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A female Anise swallowtail released at Point Molate in Richmond. (Raised by one of the other volunteers; I just took pictures.)
It still has that new caterpillar smell.
Its in decent condition with only a few small scuffs around the edge so it should clean up well on the rear its all complete
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Picture taken with NIKON D50.
Lightroom 3.6
© Vratislav Indra All Rights Reserved
Company/Owner: Baliwag Transit, Inc.
Fleet/Bus Number: 1542
Classification: Air-conditioned Provincial Bus
Coachbuilder: Hino Motors Philippines Corporation
Body Model: Hino Motors Philippines (Pilipinas Hino) Grandeza I RK
Engine Model: Hino J08C-TK
Chassis Model: Hino RK1JST 1425 (Long Wheelbase version)
Transmission: 6-speed Manual Transmission
Suspension: Leaf Spring Suspension
Seating Configuration: 3×2
Seating Capacity: 61
Route: Baliuag, Bulacan–Cubao, Quezon City via Old Cagayan Valley Road / N1 (Doña Remedios Trinidad Highway)
Municipalities/cities passing: Pulilan/Plaridel/Santa Rita (Guiguinto)/Tabang (Guiguinto)
Type of Operation: Provincial Operation Public Utility Bus (Regular Class)
Area of Operation: Central Luzon (Region III)
Shot Location: Doña Remedios Trinidad Highway (Maharlika Highway), Barangay Santa Rita, Guiguinto, Bulacan
Date Taken: December 18, 2015
Notices:
* Please DON'T GRAB A PHOTO WITHOUT A PERMISSION. If you're going to GRAB IT, please give A CREDIT TO THE OWNER. Also, don't PRINT SCREEN my photos.
** If I have mistakes on the specifications, please comment in a good manner so that I can edit it immediately.
*** The specifications and routes (for provincial, inter-provincial, and city operation) mentioned above are subjected for verification and may be changed without prior notice.
**** The vehicle's registration plate(s), conduction sticker(s), and/or persons (if applicable) were pixelated/blurred to prevent any conflict with the photographer, the bus company and/or to the car owner for their security and/or privacy purposes. So, don't use their plate number, conduction sticker, and vehicle tag as an evidence for any incident. And, I have taken this photo for bus fanatics, bus enthusiasts, and bus lovers purposes.
Company/Owner: Bicol Isarog Transport System, Inc./VS Pintados Corporation
Fleet/Bus Number: 502
Classification: Air-conditioned Provincial Bus
Coachbuilder: (Suzhou) Higer Bus Company, Ltd.
Body Model: Higer KLQ6122KA
Engine Model: Yuchai YC6L310-30 (L360A/L52SA)
Chassis Model: Higer KLQ6122KE3 (LKLA1L1J9EB)
Transmission: 6-speed Manual Transmission
Suspension: Air Suspension
Seating Configuration: 2×2
Seating Capacity: 49
Franchise route: Liloan (Southern Leyte)–Cubao (Quezon City) (new); Tacloban–Metro-South Intermodal Transport Terminal (former)
Route: Cubao, Quezon City (CUB, QC)–Maasin City, Southern Leyte (MSN, SL) via Bicol Region / Samar /Leyte / N693 (Bato–Bontoc Road) or Cubao, Quezon City (CUB, QC)–Ormoc City, Leyte (OMC, LY) via Bicol Region / Samar / N70 (Palo–Carigara–Ormoc Road)
Municipalities/cities passing: Makati City–Calamba City [CLM]/Santo Tomas City/Alaminos/San Pablo City/Tiaong/Candelaria/Sariaya/Lucena City [LUC]/Pagbilao/Antimonan/Plaridel/Gumaca/Lopez/Calauag [CUG]/Tabugon (Santa Elena)/Tagkawayan/Del Gallego/Ragay/Lupi/Sipocot/Libmanan/Pamplona/San Fernando/Milaor/Naga City [WNP]/Pili/Bula/Baao/Nabua/Bato (Camarines Sur)/Polangui/Oas/Ligao City/Guinobatan/Camalig/Daraga/Pilar/Castilla/Sorsogon City [SOR]/Casiguran/Juban/Irosin/Matnog [MTG]~San Bernardino Straight~Allen/Victoria/San Isidro/Calbayog City [CYP]/Santa Margarita/Gandara/San Jorge/Tarangnan/Catbalogan City [CBN]/Jiabong/Motiong/Paranas/Hinabangan/San Sebastian/Calbiga/Pinabacdao/Santa Rita/Basey/Tacloban City [TAC]/Palo; from Palo to Ormoc City (if bound to Ormoc City): Santa Fe/Alangalang/Jaro/Tunga/Abango (Barugo)/Carigara/Capoocan/Kananga or from Palo to Maasin City (if bound to Maasin City): Tanauan/Tolosa/Dulag/Mayorga/MacArthur/Javier/Abuyog/Mahaplag/Sogod [SGD]/Bontoc/Bato (Leyte)/Matalom
Type of Operation: Provincial Operation Public Utility Bus (Regular Class)
Area of Operation: Eastern Visayas (Region VIII)
Shot Location: EDSA-Boni, Mandaluyong City
Date Taken: May 14, 2018
Notices:
* Please DON'T GRAB A PHOTO WITHOUT A PERMISSION. If you're going to GRAB IT, please give A CREDIT TO THE OWNER. Also, don't PRINT SCREEN my photos.
** If I have mistakes on the specifications, please comment in a good manner so that I can edit it immediately.
*** The specifications and routes (for provincial, inter-provincial, and city operation) mentioned above are subjected for verification and may be changed without prior notice.
**** The vehicle's registration plate(s), conduction sticker(s), and/or persons (if applicable) were pixelated/blurred to prevent any conflict with the photographer, the bus company and/or to the car owner for their security and/or privacy purposes. So, don't use their plate number, conduction sticker, and vehicle tag as an evidence for any incident. And, I have taken this photo for bus fanatics, bus enthusiasts, and bus lovers purposes.
Air conditioning on the roof of the mainbuilding.
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Klimaanlage auf dem Dach des Hauptgebäudes.
(Explore - highest position: 300 on Wednesday, November 12, 2008)
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The base is being put on Condition Red. I want this flashed to all sections immediately.
(Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb)
Head pressure, medically referred to as intracranial pressure, is pressure between the skull and the brain. Too much pressure in the head can restrict blood flow to the brain and press on structures in the brain. It is a serious medical condition that has the potential to cause severe damage to the brain or spinal cord. Contact your doctor if you experience pressure in the head. Symptoms of abnormal head pressure include lethargy, behavior changes, headache, seizures and vomiting.Even though it is tempting to think of our energy body as a sort of plumbing system with tubes and vents, the reality is completely different. Our energy system is more like clouds of gases that merge and mingle and sometimes cramp up. Or even better, you can imagine it as different coloured streams of water that weave and intermingle and sometimes freeze into ice. These different coloured water streams are our thoughts and emotions and when we try to suppress these thoughts and emotions they “freeze“ and we experience them as “blocks“ in our mind and body.he head chakras (forehead and crown) have to do with the mental part of our being which consists of our thoughts, concepts and beliefs on the intellectual and spiritual levels. When we experience head pressure we are literally suppressing certain thoughts that we do not want to think. It is this suppression that we experience as the head pressure and it happens completely unconsciously. People without kundalini also often unconsciously suppress certain thoughts but due to their greater unawareness they do not feel the pain of this suppression – they are more numb.In the kundalini process, a thirst awakens in us for expanded consciousness and more spirituality. However, there may be still parts of our old ego alive that do not want to have certain spiritual insights and defend themselves by rigorously suppressing ideas that challenge the old ego. So, this is the inner conflict that plays itself out in our head chakras – the fight for spiritual insights and authenticity on the one hand and the resistance of our old ego that is not yet ready to accept some humbling insights on the other.
Before I tell you what kind of thoughts people typically suppress, I need to give you a little warning. If you are a person with head pressure you will probably not like what I am about to tell you for the very reason that you have repressed these kinds of insights in the first place. But everything in this article is based on my work with hundreds of clients who had kundalini syndrome. All the clients who could take the following advice on board now have much less head pressure or none at all.
In my experience, most people with head pressure suppress self-critical thoughts. These people describe themselves as laid-back, easy going and even loving towards themselves. They do not criticise themselves and when others criticise them, they either completely ignore it or they get angry. However, in order to be a spiritually mature person, it is important that we clearly see our many flaws (without beating ourselves up about them) and then get to work to eliminate these flaws.
For people with low self-esteem, this is not difficult to do as they are usually too self-critical to start with. But it is those people who like themselves and have a high opinion of themselves who are most prone to pressure in the head chakras during the kundalini process. (If you do not like this insight, remember that I warned you!
Before I tell you what kind of thoughts people typically suppress, I need to give you a little warning. If you are a person with head pressure you will probably not like what I am about to tell you for the very reason that you have repressed these kinds of insights in the first place. But everything in this article is based on my work with hundreds of clients who had kundalini syndrome. All the clients who could take the following advice on board now have much less head pressure or none at all.
In my experience, most people with head pressure suppress self-critical thoughts. These people describe themselves as laid-back, easy going and even loving towards themselves. They do not criticise themselves and when others criticise them, they either completely ignore it or they get angry. However, in order to be a spiritually mature person, it is important that we clearly see our many flaws (without beating ourselves up about them) and then get to work to eliminate these flaws.
