View allAll Photos Tagged Waystation
A Chama-bound freight eases up to the water plug in front of the depot at the storied Cumbres Pass Station (MP 330.6). Once a very busy waystation on the D&RG Narrow Gauge, this location was home to a larger and more elaborate depot, a water tank, coaling station, ash pits...even a covered turntable. Trains were assembled here and helper engines were turned and serviced on a daily basis. A section crew was also housed here. Things are quieter here now, with only two trains per day passing through. The present-day depot was built in 1882 as a Section Leader's home, and assumed its current role when the original depot was torn down in 1954. Although the turntable and tank have also been removed, a water plug and wye remain, both of which are used regularly by the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.
This image was captured on a September 2011 Lerro Photography Charter which featured DRGW K-36 Locomotive #489 lettered as her long-lost sister #485, which was scrapped in the 1950s after a turntable accident.
In the bottom picture is our amazing guide Sister Taylor. She kindly took our picture at the end of the tour.
I'd be pretty despondent right now if I hadn't spotted this monarch caterpillar in the Pagedale Head Start pollinator garden recently--the first in several years; what with last week's headlines about a 45% reduction in invertebrates' population in the last 40 years and the likelihood of our entering a new mass extinction in general. At least planting milkweed is helping the monarch (and native bee) population recover a little.
I raise butterflies and moths as a hobby. I raised them from eggs last year and they overwintered in their containers in my shed.
Please feel free to visit/Like my Waystation page on facebook.
Since the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad first arrived here in 1880, the lonely outpost at Osier, CO has been a vital waystation on the journey from Chama, NM to Antonito, CO. Located at Milepost 318.4, Osier has served the railroad in a number of key roles. First and foremost, it was the home of a section crew that cared for the line. It was also a place to water and fuel locomotives and rotary plows. There was a depot here and stock pens where ranchers would bring cattle for shipment. At one time, there was even a turntable. It was just a little taste of civilization in the middle of nowhere.
Today, more than 140 years later, Osier continues to be a vital waystation on the line, serving the present-day Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. While the section house, stock pens and coaling station are still here and visible in this image, these pieces of infrastructure are preserved as living museum pieces and are no longer in use. The water tank however, is still quite active. And what you don't see here is the modern dining hall, which is just out of view to the left. Installed in 1989, this facility provides a welcome lunch stop to tourists, riding the trains in either direction.
This image, depicting mainly the historic features of Osier, was captured during an October 2024 photo shoot on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. The section house and water tank are visible on the left, while the preserved stock pens are on the right. Pictured front and center is the 1903-vintage K-27 Locomotive #463, which on this day was hauling an authentic Denver & Rio Grande Western Freight, for the event, which was organized by Lerro Photography.
A bit of a break from the Colorado Vacation photos. Stressful day at work so I decided to stop at the Butterfly Garden after work for a nature fix. This was just what the doctor ordered as being there made me feel better. There were so many butterflies there, including several Monarchs like this one. A perfect Monarch with no tattered wings. On West Campus at the University of Kansas.
The rustic kitchen. The oven part of the stove doesn't work. It's never been hooked up to the propane supply. But the four burners on top work, as long as you light them with a match or lighter. The blue and black basins on the counter act as the kitchen sink and there's plenty of water in the stream just outside the back door.
Adams Ranger Station. A U.S. Forest Service rental in Nez Perce National Forest, Idaho.
In the cosmopolitan Kaliphlin, many travelers from all over Historica can be seen. Cyclops are known for their somewhat ...exotic... cuisine, and this wandering cook seems to have had a long journey already looking for new places to serve culinary surprises.
In my last Coalition history episode, I mentioned Guild merchant fleets. Just what do these look like? We've only ever seen Imperial Navy craft. Not any more! These ships belong to the N letter of the Tasǔhn Company; in other words, the Guild-World Nenha (pronounced Nen-hya, a linguistic quirk in Tarsin). Nenha, like Skâzedaraz, is a prime producer of ships, though unlike her cousin, Nenha's prime customer market are civilians. You will note that these ships are very practical looking, which is not the Imperial Navy aesthetic. Because they're not Imperial Navy. Nenha's bare-bones, minimalist style sheds as much mass as possible, in order to cheapen the cost of operating. In fact, these ships are so cheap to operate and produced in such great numbers that they can be found from Hurink to Sarthîon, in Coalition hands or not. A part of their success is due to the fact they all share the same engine complex, the R-9474-FL, a fuel-efficient machine that has spare parts in such abundance that its often easier just to replace broken parts instead of fix them. In this picture we can see them all in the formal colors of the Nenha Guild, four blue stripes, three white stripes.
