Byzantine Civilization - now and then
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The chapel of Queen Mary's heart near Transylvania's Bran Castle.
Little known, but invaluable in beauty, is the Church of the Heart of Queen Mary of Bran
hides an extremely beautiful story about Queen Mary.
A faithful replica of the Stella Maris church from the town of Walsik, which was granted by Romania after World War II in Bulgaria, was built in Byzantine style at the request of Princess Eleana in memory of her mother, Queen.
History says that one of Queen Mary's greatest pleasures was spending time in Balchik's chapel and her wish was to bury her heart there after she died. Because this was no longer possible, the princess demanded the construction of a chapel very close to Bran Castle. The box containing the queen's heart was temporarily deposited in the wooden church of Bran Castle and after a year was transferred to a crypt dug into the rock of Bran Maggiore, awaiting the completion of the church.
In 1947, however, it was the abolition of the monarchy in Romania by the communist regime, so although the chapel was completed in time, it was no longer sanctified and Queen Maria's heart remained hidden in the rock for 27 years! It was not until 1968 that the director of the Bran Museum, together with others, opened the crypt and the sarcophagus and found the golden box containing the queen's heart. Inside the gold box was another silver box wrapped in English and Romanian flags, as well as platinum and gemstones. Since then, Queen Maria's heart is in the National Museum of Romanian History
Παρεκκλήσι η καρδία της Βασίλισσας Μαρίας κοντά στο κάστρο Μπράν της Τρανσυλβανιας.
Λίγο γνωστό, αλλά με ανεκτίμητη ομορφιά, η Εκκλησία της Καρδιάς της Βασίλισσας Μαρίας του Bran
αποκρύπτει μια εξαιρετικά όμορφη ιστορία για τη Βασίλισσα Μαρία.
Πιστό αντίγραφο της εκκλησίας Stella Maris από την πόλη Βάλτσικ , που παραχωρήθηκε από τη Ρουμανία μετά τον Δεύτερο Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο της Βουλγαρίας, χτίστηκε σε βυζαντινό ύφος, κατόπιν αιτήματος της πριγκίπισσας Eλεάνας, στη μνήμη της μητέρας της ,Βασίλισσας Μαίρη.
Η ιστορία λέει ότι μία από τις μεγαλύτερες απολαύσεις της Βασίλισσας Μαρίας ήταν να περάσει ο χρόνος στο παρεκκλήσι του Bάλτσικ και η επιθυμία της ήταν να θάψει την καρδιά της εκεί μετά που πέθανε. Επειδή αυτό δεν ήταν πλέον δυνατό, η πριγκίπισσα απαίτησε την κατασκευή ενός παρεκκλησίου πολύ κοντά στο Κάστρο του Μπράν. Το κουτί που περιείχε την καρδιά της βασίλισσας ήταν προσωρινά κατατεθειμένο στην ξύλινη εκκλησία του Κάστρου Bran και μετά από ένα χρόνο μεταφέρθηκε σε μια κρύπτη που έσκαψε στο βράχο του Bran Maggiore, περιμένοντας την ολοκλήρωση της εκκλησίας.
Το 1947, ωστόσο, αποτελούσε την κατάργηση της μοναρχίας στη Ρουμανία από το κομμουνιστικό καθεστώς, οπότε αν και το παρεκκλήσι ολοκληρώθηκε εγκαίρως, δεν ήταν πλέον αγιασμένο και η καρδιά της Βασίλισσας Μαρίας παρέμεινε κρυμμένη στο βράχο για 27 χρόνια! Μόνο το 1968 ο διευθυντής του Μουσείου Μπραν μαζί με άλλους άνοιξαν την κρύπτη και τη σαρκοφάγο και βρήκαν το χρυσό κουτί που περιείχε την καρδιά της βασίλισσας. Στο εσωτερικό του χρυσού κιβωτίου υπήρχε ένα άλλο κιβώτιο από ασήμι τυλιγμένο σε σημαίες της Αγγλίας και της Ρουμανίας, καθώς πλατίνα και πολύτιμοι λίθοι. Έκτοτε, η καρδιά της Βασίλισσας Μαρίας βρίσκεται στο Μουσείο Εθνικής Ιστορίας της Ρουμανίας.
