th to the 1st century BC Bohemia on it borders Germany in the west, Austria in the south, Moravia in the east and Poland in the north. Geographically, they are bounded from the north, west and south by a chain of mountains, the highest of which are the Krkonoše Mountains, in which the highest mountain of Bohemia, Sněžka, is also located. The most important rivers are the Elbe and the Vltava, with the fertile Polabean Plain extending around the Elbe. The capital and largest city of Bohemia is Prague, other important cities include, for example, Pilsen, Karlovy Vary, Kladno, Ústí nad Labem, Liberec, Hradec Králové, Pardubice and České Budějovice, Jihlava also lies partly on the historical territory of Bohemia." - info from Wikipedia.

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

Now on Instagram.

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon or donate.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Victory_Column

The Victory Column (German: About this sound Siegessäule (help·info), from Sieg ‘victory’ + Säule ‘column’) is a monument in Berlin, Germany. Designed by Heinrich Strack, after 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War, by the time it was inaugurated on 2 September 1873, Prussia had also defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), giving the statue a new purpose. Different from the original plans, these later victories in the so-called unification wars inspired the addition of the bronze sculpture of Victoria, 8.3 metres high and weighing 35 tonnes, designed by Friedrich Drake. Berliners have given the statue the nickname Goldelse, meaning something like "Golden Lizzy".[1]

The Victory Column is a major tourist attraction in the city of Berlin and opens daily: 9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (April–October), and 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. (November–March).

History, design, and influences

Design and dimensions

Built on a base of polished red granite, the column sits on a hall of pillars with a glass mosaic designed by Anton von Werner.

The column itself, inspired to Heinrich Strack by the "torre faro" of Rodolfo Vantini (which stands in the monumental cemetery of Brescia), consists of four solid blocks of sandstone, three of which are decorated by cannon barrels captured from the enemies of the aforementioned three wars. A fourth ring is decorated with golden garlands and was added in 1938–39 as the whole monument has been relocated. The entire column, including the sculpture, is 67 meters tall.

The relief decoration was removed in 1945. It was restored for the 750th anniversary of Berlin in 1987 by the French president at that time, François Mitterrand.

Designers and architects

The foundation is decorated with four bronze reliefs showing the three wars and the victorious marching of the troops into Berlin. They were created by:

Moritz Schulz (1825–1904)

Karl Keil (1838–89)

Alexander Calandrelli (1834–1903)

and Albert Wolff (1814–92)

Location and relocations

The Victory Column originally stood in Königsplatz (now Platz der Republik), at the end of the Siegesallee (Victory Avenue). As part of the preparation of the monumental plans to redesign Berlin into Welthauptstadt Germania, in 1939, when the Nazis relocated the column to its present site at the Großer Stern (Great Star), a large intersection on the city axis that leads from the former Berliner Stadtschloss (Berlin City Palace) through the Brandenburg Gate to the western parts of the city. At the same time, the column was augmented by another 7.5 metres, giving it its present height of 66.89 metres. The monument survived World War II without much damage. The relocation of the monument probably saved it from destruction, as its old site – in front of the Reichstag, at exactly 1500 metres, (one Roman mile), from the proposed new north-south triumphal way of the Nazis in line with the Imperial Victory Avenue in the Tiergarten – was destroyed by American air raids in 1945.

Surrounded by a street circle, the column is also accessible to pedestrians through four tunnels, built in 1941 to plans by Albert Speer who likewise increased the width of the road between it and the Brandenburg Gate and designed the new Germania which was scheduled for construction after the victory obtained in the war. Via a steep spiral staircase of 285 steps, the physically fit may, for a fee, climb almost to the top of the column, to just under the statue and take in the spectacular views over the Tiergarten including the Soviet War Memorial, 1946, in line with the Nazi proposed north-south triumphal way by Speer and Adolf Hitler.

Cultural references

Due to the statue atop of it the column was known as 'the tall woman' by Soviet troops who captured Berlin in 1945.[2]

Polish Army troops, fighting alongside their Soviet allies, hoisted the Polish flag on the column on May 2, 1945 at the end of the Battle in Berlin. Poland's official Flag Day is held each year on May 2, in commemoration of the event.[3]

The column is featured in Wim Wenders' film Wings of Desire (1987) as being a place where angels congregate.[4]

The Victory Column served as the location for Barack Obama's speech in Berlin as a US presidential candidate during his visit to Germany on July 24, 2008. The choice of site was somewhat controversial as it symbolises German military victories of the past and is still seen by some as a Nazi symbol.[5] In the 1989 film Das Spinnennetz (directed by Bernhard Wicki, based on the fragmentary novel of the same name by Joseph Roth), Ulrich Mühe as protagonist Leutnant Lohse partakes in a 1920s plot to bomb the Victory Column, but being a right-wing spy among the communist plotters, he foils their plans.

The golden statue atop the column, cast in 1873 by the Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck foundry in Berlin,[6][7] was featured in the music video to U2's 1993 "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" and inspired Paul van Dyk's 1998 trance music hit, "For an Angel"; the column was also featured in his music video during the Love Parade in 1998. "El Ángel" in Mexico City bears a more than passing resemblance to the Berlin victory column, while both echo the earlier examples of the victory column crowned by an angel, notably the Alexander Column in Saint Petersburg.

In the 18th episode of "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig", Batou is stationed on the monuments shoulder. It is here that Batou notices a young girl who talks to the statue, addressing it as "Angel." The Victory Column is meant to represents the girl's absent father, the episode's main criminal and multinational terrorist, Angel's Feathers.

Dâmbovița river at Eroilor Bridge

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest

Budapest is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the tenth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the river Danube. The estimated population of the city in 2025 is 1,782,240. This includes the city's population and surrounding suburban areas, over a land area of about 525 square kilometres (203 square miles). Budapest, which is both a city and municipality, forms the centre of the Budapest metropolitan area, which has an area of 7,626 square kilometres (2,944 square miles) and a population of 3,019,479. It is a primate city, constituting 33% of the population of Hungary.

The history of Budapest began when an early Celtic settlement transformed into the Roman town of Aquincum, the capital of Lower Pannonia. The Hungarians arrived in the territory in the late 9th century, but the area was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241–42. Re-established Buda became one of the centres of Renaissance humanist culture by the 15th century. The Battle of Mohács, in 1526, was followed by nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule. After the reconquest of Buda in 1686, the region entered a new age of prosperity, with Pest-Buda becoming a global city after the unification of Buda, Óbuda and Pest on 17 November 1873, with the name 'Budapest' given to the new capital. Budapest also became the co-capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a great power that dissolved in 1918, following World War I. The city was the focal point of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and the Battle of Budapest in 1945, as well as the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

Budapest is a global city with strengths in commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment. Budapest is Hungary's financial centre. Budapest hosts the headquarters of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, the European Police College and the first foreign office of the China Investment Promotion Agency. Over 40 colleges and universities are located in Budapest, including Eötvös Loránd University, Corvinus University, Semmelweis University, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Opened in 1896, the city's subway system, the Budapest Metro, serves 1.27 million, while the Budapest Tram Network serves 1.08 million passengers daily.

The central area of Budapest along the Danube is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has several notable monuments of classical architecture, including the Hungarian Parliament and the Buda Castle. The city also has around 80 geothermal springs, the largest thermal water cave system, second largest synagogue, and third largest Parliament building in the world. Budapest attracts around 12 million international tourists per year, making it a highly popular destination in Europe.

Additional Foreign Language Tags:

(Hungary) "المجر" "匈牙利" "Hongrie" "Ungarn" "הונגריה" "हंगरी" "ハンガリー" "헝가리" "Венгрия" "Hungría"

(Budapest) "بودابست" "布达佩斯" "בודפשט" "बुडापेस्ट" "ブダペスト" "부다페스트" "Будапешт"

(Europe) Europa "European Union" "أوروبا" "欧洲" "אירופה" "यूरोप" "ヨーロッパ" "유럽" "Европа"

The rainbow

This phenomenon is a magical symbol all over the world.

It represents hope, luck, blessings, wealth and health and many more good things.

The rainbow represents the contract between heaven (God) and earth (man) and the final union of the two. Psychologically the unification of Self and Ego.