From big to small:
NH-4494, Pattern XXI: This beast is a common sight on more direct ether routes and their waystations, usually on long-hauls from one end of the Empire to another. It carries 112 containers and has a crew of twelve, most of them technicians to make sure all the engines are properly aligned. While the engines themselves are rarely a problem, the light framework of Nenha ships is kept in line only by cables and spars, and these sometimes get twisted up in the rigors of spaceflight.
NH-2257, Pattern unknown: Archive scholars believe this ship design predates the Salvation, because all records on when it began to be produced and how many patterns have been put out are lost. As far as anyone knows, these ships have been around forever, and are just as ubiquitous in the Empire. They are a favored choice for smugglers and commerce raiders heading into the lost realms, and so many have been privately modified over their centuries of service that no one 2257 looks the same as any other, much to the frustration of the Imperial Navy that has to keep tabs on them all. It carries 66 containers and can be manned by only six.
NH-1138, Pattern I: With added armor plating around the fuel cells and a forward thruster, this ship looks like some strange hybrid between military and civilian design. That's because it is, these ships were built for the supporting the logistics of the Thôvis Crusade, as a part of Nenha's contribution to the doomed effort. Those that survived the flight back to Coalition space found their way home and remain in Nenha's merchant fleet to this day. It carries 48 containers and has a crew of eight.
NH-138, Pattern XVIII: Another old design, but one with complete records, the 138 is a single-engined freighter, built for the cheapest of the cheap. It too carries 48 containers (the 1138 is heavily based on it), and needs to spin itself around to slow down, given the lack of bow thrusters. All Nenha ships might be described as “cozy” in how tightly everything is packed together, but the 138 is downright claustrophobic for its crew of four. Still, its cheaper to use than some tanks, making it popular with money-grubbing merchant operations.
Oh, and happy Normie Day.
The Manoora Institute was built using local stone from Wares Quarry in 1880 by Messrs Jones & McFarlane at a cost of £280, with the committee providing the stone, bricks, lime, and sand. The main hall was officially opened on the 18th of December 1884 by the Minster of Justice and Education, the Hon. R. C. Baker. The local community later raised £600 by staging concerts and billiard tournaments to fund the front extensions, which opened on the 17th of October 1908 by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, the Hon. L. O'Loughlin.
Manoora, South Australia:
Manoora, South Australia, is named after the Aboriginal name for a spring of water. Developed from a waystation for copper teamsters, Manoora was also on the Peterborough railway line, serving Burra until the line closed. It passed by the upper reaches of the Gilbert River. Manoora is a pleasant town ringed by shallow hills, and its buildings feature extensive use of local sandstone.
Source: Clare & Gilbert Valleys Council.
The crew of D&RGW 487's stock train carefully aligns the doors of one of its cars with the loading chute at the stock pens in Osier, Colorado. A local rancher, sending his herd off to market, has positioned the animals inside the pens and will shortly go inside to begin driving them into the loading chutes and on board the train. The railroad complex at Osier has been a waystation on the D&RGW San Juan Extension since the 1880s. In addition to the cattle pens, the facilities included a freight depot, visible on the far right, a section crew facility, visible on the far left, and water and coaling facilities for steam locomotives. A covered turntable used to exist here, but in later years, trains were turned on a wye. Today, Osier is the lunch stop for the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad's tourist operations. Trains coming from Chama and Antonito meet here and passengers enjoy a buffet-style lunch at a modern dining facility, conveniently located out of view behind the photographer.
This image was captured during a September 2011 photo shoot on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, organized by Lerro Photography.