The landmark of Nea Fokaia is the Byzantine tower of St. Paul, on the hill beside the port. According to tradition, it was there that Saint Paul secretly baptized Christians when visiting this place. In 1407 the land was donated to a monastery, so the tower is believed to have been built a little later.
The height of the stone tower is 17 meters. Right next to is the church of Agioi Apostoloi (Saint Apostles), built in 1868.
Positano is a cliffside village on southern Italy's Amalfi Coast. It's a well-known holiday destination with a pebble beachfront and steep, narrow streets lined with boutiques and cafes. Its Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta features a majolica-tiled dome and a 13th-century Byzantine icon of the Virgin Mary. The Sentiero degli Dei hiking trail links Positano to other coastal towns
Ruins of Efkarpia Byzantine tower
Ruins of a big tower in the fields 3km east of the village Efkarpia of Serres region, 850m from the west bank of Strymon river.
The tower is not mentioned in Byzantine or other historic sources. We know that in this area existed a proastion (settlement) which in 1299 was granted by emperor Andronicos II Palaiologos to the Monastery of Chilandar of Mount Athos.
So, most probably, this was a monastic tower similar to the towers of Chlakidiki, the purpose of which was to protect and serve the various dependencies of the monasteries of Mount Athos. The type of construction and the little that we know about the history of the region date the tower around the middle of the 14th century.
The layout of the tower is almost a square with internal dimensions 6.5m✖7.0m, wall thickness 2m, preserved at the maximum height of 7m.
I took a photo that I took of my beloved Mr. Purry Furry lazing in the sun to Deep Dream Generator. The result is a mosaic that is reminiscent of Byzantine/Roman mosaics. Mr. Purry Furry died in 2017, but I think that this image of him really captures his character perfectly.
"Dogs believe they are human. Cats believe they are God."
~Anonymous
Over the apse of the 6th-century Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč, Croatia
The upper mosaics represent a beardless Jesus Christ and the Apostles.
Under the arch below, which contains "mosaic medallions with the Lamb of God and portraits of twelve female martyrs", you can see a matronly Mary with her child Jesus looking like a miniature adult. This clumsy depiction of the Mother of God is the only survinging one "in an early-Christian western basilica".
"She is flanked by angels, Bishop Euphrasius, holding the model of the church; also local saints are depicted, including St. Maurus, the first bishop of Poreč and the Istrian diocese, and the archdeacon Claudius."
Below you can see the upper part of the marble ciborium, which was built some 700 years later, more exactly in 1277.
Information and quotations from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphrasian_Basilica
Holiday Scandinavia 2019
Sint-Antoniusbasiliek (Sankt-Antonius-Basilika) in Rheine (D)
Het achthoekige doopvont rust op acht kogelvormige voeten en acht rondbogen en is voorzien van reliëfs en een byzantijnse bronzen deksel(was niet aanwezig). Het werd in 1920 gemaakt naar een ontwerp van de Duitse architect Josef Franke.
The octagonal baptismal font rests on eight spherical feet and eight round arches and features reliefs and a Byzantine bronze lid (that wasn't there) . It was made in 1920 after a design by the German architect Josef Franke.
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Another shot framing San Vitale interiors. This has been taken from the presbytery floor looking up and outside.
The west side adjacent to the palace of Exaltation of the Cross church, built in Byzantine style. Above the entrance - the archangel Gabriel. As the original frame adds even greater value of precious stones, and Livadia Park, emphasizes the beauty of the palace.
Построенная из итальянского мрамора в византийском стиле, Крестовоздвиженская церковь видела за свою двухсотлетнюю историю много знаковых событий. Здесь отпевали императора Александра III. Здесь приняла православие будущая жена Николая II Александра Федоровна. В Крестовоздвиженской церкви новый император присягнул на верность российскому престолу.
New blog: "Low Fat Mushy Pea Curry", I know it sounds horrendous, but trust me… this mushy pea curry is superb and very easy to make. It actually tastes just like chippers curry LOL…
Here is the recipe
Previous blogs
An important castle of north Greece on top of a hill in a very beautiful landscape. Although it is a big castle and very close to a road with heavy traffic, it is not easily visible. Moreover, it is not open to the public.