HKD

Falls die Symbolik des Regenbogens interessiert:

Der Regenbogen mit seiner Farbenvielfalt zeigt auf der symbolischen Ebene die verschiedenen Aspekte des einen weißen Lichtes. Sichtbar wird das Licht vor dem Hintergrund der Dunkelheit. Wahrnehmung beruht auf Dualität.

Licht, das alles sichtbar werden lässt, erzeugt die Vielheit der Schöpfung, während die Dunkelheit alles verschluckt und zur Leere werden lässt.

Der Regenbogen ist im Reich der Schöpfung angesiedelt und ist eine Spiegelung des Potenzials des schöpferischen Prinzips.

Zahlreiche Deutungen sind der Symbolkunde bekannt. Legenden, Mythen und Märchen sprechen dem Regenbogen besonderen Wert zu, und es ist daher nicht verwunderlich, dass mehrere Legenden davon sprechen, dass am Fuße des Regenbogens ein großer Schatz verborgen läge. Auch ist in der germanischen Mythologie von der Regenbogenbrücke die Rede, die ins Reich der Götter führt, nach Walhalla.

In der buddhistischen Philosophie ist der Regenbogen sehr bedeutungsvoll, denn er symbolisiert die höchste Vollkommenheit eines Menschen. Wenn das an Materie gebundene Bewusstsein transzendiert und sich in reines, klares Licht wandelt (reines Bewusstsein), spricht man davon, dass der Meditierende den sogenannten Regenbogenkörper entwickelt hat.

Die unstoffliche Natur kann zwar gesehen, aber nicht berührt werden.

Im Christentum ist der Regenbogen Symbol für die Verbindung des Menschen mit dem Göttlichen, er ist ein Zeichen für den Bund Gottes mit dem Menschen.

In der chinesischen Symbolik steht er für die Vereinigung von Yin und Yang, für die Vereinigung der Gegensätze. Diese Vereinigung ist auch als Unio mystica bekannt.

Ganz allgemein ist der Regenbogen Glück verheißend und segensreich. Unter anderem kündigte er das Ende der Sintflut an und ist damit ein Zeichen der Gnade Gottes. Er steht daher für Zuversicht, Hoffnung und Optimismus

Je nach Zusammenhang kann er als Mariensymbol gesehen werden oder, um in die griechische Mythologie überzuwechseln, mit Hermes in Verbindung gebracht werden, denn diese Gottheit ist wie der Regenbogen mit seinen sieben Farben ein Vermittler zwischen Himmel und Erde,

Sieben Farben umfasst das Spektrum des Regenbogen: Rot, Orange, Gelb, Grün, Cyanblau, Ultramarinblau und Violettblau.

Iris ist das griechische Wort für Regenbogen. Die antike Gottheit des Regenbogens, verband ursprünglich die Götter mit den Sterblichen. Später hat Hermes diese Aufgabe übernommen.

Goethe sah im Regenbogen die Wechselbeziehung zwischen Geist (Geistigem) und Natur. Er sprach von "des bunten Bogens Wechseldauer". - "Ihm sinne nach und du begreifst, / Am farbigen Abglanz haben wir das Leben."

HKD

Digital art based on own photography and textures

HKD

Il gioiello luminoso è stato progettato dagli architetti Italo Lupi, Ico Migliore e Mara Servetto, curatori del ‘look of the city’ disegnato per la città, in occasione dei 150 anni dell'Unità d'Italia.

La collana attorno alla Mole, monumento simbolo ed edificio più alto di Torino, con i suoi 167,5 metri di altezza, è formata da tre cornici rettangolari, una bianca, una rossa e una verde.

The bright jewel was designed by architects Italo Lupi, Ico Migliore and Mara Servetto, curators of the 'look of the city' designed for the city, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy.

The necklace around the Mole, a monument and symbol of Turin's tallest building, with its 167.5 meters high, consists of three rectangular frames, one white, one red and one green.

Great Union Day (Romanian: Ziua Marii Uniri) occurring on December 1, is the national holiday of Romania.

This holiday was set after the 1989 Romanian Revolution and it marks the unification of Transylvania, but also of the provinces of Bessarabia and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom, in 1918.

Please listen to the Romanian National Anthem, too:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTwgwEHiWm0

======================

Many Thanks to the +6,460,000 visitors of my photographic stream

===============================================

© Ioan C. Bacivarov

All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international laws of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance

Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/

Many thanks for yours visits and comments.

Great Union Day (Romanian: Ziua Marii Uniri) occurring on December 1, is the national holiday of Romania.

This holiday was set after the 1989 Romanian Revolution and it marks the unification of Transylvania, but also of the provinces of Bessarabia and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom, in 1918.

Please listen to the Romanian National Anthem, too:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTwgwEHiWm0

======================

Many Thanks to the +6,460,000 visitors of my photographic stream

===============================================

© Ioan C. Bacivarov

All the photos on this gallery are protected by the international laws of copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum, transmitted or manipulated without the explicit written permission of the author. Thank you in advance

Please view my most interesting photos on flickriver stream: www.flickriver.com/photos/ioan_bacivarov/

Many thanks for yours visits and comments.

*Imjingak ( Korean: 임진각, 臨津閣 )

Address

177, Imjingak-ro, Munsan-eup, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do

경기도 파주시 문산읍 임진각로 177

Type

Demilitarized Zone (PLZ)

Introduction

Imjingak (임진각), located 7 km from the Military Demarcation Line, is now at the forefront of tourism related to the Korean Conflict.

It was built in 1972 with the hope that someday unification would be possible. Three-storied Imjingak is surrounded by several Monuments, Unification Park and North Korea Center.

400 kinds of photos and documents showing the stark reality of North Korea are displayed in the North Korea Center of Unification Board. Outside Imjingak, there are 12 kinds of tanks and crafts on display that were used during the Korean Conflict.

Mangbaedan, which stands opposite of Imjingak, is famous for the place where people from North Korea visit and perform ancestral rites by bowing toward their hometown every New Years Day and Chuseok. The Bridge of the Freedom, South Koreans crossed when they came back to their mother country from North Korea, stands behind Mangbaedan.

In front of Imjingak, there is the Gyeongui Train Line which was destroyed during the Korean Conflict in 1950. It has been under construction since 2000. Every year many events for unification are held at Imjingak.

Imjingak is now one of the famous tourist spots for foreigners in Gyeonggi-do Province because it is possible to visit without going through any security check points.

*Travel Tips

- Tourists who want to tour Dorasan Observatory (도라산전망대) and the 3rd tunnel, have to have a passport and make a reservation in advance at the DMZ ticket box located in the Imjingak parking lot.

- Tourists can tour the 3rd tunnel, Dorasan Observatory, Mt. Dorasan and Unification Park by shuttle bus. Soldiers act as guides on this package tour. Only Korean speaking guides are available if you make your reservation here, so foreigners should contact a travel agency to arrange an English speaking guide in advance.

- Private cars and taxies are not permitted. Only designated shuttle buses can enter because it is located in the demilitarized zone.

Source from

www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264487

Imjingak (임진각, pronounced Ihm-jin-gak), and sometimes in English called the Imjingak "resort", is a park located on the banks of the Imjin River in the city of Paju, South Korea. The park has many statues and monuments regarding the Korean War. There is also a restaurant, an observation deck, a pool in the shape of the Korean peninsula, and even a small amusement park.

Source from

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imjingak

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One of our favorite places we visited on our trip!

Three enormous bronze swords stand monument to the Battle of Hafrsfjord in the year 872, when Harald Hårfagre (Fairheaded Harald) united Norway into one kingdom. The monument was designed by local artist Fritz Røed and unveiled by Norway's King Olav in 1983.

The swords, which are about 10 meters tall, stand for peace and unification. One sword is larger than the others. This was Fairheded Harald's sword. The crowns on the top of the swords represent the three districts that participated in the battle. The swords are planted in solid rock - representing peace. The monument is called Sverd i Fjell (Swords in Rock).

Former Victoria Socialismului (Victory of Socialism) Avenue.