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Monarch Butterfly
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Lepidoptera
Superfamily:Papilionoidea
Family:Nymphalidae
Subfamily:Danainae
Tribe:Danaini
Genus:Danaus
Species:Danaus plexippus
Binomial name
Danaus plexippus
The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a well-known North American butterfly. Since the 19th century, it is also found in New Zealand, and in Australia where it is also known as the Wanderer Butterfly. In Europe it is resident in the Canary Islands (except Lanzarote) and Madeira, and is found as a migrant in Mexico, Azores, Portugal and Spain. Its wings feature an easily recognizable orange and black pattern, with a wingspan of 8.5–12.5 cm (3.34 in–4.92in). (The Viceroy Butterfly has a similar size, color, and pattern, but can be distinguished by an extra black stripe across the hindwing.) Female monarchs have darker veins on their wings, and the males have a spot in the center of each hindwing from which pheromones are released.
Migration
Monarchs are especially noted for their lengthy annual migration. They make massive southward migrations starting in August until the first frost. A northward migration takes place in the spring. Female Monarchs deposit eggs for the next generation during these migrations. By the end of October, the population of the Rocky Mountains migrates to the sanctuaries in the area of Angangueo, Ocampo, Zitácuaro and El Rosario in Michoacán, Mexico. The western population overwinters in various sites in central coastal California, United States, notably in Pacific Grove and Santa Cruz. The length of these journeys exceeds the normal lifespan of most Monarchs, which is less than two months for butterflies born in early summer. The last generation of the summer enters into a non-reproductive phase known as diapause and may live up to 7 months. During diapause, butterflies fly to one of many overwintering sites. The generation that overwinters generally does not reproduce until it leaves the overwintering site sometime in February and March. It is thought that the overwinter population may reach as far north as Texas and Oklahoma during the spring migration. It is the second, third and fourth generations that return to their northern locations in the United States and Canada in the spring. How the species manages to return to the same overwintering spots over a gap of several generations is still a subject of research; the flight patterns appear to be inherited, based on a combination of circadian rhythm and the position of the sun in the sky.[1]
Monarch butterflies are one of the few insects capable of making transatlantic crossings. They are becoming more common in Bermuda due to increased usage of milkweed as an ornamental plant in flower gardens. Monarch butterflies born in Bermuda remain year round due to the island's mild climate.
A few Monarchs turn up in the far southwest of Great Britain in years when the wind conditions are right, and have been sighted as far east as Long Bennington. Monarchs can also be found in New Zealand during summer, but are absent the rest of the year. On the island of Hawaii no migrations have been noted.
Monarchs can live a life of six to eight weeks in a garden having their host Asclepias plants and sufficient flowers for nectar. This is especially true if the flower garden happens to be surrounded by native forest that seems to be lacking in flowers.
Reproduction
The mating period for the overwinter population occurs in the spring, just prior to migration from the overwintering sites. The courtship is fairly simple and less dependent on chemical pheromones in comparison with other species in its genus. Courtship is composed of two distinct stages, the aerial phase and the ground phase. During the aerial phase, the male pursues, nudges, and eventually takes down the female. Copulation occurs during the ground phase and involves the transfer of a spermatophore from the male to the female. Along with sperm, the spermatophore is thought to provide the female with energy resources that aid her in carrying out reproduction and remigration. The overwinter population returns only as far north as they need to go to find the early milkweed growth; in the case of the eastern butterflies that is commonly southern Texas. The life cycle of a Monarch includes a change of form called complete metamorphosis. The Monarch goes through four radically different stages:
The eggs are laid by the females during spring and summer breeding months.
The eggs hatch, revealing worm-like larva, the caterpillars. The caterpillars consume their egg cases, then feed on milkweed, and sequester substances called cardenolides, a type of cardiac glycosides. During the caterpillar stage, Monarchs store energy in the form of fat and nutrients to carry them through the non-feeding pupa stage.
In the pupa or chrysalis stage, the caterpillar spins a silk pad on a twig, leaf, etc. and hangs from this pad by its last pair of prolegs. It hangs upside down in the shape of a 'J', and then molts, leaving itself encased in an articulated green exoskeleton. At this point, hormonal changes occur, leading to the development of a butterfly.
The mature butterfly emerges after about two weeks and feeds on a variety of flowers, including milkweed flowers, red clover, and goldenrod.
Defense
Monarchs are foul-tasting and poisonous due to the presence of cardenolide aglycones in their bodies, which the caterpillars ingest as they feed on milkweed. Both forms advertise their unpalatability with bright colors and areas of high contrast on the skin or wings. This phenomenon is known as aposematism.
