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The horizontal image of Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) at night along Chao Phraya River with the light trails of the boat transportation in the river.Wat Arun or Temple of Dawn is among the best known of Thailand's landmarks and the first light of the morning reflects off the surface of the temple with pearly iridescence.
Travelers (my mom and aunt) were stunningly looking at the Giant Buddha of Zhangye.Midway in the Hexi Corridor along the Silk Road lies the historic city of Zhangye, the centerpiece of which is the mysterious Giant Buddha Temple.The Giant Buddha Temple is the largest architectural relic in Gansu Province of the Western Xia (1038-1227) period. China's largest reclining Buddha is well preserved in this temple.
A night photogarphay of the national treasure, Matsumoto Castle, and the weeping cherry tree with light-up.Matsumoto Castle is one of Japan's premier historic castles. The building is also known as the 'Crow Castle' due to its black exterior. It was the seat of the Matsumoto domain.
Boys playing football in the Palmyra ruins at sunset, Syria
The site of Palmyra is an oasis in the Syrian desert, north-east of Damascus, it contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world, Palmyra mixed Graeco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences, it was listed UNESCO World Heritage in 1980
© Eric Lafforgue
Bayon temple in Angkor Wat, Cambodia. The orange is some kind of Buddhist shrine offering from the monks.
Masada (“fortress” in Hebrew) is a mountain complex in Israel in the Judean desert that overlooks the Dead Sea. It is famous for the last stand of the Zealots (and Sicarii) in the Jewish Revolt against Rome (66-73 CE). Masada is a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Israel.
The last occupation at Masada was a Byzantine monastery, and then the site was largely forgotten due to its remoteness and harsh environment (especially in the summer months). The site was superficially explored in 1838 CE by the American archaeologists Edward Robinson and Eli Smith. Then, between 1963 and 1965 CE, Yigael Yadin, who was both an Israeli military commander as well as an archaeologist, organized the first major excavations with volunteers from around the world.
The source for the history of Masada is Flavius Josephus (36-100 CE), who wrote about the origins of the fortress under the Hasmoneans and the renovations of the site under Herod the Great (37-4 BCE). As an eyewitness to the events of the Jewish revolt against Rome (66-73 CE), he wrote The Jewish War with the last chapter relating events at Masada in 73-74 CE. Josephus described the decision to commit mass suicide at the fortress (960 men, women, and children). However, because he was not an eyewitness to the events, modern debate continues in relation to the historical basis of his story.
Jerash in Jordan lies on a plain surrounded by hilly wooded areas and fertile basinsis, it is famous for the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa, also referred to as Antioch on the Golden River, It is considered one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Near East, it was a city of the Decapolis
© Eric Lafforgue
It is theorized that the Pumapunku complex as well as its surrounding temples, the Akapana pyramid, Kalasasaya, Putuni, and Kerikala functioned as spiritual and ritual centers for the Tiwanaku. This area might have been viewed as the center of the Andean world, attracting pilgrims from far away to marvel in its beauty. These structures transformed the local landscape; Pumapunku was purposely integrated with Illimani mountain, a sacred peak that the Tiwanaku possibly believed to be home to the spirits of their dead. This area was believed to have existed between heaven and Earth. The spiritual significance and the sense of wonder would have been amplified into a "mind-altering and life-changing experience" through the use of hallucinogenic plants. Examinations of hair samples exhibit remnants of psychoactive substances in many mummies found in Tiwanaku culture from Northern Chile, even those of babies as young as one year of age, demonstrating the importance of these substances to the Tiwanaku.
As was characteristic of civilizations around this time, the Tiwanaku actively incorporated human sacrifice into their culture. The remains of dismembered bodies have been found throughout the area. Ceramic artifacts depict imagery of warriors, masked with puma skulls, decapitating their enemies and holding trophy skulls, and adorned with belts of human heads with their tongues torn out. It is believed that, because of certain markings on stones found at Puma Punku, the Gate of the Sun was originally part of Puma Punku.
Walking Stick or Cane Cholla (Source: www.nps.gov/band/historyculture/native-plant-use.htm)
People often mistake the yellowish-green fruit of this plant with the plant's flower bud. However, if you ever saw the cactus in bloom with its bright pink flowers the difference would be obvious. Historically cholla was considered a famine food, eaten only when food was especially scarce. However, during prehistoric times it is likely cholla was a food staple. The fruit could be eaten raw or dried for use during the winter. The stalks could be eaten once the thorns were removed. Cholla buds are rich in calcium. Amazingly, a two tablespoon serving contains only a few calories but as much calcium as a glass of milk. Milk was not available to Ancestral Pueblo people beyond infancy.
Egyptian Museum, Turin (Italy)
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©Roberto Bertero, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.