The Mount Elliott Mining Complex is an aggregation of the remnants of copper mining and smelting operations from the early 20th century and the associated former mining township of Selwyn. The earliest copper mining at Mount Elliott was in 1906 with smelting operations commencing shortly after. Significant upgrades to the mining and smelting operations occurred under the management of W.R. Corbould during 1909 - 1910. Following these upgrades and increases in production, the Selwyn Township grew quickly and had 1500 residents by 1918. The Mount Elliott Company took over other companies on the Cloncurry field in the 1920s, including the Mount Cuthbert and Kuridala smelters. Mount Elliott operations were taken over by Mount Isa Mines in 1943 to ensure the supply of copper during World War Two. The Mount Elliott Company was eventually liquidated in 1953.

The Mount Elliott Smelter:

The existence of copper in the Leichhardt River area of north western Queensland had been known since Ernest Henry discovered the Great Australia Mine in 1867 at Cloncurry. In 1899 James Elliott discovered copper on the conical hill that became Mount Elliott, but having no capital to develop the mine, he sold an interest to James Morphett, a pastoralist of Fort Constantine station near Cloncurry. Morphett, being drought stricken, in turn sold out to John Moffat of Irvinebank, the most successful mining promoter in Queensland at the time.

Plentiful capital and cheap transport were prerequisites for developing the Cloncurry field, which had stagnated for forty years. Without capital it was impossible to explore and prove ore-bodies; without proof of large reserves of wealth it was futile to build a railway; and without a railway it was hazardous to invest capital in finding large reserves of ore. The mining investor or the railway builder had to break the impasse.

In 1906 - 1907 copper averaged £87 a ton on the London market, the highest price for thirty years, and the Cloncurry field grew. The railway was extended west of Richmond in 1905 - 1906 by the Government and mines were floated on the Melbourne Stock Exchange. At Mount Elliott a prospecting shaft had been sunk and on the 1st of August 1906 a Cornish boiler and winding plant were installed on the site.

Mount Elliott Limited was floated in Melbourne on the 13th of July 1906. In 1907 it was taken over by British and French interests and restructured. Combining with its competitor, Hampden Cloncurry Copper Mines Limited, Mount Elliott formed a special company to finance and construct the railway from Cloncurry to Malbon, Kuridala (then Friezeland) and Mount Elliott (later Selwyn). This new company then entered into an agreement with the Queensland Railways Department in July 1908.

The railway, which was known as the 'Syndicate Railway', aroused opposition in 1908 from the trade unions and Labor movement generally, who contended that railways should be State-owned. However, the Hampden-Mount Elliott Railway Bill was passed by the Queensland Parliament and assented to on the 21st of April 1908; construction finished in December 1910. The railway terminated at the Mount Elliott smelter.

By 1907 the main underlie shaft had been sunk and construction of the smelters was underway using a second-hand water-jacket blast furnace and converters. At this time, W.H. Corbould was appointed general manager of Mount Elliott Limited.

The second-hand blast furnace and converters were commissioned or 'blown in' in May 1909, but were problematic causing hold-ups. Corbould referred to the equipment in use as being the 'worst collection of worn-out junk he had ever come across'. Corbould soon convinced his directors to scrap the plant and let him design new works.

Corbould was a metallurgist and geologist as well as mine/smelter manager. He foresaw a need to obtain control and thereby ensure a reliable supply of ore from a cross-section of mines in the region. He also saw a need to implement an effective strategy to manage the economies of smelting low-grade ore. Smelting operations in the region were made difficult by the technical and economic problems posed by the deterioration in the grade of ore. Corbould resolved the issue by a process of blending ores with different chemical properties, increasing the throughput capacity of the smelter and by championing the unification of smelting operations in the region. In 1912, Corbould acquired Hampden Consols Mine at Kuridala for Mount Elliott Limited, followed with the purchases of other small mines in the district.

Walkers Limited of Maryborough was commissioned to manufacture a new 200 ton water jacket furnace for the smelters. An air compressor and blower for the smelters were constructed in the powerhouse and an electric motor and dynamo provided power for the crane and lighting for the smelter and mine.

The new smelter was blown in September 1910, a month after the first train arrived, and it ran well, producing 2040 tons of blister copper by the end of the year. The new smelting plant made it possible to cope with low-grade sulphide ores at Mount Elliott. The use of 1000 tons of low-grade sulphide ores bought from the Hampden Consols Mine in 1911 made it clear that if a supply of higher sulphur ore could be obtained and blended, performance, and economy would improve. Accordingly, the company bought a number of smaller mines in the district in 1912.

Corbould mined with cut and fill stoping but a young Mines Inspector condemned the system, ordered it dismantled and replaced with square set timbering. In 1911, after gradual movement in stopes on the No. 3 level, the smelter was closed for two months. Nevertheless, 5447 tons of blister copper was produced in 1911, rising to 6690 tons in 1912 - the company's best year. Many of the surviving structures at the site were built at this time.

Troubles for Mount Elliott started in 1913. In February, a fire at the Consols Mine closed it for months. In June, a thirteen week strike closed the whole operation, severely depleting the workforce. The year 1913 was also bad for industrial accidents in the area, possibly due to inexperienced people replacing the strikers. Nevertheless, the company paid generous dividends that year.

At the end of 1914 smelting ceased for more than a year due to shortage of ore. Although 3200 tons of blister copper was produced in 1913, production fell to 1840 tons in 1914 and the workforce dwindled to only 40 men. For the second half of 1915 and early 1916 the smelter treated ore railed south from Mount Cuthbert. At the end of July 1916 the smelting plant at Selwyn was dismantled except for the flue chambers and stacks. A new furnace with a capacity of 500 tons per day was built, a large amount of second-hand equipment was obtained and the converters were increased in size.

After the enlarged furnace was commissioned in June 1917, continuing industrial unrest retarded production which amounted to only 1000 tons of copper that year. The point of contention was the efficiency of the new smelter which processed twice as much ore while employing fewer men. The company decided to close down the smelter in October and reduce the size of the furnace, the largest in Australia, from 6.5m to 5.5m. In the meantime the price of copper had almost doubled from 1916 due to wartime consumption of munitions.

The new furnace commenced on the 16th of January 1918 and 77,482 tons of ore were smelted yielding 3580 tons of blister copper which were sent to the Bowen refinery before export to Britain. Local coal and coke supply was a problem and materials were being sourced from the distant Bowen Colliery. The smelter had a good run for almost a year except for a strike in July and another in December, which caused Corbould to close down the plant until New Year. In 1919, following relaxation of wartime controls by the British Metal Corporation, the copper price plunged from about £110 per ton at the start of the year to £75 per ton in April, dashing the company's optimism regarding treatment of low grade ores. The smelter finally closed after two months operation and most employees were laid off.

For much of the period 1919 to 1922, Corbould was in England trying to raise capital to reorganise the company's operations but he failed and resigned from the company in 1922. The Mount Elliott Company took over the assets of the other companies on the Cloncurry field in the 1920s - Mount Cuthbert in 1925 and Kuridala in 1926. Mount Isa Mines bought the Mount Elliott plant and machinery, including the three smelters, in 1943 for £2,300, enabling them to start copper production in the middle of the Second World War. The Mount Elliott Company was finally liquidated in 1953.

In 1950 A.E. Powell took up the Mount Elliott Reward Claim at Selwyn and worked close to the old smelter buildings. An open cut mine commenced at Starra, south of Mount Elliott and Selwyn, in 1988 and is Australia's third largest copper producer producing copper-gold concentrates from flotation and gold bullion from carbon-in-leach processing.

Profitable copper-gold ore bodies were recently proved at depth beneath the Mount Elliott smelter and old underground workings by Cyprus Gold Australia Pty Ltd. These deposits were subsequently acquired by Arimco Mining Pty Ltd for underground development which commenced in July 1993. A decline tunnel portal, ore and overburden dumps now occupy a large area of the Maggie Creek valley south-west of the smelter which was formerly the site of early miner's camps.

The Old Selwyn Township:

In 1907, the first hotel, run by H. Williams, was opened at the site. The township was surveyed later, around 1910, by the Mines Department. The town was to be situated north of the mine and smelter operations adjacent the railway, about 1.5km distant. It took its name from the nearby Selwyn Ranges which were named, during Burke's expedition, after the Victorian Government Geologist, A.R. Selwyn. The town has also been known by the name of Mount Elliott, after the nearby mines and smelter.

Many of the residents either worked at the Mount Elliott Mine and Smelter or worked in the service industries which grew around the mining and smelting operations. Little documentation exists about the everyday life of the town's residents. Surrounding sheep and cattle stations, however, meant that meat was available cheaply and vegetables grown in the area were delivered to the township by horse and cart. Imported commodities were, however, expensive.