For people with low self-esteem, this is not difficult to do as they are usually too self-critical to start with. But it is those people who like themselves and have a high opinion of themselves who are most prone to pressure in the head chakras during the kundalini process. (If you do not like this insight, remember that I warned you!
Kundalini awakening symptoms include strange body sensations like shaking, tingling or the feeling of moving energy. On the psychologically level we often experience greatly intensified emotions and a general over-sensitivity to ‘everything’. And on the spiritual level we may experience a great increase of spiritual interest but also a lot of confusion.
The first thing that I explain to all my kundalini clients is that a kundalini awakening and its symptoms can be compared with the awakening of our sexual drive during puberty. Both processes have a lot in common.
First of all, both processes are irreversible. No matter, how much we yearn to go back to the carefree innocence of our childhood, puberty endows us with strong sexual urges that cannot be ignored. In the same way there is no going back once kundalini has made its presence known in our body and mind.
In both processes, puberty as well as kundalini awakening, we are endowed with a lot more power than we previously had. In puberty we develop the awesome power to create a new human being and during a kundalini awakening we receive powers like clairvoyance, supernatural abilities and ultimately the ability to manifest ourselves as a divine being.
But until we are able to harvest the full rewards of these newly awakened powers we have to change radically. As we all know, the transition from being a child to a happy parent usually entails many years of difficulties until we learn to channel our sex drive into loving relationships. Everything has to change during these years – our self-image, our relationships, our ability to take responsibility for our actions and generally our entire outlook on life.
In order to manage this process it is paramount to live as peacefully, lovingly and healthily as possible. Anything that could upset ourselves further like taking drugs, having promiscuous sex or experimenting on our mind with meditation without the help of an experienced kundalini teacher should be avoided.
It is good to have a spiritual outlook on life and develop trust in a divine power. But it is important not to overdo spiritual practices as they make the kundalini stronger. If you feel inclined to meditate daily it is paramount only to do this under the guidance of an experienced meditation teacher who has gone through a kundalini experience themselves.
Do ask your local meditation teacher if they have gone through this but do not be surprised if they haven’t because real kundalini awakenings are still very rare. Luckily, in the age of the internet you can also try to find a teacher online and build a trusting relationship in order to get guidance about how to meditate.
It is particularly important to avoid any form of energy healing like reiki or acupuncture. These forms of healing are devised for people who are not in a kundalini process and often do a very good job. But once we have become over-sensitive during a kundalini process these healing modalities can aggravate us severely.
A comparison with puberty can explain why this is. Imagine being upset about your emerging sexual needs and you go to an energy healer to get rid of them. It is obvious that this is doomed to fail. Our libido, as well as the kundalini, is far stronger than these approaches and we will only end up in even more suffering if we try to remove of either of them.
Another thing to avoid is breathing exercises like re-birthing or yogic breathing. Both are powerful ways to alter our body and brain chemistry and can have disastrous consequences if used even slightly in the wrong way. Breathing exercises can be compared with prescription drugs. They should only be used when administered by a skilful physician and certainly not to someone who is seriously challenged by a kundalini process.
I have had many kundalini clients who read all sorts of horror stories on the internet and were very afraid. It is this fear that makes kundalini symptoms far worse than they need be. Just think of how a teenage girl would feel who is repeatedly told that there is the risk of being murdered by her own husband. While this may be true in extremely rare cases, it is not helpful to frighten young people in this way.
The same can be said about kundalini. In rare cases people may deal with it so badly that they end up in a very painful place. But in order for this to happen a lot of negative factors have come together and it is not useful to frighten yourself with these ideas on top of the challenges that kundalini entails anyway. So I strongly advise people to stay away from reading any frightening material about kundalini.
A kundalini awakening is a very individual and personal process, just like the development of a satisfying sexuality after puberty is a very personal process. People usually benefit a great deal from personal guidance in both processes.
For a kundalini awakening, you need an experienced spiritual teacher who has gone through this process themselves – just like all youths need guidance about sexuality and relationships from someone who has mastered these areas themselves.
People also benefit from guidance about how to deal with their budding clairvoyance, which can be very confusing and frightening for the unprepared mind. However, the biggest challenge is always the very personal material that emerges from one’s unconscious mind during this process, requiring personal advice.
Finally, it is paramount to adjust your spiritual practices to accommodate the kundalini so that it flows calmly and steadily and does not erupt in fits and starts. In order to do this, you need a personal relationship to a kundalini teacher who can guide you in this way.
Just Dropped In - Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
(Yeah, yeah, oh-yeah, what condition my condition was in)
I woke up this mornin' with the sundown shinin' in
I found my mind in a brown paper bag within
I tripped on a cloud and fell-a eight miles high
I tore my mind on a jagged sky
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
(Yeah, yeah, oh-yeah, what condition my condition was in)
I pushed my soul in a deep dark hole and then I followed it in
I watched myself crawlin' out as I was a-crawlin' in
I got up so tight I couldn't unwind
I saw so much I broke my mind
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
psychedelic guitar instrumental break
(Yeah, yeah, oh-yeah, what condition my condition was in)
Someone painted "April Fool" in big black letters on a "Dead End" sign
I had my foot on the gas as I left the road and blew out my mind
Eight miles outta Memphis and I got no spare
Eight miles straight up downtown somewhere
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
I said I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
Yeah yeah oh-yeah
Listen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhOKhJaM1QE
Production: 105 (1964-1969)
Specific history of this car:
GT40 P/1079 was delivered new from Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV) as one of the few privately entered factory built lightweight racing cars to Mr Jean Blaton from Brussels, Belgium. Compared to the road cars (which are today often rebuilt and used as race cars), the competition cars had a stronger race spec engine, a smaller, but improved clutch and a 140 litre fuel tank. They also featured a lighter flywheel and 25% stiffer suspension all around. Further the race cars were missing its interior trim, the door pockets, a radio, the heater and exhaust silencers compared to the normal road cars. As this car was one of the very late cars built by John Wyer, it belongs to the last series of GT40 which had slightly modified body parts and was lighter than any of the earlier cars.
The original invoice, which comes with the car, proves that Blaton received the yellow car on the 20th April 1968 in Ostende, Belgium for the Ecurie Francorchamps. This was just in time to put the car on a transporter for the 1.000 km race in Monza. The drivers Willy Mairesse and “Jean Beurlys” (the racing name of Jean Blaton) qualified the car 6th on the grid, but had to stop the race after 89 laps due to wheel problems. The where still qualified 7th overall and 2nd in class! The next race for 1079 were the 1.000 km of Spa-Francorchamps, were the car was entered by the Belgium Claude Dubois in the name of the Ecurie Francorchamps, still in its Belgium racing colors. The car was again driven by Mairesse and “Beurlys” who qualified the car in third position, only beaten by the local hero Jacky Ickx in another GT40 and a experimental Ford on pole. The start went very well but the Ecurie Francorchamps had to retire after 45 laps.
For the 1968 24 hours of Le Mans, the car was once more entered by Claude Dubois in the name of his team Ecurie Claude Dubois. The original and stamped (18 March 1968) entry form and application forms which are coming with the car, are stating Dubois, “Beurlys” and Mairesse as drivers. After some technical problems during the tests, the ended up in qualifying, now with a fresh engine, 10th on the grip. Shortly before the start of the 24 hours race it started to rain. Mairesse drove off first, but lost the car in the rain and crashed it at high speed on the Mulsanne as a door flew open.
After the accident the car remained untouched for a while before it went to Switzerland where it was restored. In the late eighties/early nineties the car was sold to a French based investment funds including some other high valued cars. The car was then offered at a French auction in 1994 and also stayed in France until the last owner bought it in the late nineties. During a further restoration the car has been fully stripped and some wrong parts have been replaced or corrected. The car was then showed to Ronnie Spain, author of the book “GT40: An individual history and race record”, who immediately recognised the car and stated it in writing as the original, ex-Jean Blaton car.
Since then, the GT40 was successfully driven at several Le Mans Classic races since 2002. It also raced on various Tour Auto events and Goodwood Revivals with great success. 1079 is probably one of the best documented GT40 race cars until today. Not only is there a more than 400 pages expertise by Ronnie Spain, but also a full technical expertise certifying the authenticity of the chassis. We are very proud to offer this rare and original racing Ford GT40 in race-ready condition. Only very seldom do original competition GT40 appear on the market as most of the cars which are found in historic motorsport are modified road cars.
Source: www.mustangdrivers.be/Dubois_ShelbyEuropa/DuboisBeurlysGT...
In December 2024 a special exhibition was held about classic sports cars having participated in Le Mans races.
Metropole Museum
Druten, the Netherlands.
ENGLISH :
I dedicate this series to Moroccan women. I want them to know all the good that I think of them! I do not comment, I just want you to read between the "images"
Company/Owner: Victory Liner, Inc.