History
Excavations carried out on the hill and its environs have revealed traces of human presence since Neolithic times; on the basis of their construction and associated finds, the building walls and abutments unearthed in the southwest section of the castle date to the Hellenistic period. Rentina lies close to the settlement of Arethousa, which went into decline from the 6th century onwards. According to one interpretation, Rentina may take its name from the nearby staging post (mutatio) called Peridipidis (genitive: Peripidinis).
The fortifications at Rentina are reasonably well preserved, as are the impressive remains of a settlement that may well be Artemision Castle, referred to by Procopius in his work On Buildings as having acquired fortifications in the time of Justinian. Nevertheless, research findings to date indicate that the first fortifications, which included water cisterns capable of supporting a small guard, should be dated to the mid-4th century. Under Justinian the wall was reinforced with towers and equipped with a large cistern on the level ground in the citadel.
In mid-Byzantine times the wall was rebuilt to serve as fortifications for a settlement founded in the first half-decade of the 10th century, when it was seat of the Diocese of Lete and Rentina. At that time a church was built over the ruins of the then defunct cistern on the citadel, together with accommodation for the bishop and his retinue. By the end of the same century several houses had been erected in the lower town, following the line of the old wall and on stepped terraces. A third wall then surrounded the settlement from the most vulnerable section to the west, where a tower was built. Wood remains from the interior of this have been carbon dated to around 980 AD.
After 1204 the settlement was surrendered to the rulers of the Frankish Kingdom of Thessalonica. As indicated by the large number of contemporary coins found in excavations, they appear to have installed a permanent guard, with the obvious aim of controlling the Plain of Thessalonica and the Strymonic Gulf.
In 1242 John Vatatzes took the castle while marching on Thessalonica, since, as George Acropolites would have it, the Franks abandoned their position without a fight. News of the inhabitants of Rentina in the 13th and 14th century is contained in legal documents held by monasteries on Mount Athos, where mention is made of lands, mills and houses in the area. In the first half-decade of the 14th century a small cruciform church was built inside the eastern enclosure, possibly in connection with an infant and child cemetery.
In the mid-14th century it appears that the inhabitants gradually abandoned the settlement, which passed successively into the hands of Serbs, Greeks and then Turks. The arrival of Turkish Yuruks in the area probably led the greater part of the population to seek the safety of larger centres, the most prominent of which was Volvi. The few coins excavated from that time up until the mid-16th century are illustrative of the decline of the once flourishing settlement at Rentina, confirming the existence of a small-scale farm on the same site.
Located in Plaka, at the intersection of Kydathinaion Str. and Savior str.
Βρίσκεται στην Πλάκα, στη συμβολή των οδών Κυδαθηναίων και Σωτήρος.
Church of the Paregoretissa (Greek: Παναγία ἠ Παρηγορήτισσα, "Panagia of Consolation") ( 13th-century) in Arta, Greece
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photo:
exposed gallery brickwork vaulting
Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus, Constantinople
present Küçük Ayasofya Mosque [Little Hagia Sophia] Istanbul
Küçük Ayasofya Camii
Kumkapı neighborhood, Fatih district, Istanbul
www.3dmekanlar.com/en/small-ayasofya-mosque-2.html
Eκκλησία τῶν Άγίων Σεργίου καί Βάκχου, Κωνσταντινούπολη
Μικρή Αγία Σοφία
Main structure completed in 536
Architects Isidorus of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Hagia_Sophia
www.byzantium1200.com/sergio.html
www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-church-of-sts...
The view from the upper floor of the Hagia Sophia looking out to the Blue Mosque.
2015 10 29 134826 Turkey Istanbul Holiday 1PM
Saint Dimitrios Holy Orthodox Metropolitan Church in the lower town of Mystras, Greece, was founded in 1264 and served as the cathedral of the late Byzantine state. Today it is part of the museum of the Archaeological Site of Mystras.
Kampan Tower, the 13th century fortification as established by the Byzantine empire in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro
Whenever I look up at a dome I feel like I am inside a Kaleidoscope!
Aachen Cathedral (805 AD) is also known as the Kaiserdom ("Imperial Cathedral") of Aachen or the Cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle to the British. It was built by Charlemagne (Karl der Grosse in German), the first Holy Roman Emperor and it was designed in the Byzantine style.