By 1910 the town had four hotels. There was also an aerated water manufacturer, three stores, four fruiterers, a butcher, baker, saddler, garage, police, hospital, banks, post office (officially from 1906 to 1928, then unofficially until 1975) and a railway station. There was even an orchestra of ten players in 1912. The population of Selwyn rose from 1000 in 1911 to 1500 in 1918, before gradually declining.

Source: Queensland Heritage Register.

F-4 Phantom – 5195 units produced, 63 years of production/service, dozens of monographs, modelling plans, etc., what can go wrong? Well, actually quite many things. Still, after a few setbacks, here it is, my latest model

About the jet

The history of McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II started back in the mid 50’, with the first flight taking place on 27th May 1958. Initially, the F4H-1 (the initial designation before the tri-service unification) started as an unsolicited proposal from McDonnell Douglas, which actually didn’t get much interest. Only after the problems of other Navy fighters led to the necessity of acquiring a new general-purpose fighter, the Phantom as we know could get its chance. After winning the competition against the Vought’s F8U-3 Crusader III submission, the F4H-1 went to service in 1961, with a new designation of F-4B (starting in 1962). Even though F-4B was a revolutionary design for it time, it still had a number of deficiencies, with the most serious ones being slightly too high approach speed, and its AN-APQ-72 radar lacking the look-down, shoot-down capabilities, performing poorly against the ground clutter. As a consequence, after delivering 649 F-4B, in late 1966 McDonnell introduced a new, improved version – the F-4J. This version featured a revised and strengthened internal structure, more powerful J79-GE-10 engines (the smokeless, 10B version was introduced later in 1978), new, wider tires (resulting in bulges on the top part of the wings), a few aerodynamic improvements for decreasing the approach speed (changes to inboard leading edges and slotted stabilator), and most importantly, new AWG-10 radar, with solid-state elements and prominent look-down, shoot-down capabilities. The F-4J served through the Vietnam war until the late 70’, together with the F-4B, and later F-4N (upgraded F-4B). After that, starting from 1978, the selected 265 F-4J underwent an upgrade to F-4S standard (the initial idea was for 302, but the number was reduced), featuring smokeless J79-GE-10B engines, improved electronics, and leading-edge maneuvering slats, similar to those on USAF’s F-4E. In this variant, Phantoms served until 1987 in USN, and 1992 in USMC. In the meantime, 15 F-4J were also sold to UK, to fill the gap left by FGR. 2 Phantoms (F-4M) deployed to the Falkland Islands. These aircraft, known also as F-4J(UK) Phantom F.3s, served from 1984 to 1991. Interestingly, they were greatly appreciated by the RAF pilots, with most of them considering them superior to British Spey-engined variants, mainly due to the much faster response of the J-79 turbojets, in comparison to Rolls-Royce Spey 203 turbofans.

About the building process

While I’ve always appreciated the F-4, I was never a “Phantom Phanatic”. In fact, the idea for this model came to me by accident – I was a bit stuck with other projects, and thinking about different solutions, the idea that 2x3x1 curved slopes would make for an excellent Phantom fuselage went through my mind. I thought that these easy, boxy shapes of F-4 would make for a nice relax after the complex shapes of my F-14 and MiG-29, and so I started. Unfortunately, I made a huge mistake at the very beginning – I used the blueprints from the book, without validating their correctness first, which later cost me a lot of headaches.

Before going further, I should mention some of the F-4 models by other people, which were a huge inspiration to me. Of course, there is an excellent F-4B by Mad Physicist , a beautiful F-4B by Carl Greatrix , and a whole series of different F-4s by Justin Davies. However, from the viewpoint of my model, three Phantoms were of particular importance for me. The first one is F-4N by Jonah Padberg. Even though I’ve ended with a very different cockpit design, I’ve started with the modification of his 3-stud wide canopy and angled cockpit section. The next model, is a F-4B by Maks, who made an excellent, SNOT version of the Phantom, which to a large degree influenced some of my design choices. Lastly, there is a huge, 1/15 scale F-4J by crash_cramer, which might be my favorite LEGO model ever. Similarly as in the case of my F-14 Tomcat, I tried to emulate some of his techniques in a smaller scale.

The first assumption was to go for the 3-stud wide canopy, similarly as in my MiG-29. Such solution is much more accurate in this scale and makes the model look much more realistic in my opinion. In fact, I’m so pleased with the outcome here that I will likely rebuild my F-14 in near future to similar standard. The construction itself started with the wings. I’ve always came under impression that similarly to F-15, the angle for the leading edge is 45 degrees. Well, not really. Instead, the angle is 51 degrees, which effectively eliminates any plate-based solutions, leaving the brick-built wing as the only valid option. So instead of getting a nice, simple, sturdy 45 degrees wing, I had to go with a brick-built one, which combined with the main landing gear solution and folding mechanism, proved to be a nightmare. After figuring it out, the next challenge was to design the angled cockpit area. Here, the solutions from Jonah’s model were of great help. With those two pieces in place, the rest went relatively smoothly, leading to the stage presented in WiP pictures. And then, having 85% of a model ready, I checked the validity of my blueprints. I was able to get my hands on the original F-4 factory drawing on the Aviation Archives website, and all my drawings turned out to be off by a considerable margin. Fortunately, I’m not the only person dissatisfied by the quality of available blueprints, and I was able to find this awesome website, with a set of 100% accurate drawings, based on the factory ones, including the cross-sections. That was good news, the bad one was that my fuselage was too short, too high, and too wide. So I had to lower the whole fuselage by a plate, elongate it by 2 studs, and modify it from 10-stud wide, to 9-stud wide. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard, but after lowering the fuselage, it became evident that the angling of the front section is too steep. This, in turn, required a complete revision of the already most problematic section, consuming an awful lot of time. But after all these problems, I finally got a model, with which I am quite satisfied.

About the model

The model represents a McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II in a 1/33 scale. The camouflage is based on the F-4J from VF-96 squadron, BuNo. 155800, callsign “Showtime100”, deployed on the USS Constellation aircraft carrier in Vietnam, around 1972. This particular aircraft, on the 10th of May 1972, was credited with 3 MiG-17 kills, being flown by pilot Lt Randy Cunningham and RIO Lt(jg) Willy Driscoll. This effectively made them the only Navy aces of the Vietnam war, as they already had 2 kills on their account. You may also note that they flew a “borrowed” plane, as the name on the cockpit is that of Lowell “Gus” Eggert, who later commanded the USS Constellation from 1974 onward. As usual, the model possesses a number of features: openable cockpits, working flaps, foldable wings, working horizontal and vertical tails, retractable landing gear and tailhook. I’m rather pleased with the functionality, as most of the features, especially the landing gear, are much more reliable than in e.g. my MiG-29. The loadout comprises 4 AIM-7E Sparrows, 4 AIM-9G Sidewinders, and a centerline 600 gal. fuel tank. Also, under the wings, there are outboard pylons for two 370 gal. fuel tanks, which are visible on some of the photos. The credit for the stand design goes to Jerac. There is a small discrepancy in the camouflage – in principle nearly all USN phantoms had an all-white underside, with an exception of some late 80s’, extremely dull, low-vis versions. Unfortunately, due to the brick-built nature of the wing, I was unable to make them white on the bottom. For a moment, I contemplated utilizing huge white stickers, but it wouldn’t look all that great, and it would make the wings extremely modification-unfriendly. Still, the final effect is not that bad. So, please enjoy, and let me know what is your opinion on this model.

Link: Walls The rest of Frost's poem, Mending Wall, is here.

1861< 2011<< 150° anniversario dell'Unità d'Italia - 150° anniversary of the Unification of Italy

Goseong Unification Observatory - Confine con Corea del Nord.

Un cespuglio di Cespino di Thunberg (Berberis thunbergii) incontrato lungo la salita all?Osservatorio..

Per visitare l'Osservatorio bisogna registrarsi in un sito posto a 10 km prima della zona.

Nel posto di frontiera, dopo un rapido controllo da parte di alcuni militari, riceviamo il visto di accesso alla zona demilitarizzata.

Facciamo 8 km di autostrada bloccata da entrambi i lati da recinzioni di filo spinato.