Fleet/Bus Number: 2086
Classification: Air-conditioned Provincial Bus
Coachbuilder: Santarosa Motor Works, Inc./Columbian Manufacturing Corporation
Body Model: Santarosa Daewoo Bus BV115
Engine Model: Doosan Infracore DE12TIS
Chassis Model: Daewoo BV115 (PL5UN58JDEK)
Transmission: 6-speed Manual Transmission
Suspension: Leaf Spring Suspension
Seating Configuration: 2×2
Seating Capacity: 49
Route: Tuguegarao City, Cagayan–Sampaloc, Manila via N1 (Maharlika Highway)
Municipalities/cities passing: Peñablanca/San Pablo/Cabagan/Tumauini/Ilagan City/Gamu/Naguilian/Reina Mercedes/Cauayan City/Alicia/Echague/San Isidro/Santiago City/Cordon/Diadi/Bagabag/Solano/Bayombong/Bambang/Ineangan (Dupax del Norte)/Gabut (Dupax del Sur)/Aritao/Santa Fe/Carranglan/San Jose City/Science City of Muñoz/Santo Domingo/Talavera/Cabanatuan City/Santa Rosa/San Leonardo/Gapan City/San Miguel/San Ildefonso/San Rafael/Baliuag/Pulilan/Plaridel/Santa Rita (Guiguinto)
Type of Operation: Provincial Operation Public Utility Bus (Regular Class)
Area of Operation: Cagayan Valley (Region II)
Shot location: Victory Liner Fuel Stop, Barangay Abar 1st, San Jose City, Nueva Ecija
Date taken: October 22, 2014
Notices:
* Please DON'T GRAB A PHOTO WITHOUT A PERMISSION. If you're going to GRAB IT, please give A CREDIT TO THE OWNER. Also, don't PRINT SCREEN my photos.
** If I have mistakes on the specifications, please comment in a good manner so that I can edit it immediately.
*** The specifications and routes (for provincial, inter-provincial, and city operation) mentioned above are subjected for verification and may be changed without prior notice.
**** The vehicle's registration plate(s), conduction sticker(s), and/or persons (if applicable) were pixelated/blurred to prevent any conflict with the photographer, the bus company and/or to the car owner for their security and/or privacy purposes. So, don't use their plate number, conduction sticker, and vehicle tag as an evidence for any incident. And, I have taken this photo for bus fanatics, bus enthusiasts, and bus lovers purposes.
Side profile view of a 1973 Dodge Dart Custom 4-Door, 6-Passenger Sedan, [LH41], export model assembled in Canada for the French market. One of approximately 62,626 Dart Custom 4-door sedans produced for 1973. Painted in “Dark Tan Polyurethane” w/ black vinyl roof. Original 224.7-CID Inline-6-cylinder engine mated w/ 3-speed “TorqueFlite” automatic gearbox, factory A/C. Very solid + clean condition throughout. The odometer read 11,304 miles (though unsure if genuine?)
This example was spotted behind a classic vehicle restoration workshop on the Ionian island of Kefalonia, Greece. The Dodge reportedly was recently unearthed from long-term indoor storage. Engine hasn’t ran “since the 1980s”.
Yellow car in the background is a British 1930s Austin.
The condition of the impressive An-22 on display in the museum is deteriorating due to the Moscow weather (when compared to earlier pictures on Flickr). Probably (and hopefully) the An-22 will be renovated somewhere in the future. (photo 278-2).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-22 The Antonov An-22 "Antei" (Ukrainian: Ан-22 Антей; Russian: Ан-22 Антей) is a heavy military transport aircraft designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Powered by four turboprop engines each driving a pair of contra-rotating propellers, the design was the first Soviet wide-body aircraft and remains the world's largest turboprop-powered aircraft to date. An-22 first appeared for public outside the Soviet Union at the 1965 Paris Air Show. Since then, the model saw extensive use in major military and humanitarian airlifts of the Soviet Union.
Company/Owner: Victory Liner, Inc.
Fleet/Bus Number: 129
Classification: Air-conditioned Provincial Bus
Coachbuilder: Hyundai Motor Company
Body Model: Hyundai Super Aero City
Engine Model: Hyundai D6AB (Q300)
Chassis Model: Hyundai Super Aero City (KMJTA18BPBC)
Transmission: 5-speed Manual Transmission
Suspension: Leaf Spring Suspension
Seating Configuration: 3×2
Seating Capacity: 56
Route: Monumento, Caloocan City–Apalit, Pampanga via NLEX-Balintawak–NLEX-Tabang / MacArthur Highway
Municipalities/cities passing: Tabang (Guiguinto)/Malolos City/Calumpit
Type of Operation: Provincial Operation Public Utility Bus (Economy Class)
Area of Operation: Central Luzon (Region III)
Shot Location: MacArthur Highway (Manila North Road), Barangay Sumapang Matanda, Malolos City, Bulacan
Date Taken: June 20, 2015
Notices:
* Please DON'T GRAB A PHOTO WITHOUT A PERMISSION. If you're going to GRAB IT, please give A CREDIT TO THE OWNER. Also, don't PRINT SCREEN my photos.
** If I have mistakes on the specifications, please comment in a good manner so that I can edit it immediately.
*** The specifications and routes (for provincial, inter-provincial, and city operation) mentioned above are subjected for verification and may be changed without prior notice.
**** The vehicle's registration plate(s), conduction sticker(s), and/or persons (if applicable) were pixelated/blurred to prevent any conflict with the photographer, the bus company and/or to the car owner for their security and/or privacy purposes. So, don't use their plate number, conduction sticker, and vehicle tag as an evidence for any incident. And, I have taken this photo for bus fanatics, bus enthusiasts, and bus lovers purposes.
Hudson Air Conditioning Services Mackay specialises in all of your air conditioning requirements; including Air Conditioning supply in Mackay, Air Conditioning installation in Mackay, servicing and Air Conditioning repair in Mackay. We offer free installation quotes for Mackay and Surrounds.
A DD6181S02 semi-low-floor rear-engine non-air-conditioning articulated city bus made by Huanghai Buses, Liaoning
One of the prior mass-produced 18m rear-engine articulated buses in China, DD6181 series, like BK6182(B), has a significant influence on China's articulated bus's design and manufacture. After their release, a surging number of domestic bus makers shifted their focus from costly, complicated low-floor articulated buses to more affordable semi-low-floor ones. Meanwhile, Beijing also led the trend of using rear-engine articulated buses on lines other than BRT.
DD6181 series are abbreviated as “Huanghou” (Huanghai rear), homophonic to “Queen” which becomes the nickname. Propulsion of DD6181S02 comes from a 260hp Iveco F4AE0682H*C diesel engine, and an Allison T310R 6AT gearbox with integrated retarder cooperates with the engine. The engine and the gearbox are lined in a T-drive configuration. Three axles are national-made air-sprung conventional axles, and the middle axle, neither steering nor driving, creates a ramp on the aisle above it. Front wheels are equipped with disk brakes while the ones behind are with drum brakes. Linking the two sections is a Chinese-made Ikarus hydraulic, electrically-controlled articulation bogie. At all three entrances, the floor is two steps above the ground. A MAN Lion's City's design is applied to the exterior, under MAN's permission.
S02 has big windows, wide middle and rear doors but a narrow front door. Interior workmanship presents Huanghai’s average level. Although not air-conditioned, the bus reserves the air-ducts. The upright engine raises the last row of seat so head space is very limited due to the air-ducts on each side of the ceiling---this is a long-complaint design flaw on S01 and S02. Although not decent enough, DD6181S05 is fairly above average judging from quality and reliability. Overall, the “Queens” are among the most satisfactory Huanghai buses in Beijing, playing significant roles on several first-class routes.
In the picture, Fleet No. 44279 (BPT Division 4, diesel articulated bus, code 279) on Line 347 is captured to the west of Zizhu (Purple Bamboo) Bridge, a three-level fly-over on West 3rd Ring Road. Line 347 is an important line linking Xinjiekou Huokou on the North 2nd Ring Road, and Badachu, a popular mountain park in Western Beijing outside the 5th Ring Road. The route spreads all along Xizhimen Outer Street and its streched sections, Zizhuyuan Road and Xingshikou Road.
We live in boxes, drive boxes, to work in 'cubicle-box colonies', then return to our own boxes, watch a box, and go to sleep - repeat process.
All the Drones working away in the colony, and if were lucky, some conditioning to give us the illusion of actually breathing in fresh air.
Photograph © Tyler Stone (2005)
Company/Owner: King's Coach Tour and Transport Corporation
Fleet/Bus Number: 807
Classification: Air-conditioned Tourist Chartered Bus
Coachbuilder: Kia Motors Corporation
Body Model: Kia Granbird SD-I Greenfield (Hyundai Universe face-lifted)
Engine Model: Hyundai D6AC (Q340)
Chassis Model: Kia KM948 (KN2GBB122YK)
Transmission: 5-speed Manual Transmission
Suspension: Air Suspension
Seating Configuration: 2+1×2
Seating Capacity: 60 (49 + 11 jump-seats)
Route: Various (Tourist Chartered)
Municipalities/cities passing: N/A
Type of Operation: Tourist Operation Non-Public Utility Bus (Special Trip / Tourist Class)
Area of Operation: Any point of Luzon: Ilocos Region (Region I), Cagayan Valley (Region II), Central Luzon (Region III), CALABARZON (Region IV-A), MIMAROPA (Region IV-B), Bicol Region (Region V), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)
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Company/Owner: AJU Global Transport Corporation
Fleet/Bus Number: 832
Classification: Air-conditioned Tourist Chartered Bus
Coachbuilder: Isuzu-Kawasaki Coach, Ltd.