Monarchs share this defense with the even more unpleasant-tasting and similar-appearing Viceroy butterfly, in an example of Müllerian mimicry. (Viceroys were at one time believed to be Batesian mimics of Monarchs.)
Relationship to Humans
The Monarch is the insect of Alabama, Idaho, Illinois, and Texas, and the state butterfly of Minnesota and West Virginia. It was nominated in 1989 as the national insect of the United States of America, and is the national insect of Canada.
Many people like to attract Monarchs by making a butterfly garden, sometimes referred to as a waystation. Others enjoy raising them for pleasure or for educational purposes. For migrating flocks, sanctuaries have been created at favorite wintering locations; considerable revenue from tourism is generated thus.
Threats facing this insect:
Recent illegal deforestation of the Monarch's overwintering grounds have led to a drastic reduction in the butterfly's population. Efforts to classify it as a protected species and to restore its habitat are under way. Mexican authorities expected a significant increase in the Monarch population in the 2005-2006 season.
Monarch butterflies are susceptible to Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, a protozoan which parasitizes them. It is present on the abdomen of adult butterflies and passed to their offspring when the spores rub off during egg-laying and are then ingested by the caterpillars. The effects of the parasite on Monarchs include decreased weight, shortened lifespan, weakened wings, rapid weightloss, or inability to close, though this varies between butterfly populations and parasite strains.
In Popular Culture (my favourite part!!):
The Monarch is a supervillain from the Adult Swim cartoon The Venture Bros. He claims to have been raised by Monarch butterflies after surviving a plane crash that killed his parents, although his mannerisms and personality demonstrate almost no knowledge of their biology or behavior.
A monarch butterfly appeared in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode, Wormy.
An episode of Malcolm in the Middle simply entitled Butterflies has a plot with Reese raising hundreds of Monarch caterpillars. Eventually, they all become adult butterflies which flock Harrison Lenz's room and begin to cover up Reese, to his horror. Real caterpillars and butterflies were used, though the enormous fluttering flock near the end was done with computer-generated imagery.
American pop singer Mariah Carey has made the Monarch butterfly a sort of motif signifying freedom.
Source..Wikipedia
This week's post for Macro Mondays; the theme is "One Color".
A big beautiful backlit green Pawpaw Tree leaf.
Monarch Waystation,
University of Kansas,
Lawrence (Douglas County), KS.
Imperial Moth Caterpillar (Eacles imperialis)
This has got to be one of the coolest caterpillars ever! Look at those freaky hairs coming out all over.
Terezín was in de Tweede Wereldoorlog de tot concentratiekamp en getto veranderde Tsjechische vestingstad. Het was vooral een doorgangskamp voor Joden die meestal spoedig naar Auschwitz-Birkenau of andere vernietigingskampen werden gestuurd. In Terezín stierven 31.000 mensen.
Deze foto's zijn van het zogenaamde kleine fort. Het gaf me een dubbel gevoel. Het is uit bouwhistorisch oogpunt een prachtige vesting met verdedigingswerken. Maar de horror die hier onder Duitse Leiding plaats vond is niet te bevatten. Het maakte meer indruk dan mijn eerste bezoek, in 1987.
The old fortress of Theresienstadt was a hybrid concentration camp and ghetto established by the SS during World War II. It was located in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (a German-occupied region of Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served two main purposes: it was simultaneously a waystation to the extermination camps, and a "retirement settlement" for elderly and prominent Jews to mislead their communities about the Final Solution. Its conditions were deliberately engineered to hasten the death of its prisoners, and the ghetto also served a propaganda role.
Sjemus carefully climed the steps. For all he cared, the view at the top could be bloody spectacular. It still wouldn't account for all the aches it took to get there. What's worse, he couldn't complain about it. Young Mikki was there too, and he wasn't saying a word. Smug little sod.
It was yer man the Exarch of Varcösz who had sent him there. Him and dozens of others. "Go find out what's going on with Mogholay." Feck all, that's what. This place was one dusty waystation after another. Why anyone would be interested in it was beyond him. It's not like Pyros could throw troops at capturing this wasteland, and he couldn't see Mogholay moving an army through here, either.
Still, he had to have a look over this one last pass. Rumour was, the lush oases beyond were home to some of the richest agriculture on the continent. If that was true - and it was a big If, mind - maybe this place would be worth fighting for.