Il parcheggio è posto alla base della collina su cui sorge l'Osservatorio.

L'Osservatorio è accessibile da una strada ripida o attraverso una serie di scale.

La collina (prati, cespugli e aiuole) ha una serie di monumenti cristiani, buddisti e relativi alla unità coreana.

Goseong Unification Observatory - Border with North Korea.

A bush of Thunberg's Bush (Berberis thunbergii) encountered along the climb to the Observatory.

To visit the Observatory you must register at a site located 10 km before the area.

At the border post, after a quick check by some soldiers, we receive the visa to access the demilitarized zone.

We drive 8 km of highway blocked on both sides by barbed wire fences.

The parking lot is located at the base of the hill on which the Observatory stands.

The Observatory is accessible by a steep road or through a series of stairs.

The hill (lawns, bushes and flower beds) has a series of Christian, Buddhist and Korean unity monuments.

IMG20240423114315m

1989年11月9日、東ドイツ政府は、同国の人々はベルリンの壁を含むすべての国境から西ドイツへ自由に出国することができるという誤報を流しました。The Berlin Wall disappeared after the unification except for a 1.3-kilometer segment which has been left as a monument. On November 9th 1989, the East German government released the misinformation that people in East Germany could freely leave for West Germany across all borders including the Berlin Wall.

Kraftwerk "Autobahn" www.youtube.com/watch?v=68C-r9kSLNE&feature=related

Naples (Italian: Napoli ), Neapolitan: Napule - Latin: Neapolis; Ancient Greek: Νεάπολις, meaning "new city") is the capital of the Italian region Campania and the third-largest municipality in Italy, after Rome and Milan. As of 2014, around 989,845 people live within the city's administrative limits. The Metropolitan City of Naples has a population of 3,128,700. Naples is the 9th-most populous urban area in the European Union with a population of between 3 million[3] and 3.7 million.[4] About 4 million people live in the Naples metropolitan area, one of the largest metropolises on the Mediterranean Sea.[2]

Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Bronze Age Greek settlements were established in the Naples area in the second millennium BC.[5] A larger colony – initially known as Parthenope, Παρθενόπη – developed on the Island of Megaride around the ninth century BC, at the end of the Greek Dark Ages.[6][7][8] The city was refounded as Neápolis in the sixth century BC[9] and became a lynchpin of Magna Graecia, playing a key role in the merging of Greek culture into Roman society and eventually becoming a cultural centre of the Roman Republic.[10] Naples remained influential after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, serving as the capital city of the Kingdom of Naples between 1282 and 1816. Thereafter, in union with Sicily, it became the capital of the Two Sicilies until the unification of Italy in 1861. During the Neapolitan War of 1815, Naples strongly promoted Italian unification.

Naples was the most-bombed Italian city during World War II.[11] Much of the city's 20th-century periphery was constructed under Benito Mussolini's fascist government, and during reconstruction efforts after World War II. In recent decades, Naples has constructed a large business district, the Centro Direzionale, and has developed an advanced transport infrastructure, including an Alta Velocità high-speed rail link to Rome and Salerno, and an expanded subway network, which is planned to eventually cover half of the region. The city has experienced significant economic growth in recent decades, and unemployment levels in the city and surrounding Campania have decreased since 1999.[12] However, Naples still suffers from political and economic corruption,[13] and unemployment levels remain high.[14]

Naples has the fourth-largest urban economy in Italy, after Milan, Rome and Turin. It is the world's 103rd-richest city by purchasing power, with an estimated 2011 GDP of US$83.6 billion.[15][16] The port of Naples is one of the most important in Europe, and has the world's second-highest level of passenger flow, after the port of Hong Kong.[17] Numerous major Italian companies, such as MSC Cruises Italy S.p.A, are headquartered in Naples. The city also hosts NATO's Allied Joint Force Command Naples, the SRM Institution for Economic Research and the OPE Company and Study Centre.[18][19][20] Naples is a full member of the Eurocities network of European cities.[21] The city was selected to become the headquarters of the European institution ACP/UE[22] and was named a City of Literature by UNESCO's Creative Cities Network.[23] The Villa Rosebery, one of the three official residences of the President of Italy, is located in the city's Posillipo district.

Naples' historic city centre is the largest in Europe,[24] covering 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres) and enclosing 27 centuries of history,[25] and is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Naples has long been a major cultural centre with a global sphere of influence, particularly during the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras.[26] In the immediate vicinity of Naples are numerous culturally and historically significant sites, including the Palace of Caserta and the Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Culinarily, Naples is synonymous with pizza, which originated in the city. Neapolitan music has furthermore been highly influential, credited with the invention of the romantic guitar and the mandolin, as well as notable contributions to opera and folk standards. Popular characters and historical figures who have come to symbolise the city include Januarius, the patron saint of Naples, the comic figure Pulcinella, and the Sirens from the Greek epic poem the Odyssey. According to CNN, the metro stop "Toledo" is the most beautiful in Europe and it won also the LEAF Award '2013 as "Public building of the year".[27][28]

Naples' sports scene is dominated by football and Serie A club S.S.C. Napoli, two-time Italian champions and winner of European trophies, who play at the San Paolo Stadium in the south-west of the city.

Greek birth, Roman acquisition

The Phlegraean Fields around Naples has been inhabited since the Neolithic period.[30] The earliest Greek settlements were established in the Naples area in the second millennium BC. Sailors from the Greek island of Rhodes established a small commercial port called Parthenope (Παρθενόπη) on the island of Megaride in the ninth century BC.[31][32] By the eighth century BC, the settlement had expanded to include Monte Echia.[33] In the sixth century BC, after the decline of Parthenope, the new urban zone of Neápolis (Νεάπολις) was founded on the plain, eventually becoming one of the foremost cities of Magna Graecia.

The city grew rapidly due to the influence of the powerful Greek city-state of Syracuse,[34] and became an ally of the Roman Republic against Carthage. During the Samnite Wars, the city, now a bustling centre of trade, was captured by the Samnites;[35] however, the Romans soon captured the city from them and made it a Roman colony.[36] During the Punic Wars, the strong walls surrounding Neápolis repelled the invading forces of the Carthaginian general Hannibal.[36]

Naples was greatly respected by the Romans as a paragon of Hellenistic culture. During the Roman era, the people of Naples maintained their Greek language and customs, while the city was expanded with elegant Roman villas, aqueducts, and public baths. Landmarks such as the Temple of Dioscures were built, and many emperors chose to holiday in the city, including Claudius and Tiberius.[36] Virgil, the author of Rome's national epic, the Aeneid, received part of his education in the city, and later resided in its environs.

It was during this period that Christianity first arrived in Naples; the apostles Peter and Paul are said to have preached in the city. Januarius, who would become Naples' patron saint, was martyred there in the fourth century AD.[37] The last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Romulus Augustulus, was exiled to Naples by the Germanic king Odoacer in the fifth century AD.

Architecture

Naples' 2,800-year-history has left it with a wealth of historical buildings and monuments, from medieval castles to classical ruins. The most prominent forms of architecture visible in present-day Naples are the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque styles.[78] The historic centre of Naples is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[79] Naples has a total of 448 historical churches, making it one of the most Catholic cities in the world in terms of the number of places of worship.[80]

Piazzas, palaces and castles

See also: List of palaces in Naples

The main city square or piazza of the city is the Piazza del Plebiscito. Its construction was begun by the Bonapartist king Joachim Murat and finished by the Bourbon king Ferdinand IV. The piazza bounded on the east by the Royal Palace and on the west by the church of San Francesco di Paola, with the colonnades extending on both sides. Nearby is the Teatro di San Carlo, which is the oldest opera house in Italy. Directly across from San Carlo is Galleria Umberto, a shopping centre and social hub.

Naples is well known for its historic castles: the ancient Castel Nuovo, also known as Maschio Angioino, is one of the city's foremost landmarks; it was built during the time of Charles I, the first king of Naples. Castel Nuovo has seen many notable historical events: for example, in 1294, Pope Celestine V resigned as pope in a hall of the castle, and following this Pope Boniface VIII was elected pope by the cardinal collegium, before moving to Rome. The castle which Nuovo replaced in importance was the Norman-founded Castel dell'Ovo ("Egg Castle"), which was built on the tiny islet of Megarides, where the original Cumaean colonists had founded the city.