Body Model: Isuzu Grand Cruiser
Engine Model: Isuzu 10PC1
Chassis Model: Isuzu P-LV719R
Transmission: 6-speed Manual Transmission
Suspension: Air Suspension
Seating Configuration: 2+1×2
Seating Capacity: 60 (49 + 11 jump-seats)
Route: Various (Tourist Chartered)
Municipalities/cities passing: N/A
Type of Operation: Tourist Operation Non-Public Utility Bus (Special Trip / Tourist Class)
Area of Operation: Any point of Luzon: Ilocos Region (Region I), Cagayan Valley (Region II), Central Luzon (Region III), CALABARZON (Region IV-A), MIMAROPA (Region IV-B), Bicol Region (Region V), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)
Shot Location: In-front of Barasoain Church, Malolos City, Bulacan
Date Taken: September 17, 2015
Notices:
* Please DON'T GRAB A PHOTO WITHOUT A PERMISSION. If you're going to GRAB IT, please give A CREDIT TO THE OWNER. Also, don't PRINT SCREEN my photos.
** If I have mistakes on the specifications, please comment in a good manner so that I can edit it immediately.
*** The specifications mentioned above are subjected for verification and may be changed without prior notice.
**** The vehicle's registration plate(s), conduction sticker(s), and/or persons (if applicable) were pixelated/blurred to prevent any conflict with the photographer, the bus company and/or to the car owner for their security and/or privacy purposes. So, don't use their plate number, conduction sticker, and vehicle tag as an evidence for any incident. And, I have taken this photo for bus fanatics, bus enthusiasts, and bus lovers purposes.
Partly built starting in 1145, and then reconstructed over a 26-year period after the fire of 1194, Chartres Cathedral marks the high point of French Gothic art. The vast nave, in pure ogival style, the porches adorned with fine sculptures from the middle of the 12th century, and the magnificent 12th- and 13th-century stained-glass windows, all in remarkable condition, combine to make it a masterpiece.
This camera is in mint condition, it seems that it was never used.
All the accessories are the original mentioned in the instructions book.
In 1968 appeared the
Olympus PEN EES-2
The camera offered automatic exposure control.
The selenium cell of the light meter was placed around the lens.
On the focus ring the distance was indicated by four symbols which had to be clicked into place..
The lens was a D. Zuiko 1:2,8 f = 30 mm.
The Pen EES-2 uses the same lens as the EES, but the shutter speeds are 1/40″ and 1/200″. The shutter speeds work exactly the same way as with the EES. The EES-2 also has a maximum film speed setting of 400 ASA. The EES-2 was the basis for the legendary Olympus Trip 35. The aperture, the shutter speeds, the film speed range, the way the shutter speeds are selected, the way the automatic aperture works are all identical. The only difference between the Pen EES-2 and the Trip 35 is that the Trip 35 is a full-frame camera and the EES-2 is a half-frame camera. The Trip 35 has a 40mm lens and the 30mm lens on the EES-2 is the equivalent of a 42mm lens on a full-frame camera, so it's just a bit narrower. Interestingly, both the Trip 35 and the EES-2 can use the uncommon 43.5mm filters.
Specifications Type: Olympus PEN EES - 2
Engraving: Olympus PEN
EES - 2 (on top)
Release date: March 1968
Body color:
Version 1: chrome, black
Version 2: chrome, gray
Leather color:
Version 1: black
Version 2: gray
Shutter: Copal X automatic
Shutter-Speeds: automatic
Flash synchronisation: X
Finder: Bright frame, Parallax marks
Rangefinder: none
Film Advance: Thumb wheel
Exposure meter: Selen
ASA: 25 to 400
Battery: none
Lens: D. Zuiko 1:2,8 f = 30 mm
F-Stop range: 2,8 bis 22 automatic
Focusing: 4 click Symbols
Elements: 4
Groups: 3
Size: 113 x 68 x 42 mm
Weight: 330 g
Price at release: 12.800 Yen
The Temple of Hephaestus is a well-preserved Greek temple dedicated to Hephaestus; it remains standing largely intact today. It is a Doric peripteral temple, and is located at the north-west side of the Agora of Athens, on top of the Agoraios Kolonos hill. From the 7th century until 1834, it served as the Greek Orthodox church of Saint George Akamates. The building's condition has been maintained due to its history of varied use.
Name
Hephaestus was the patron god of metal working, craftsmanship, and fire. There were numerous potters' workshops and metal-working shops in the vicinity of the temple, as befits the temple's honoree. Archaeological evidence suggests that there was no earlier building on the site except for a small sanctuary that was burned during the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BCE. The name Theseion or Temple of Theseus was attributed to the monument in modern times under the mistaken assumption that it housed the remains of the Athenian hero Theseus, brought back to the city from the island of Skyros by Kimon in 475 BCE, but refuted after inscriptions from within the temple associated it firmly with Hephaestus.
Construction
After the battle of Plataea, the Greeks swore never to rebuild their sanctuaries destroyed by the Persians during their invasion of Greece, but to leave them in ruins, as a perpetual reminder of the war. The Athenians directed their funds towards rebuilding their economy and strengthening their influence in the Delian League. When Pericles came to power, he envisioned a grand plan for transforming Athens into the centre of Greek power and culture. Construction started in 449 BCE, and some scholars believe the building not to have been completed for some three decades, funds and workers having been redirected towards the Parthenon. The western frieze was completed between 445–440 BCE, during which time the statue of Athena Hephaistia had been added to the shrine next to the cult statue of Hephaestus, while the eastern frieze, the western pediment and several changes in the building's interior are dated by these scholars to 435–430 BCE, largely on stylistic grounds. It was only during the Peace of Nicias (421–415 BCE) that the roof was completed and the cult images were installed.
Description
Many architects have been suggested but, without firm evidence, one refers simply to The Hephaisteion Master. The temple is built of marble from the nearby Mt. Penteli, excepting the bottom step of the krepis or platform. The architectural sculpture is in both Pentelic and Parian marble. The dimensions of the temple are 13.71 m north to south and 31.78 m east to west, with six columns on the short east and west sides and thirteen columns along the longer north and south sides (with each of the four corner columns being counted twice).
The building has a pronaos, a cella housing cult images at the centre of the structure, and an opisthodomos. The alignment of the antae of the pronaos with the third flank columns of the peristyle is a design element unique to the middle of the 5th century BCE.[citation needed] There is also an inner Doric colonnade with five columns on the north and south side and three across the end (with the corner columns counted twice).
The decorative sculptures highlight the extent of mixture of the two styles in the construction of the temple. Both the pronaos and the opisthodomos are decorated with continuous Ionic friezes instead of the more typical Doric triglyphs, supplementing the sculptures at the pediments. In the pediments, the Birth of Athena (east) and the Return of Hephaistos to Olympos (west), and, as akroteria, the Nereids Thetis and Eurynome (west) accompanied by Nikai, the two ensembles are dated to ca. 430 and ca. 420–413 BCE respectively. The frieze of the pronaos depicts a scene from the battle of Theseus with the Pallantides in the presence of gods while the frieze of the opisthodomos shows the battle of Centaurs and Lapiths.
Only 18 of the 68 metopes of the temple of Hephaestus were sculpted, concentrated especially on the east side of the temple; the rest were perhaps painted. The ten metopes on the east side depict the Labours of Heracles. The four easternmost metopes on the long north and south sides depict the Labours of Theseus.
According to Pausanias, the temple housed bronze statues of Athena and Hephaestus. An inscription records payments between 421–415 BCE for two bronze statues but it does not mention the sculptor. Tradition attributes the work to Alcamenes. Pausanias described the temple in the 2nd century:
Above the Kerameikos [in Athens] and the portico called the King's Portico is a temple of Hephaistos. I was not surprised that by it stands a statue of Athena, because I knew the story about Erikhthonios [i.e. the first king of Athens, a son of Hephaistos and Athena, birthed by Gaia the Earth].
In the 3rd century BCE a small garden of pomegranate, myrtle, and laurel trees and shrubs was planted around the temple.
The sanctuary would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.
Church
Around CE 700, the temple was turned into a Christian church, dedicated to Saint George. Exactly when the temple was converted to a Christian church remains unknown. There are assumptions however that this possibly occurred in the 7th century.
Adding all kind of adjectives in the names of the churches, or the commemorated saints, is commonplace in Greek-orthodox tradition. The characterization as Saint George "Akamates" has been given many explanations. One states that it probably derives from the name of Akamantas, the son of Theseus and Pheadra, later transformed to Akamatos, and later still to Akamates. Another is based on the literal sense of the word akamates (= flaneur, or loiterer), because during the Ottoman Era the temple was used only once a year, on the day of the feast of St. George. A third option is that the name is from Archbishop of Athens Michael Akominatos, who might have been the first to perform a Divine Liturgy in the church.
The last Divine Liturgy in the temple took place on 21 February 1833, during the celebrations for the arrival of Otto in Greece. In the presence of the Athenians and of many others the bishop Neophytos Talantiou (i.e. of Atalante) gave a speech.
19th century
When Athens became the official capital of Greece in 1834, the publication of the relevant royal edict was made in this temple that was the place of the last public turnout of the Athenians. It was used as a burial place for non-Orthodox Europeans in the 19th century, among whom were many philhellenes who gave their lives in the cause of Greek War of Independence (1821–1830). Among those buried in the site was John Tweddel, a friend of Lord Elgin, while excavations also revealed a slab from the grave of George Watson with a Latin epitaph by Lord Byron. In 1834, the first King of Greece, Otto I, was officially welcomed there. Otto ordered the building to be used as a museum, in which capacity it remained until 1934, when it reverted to its status of an ancient monument and extensive archaeological research was allowed.