At least, thank the ancestors, the end of the stair was in sight.
"That's far enough, foreigner!" called a voice. Szejmus strained his eyes against the glare of the sun. A figure was standing at the top of the path.
"Are ye sure?" asked Szejmus. "We've come an awful long way."
"I know," replied the sentinel. "I watched you. You were nearly as quick up the steps as my grandmother."
"Seems a shame to miss the view from the top?" pleaded the Varköszi.
"Yes. It does."
Szejmus could swear the shadow was grinning at him through the glare. He had half a mind to swear, spit, throw rocks, drop his trousers and lay waste all over these stupid steps. But he was too tired for that malarkey.
"Could ye at least give us a drink before yous send us back down?"
"Aye. That I can do. Wait here." And the figure retreated.
"Mikki, quick now. Go have a look." And the swift little bugger was off. Szejmus sat back against the wall, grateful for the shade and the rest. His mind wandered, recalling mossy bogs and woody glades. It would be drizzling back home. You'd never think you'd miss it until you came somewhere like this, dry as a firepit and even less fun.
"Here, stranger," replied the sentinel, handing him a waterskin. "Drink, and then go."
He didn't love being treated like a dog, but he wasn't an eejit. Not about to risk anything on this stupid job. He did as he was told and trudged back down the steps. At least gravity was on his side this time.
As soon as he passed out of sight of the sentinel, he stepped off the path again. No sense rushing things.
A minute or two later, Mikki came trotting along. The sentinel must have returned to his base to stash the waterskin.
"Right," said Szejmus, pulling out his own water and offering it to Mikki. "Have a drink, and then tell us what ye saw."
Located on the right in the garden of the Temple of Apollon, the stone-carved head of Medusa is the very significant and picturesque symbol of Didyma.
According to the Greek mythology, Medusa is one of the three gorgons, the female monsters. The two other sisters are Stheno, and Euryale, all three, the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. Only the snake –haired Medusa is mortal and has the power to turn onlookers to stone who are looking directly upon her. Therefore, the carvings of Medusa were commonly used in order to protect the important buildings and places from the evil eyes not only in Didyma, but also in Ephesus, -the Medusa head carved on the arches of the second floor in the Celcius Library and the questionable Medusa at the front façade of the Temple of Hadrian, where you can compare all these figures during a daily sightseeing tour to Ephesus from Didyma with a 70 km drive.
The different carvings of Medusa head are also available at Miletos, Yerebatan Cistern in Istanbul from the Roman Period and other antic cities.
Didyma Ancient Cities
Didyma (/ˈdɪdɨmə/; Ancient Greek: Δίδυμα) was an ancient Greek sanctuary on the coast of Ionia. It contained a temple and oracle of Apollo, the Didymaion. In Greek didyma means "twin", but the Greeks who sought a "twin" at Didyma ignored the Carian origin of the name.[1] Next to Delphi, Didyma was the most renowned oracle of the Hellenic world, first mentioned among the Greeks in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo,[2] but an establishment preceding literacy and even the Hellenic colonization of Ionia. Mythic genealogies of the origins of the Branchidae line of priests, designed to capture the origins of Didyma as a Hellenic tradition, date to the Hellenistic period.[3] The ruins of Didyma are located at a short distance to the northwest of modern Didim in Aydin Province, Turkey, whose name is derived from Didyma's.
www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_object...
www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.a...
Bust of a marble kouros from the Sacred Way at Didyma, now in the British Museum, 550 BC[4]
Didyma was the largest and most significant sanctuary on the territory of the great classical city Miletus. To approach it, visitors would follow the Sacred Way to Didyma, about 17 km long. Along the way, were ritual waystations, and statues of members of the Branchidae family, male and female, as well as animal figures. Some of these statues, dating to the 6th century BC, are now in the British Museum, taken by the British archaeologist Charles Newton in the 19th century
Greek and Roman authors laboured to refer the name Didyma to "twin" temples — not a feature of the site — or to temples of the twins, Apollo and Artemis, whose own cult center at Didyma was only recently established, or whether, as Wilamowitz suggested[6] there is a connection to Cybele Dindymene, "Cybele of Mount Dindymon", is mooted. Recent excavations by the German team of archaeologists have uncovered a major sanctuary dedicated to Artemis, with the key ritual focus being water.