Another Neapolitan castle of note is Sant'Elmo, which was completed in 1329 and is built in the shape of a star. During the uprising of Masaniello in 1647, the Spanish took refuge in Sant'Elmo to escape the revolutionaries. The Vigliena Fort, which was built in 1702, was destroyed in 1799 during the royalist war against the Parthenopean Republic, and is now abandoned and in ruin. The Carmine Castle, built in 1392 and highly modified in the 16th century by the Spanish, was demolished in 1906 to make room for the Via Marina, although two of the castle's towers remain as a monument.

Museums

Naples is widely known for its wealth of historical museums. The Naples National Archaeological Museum is one of the city's main museums, with one of the most extensive collections of artifacts of the Roman Empire in the world.[81] It also houses many of the antiques unearthed at Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as some artifacts from the Greek and Renaissance periods.[81]

Previously a Bourbon palace, now a museum and art gallery, the Museo di Capodimonte is another museum of note. The gallery features paintings from the 13th to the 18th centuries, including major works by Simone Martini, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, El Greco, Jusepe de Ribera and Luca Giordano. The royal apartments are furnished with antique 18th-century furniture and a collection of porcelain and majolica from the various royal residences: the famous Capodimonte Porcelain Factory once stood just adjacent to the palace.

In front of the Royal Palace of Naples stands the Galleria Umberto I, which contains the Coral Jewellery Museum. Occupying a 19th-century palazzo renovated by the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza, the Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina (MADRE) features an enfilade procession of permanent installations by artists such as Francesco Clemente, Richard Serra, and Rebecca Horn.[82] The 16th-century palace of Roccella hosts the Palazzo delle Arti Napoli, which contains the civic collections of art belonging to the City of Naples, and features temporary exhibits of art and culture. Palazzo Como, which dates from the 15th century, hosts the Museo Filangieri of plastic arts, created in 1883 by Gaetano Filangieri.

Churches and religious structures

Naples is the seat of the Archdiocese of Naples, and the Catholicism is highly important to the populace; there are hundreds of churches in the city.[80] The Cathedral of Naples is the city's premier place of worship; each year on 19 September, it hosts the longstanding Miracle of Saint Januarius, the city's patron saint.[83] During the miracle, which thousands of Neapolitans flock to witness, the dried blood of Januarius is said to turn to liquid when brought close to holy relics said to be of his body.[83] Below is a selective list of Naples' major churches, chapels, monastery complexes and other religious structures

Santa Chiara

San Domenico Maggiore

Gesù Nuovo

Sansevero Chapel

San Lorenzo Maggiore

Santa Maria Donna Regina Vecchia

Santa Maria Donna Regina Nuova

Santa Maria del Carmine

Girolamini

Santa Maria di Montesanto

San Ferdinando

San Francesco di Paola

San Giovanni a Carbonara

Sant'Antonio Abate

San Gregorio Armeno

Sant'Anna dei Lombardi

Sant'Eligio Maggiore

Santa Caterina a Chiaia

Santa Maria La Nova

Santa Restituta

Spires of Naples

San Pietro Martire

San Pietro a Maiella

San Gennaro extra Moenia

Hermitage of Camaldoli

Santissima Annunziata Maggiore

Santa Caterina a Formiello

Archbishop's Palace

Madre del Buon Consiglio

Pio Monte della Misericordia

Fontanelle cemetery

Aside from the Piazza del Plebiscito, Naples has two other major public squares: the Piazza Dante and the Piazza dei Martiri. The latter originally had only a memorial to religious martyrs, but in 1866, after the Italian unification, four lions were added, representing the four rebellions against the Bourbons.[84]

The San Gennaro dei Poveri is a Renaissance-era hospital for the poor, erected by the Spanish in 1667. It was the forerunner of a much more ambitious project, the Bourbon Hospice for the Poor started by Charles III. This was for the destitute and ill of the city; it also provided a self-sufficient community where the poor would live and work. Though a notable landmark, it is no longer a functioning hospital.[85]

Subterranean Naples

Main article: Beneath Naples

Underneath Naples lies a series of caves and structures created by centuries of mining, and the city rests atop a major geothermal zone. There are also a number of ancient Greco-Roman reservoirs dug out from the soft tufo stone on which, and from which, much of the city is built. Approximately one kilometer (0.6 miles) of the many kilometers of tunnels under the city can be visited from the Napoli Sotteranea, situated in the historic centre of the city in Via dei Tribunali. There are also large catacombs in and around the city, and other landmarks such as the Piscina Mirabilis, the main cistern serving the Bay of Naples during Roman times. This system of tunnels and cisterns underlies most of the city and lies approximately 30 metres (98 ft) below ground level. During World War II, these tunnels were used as air-raid shelters, and there are inscriptions in the walls depicting the suffering endured by the refugees of that era.

Parks, gardens and villas

Of the various public parks in Naples, the most prominent are the Villa Comunale, which was built by the Bourbon king Ferdinand IV in the 1780s;[86] and the Bosco di Capodimonte, the city's largest verdant space. Another important park is the Parco Virgiliano, which looks towards the tiny volcanic islet of Nisida; beyond Nisida lie Procida and Ischia.[87] Parco Virgiliano was named after Virgil, the classical Roman poet who is thought to be entombed nearby.[87] Naples is noted for its numerous stately villas, such as the Neoclassical Villa Floridiana, built in 1816.

Neo-Gothic, Liberty Napoletano and modern architecture

Various buildings inspired by the Gothic Revival are extant in Naples, due to the influence that this movement had on the Scottish-Indian architect Lamont Young, one of the most active Neapolitan architects in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Young left a significant footprint in the cityscape and designed many urban projects, such as the city's first subway. In the first years of the 20th century, a local version of the Art Nouveau phenomenon, known as "Liberty Napoletano", developed in the city, creating many buildings which still stand today. In 1935, the Rationalist architect Luigi Cosenza created a new fish market for the city. During the Benito Mussolini era, the first structures of the city's "service center" were built, all in a Rationalist-Functionalist style, including the Palazzo delle Poste and the Pretura buildings. The Centro Direzionale di Napoli is the only adjacent cluster of skyscrapers in southern Europe.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

In 1995, the historic centre of Naples was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, a United Nations programme which aims to catalogue and conserve sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of mankind. The UNESCO evaluation committee described Naples' centre as being "of exceptional value", and went on to say that Naples' setting on the Bay of Naples "gives it an outstanding universal value which has had a profound influence"

Geography

The city is situated on the Gulf of Naples, on the western coast of Southern Italy; it rises from sea level to an elevation of 450 metres (1,480 ft). The small rivers which formerly crossed the center of the city have since been covered over by construction. It lies between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Campi Flegrei (en: Phlegraean Fields). The islands of Procida, Capri and Ischia can all be reached from Naples by hydrofoils and ferries. Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast are situated south of the city, while the Roman ruins of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis and Stabiae, which were destroyed in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, are also visible nearby. The port towns of Pozzuoli and Baia, which were part of the Roman naval facility of Portus Julius, lie to the north of the city.

Quarters

The quarters of Naples.

The thirty quarters (quartieri) of Naples are listed below. For administrative purposes, these thirty neighbourhoods are grouped together into ten governmental community boards.[88]

1. Pianura

2. Bagnoli

3. Posillipo

4. Fuorigrotta

5. Soccavo

6. Chiaiano

7. Arenella

8. Vomero

9. Chiaia

10. San Ferdinando

11. Montecalvario

12. San Giuseppe

13. Avvocata

14. Porto

15. Pendino

16. San Lorenzo

17. Mercato

18. Vicaria

19. Stella

20. San Carlo all'Arena

21. Piscinola-Marianella

22. Scampìa

23. Miano

24. Secondigliano

25. S.Pietro a Patierno

26. Poggioreale

27. Zona Industriale

28. San Giovanni a Teduccio

29. Barra

30. Ponticelli

Climate

Naples has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa),[89] with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. The mild climate and fertility of the Gulf of Naples made the region famous during Roman times, when emperors such as Claudius and Tiberius holidayed near the city.

Naples has long been a centre of art and architecture, dotted with Medieval, Baroque and Renaissance-era churches, castles and palaces. In the 18th century, Naples went through a period of neoclassicism, following the discovery of the remarkably intact Roman ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii.