Works modeled on, or inspired by, the Temple of Hephaestus
English garden (1795) Söderfors, Sweden
Hagley Park, Worcestershire (1758) West Midlands, by James "Athenian" Stuart
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial (1802–1817), Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, US
Monument to Sir Alexander Ball, (1810), Valletta, Malta
Dundalk Courthouse (1813), Dundalk, Ireland
Old Royal High School (1829), Edinburgh, Scotland
McKim Free School (1833), Baltimore, Maryland, US
Penshaw Monument (1844), Penshaw, Tyne and Wear, England
Old Montgomery County Court House (1844–1850), Dayton, Ohio, US
Vermont State House (1857–1859), Montpelier, Vermont, US.
Athens is a major coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, and it is both the capital and the largest city of Greece. With its urban area's population numbering over three million, it is also the eighth largest urban area in the European Union. Athens dominates and is the capital of the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning over 3,400 years, and its earliest human presence beginning somewhere between the 11th and 7th millennia BC. The city was named after Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom.
Classical Athens was one of the most powerful city-states in ancient Greece. It was a centre for democracy, the arts, education and philosophy, and was highly influential throughout the European continent, particularly in Ancient Rome. For this reason, it is often regarded as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy in its own right independently from the rest of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a huge cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in Greece. In 2023, Athens metropolitan area and its surrounding municipalities (consisting the regional area of Attica) has a population of approximately 3.8 million.
Athens is a Beta-status global city according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and is one of the biggest economic centers in Southeastern Europe. It also has a large financial sector, and its port Piraeus is both the 2nd busiest passenger port in Europe, and the 13th largest container port in the world. The Municipality of Athens (also City of Athens), which constitutes a small administrative unit of the entire urban area, had a population of 643,452 (2021) within its official limits, and a land area of 38.96 km2 (15.04 sq mi). The Athens metropolitan area or Greater Athens extends beyond its administrative municipal city limits as well as its urban agglomeration, with a population of 3,638,281 (2021) over an area of 2,928.717 km2 (1,131 sq mi). Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland.
The heritage of the Classical Era is still evident in the city, represented by ancient monuments, and works of art, the most famous of all being the Parthenon, considered a key landmark of early Western culture. The city also retains Roman, Byzantine and a smaller number of Ottoman monuments, while its historical urban core features elements of continuity through its millennia of history. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery. Landmarks of the modern era, dating back to the establishment of Athens as the capital of the independent Greek state in 1834, include the Hellenic Parliament and the Architectural Trilogy of Athens, consisting of the National Library of Greece, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and the Academy of Athens. Athens is also home to several museums and cultural institutions, such as the National Archeological Museum, featuring the world's largest collection of ancient Greek antiquities, the Acropolis Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art, the Benaki Museum, and the Byzantine and Christian Museum. Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics, making it one of five cities to have hosted the Summer Olympics on multiple occasions. Athens joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2016.
Etymology and names
In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι (Athênai, pronounced [atʰɛ̂ːnai̯] in Classical Attic), which is a plural word. In earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη (Athḗnē). It was possibly rendered in the plural later on, like those of Θῆβαι (Thêbai) and Μυκῆναι (Μukênai). The root of the word is probably not of Greek or Indo-European origin, and is possibly a remnant of the Pre-Greek substrate of Attica. In antiquity, it was debated whether Athens took its name from its patron goddess Athena (Attic Ἀθηνᾶ, Athēnâ, Ionic Ἀθήνη, Athḗnē, and Doric Ἀθάνα, Athā́nā) or Athena took her name from the city. Modern scholars now generally agree that the goddess takes her name from the city,[24] because the ending -ene is common in names of locations, but rare for personal names.
According to the ancient Athenian founding myth, Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, competed against Poseidon, the God of the Seas, for patronage of the yet-unnamed city; they agreed that whoever gave the Athenians the better gift would become their patron and appointed Cecrops, the king of Athens, as the judge. According to the account given by Pseudo-Apollodorus, Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a salt water spring welled up. In an alternative version of the myth from Vergil's poem Georgics, Poseidon instead gave the Athenians the first horse. In both versions, Athena offered the Athenians the first domesticated olive tree. Cecrops accepted this gift and declared Athena the patron goddess of Athens. Eight different etymologies, now commonly rejected, have been proposed since the 17th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος (áthos) or ἄνθος (ánthos) meaning "flower", to denote Athens as the "flowering city". Ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- (tháō, thē-, "to suck") to denote Athens as having fertile soil. Athenians were called cicada-wearers (Ancient Greek: Τεττιγοφόροι) because they used to wear pins of golden cicadas. A symbol of being autochthonous (earth-born), because the legendary founder of Athens, Erechtheus was an autochthon or of being musicians, because the cicada is a "musician" insect. In classical literature, the city was sometimes referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindar's ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι (iostéphanoi Athânai), or as τὸ κλεινὸν ἄστυ (tò kleinòn ásty, "the glorious city").
During the medieval period, the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα. Variant names included Setines, Satine, and Astines, all derivations involving false splitting of prepositional phrases. King Alphonse X of Castile gives the pseudo-etymology 'the one without death/ignorance'. In Ottoman Turkish, it was called آتينا Ātīnā, and in modern Turkish, it is Atina.
History
Main article: History of Athens
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Athens.
Historical affiliations
Kingdom of Athens 1556 BC–1068 BC
City-state of Athens 1068 BC–322 BC
Hellenic League 338 BC–322 BC
Kingdom of Macedonia 322 BC–148 BC
Roman Republic 146 BC–27 BC
Roman Empire 27 BC–395 AD
Eastern Roman Empire 395–1205
Duchy of Athens 1205–1458
Ottoman Empire 1458–1822, 1827–1832
Greece 1822–1827, 1832–present
Antiquity
The oldest known human presence in Athens is the Cave of Schist, which has been dated to between the 11th and 7th millennia BC. Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least 5,000 years (3000 BC). By 1400 BC, the settlement had become an important centre of the Mycenaean civilization, and the Acropolis was the site of a major Mycenaean fortress, whose remains can be recognised from sections of the characteristic Cyclopean walls. Unlike other Mycenaean centers, such as Mycenae and Pylos, it is not known whether Athens suffered destruction in about 1200 BC, an event often attributed to a Dorian invasion, and the Athenians always maintained that they were pure Ionians with no Dorian element. However, Athens, like many other Bronze Age settlements, went into economic decline for around 150 years afterwards. Iron Age burials, in the Kerameikos and other locations, are often richly provided for and demonstrate that from 900 BC onwards Athens was one of the leading centres of trade and prosperity in the region.
By the sixth century BC, widespread social unrest led to the reforms of Solon. These would pave the way for the eventual introduction of democracy by Cleisthenes in 508 BC. Athens had by this time become a significant naval power with a large fleet, and helped the rebellion of the Ionian cities against Persian rule. In the ensuing Greco-Persian Wars Athens, together with Sparta, led the coalition of Greek states that would eventually repel the Persians, defeating them decisively at Marathon in 490 BC, and crucially at Salamis in 480 BC. However, this did not prevent Athens from being captured and sacked twice by the Persians within one year, after a heroic but ultimately failed resistance at Thermopylae by Spartans and other Greeks led by King Leonidas, after both Boeotia and Attica fell to the Persians.
The decades that followed became known as the Golden Age of Athenian democracy, during which time Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece, with its cultural achievements laying the foundations for Western civilization. The playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides flourished in Athens during this time, as did the historians Herodotus and Thucydides, the physician Hippocrates, and the philosopher Socrates. Guided by Pericles, who promoted the arts and fostered democracy, Athens embarked on an ambitious building program that saw the construction of the Acropolis of Athens (including the Parthenon), as well as empire-building via the Delian League. Originally intended as an association of Greek city-states to continue the fight against the Persians, the league soon turned into a vehicle for Athens's own imperial ambitions. The resulting tensions brought about the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), in which Athens was defeated by its rival Sparta.
By the mid-4th century BC, the northern Greek kingdom of Macedon was becoming dominant in Athenian affairs. In 338 BC the armies of Philip II defeated an alliance of some of the Greek city-states including Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea. Later, under Rome, Athens was given the status of a free city because of its widely admired schools. In the second century AD, The Roman emperor Hadrian, himself an Athenian citizen, ordered the construction of a library, a gymnasium, an aqueduct which is still in use, several temples and sanctuaries, a bridge and financed the completion of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
In the early 4th century AD, the Eastern Roman Empire began to be governed from Constantinople, and with the construction and expansion of the imperial city, many of Athens's works of art were taken by the emperors to adorn it. The Empire became Christianized, and the use of Latin declined in favour of exclusive use of Greek; in the Roman imperial period, both languages had been used. In the later Roman period, Athens was ruled by the emperors continuing until the 13th century, its citizens identifying themselves as citizens of the Roman Empire ("Rhomaioi"). The conversion of the empire from paganism to Christianity greatly affected Athens, resulting in reduced reverence for the city.[33] Ancient monuments such as the Parthenon, Erechtheion and the Hephaisteion (Theseion) were converted into churches. As the empire became increasingly anti-pagan, Athens became a provincial town and experienced fluctuating fortunes.