Babylon: Ancient Middle Eastern city. The city's ruins are located about 55 mi (89 km) south of Baghdad, near the modern city of Al-Hillah, Iraq. Babylon was one of the most famous cities in antiquity. Probably first settled in the 3rd millennium BC, it came under the rule of the Amorite kings around 2000 BC. It became the capital of Babylonia and was the chief commercial city of the Tigris and Euphrates river system. Destroyed by Sennacherib in 689 BC, it was later rebuilt. It attained its greatest glory as capital of the Neo-Babylonian empire under Nebuchadrezzar II (r. 605 – c. 561 BC). Alexander the Great, who took the city in 331 BC, died there. Evidence of its topography comes from excavations, cuneiform texts, and descriptions by the Greek historian Herodotus. Most of the ruins are from the city built by Nebuchadrezzar. The largest city in the world at the time, it contained many temples, including the great temple of Marduk with its associated ziggurat, which was apparently the basis for the story of the Tower of Babel. The Hanging Gardens, a simulated hill of vegetation-clad terracing, was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
The first wall remains and wall paintings were found in 1904 by people ploughing in the Balácapuszta field of a village named Vámos in Veszprém County. Soon it became apparent that traces of a Roman farm had been discovered. The farm in Balaca is the largest known Roman farm in the former Pannonia Province. The famous mosaic floor of 62 m2 of its central building was discovered in 1925 with the help of the National Museum. It is still the main attraction of the Roman Lapidarium of the Museum. The other three mosaic floors were transferred back to their original places in 1984, in the year of the official opening of the gardens of ruins.
mnm.hu/en/museums/villa-romana-balaca-roman-villa-and-gar...
土耳其－Antalya省－Kekova岛巡游－沉没之城
Remains of an ancient city, submerged after land subsidence caused by an earthquake about 2000 years ago, on Kekova Island, on turquoise colored Mediterranean sea, along the beautiful coastline of Lycia, in Antalya province, Central Anatolia region of Turkey.
© All rights reserved. You may not use this photo in website, blog or any other media without my explicit permission.
Situated in the Bahawalpur District, it was built by Ikhtiayar Khan in 1775. It is a mud and brunt-brick structure which is 170 feet high on the inside with octagonal bastions. The fortification wall is 8 feet thick and 24 feet high. It has an intricate gateway in the eastern wall and an ancient brick-lined well can be found outside near the fort.
Prambanan is the ninth century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Sustainer (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva).
The temple compound located approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta city on the boundary between Yogyakarta and Central Java province.
The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, currently is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, and is one of the largest Hindu temples in south-east Asia.
It is characterised by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47m high central building inside a large complex of individual temples.
More info :
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prambanan
Egypt doesn’t have the monopoly on pyramids. The Sudan has many of them, and discovers new ones regularly. The most beautiful and impressive pyramids form the Meroe necropolis. After a few hours on a brand new road (the same trip required two days on trails last year), we arrive at an unimaginably beautiful site: an alignment of small pyramids in the desert, bathed in the hot red sun on orange sand. No busses on the car park, no tourist shops. It’s almost like being the French explorer Fréderic Caillaud, who discovered the site in 1821! We understand immediately why UNESCO classified it as a World Heritage Site in 2011.
The pyramids were built between 4BC and 3AD. The site contains over two hundred of them, whereas Egypt has only a hundred in total! Forty kings and queens are buried here.
We notice immediately that the summits of all the pyramids have been blown off with dynamite. This is the work of the Italian explorer Giuseppe Ferlini, who in 1834 came and pillaged the site, taking away priceless treasures.
© Eric Lafforgue
Cavaliers, Djerba, Tunisia - Juillet 2000
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley.
Developed on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, the Barb is a desert horse with great hardiness and stamina. The Barb generally possesses a fiery temperament and an atypical sport-horse conformation, but nevertheless has had an incredible impact on today's modern breeds.
Hope you all had a great Christmas / Holiday.
Was Santa good to you this year?
May you all have a wonderful Monday.
Take care.
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Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.
Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam.
Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the then British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations.
The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage; once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.
Source:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur
The site of Palmyra is an oasis in the Syrian desert, north-east of Damascus, it contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world, Palmyra mixed Graeco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences, it was listed UNESCO World Heritage in 1980
© Eric Lafforgue
East Bank/Luxor/Egypt 2019 (The Karnak Temple Complex, "fortified village", comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings near Luxor, in Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I in the Middle Kingdom and continued into the Ptolemaic period, although most of the extant buildings date from the New Kingdom. The area around Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut ("The Most Selected of Places") and the main place of worship of the eighteenth dynasty Theban Triad with the god Amun as its head. It is part of the monumental city of Thebes...)
Copyright © 2019 by inigolai/Photography.
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The siq opens up onto Petra’s most magnificent façade; the Treasury, or Al Khazna. It is almost 40 meters high and intricately decorated with Corinthian capitals, friezes, figures and more. The Treasury is crowned by a funerary urn, which according to local legend conceals a pharaoh’s treasure. Although the original function is still a mystery, The Treasury was probably constructed in the 1st century BC, However, in reality the urn represented a memorial for royalty. The Treasury consists of two floors with a width of 25.30 meters and a height of 39.1 meters.
The purpose of the Treasury is unclear: some archaeologists believed it to be a temple, while others thought it was a place to store documents. However, the most recent excavation here has unearthed a graveyard beneath the Treasury.
The Treasury comprises three chambers, a middle chamber with one on either side, the elaborately carved facade represents the nabataean engineering genius