The Neapolitan Academy of Fine Arts, founded by Charles III of Bourbon in 1752 as the Real Accademia di Disegno (en: Royal Academy of Design), was the centre of the artistic School of Posillipo in the 19th century. Artists such as Domenico Morelli, Giacomo Di Chirico, Francesco Saverio Altamura, and Gioacchino Toma worked in Naples during this period, and many of their works are now exhibited in the Academy's art collection. The modern Academy offers courses in painting, decorating, sculpture, design, restoration, and urban planning. Naples is also known for its theatres, which are among the oldest in Europe – the Teatro di San Carlo opera house dates back to the 18th century.

Naples is also the home of the artistic tradition of Capodimonte porcelain. In 1743, Charles of Bourbon founded the Royal Factory of Capodimonte, many of whose artworks are now on display in the Museum of Capodimonte. Several of Naples' mid-19th-century porcelain factories remain active today.

F-4 Phantom – 5195 units produced, 63 years of production/service, dozens of monographs, modelling plans, etc., what can go wrong? Well, actually quite many things. Still, after a few setbacks, here it is, my latest model

About the jet

The history of McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II started back in the mid 50’, with the first flight taking place on 27th May 1958. Initially, the F4H-1 (the initial designation before the tri-service unification) started as an unsolicited proposal from McDonnell Douglas, which actually didn’t get much interest. Only after the problems of other Navy fighters led to the necessity of acquiring a new general-purpose fighter, the Phantom as we know could get its chance. After winning the competition against the Vought’s F8U-3 Crusader III submission, the F4H-1 went to service in 1961, with a new designation of F-4B (starting in 1962). Even though F-4B was a revolutionary design for it time, it still had a number of deficiencies, with the most serious ones being slightly too high approach speed, and its AN-APQ-72 radar lacking the look-down, shoot-down capabilities, performing poorly against the ground clutter. As a consequence, after delivering 649 F-4B, in late 1966 McDonnell introduced a new, improved version – the F-4J. This version featured a revised and strengthened internal structure, more powerful J79-GE-10 engines (the smokeless, 10B version was introduced later in 1978), new, wider tires (resulting in bulges on the top part of the wings), a few aerodynamic improvements for decreasing the approach speed (changes to inboard leading edges and slotted stabilator), and most importantly, new AWG-10 radar, with solid-state elements and prominent look-down, shoot-down capabilities. The F-4J served through the Vietnam war until the late 70’, together with the F-4B, and later F-4N (upgraded F-4B). After that, starting from 1978, the selected 265 F-4J underwent an upgrade to F-4S standard (the initial idea was for 302, but the number was reduced), featuring smokeless J79-GE-10B engines, improved electronics, and leading-edge maneuvering slats, similar to those on USAF’s F-4E. In this variant, Phantoms served until 1987 in USN, and 1992 in USMC. In the meantime, 15 F-4J were also sold to UK, to fill the gap left by FGR. 2 Phantoms (F-4M) deployed to the Falkland Islands. These aircraft, known also as F-4J(UK) Phantom F.3s, served from 1984 to 1991. Interestingly, they were greatly appreciated by the RAF pilots, with most of them considering them superior to British Spey-engined variants, mainly due to the much faster response of the J-79 turbojets, in comparison to Rolls-Royce Spey 203 turbofans.

About the building process

While I’ve always appreciated the F-4, I was never a “Phantom Phanatic”. In fact, the idea for this model came to me by accident – I was a bit stuck with other projects, and thinking about different solutions, the idea that 2x3x1 curved slopes would make for an excellent Phantom fuselage went through my mind. I thought that these easy, boxy shapes of F-4 would make for a nice relax after the complex shapes of my F-14 and MiG-29, and so I started. Unfortunately, I made a huge mistake at the very beginning – I used the blueprints from the book, without validating their correctness first, which later cost me a lot of headaches.

Before going further, I should mention some of the F-4 models by other people, which were a huge inspiration to me. Of course, there is an excellent F-4B by Mad Physicist , a beautiful F-4B by Carl Greatrix , and a whole series of different F-4s by Justin Davies. However, from the viewpoint of my model, three Phantoms were of particular importance for me. The first one is F-4B by Maks, who made an excellent, SNOT version of the Phantom, which to a large degree influenced some of my design choices. Lastly, there is a huge, 1/15 scale F-4J by crash_cramer, which might be my favorite LEGO model ever. Similarly as in the case of my F-14 Tomcat, I tried to emulate some of his techniques in a smaller scale.

The first assumption was to go for the 3-stud wide canopy, similarly as in my MiG-29. Such solution is much more accurate in this scale and makes the model look much more realistic in my opinion. In fact, I’m so pleased with the outcome here that I will likely rebuild my F-14 in near future to similar standard. The construction itself started with the wings. I’ve always came under impression that similarly to F-15, the angle for the leading edge is 45 degrees. Well, not really. Instead, the angle is 51 degrees, which effectively eliminates any plate-based solutions, leaving the brick-built wing as the only valid option. So instead of getting a nice, simple, sturdy 45 degrees wing, I had to go with a brick-built one, which combined with the main landing gear solution and folding mechanism, proved to be a nightmare. After figuring it out, the next challenge was to design the angled cockpit area. Here, the solutions from Jonah’s model were of great help. With those two pieces in place, the rest went relatively smoothly, leading to the stage presented in WiP pictures. And then, having 85% of a model ready, I checked the validity of my blueprints. I was able to get my hands on the original F-4 factory drawing on the Aviation Archives website, and all my drawings turned out to be off by a considerable margin. Fortunately, I’m not the only person dissatisfied by the quality of available blueprints, and I was able to find this awesome website, with a set of 100% accurate drawings, based on the factory ones, including the cross-sections. That was good news, the bad one was that my fuselage was too short, too high, and too wide. So I had to lower the whole fuselage by a plate, elongate it by 2 studs, and modify it from 10-stud wide, to 9-stud wide. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard, but after lowering the fuselage, it became evident that the angling of the front section is too steep. This, in turn, required a complete revision of the already most problematic section, consuming an awful lot of time. But after all these problems, I finally got a model, with which I am quite satisfied.

About the model

The model represents a McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II in a 1/33 scale. The camouflage is based on the F-4J from VF-96 squadron, BuNo. 155800, callsign “Showtime100”, deployed on the USS Constellation aircraft carrier in Vietnam, around 1972. This particular aircraft, on the 10th of May 1972, was credited with 3 MiG-17 kills, being flown by pilot Lt Randy Cunningham and RIO Lt(jg) Willy Driscoll. This effectively made them the only Navy aces of the Vietnam war, as they already had 2 kills on their account. You may also note that they flew a “borrowed” plane, as the name on the cockpit is that of Lowell “Gus” Eggert, who later commanded the USS Constellation from 1974 onward. As usual, the model possesses a number of features: openable cockpits, working flaps, foldable wings, working horizontal and vertical tails, retractable landing gear and tailhook. I’m rather pleased with the functionality, as most of the features, especially the landing gear, are much more reliable than in e.g. my MiG-29. The loadout comprises 4 AIM-7E Sparrows, 4 AIM-9G Sidewinders, and a centerline 600 gal. fuel tank. Also, under the wings, there are outboard pylons for two 370 gal. fuel tanks, which are visible on some of the photos. The credit for the stand design goes to Jerac. There is a small discrepancy in the camouflage – in principle nearly all USN phantoms had an all-white underside, with an exception of some late 80s’, extremely dull, low-vis versions. Unfortunately, due to the brick-built nature of the wing, I was unable to make them white on the bottom. For a moment, I contemplated utilizing huge white stickers, but it wouldn’t look all that great, and it would make the wings extremely modification-unfriendly. Still, the final effect is not that bad. So, please enjoy, and let me know what is your opinion on this model.

Little green walking guys. A popular symbol through out Germany. Has something to do with the unification, but I can't quite remember.

Thutmose III was one of the greatest warrior kings in ancient Egypt and the leader of a unique military genius in planning battles and war operations that made Egypt a great power in the ancient world. He succeeded in establishing a great empire that extended from the Euphrates in the worth and the 5th cataract to the south. Moreover, he commissioned many architectural projects and erected temples in the Delta, Memphis, Karnak and Aswan.