The 6th century Didymaion, dedicated to Apollo, enclosed its smaller predecessor, which archaeologists have identified. Its treasury was enriched by gifts from Croesus.
For Macro Mondays; today's theme is The Natural Light. My how quickly these leaves have grown. These are some of the same leaves shown in this photo (www.flickr.com/photos/kansasexplorer/16701193744/) which was taken about 10 days before. At the Butterfly Garden at KU.
Happy Bokeh Wednesdays! This is why I always stop at the Butterfly Garden when on a bike ride. It's different every night and tonight the light was beautiful, especially backlighting this Buttonbush Tree. No butterflies there tonight; probably because we have unseasonably cool temperatures which is weird for early July. West Campus at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS.
These Head Start kids illustrate the appeal of outdoor classrooms during a visit to the Pagedale Head Start Pollinator Garden, designed to help combat Nature-Deficit Disorder as well as provide habitat for pollinators such as native butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.
Terezín was in de Tweede Wereldoorlog de tot concentratiekamp en getto veranderde Tsjechische vestingstad. Het was vooral een doorgangskamp voor Joden die meestal spoedig naar Auschwitz-Birkenau of andere vernietigingskampen werden gestuurd. In Terezín stierven 31.000 mensen.
Deze foto's zijn van het zogenaamde kleine fort. Het gaf me een dubbel gevoel. Het is uit bouwhistorisch oogpunt een prachtige vesting met verdedigingswerken. Maar de horror die hier onder Duitse Leiding plaats vond is niet te bevatten. Het maakte meer indruk dan mijn eerste bezoek, in 1987.
The old fortress of Theresienstadt was a hybrid concentration camp and ghetto established by the SS during World War II. It was located in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (a German-occupied region of Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served two main purposes: it was simultaneously a waystation to the extermination camps, and a "retirement settlement" for elderly and prominent Jews to mislead their communities about the Final Solution. Its conditions were deliberately engineered to hasten the death of its prisoners, and the ghetto also served a propaganda role.
Didyma (Greek: Δίδυμα) was an ancient Ionian sanctuary, the modern Didim, Turkey.[1] The sanctuary containing a temple and oracle of Apollo, the Didymaion. In Greek didyma means "twin", but the Greeks who sought a "twin" at Didyma ignored the Carian origin of the name,[2]. Next to Delphi, Didyma was the most renowned oracle of the Hellenic world, first mentioned among the Greeks in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo,[3] but preceding literacy and even the colonization of Ionia. Mythic genealogies of the origins of the Branchidae line of priests, designed to capture the origins of Didyma as a Hellenic tradition, date to the Hellenistic period.[4]
Didyma was the largest and most significant sanctuary on the territory of the great classical city Miletus. To approach it, visitors would follow the Sacred Way to Didyma, about 17km long. Along the way, were ritual waystations, and statues of members of the Branchidae family, male and female, as well as animal figures. Some of these statues, dating back to the 6th century BC are now in the British Museum, taken by Charles Newton in the 19th century.
Greek and Roman authors laboured to refer the name Didyma to "twin" temples — not a feature of the site — or to temples of the twins, Apollo and Artemis, whose own cult center at Didyma was only recently established, or whether, as Wilamowitz suggested[5] there is a connection to Cybele Dindymene, "Cybele of Mount Dindymon", is mooted. Recent excavations by the German team of archaeologists have uncovered a major sanctuary dedicated to Artemis, with the key ritual focus being water.
The sixth-century Didymaion, dedicated to Apollo, enclosed its smaller predecessor, which archaeologists have identified. Its treasury was enriched by gifts from Croesus.
Until its destruction by the Persians in 494 BC, Didyma's sanctuary was administered by the family of the Branchidae, who claimed descent from Branchos, a youth beloved of Apollo
''Historical monuments are the common heritage of mankind. It must be protected''
I continue to the series of ancient cities.
MEDUSA:
Located on the right in the garden of the Temple of Apollon, the stone-carved head of Medusa is the very significant and picturesque symbol of Didyma.