The city remained an important center of learning, especially of Neoplatonism—with notable pupils including Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil of Caesarea and emperor Julian (r. 355–363)—and consequently a center of paganism. Christian items do not appear in the archaeological record until the early 5th century. The sack of the city by the Herules in 267 and by the Visigoths under their king Alaric I (r. 395–410) in 396, however, dealt a heavy blow to the city's fabric and fortunes, and Athens was henceforth confined to a small fortified area that embraced a fraction of the ancient city. The emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) banned the teaching of philosophy by pagans in 529, an event whose impact on the city is much debated, but is generally taken to mark the end of the ancient history of Athens. Athens was sacked by the Slavs in 582, but remained in imperial hands thereafter, as highlighted by the visit of the emperor Constans II (r. 641–668) in 662/3 and its inclusion in the Theme of Hellas.
Middle Ages
The city was threatened by Saracen raids in the 8th–9th centuries—in 896, Athens was raided and possibly occupied for a short period, an event which left some archaeological remains and elements of Arabic ornamentation in contemporary buildings—but there is also evidence of a mosque existing in the city at the time. In the great dispute over Byzantine Iconoclasm, Athens is commonly held to have supported the iconophile position, chiefly due to the role played by Empress Irene of Athens in the ending of the first period of Iconoclasm at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. A few years later, another Athenian, Theophano, became empress as the wife of Staurakios (r. 811–812).
Invasion of the empire by the Turks after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, and the ensuing civil wars, largely passed the region by and Athens continued its provincial existence unharmed. When the Byzantine Empire was rescued by the resolute leadership of the three Komnenos emperors Alexios, John and Manuel, Attica and the rest of Greece prospered. Archaeological evidence tells us that the medieval town experienced a period of rapid and sustained growth, starting in the 11th century and continuing until the end of the 12th century.
The Agora (marketplace) had been deserted since late antiquity, began to be built over, and soon the town became an important centre for the production of soaps and dyes. The growth of the town attracted the Venetians, and various other traders who frequented the ports of the Aegean, to Athens. This interest in trade appears to have further increased the economic prosperity of the town.
The 11th and 12th centuries were the Golden Age of Byzantine art in Athens. Almost all of the most important Middle Byzantine churches in and around Athens were built during these two centuries, and this reflects the growth of the town in general. However, this medieval prosperity was not to last. In 1204, the Fourth Crusade conquered Athens and the city was not recovered from the Latins before it was taken by the Ottoman Turks. It did not become Greek in government again until the 19th century.
From 1204 until 1458, Athens was ruled by Latins in three separate periods, following the Crusades. The "Latins", or "Franks", were western Europeans and followers of the Latin Church brought to the Eastern Mediterranean during the Crusades. Along with rest of Byzantine Greece, Athens was part of the series of feudal fiefs, similar to the Crusader states established in Syria and on Cyprus after the First Crusade. This period is known as the Frankokratia.
Ottoman Athens
The first Ottoman attack on Athens, which involved a short-lived occupation of the town, came in 1397, under the Ottoman generals Yaqub Pasha and Timurtash. Finally, in 1458, Athens was captured by the Ottomans under the personal leadership of Sultan Mehmed II. As the Ottoman Sultan rode into the city, he was greatly struck by the beauty of its ancient monuments and issued a firman (imperial edict) forbidding their looting or destruction, on pain of death. The Parthenon was converted into the main mosque of the city.
Under Ottoman rule, Athens was denuded of any importance and its population severely declined, leaving it as a "small country town" (Franz Babinger). From the early 17th century, Athens came under the jurisdiction of the Kizlar Agha, the chief black eunuch of the Sultan's harem. The city had originally been granted by Sultan Ahmed I (r. 1603–1617) to Basilica, one of his favourite concubines, who hailed from the city, in response of complaints of maladministration by the local governors. After her death, Athens came under the purview of the Kizlar Agha.
The Turks began a practice of storing gunpowder and explosives in the Parthenon and Propylaea. In 1640, a lightning bolt struck the Propylaea, causing its destruction. In 1687, during the Morean War, the Acropolis was besieged by the Venetians under Francesco Morosini, and the temple of Athena Nike was dismantled by the Ottomans to fortify the Parthenon. A shot fired during the bombardment of the Acropolis caused a powder magazine in the Parthenon to explode (26 September), and the building was severely damaged, giving it largely the appearance it has today. The Venetian occupation of Athens lasted for six months, and both the Venetians and the Ottomans participated in the looting of the Parthenon. One of its western pediments was removed, causing even more damage to the structure. During the Venetian occupation, the two mosques of the city were converted into Catholic and Protestant churches, but on 9 April 1688 the Venetians abandoned Athens again to the Ottomans.
Modern history
In 1822, a Greek insurgency captured the city, but it fell to the Ottomans again in 1826 (though Acropolis held till June 1827). Again the ancient monuments suffered badly. The Ottoman forces remained in possession until March 1833, when they withdrew. At that time, the city (as throughout the Ottoman period) had a small population of an estimated 400 houses, mostly located around the Acropolis in the Plaka.
Following the Greek War of Independence and the establishment of the Greek Kingdom, Athens was chosen to replace Nafplio as the second capital of the newly independent Greek state in 1834, largely because of historical and sentimental reasons. At the time, after the extensive destruction it had suffered during the war of independence, it was reduced to a town of about 4,000 people (less than half its earlier population) in a loose swarm of houses along the foot of the Acropolis. The first King of Greece, Otto of Bavaria, commissioned the architects Stamatios Kleanthis and Eduard Schaubert to design a modern city plan fit for the capital of a state.
The first modern city plan consisted of a triangle defined by the Acropolis, the ancient cemetery of Kerameikos and the new palace of the Bavarian king (now housing the Greek Parliament), so as to highlight the continuity between modern and ancient Athens. Neoclassicism, the international style of this epoch, was the architectural style through which Bavarian, French and Greek architects such as Hansen, Klenze, Boulanger or Kaftantzoglou designed the first important public buildings of the new capital. In 1896, Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games. During the 1920s a number of Greek refugees, expelled from Asia Minor after the Greco-Turkish War and Greek genocide, swelled Athens's population; nevertheless it was most particularly following World War II, and from the 1950s and 1960s, that the population of the city exploded, and Athens experienced a gradual expansion.
In the 1980s, it became evident that smog from factories and an ever-increasing fleet of automobiles, as well as a lack of adequate free space due to congestion, had evolved into the city's most important challenge.[citation needed] A series of anti-pollution measures taken by the city's authorities in the 1990s, combined with a substantial improvement of the city's infrastructure (including the Attiki Odos motorway, the expansion of the Athens Metro, and the new Athens International Airport), considerably alleviated pollution and transformed Athens into a much more functional city. In 2004, Athens hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Geography
Athens sprawls across the central plain of Attica that is often referred to as the Athens Basin or the Attica Basin (Greek: Λεκανοπέδιο Αθηνών/Αττικής). The basin is bounded by four large mountains: Mount Aigaleo to the west, Mount Parnitha to the north, Mount Pentelicus to the northeast and Mount Hymettus to the east. Beyond Mount Aegaleo lies the Thriasian plain, which forms an extension of the central plain to the west. The Saronic Gulf lies to the southwest. Mount Parnitha is the tallest of the four mountains (1,413 m (4,636 ft)), and has been declared a national park. The Athens urban area spreads over 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Agios Stefanos in the north to Varkiza in the south. The city is located in the north temperate zone, 38 degrees north of the equator.
Athens is built around a number of hills. Lycabettus is one of the tallest hills of the city proper and provides a view of the entire Attica Basin. The meteorology of Athens is deemed to be one of the most complex in the world because its mountains cause a temperature inversion phenomenon which, along with the Greek government's difficulties controlling industrial pollution, was responsible for the air pollution problems the city has faced. This issue is not unique to Athens; for instance, Los Angeles and Mexico City also suffer from similar atmospheric inversion problems.
The Cephissus river, the Ilisos and the Eridanos stream are the historical rivers of Athens.
Environment
By the late 1970s, the pollution of Athens had become so destructive that according to the then Greek Minister of Culture, Constantine Trypanis, "...the carved details on the five the caryatids of the Erechtheum had seriously degenerated, while the face of the horseman on the Parthenon's west side was all but obliterated." A series of measures taken by the authorities of the city throughout the 1990s resulted in the improvement of air quality; the appearance of smog (or nefos as the Athenians used to call it) has become less common.
Measures taken by the Greek authorities throughout the 1990s have improved the quality of air over the Attica Basin. Nevertheless, air pollution still remains an issue for Athens, particularly during the hottest summer days. In late June 2007, the Attica region experienced a number of brush fires, including a blaze that burned a significant portion of a large forested national park in Mount Parnitha, considered critical to maintaining a better air quality in Athens all year round. Damage to the park has led to worries over a stalling in the improvement of air quality in the city.
The major waste management efforts undertaken in the last decade (particularly the plant built on the small island of Psytalia) have greatly improved water quality in the Saronic Gulf, and the coastal waters of Athens are now accessible again to swimmers.
Parks and zoos
Parnitha National Park is punctuated by well-marked paths, gorges, springs, torrents and caves dotting the protected area. Hiking and mountain-biking in all four mountains are popular outdoor activities for residents of the city. The National Garden of Athens was completed in 1840 and is a green refuge of 15.5 hectares in the centre of the Greek capital. It is to be found between the Parliament and Zappeion buildings, the latter of which maintains its own garden of seven hectares. Parts of the City Centre have been redeveloped under a masterplan called the Unification of Archeological Sites of Athens, which has also gathered funding from the EU to help enhance the project. The landmark Dionysiou Areopagitou Street has been pedestrianised, forming a scenic route. The route starts from the Temple of Olympian Zeus at Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, continues under the southern slopes of the Acropolis near Plaka, and finishes just beyond the Temple of Hephaestus in Thiseio. The route in its entirety provides visitors with views of the Parthenon and the Agora (the meeting point of ancient Athenians), away from the busy City Centre.