The Sema-tawy sign, one of the ancient Egyptian symbols, which means the unification of the two lands is carved on the side of his seat.

Black granite

New Kingdom, 18th dynasty

Karnak

NMEC National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, Fustat Cairo

diptych

Goseong Unification Observatory - Confine con Corea del Nord.

Una esposizione permanente di fotografie riprese durante il periodo della guerra.

Un duro attestato di ferocia, distruzione, dolore e morte.

Goseong Unification Observatory - Border with North Korea.

A permanent exhibition of photographs taken during the war period.

A hard testimony of ferocity, destruction, pain and death.

IMG20240423122834m

Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period

Sverd i Fjell - (Swords in the Hills). Monument remembering the first unification of Norway in 872 AD.

F-4 Phantom – 5195 units produced, 63 years of production/service, dozens of monographs, modelling plans, etc., what can go wrong? Well, actually quite many things. Still, after a few setbacks, here it is, my latest model

About the jet

The history of McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II started back in the mid 50’, with the first flight taking place on 27th May 1958. Initially, the F4H-1 (the initial designation before the tri-service unification) started as an unsolicited proposal from McDonnell Douglas, which actually didn’t get much interest. Only after the problems of other Navy fighters led to the necessity of acquiring a new general-purpose fighter, the Phantom as we know could get its chance. After winning the competition against the Vought’s F8U-3 Crusader III submission, the F4H-1 went to service in 1961, with a new designation of F-4B (starting in 1962). Even though F-4B was a revolutionary design for it time, it still had a number of deficiencies, with the most serious ones being slightly too high approach speed, and its AN-APQ-72 radar lacking the look-down, shoot-down capabilities, performing poorly against the ground clutter. As a consequence, after delivering 649 F-4B, in late 1966 McDonnell introduced a new, improved version – the F-4J. This version featured a revised and strengthened internal structure, more powerful J79-GE-10 engines (the smokeless, 10B version was introduced later in 1978), new, wider tires (resulting in bulges on the top part of the wings), a few aerodynamic improvements for decreasing the approach speed (changes to inboard leading edges and slotted stabilator), and most importantly, new AWG-10 radar, with solid-state elements and prominent look-down, shoot-down capabilities. The F-4J served through the Vietnam war until the late 70’, together with the F-4B, and later F-4N (upgraded F-4B). After that, starting from 1978, the selected 265 F-4J underwent an upgrade to F-4S standard (the initial idea was for 302, but the number was reduced), featuring smokeless J79-GE-10B engines, improved electronics, and leading-edge maneuvering slats, similar to those on USAF’s F-4E. In this variant, Phantoms served until 1987 in USN, and 1992 in USMC. In the meantime, 15 F-4J were also sold to UK, to fill the gap left by FGR. 2 Phantoms (F-4M) deployed to the Falkland Islands. These aircraft, known also as F-4J(UK) Phantom F.3s, served from 1984 to 1991. Interestingly, they were greatly appreciated by the RAF pilots, with most of them considering them superior to British Spey-engined variants, mainly due to the much faster response of the J-79 turbojets, in comparison to Rolls-Royce Spey 203 turbofans.

About the building process

While I’ve always appreciated the F-4, I was never a “Phantom Phanatic”. In fact, the idea for this model came to me by accident – I was a bit stuck with other projects, and thinking about different solutions, the idea that 2x3x1 curved slopes would make for an excellent Phantom fuselage went through my mind. I thought that these easy, boxy shapes of F-4 would make for a nice relax after the complex shapes of my F-14 and MiG-29, and so I started. Unfortunately, I made a huge mistake at the very beginning – I used the blueprints from the book, without validating their correctness first, which later cost me a lot of headaches.

Before going further, I should mention some of the F-4 models by other people, which were a huge inspiration to me. Of course, there is an excellent F-4B by Mad Physicist , a beautiful F-4B by Carl Greatrix , and a whole series of different F-4s by Justin Davies. However, from the viewpoint of my model, three Phantoms were of particular importance for me. The first one is F-4N by Jonah Padberg. Even though I’ve ended with a very different cockpit design, I’ve started with the modification of his 3-stud wide canopy and angled cockpit section. The next model, is a F-4B by Maks, who made an excellent, SNOT version of the Phantom, which to a large degree influenced some of my design choices. Lastly, there is a huge, 1/15 scale F-4J by crash_cramer, which might be my favorite LEGO model ever. Similarly as in the case of my F-14 Tomcat, I tried to emulate some of his techniques in a smaller scale.

The first assumption was to go for the 3-stud wide canopy, similarly as in my MiG-29. Such solution is much more accurate in this scale and makes the model look much more realistic in my opinion. In fact, I’m so pleased with the outcome here that I will likely rebuild my F-14 in near future to similar standard. The construction itself started with the wings. I’ve always came under impression that similarly to F-15, the angle for the leading edge is 45 degrees. Well, not really. Instead, the angle is 51 degrees, which effectively eliminates any plate-based solutions, leaving the brick-built wing as the only valid option. So instead of getting a nice, simple, sturdy 45 degrees wing, I had to go with a brick-built one, which combined with the main landing gear solution and folding mechanism, proved to be a nightmare. After figuring it out, the next challenge was to design the angled cockpit area. Here, the solutions from Jonah’s model were of great help. With those two pieces in place, the rest went relatively smoothly, leading to the stage presented in WiP pictures. And then, having 85% of a model ready, I checked the validity of my blueprints. I was able to get my hands on the original F-4 factory drawing on the Aviation Archives website, and all my drawings turned out to be off by a considerable margin. Fortunately, I’m not the only person dissatisfied by the quality of available blueprints, and I was able to find this awesome website, with a set of 100% accurate drawings, based on the factory ones, including the cross-sections. That was good news, the bad one was that my fuselage was too short, too high, and too wide. So I had to lower the whole fuselage by a plate, elongate it by 2 studs, and modify it from 10-stud wide, to 9-stud wide. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard, but after lowering the fuselage, it became evident that the angling of the front section is too steep. This, in turn, required a complete revision of the already most problematic section, consuming an awful lot of time. But after all these problems, I finally got a model, with which I am quite satisfied.

About the model

The model represents a McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II in a 1/33 scale. The camouflage is based on the F-4J from VF-96 squadron, BuNo. 155800, callsign “Showtime100”, deployed on the USS Constellation aircraft carrier in Vietnam, around 1972. This particular aircraft, on the 10th of May 1972, was credited with 3 MiG-17 kills, being flown by pilot Lt Randy Cunningham and RIO Lt(jg) Willy Driscoll. This effectively made them the only Navy aces of the Vietnam war, as they already had 2 kills on their account. You may also note that they flew a “borrowed” plane, as the name on the cockpit is that of Lowell “Gus” Eggert, who later commanded the USS Constellation from 1974 onward. As usual, the model possesses a number of features: openable cockpits, working flaps, foldable wings, working horizontal and vertical tails, retractable landing gear and tailhook. I’m rather pleased with the functionality, as most of the features, especially the landing gear, are much more reliable than in e.g. my MiG-29. The loadout comprises 4 AIM-7E Sparrows, 4 AIM-9G Sidewinders, and a centerline 600 gal. fuel tank. Also, under the wings, there are outboard pylons for two 370 gal. fuel tanks, which are visible on some of the photos. The credit for the stand design goes to Jerac. There is a small discrepancy in the camouflage – in principle nearly all USN phantoms had an all-white underside, with an exception of some late 80s’, extremely dull, low-vis versions. Unfortunately, due to the brick-built nature of the wing, I was unable to make them white on the bottom. For a moment, I contemplated utilizing huge white stickers, but it wouldn’t look all that great, and it would make the wings extremely modification-unfriendly. Still, the final effect is not that bad. So, please enjoy, and let me know what is your opinion on this model.

The unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred on 18 January 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in France. Princes of the German states, excluding Austria, gathered there to proclaim William I of Prussia as German Emperor after the French capitulation in the Franco-Prussian War.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_of_Germany

Unofficially, the de facto transition of most of the German-speaking populations into a federated organization of states had been developing for some time through alliances formal and informal between princely rulers, but in fits and starts. The self-interests of the various parties hampered the process over nearly a century of autocratic experimentation, beginning in the era of the Napoleonic Wars, which prompted the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and the subsequent rise of German nationalism.