According to the Greek mythology, Medusa is one of the three gorgons, the female monsters. The two other sisters are Stheno, and Euryale, all three, the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. Only the snake –haired Medusa is mortal and has the power to turn onlookers to stone who are looking directly upon her. Therefore, the carvings of Medusa were commonly used in order to protect the important buildings and places from the evil eyes not only in Didyma, but also in Ephesus, -the Medusa head carved on the arches of the second floor in the Celcius Library and the questionable Medusa at the front façade of the Temple of Hadrian, where you can compare all these figures during a daily sightseeing tour to Ephesus from Didyma with a 70 km drive.
The different carvings of Medusa head are also available at Miletos, Yerebatan Cistern in Istanbul from the Roman Period and other antic cities.
Didyma Ancient Cities
Didyma (/ˈdɪdɨmə/; Ancient Greek: Δίδυμα) was an ancient Greek sanctuary on the coast of Ionia. It contained a temple and oracle of Apollo, the Didymaion. In Greek didyma means "twin", but the Greeks who sought a "twin" at Didyma ignored the Carian origin of the name.[1] Next to Delphi, Didyma was the most renowned oracle of the Hellenic world, first mentioned among the Greeks in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo,[2] but an establishment preceding literacy and even the Hellenic colonization of Ionia. Mythic genealogies of the origins of the Branchidae line of priests, designed to capture the origins of Didyma as a Hellenic tradition, date to the Hellenistic period.[3] The ruins of Didyma are located at a short distance to the northwest of modern Didim in Aydin Province, Turkey, whose name is derived from Didyma's.
www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_object...
www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.a...
Bust of a marble kouros from the Sacred Way at Didyma, now in the British Museum, 550 BC[4]
Didyma was the largest and most significant sanctuary on the territory of the great classical city Miletus. To approach it, visitors would follow the Sacred Way to Didyma, about 17 km long. Along the way, were ritual waystations, and statues of members of the Branchidae family, male and female, as well as animal figures. Some of these statues, dating to the 6th century BC, are now in the British Museum, taken by the British archaeologist Charles Newton in the 19th century.[5]
Greek and Roman authors laboured to refer the name Didyma to "twin" temples — not a feature of the site — or to temples of the twins, Apollo and Artemis, whose own cult center at Didyma was only recently established, or whether, as Wilamowitz suggested[6] there is a connection to Cybele Dindymene, "Cybele of Mount Dindymon", is mooted. Recent excavations by the German team of archaeologists have uncovered a major sanctuary dedicated to Artemis, with the key ritual focus being water.
The 6th century Didymaion, dedicated to Apollo, enclosed its smaller predecessor, which archaeologists have identified. Its treasury was enriched by gifts from Croesus.
The Temple of Apollo at Didyma :
Located about 11 miles south of the ancient port city of Miletus on the western coast of modern-day Turkey, the Temple of Apollo at Didyma or Didymaion was the fourth largest temple in the ancient Greek world. The temple’s oracle, second in importance only to that at Delphi, played a significant role in the religious and political life of both Miletus and the greater Mediterranean world; many rulers, from Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) to the Roman emperor Diocletian (244-313 CE) visited or sent delegations to this oracle seeking the guidance and favor of Apollo. The oracle played a significant role in initiating the “Great Persecution” of Christians under Diocletian and the temple was later converted into a church during the 5th or 6th century CE.
The Didymaion was the third and largest temple that the Greeks built around the site of a natural spring, which they believed to be the source of the oracle’s prophetic power. The first temple was a humble structure that replaced a much earlier Carian sanctuary. In the 6th century BCE the people of nearby Miletus began construction on a second, much larger temple. Wider than and as long as the Parthenon in Athens, this second temple reflected the growing fame and influence of the oracle. This temple, however, was plundered and destroyed, either in 494 BCE by the Persian king Darius or in 479 BCE by his son and successor Xerxes. Legend has it that the sacred spring ceased to flow until none other than Alexander the Great passed through on a conquest of his own and re-consecrated the site in 331 BCE. Not surprisingly, the first recorded pronouncements of the reestablished oracle were in favor of the young Macedonian king.
As was common for Greek temples of such an immense size, construction continued for centuries & the temple was never completed.