The hills of Athens also provide green space. Lycabettus, Philopappos hill and the area around it, including Pnyx and Ardettos hill, are planted with pines and other trees, with the character of a small forest rather than typical metropolitan parkland. Also to be found is the Pedion tou Areos (Field of Mars) of 27.7 hectares, near the National Archaeological Museum. Athens' largest zoo is the Attica Zoological Park, a 20-hectare (49-acre) private zoo located in the suburb of Spata. The zoo is home to around 2000 animals representing 400 species, and is open 365 days a year. Smaller zoos exist within public gardens or parks, such as the zoo within the National Garden of Athens.
Climate
Athens has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa). According to the meteorological station near the city center which is operated by the National Observatory of Athens, the downtown area has an annual average temperature of 19.2 °C (66.6 °F) while parts of the urban agglomeration may reach up to 19.8 °C (67.6 °F), being affected by the urban heat island effect. Athens receives about 433.1 millimetres (17.05 in) of precipitation per year, largely concentrated during the colder half of the year with the remaining rainfall falling sparsely, mainly during thunderstorms. Fog is rare in the city center, but somewhat more frequent in areas to the east, close to mount Hymettus.
The southern section of the Athens metropolitan area (i.e., Elliniko, Athens Riviera) lies in the transitional zone between Mediterranean (Csa) and hot semi-arid climate (BSh), with its port-city of Piraeus being the most extreme example, receiving just 331.9 millimetres (13.07 in) per year. The areas to the south generally see less extreme temperature variations as their climate is moderated by the Saronic gulf. The northern part of the city (i.e., Kifissia), owing to its higher elevation, features moderately lower temperatures and slightly increased precipitation year-round. The generally dry climate of the Athens basin compared to the precipitation amounts seen in a typical Mediterranean climate is due to the rain shadow effect caused by the Pindus mountain range and the Dirfys and Parnitha mountains, substantially drying the westerly and northerly winds respectively.
Snowfall is not very common, though it occurs almost annually, but it usually does not cause heavy disruption to daily life, in contrast to the northern parts of the city, where blizzards occur on a somewhat more regular basis. The most recent examples include the snowstorms of 16 February 2021 and 24 January 2022, when the entire urban area was blanketed in snow.
Athens may get particularly hot in the summer, owing partly to the strong urban heat island effect characterizing the city. In fact, Athens is considered to be the hottest city in mainland Europe, and is the first city in Europe to appoint a chief heat officer to deal with severe heat waves. Temperatures of 47.5°C have been reported in several locations of the metropolitan area, including within the urban agglomeration. Metropolitan Athens was until 2021 the holder of the World Meteorological Organization record for the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe with 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) which was recorded in the areas of Elefsina and Tatoi on 10 July 1977.
Administration
Athens became the capital of Greece in 1834, following Nafplion, which was the provisional capital from 1829. The municipality (City) of Athens is also the capital of the Attica region. The term Athens can refer either to the Municipality of Athens, to Greater Athens or urban area, or to the entire Athens Metropolitan Area.
The large City Centre (Greek: Κέντρο της Αθήνας) of the Greek capital falls directly within the Municipality of Athens or Athens Municipality (Greek: Δήμος Αθηναίων)—also City of Athens. Athens Municipality is the largest in population size in Greece. Piraeus also forms a significant city centre on its own within the Athens Urban Area and it is the second largest in population size within it.
Athens Urban Area
The Athens Urban Area (Greek: Πολεοδομικό Συγκρότημα Αθηνών), also known as Urban Area of the Capital (Greek: Πολεοδομικό Συγκρότημα Πρωτεύουσας) or Greater Athens (Greek: Ευρύτερη Αθήνα), today consists of 40 municipalities, 35 of which make up what was referred to as the former Athens Prefecture municipalities, located within 4 regional units (North Athens, West Athens, Central Athens, South Athens); and a further 5 municipalities, which make up the former Piraeus Prefecture municipalities, located within the regional unit of Piraeus as mentioned above.
The Athens Municipality forms the core and center of Greater Athens, which in its turn consists of the Athens Municipality and 40 more municipalities, divided in four regional units (Central, North, South and West Athens), accounting for 2,611,713 people (in 2021) within an area of 361 km2 (139 sq mi). Until 2010, which made up the abolished Athens Prefecture and the municipality of Piraeus, the historic Athenian port, with 4 other municipalities make up the regional unit of Piraeus. The regional units of Central Athens, North Athens, South Athens, West Athens and Piraeus with part of East and West Attica regional units combined make up the continuous Athens Urban Area, also called the "Urban Area of the Capital" or simply "Athens" (the most common use of the term), spanning over 412 km2 (159 sq mi), with a population of 3,059,764 people as of 2021. The Athens Urban Area is considered to form the city of Athens as a whole, despite its administrative divisions, which is the largest in Greece and the 9th most populated urban area in Europe.
Demographics
The Municipality of Athens has an official population of 643,452 people (in 2021). According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, The four regional units that make up what is referred to as Greater Athens have a combined population of 2,611,713 . They together with the regional unit of Piraeus (Greater Piraeus) make up the dense Athens Urban Area which reaches a total population of 3,059,764 inhabitants (in 2021).
The municipality (Center) of Athens is the most populous in Greece, with a population of 643,452 people (in 2021) and an area of 38.96 km2 (15.04 sq mi), forming the core of the Athens Urban Area within the Attica Basin. The incumbent Mayor of Athens is Kostas Bakoyannis of New Democracy. The municipality is divided into seven municipal districts which are mainly used for administrative purposes.
For the Athenians the most popular way of dividing the downtown is through its neighbourhoods such as Pagkrati, Ampelokipoi, Goudi, Exarcheia, Patisia, Ilisia, Petralona, Plaka, Anafiotika, Koukaki, Kolonaki and Kypseli, each with its own distinct history and characteristics.
Safety
Athens ranks in the lowest percentage for the risk on frequency and severity of terrorist attacks according to the EU Global Terrorism Database (EIU 2007–2016 calculations). The city also ranked 35th in Digital Security, 21st on Health Security, 29th on Infrastructure Security and 41st on Personal Security globally in a 2017 The Economist Intelligence Unit report. It also ranks as a very safe city (39th globally out of 162 cities overall) on the ranking of the safest and most dangerous countries. As May 2022 the crime index from Numbeo places Athens at 56.33 (moderate), while its safety index is at 43.68.Crime in Athens According to a Mercer 2019 Quality of Living Survey, Athens ranks 89th on the Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranking.
Economy
Athens is the financial capital of Greece. According to data from 2014, Athens as a metropolitan economic area produced US$130 billion as GDP in PPP, which consists of nearly half of the production for the whole country. Athens was ranked 102nd in that year's list of global economic metropolises, while GDP per capita for the same year was 32,000 US-dollars.
Athens is one of the major economic centres in south-eastern Europe and is considered a regional economic power. The port of Piraeus, where big investments by COSCO have already been delivered during the recent decade, the completion of the new Cargo Centre in Thriasion, the expansion of the Athens Metro and the Athens Tram, as well as the Hellenikon metropolitan park redevelopment in Elliniko and other urban projects, are the economic landmarks of the upcoming years.
Prominent Greek companies such as Hellas Sat, Hellenic Aerospace Industry, Mytilineos Holdings, Titan Cement, Hellenic Petroleum, Papadopoulos E.J., Folli Follie, Jumbo S.A., OPAP, and Cosmote have their headquarters in the metropolitan area of Athens. Multinational companies such as Ericsson, Sony, Siemens, Motorola, Samsung, Microsoft, Teleperformance, Novartis, Mondelez and Coca-Cola also have their regional research and development headquarters in the city.
The banking sector is represented by National Bank of Greece, Alpha Bank, Eurobank, and Piraeus Bank, while the Bank of Greece is also situated in the City Centre. The Athens Stock Exchange was severely hit by the Greek government-debt crisis and the decision of the government to proceed into capital controls during summer 2015. As a whole the economy of Athens and Greece was strongly affected, while data showed a change from long recession to growth of 1.4% from 2017 onwards.
Tourism is also a leading contributor to the economy of the city, as one of Europe's top destinations for city-break tourism, and also the gateway for excursions to both the islands and other parts of the mainland. Greece attracted 26.5 million visitors in 2015, 30.1 million visitors in 2017, and over 33 million in 2018, making Greece one of the most visited countries in Europe and the world, and contributing 18% to the country's GDP. Athens welcomed more than 5 million tourists in 2018, and 1.4 million were "city-breakers"; this was an increase by over a million city-breakers since 2013.
Tourism
Athens has been a destination for travellers since antiquity. Over the past decade, the city's infrastructure and social amenities have improved, in part because of its successful bid to stage the 2004 Olympic Games. The Greek Government, aided by the EU, has funded major infrastructure projects such as the state-of-the-art Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, the expansion of the Athens Metro system, and the new Attiki Odos Motorway
Education
Located on Panepistimiou Street, the old campus of the University of Athens, the National Library, and the Athens Academy form the "Athens Trilogy" built in the mid-19th century. The largest and oldest university in Athens is the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Most of the functions of NKUA have been transferred to a campus in the eastern suburb of Zografou. The National Technical University of Athens is located on Patision Street.