While Alexander reopened the site at Didyma, his siege left Miletus heavily damaged and the tariffs levied against the citizens as punishment for their resistance financially crippled the city for decades. When Miletus finally began to recover - some thirty years after Alexander’s conquest - the citizens began construction on yet another temple at the site of the sacred spring. It is this third and final temple that is known today as the Temple of Apollo at Didyma or the Hellenistic Didymaion. As was common for Greek temples of such an immense size, construction continued for centuries and the temple was never completed; even in the late 4th century CE the temple lacked a pediment or a cornice and much of the sculptural ornamentation and even several of the massive columns remained unfinished. Nevertheless, the temple must have been a magnificent sight as even the ruins can leave the modern-day visitors awestruck.
www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/search.a...
Mating pair of Cecropia Moths (Hyalophora cecropia)
I raise butterflies and moths as a hobby. This is the first year I've had these beauties. I raised them from 3 day old caterpillars last year and they overwintered in their containers in my shed.
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Terezín was in de Tweede Wereldoorlog de tot concentratiekamp en getto veranderde Tsjechische vestingstad. Het was vooral een doorgangskamp voor Joden die meestal spoedig naar Auschwitz-Birkenau of andere vernietigingskampen werden gestuurd. In Terezín stierven 31.000 mensen.
Deze foto's zijn van het zogenaamde kleine fort. Het gaf me een dubbel gevoel. Het is uit bouwhistorisch oogpunt een prachtige vesting met verdedigingswerken. Maar de horror die hier onder Duitse Leiding plaats vond is niet te bevatten. Het maakte meer indruk dan mijn eerste bezoek, in 1987.
The old fortress of Theresienstadt was a hybrid concentration camp and ghetto established by the SS during World War II. It was located in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (a German-occupied region of Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served two main purposes: it was simultaneously a waystation to the extermination camps, and a "retirement settlement" for elderly and prominent Jews to mislead their communities about the Final Solution. Its conditions were deliberately engineered to hasten the death of its prisoners, and the ghetto also served a propaganda role.
Old Bent's Fort was located on the Santa Fe Trail and active during the 1830s and 1840s. It served as a trading post, way station, and eventually a military post during the Mexican War. It was also a meeting and cultural exchange point for American, Mexican, and Native American cultures.
Only the ice on the ties suggests how cold it was. A northbound freight waits for a crew at Wendel. With the dorms and beanery abandoned and crews driven to Susanville for rest, Wendel had become a lonely waystation on a lonely line during its final days.
Henderson Castle in Kalamazoo, Michigan, shown .in its place on West Main Hill
"The Henderson Castle," as it is currently known, is a French restaurant (Chophouse) and an "Inn Boutique Hôtel," also offers tours and massages. The restaurant was open for take-out and delivery during Michigan's "shelter-in-place" order during COVID-19 pandemic.
Clockwise from the lower-left corner: a monarch waystation in Henderson Park; Prospect Street, above that, The Shoppes at West Main, going right towards the top edge is Hillside Middle School, then, towards the right edge is Prairie Gardens Apartment Complex, which was built on the site of the old sanitorium/sanitarium. Finally, in the lower left side is Mountain Home Cemetery.
Old Bent's Fort was located on the Santa Fe Trail and active during the 1830s and 1840s. It served as a trading post, way station, and eventually a military post during the Mexican War. It was also a meeting and cultural exchange point for American, Mexican, and Native American cultures.
Manoora, South Australia, is named after the Aboriginal name for a spring of water. Developed from a waystation for copper teamsters, Manoora was also on the Peterborough railway line, serving Burra until the line closed. It passed by the upper reaches of the Gilbert River. Manoora is a pleasant town ringed by shallow hills, and its buildings feature extensive use of local sandstone.
Source: Clare & Gilbert Valleys Council.
For Macro Monday; this week's theme is "Garden Macro". The backlit samara on a Wafer Ash (aka Hop) Tree. In the Butterfly Garden at KU.
I chose here to focus on the new reddish growth sprouting from the tree branch rather than the scene as a whole. I hope I made the right decision. At the Butterfly Garden at KU.
Old Bent's Fort was located on the Santa Fe Trail and active during the 1830s and 1840s. It served as a trading post, way station, and eventually a military post during the Mexican War. It was also a meeting and cultural exchange point for American, Mexican, and Native American cultures.
These Black Locust trees were planted in 1868. They stand today like huge sentinels to the rich history that transpired inside these thick stone walls. Although built as a fort, it was never used for military purposes and was instead a way station for travelers along the Mormon Corridor. The shade was greatly appreciated on this day!