The University of West Attica is the second largest university in Athens. The seat of the university is located in the western area of Athens, where the philosophers of Ancient Athens delivered lectures. All the activities of UNIWA are carried out in the modern infrastructure of the three University Campuses within the metropolitan region of Athens (Egaleo Park, Ancient Olive Groove and Athens), which offer modern teaching and research spaces, entertainment and support facilities for all students. Other universities that lie within Athens are the Athens University of Economics and Business, the Panteion University, the Agricultural University of Athens and the University of Piraeus.
There are overall ten state-supported Institutions of Higher (or Tertiary) education located in the Athens Urban Area, these are by chronological order: Athens School of Fine Arts (1837), National Technical University of Athens (1837), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1837), Agricultural University of Athens (1920), Athens University of Economics and Business (1920), Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (1927), University of Piraeus (1938), Harokopio University of Athens (1990), School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (2002), University of West Attica (2018). There are also several other private colleges, as they called formally in Greece, as the establishment of private universities is prohibited by the constitution. Many of them are accredited by a foreign state or university such as the American College of Greece and the Athens Campus of the University of Indianapolis.
Culture
The city is a world centre of archaeological research. Alongside national academic institutions, such as the Athens University and the Archaeological Society, it is home to multiple archaeological museums, taking in the National Archaeological Museum, the Cycladic Museum, the Epigraphic Museum, the Byzantine & Christian Museum, as well as museums at the ancient Agora, Acropolis, Kerameikos, and the Kerameikos Archaeological Museum. The city is also the setting for the Demokritos laboratory for Archaeometry, alongside regional and national archaeological authorities forming part of the Greek Department of Culture.
Athens hosts 17 Foreign Archaeological Institutes which promote and facilitate research by scholars from their home countries. As a result, Athens has more than a dozen archaeological libraries and three specialized archaeological laboratories, and is the venue of several hundred specialized lectures, conferences and seminars, as well as dozens of archaeological exhibitions each year. At any given time, hundreds of international scholars and researchers in all disciplines of archaeology are to be found in the city.
Athens' most important museums include:
the National Archaeological Museum, the largest archaeological museum in the country, and one of the most important internationally, as it contains a vast collection of antiquities. Its artefacts cover a period of more than 5,000 years, from late Neolithic Age to Roman Greece;
the Benaki Museum with its several branches for each of its collections including ancient, Byzantine, Ottoman-era, Chinese art and beyond;
the Byzantine and Christian Museum, one of the most important museums of Byzantine art;
the National Art Gallery, the nation's eponymous leading gallery, which reopened in 2021 after renovation;
the National Museum of Contemporary Art, which opened in 2000 in a former brewery building;
the Numismatic Museum, housing a major collection of ancient and modern coins;
the Museum of Cycladic Art, home to an extensive collection of Cycladic art, including its famous figurines of white marble;
the New Acropolis Museum, opened in 2009, and replacing the old museum on the Acropolis. The new museum has proved considerably popular; almost one million people visited during the summer period June–October 2009 alone. A number of smaller and privately owned museums focused on Greek culture and arts are also to be found.
the Kerameikos Archaeological Museum, a museum which displays artifacts from the burial site of Kerameikos. Much of the pottery and other artifacts relate to Athenian attitudes towards death and the afterlife, throughout many ages.
the Jewish Museum of Greece, a museum which describes the history and culture of the Greek Jewish community.
Architecture
Athens incorporates architectural styles ranging from Greco-Roman and Neoclassical to Modern. They are often to be found in the same areas, as Athens is not marked by a uniformity of architectural style. A visitor will quickly notice the absence of tall buildings: Athens has very strict height restriction laws in order to ensure the Acropolis Hill is visible throughout the city. Despite the variety in styles, there is evidence of continuity in elements of the architectural environment throughout the city's history.
For the greatest part of the 19th century Neoclassicism dominated Athens, as well as some deviations from it such as Eclecticism, especially in the early 20th century. Thus, the Old Royal Palace was the first important public building to be built, between 1836 and 1843. Later in the mid and late 19th century, Theophil Freiherr von Hansen and Ernst Ziller took part in the construction of many neoclassical buildings such as the Athens Academy and the Zappeion Hall. Ziller also designed many private mansions in the centre of Athens which gradually became public, usually through donations, such as Schliemann's Iliou Melathron.
Beginning in the 1920s, modern architecture including Bauhaus and Art Deco began to exert an influence on almost all Greek architects, and buildings both public and private were constructed in accordance with these styles. Localities with a great number of such buildings include Kolonaki, and some areas of the centre of the city; neighbourhoods developed in this period include Kypseli.
In the 1950s and 1960s during the extension and development of Athens, other modern movements such as the International style played an important role. The centre of Athens was largely rebuilt, leading to the demolition of a number of neoclassical buildings. The architects of this era employed materials such as glass, marble and aluminium, and many blended modern and classical elements. After World War II, internationally known architects to have designed and built in the city included Walter Gropius, with his design for the US Embassy, and, among others, Eero Saarinen, in his postwar design for the east terminal of the Ellinikon Airport.
Urban sculpture
Across the city numerous statues or busts are to be found. Apart from the neoclassicals by Leonidas Drosis at the Academy of Athens (Plato, Socrates, Apollo and Athena), others in notable categories include the statue of Theseus by Georgios Fytalis at Thiseion; depictions of philhellenes such as Lord Byron, George Canning, and William Gladstone; the equestrian statue of Theodoros Kolokotronis by Lazaros Sochos in front of the Old Parliament; statues of Ioannis Kapodistrias, Rigas Feraios and Adamantios Korais at the University; of Evangelos Zappas and Konstantinos Zappas at the Zappeion; Ioannis Varvakis at the National Garden; the" Woodbreaker" by Dimitrios Filippotis; the equestrian statue of Alexandros Papagos in the Papagou district; and various busts of fighters of Greek independence at the Pedion tou Areos. A significant landmark is also the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma.
Entertainment and performing arts
Athens is home to 148 theatrical stages, more than any other city in the world, including the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus, home to the Athens Festival, which runs from May to October each year. In addition to a large number of multiplexes, Athens plays host to open air garden cinemas. The city also supports music venues, including the Athens Concert Hall (Megaro Moussikis), which attracts world class artists. The Athens Planetarium, located in Andrea Syngrou Avenue, in Palaio Faliro is one of the largest and best equipped digital planetaria in the world. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, inaugurated in 2016, will house the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera. In 2018 Athens was designated as the World Book Capital by UNESCO.
Restaurants, tavernas and bars can be found in the entertainment hubs in Plaka and the Trigono areas of the historic centre, the inner suburbs of Gazi and Psyrri are especially busy with nightclubs and bars, while Kolonaki, Exarchia, Metaxourgeio, Koukaki and Pangrati offer more of a cafe and restaurant scene. The coastal suburbs of Microlimano, Alimos and Glyfada include many tavernas, beach bars and busy summer clubs.
The most successful songs during the period 1870–1930 were the Athenian serenades (Αθηναϊκές καντάδες), based on the Heptanesean kantádhes (καντάδες 'serenades'; sing.: καντάδα) and the songs performed on stage (επιθεωρησιακά τραγούδια 'theatrical revue songs') in revues, musical comedies, operettas and nocturnes that were dominating Athens' theatre scene.
In 1922, following the war, genocide and later population exchange suffered by the Greek population of Asia Minor, many ethnic Greeks fled to Athens. They settled in poor neighbourhoods and brought with them Rebetiko music, making it also popular in Greece, and which later became the base for the Laïko music. Other forms of song popular today in Greece are elafrolaika, entechno, dimotika, and skyladika. Greece's most notable, and internationally famous, composers of Greek song, mainly of the entechno form, are Manos Hadjidakis and Mikis Theodorakis. Both composers have achieved fame abroad for their composition of film scores.
The renowned American-born Greek soprano Maria Callas spent her teenage years in Athens, where she settled in 1937. Her professional opera career started in 1940 in Athens, with the Greek National Opera. In 2018, the city's municipal Olympia Theatre was renamed to "Olympia City Music Theatre 'Maria Callas'" and in 2023, the Municipality inaugurated the Maria Callas Museum, housing it in a neoclassical building on 44 Mitropoleos street.
Sports
The Panathenaic Stadium of Athens (Kallimarmaron) dates back to the fourth century BC and has hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
Agia Sophia Stadium
Athens has a long tradition in sports and sporting events, serving as home to the most important clubs in Greek sport and housing a large number of sports facilities. The city has also been host to sports events of international importance.
Athens has hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice, in 1896 and 2004. The 2004 Summer Olympics required the development of the Athens Olympic Stadium, which has since gained a reputation as one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world, and one of its most interesting modern monuments. The biggest stadium in the country, it hosted two finals of the UEFA Champions League, in 1994 and 2007. Athens' other major stadiums are the Karaiskakis Stadium located in Piraeus, a sports and entertainment complex, host of the 1971 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, and Agia Sophia Stadium located in Nea Filadelfeia.
Athens has hosted the EuroLeague final three times, the first in 1985 and second in 1993, both at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, most known as SEF, a large indoor arena, and the third time in 2007 at the Olympic Indoor Hall. Events in other sports such as athletics, volleyball, water polo etc., have been hosted in the capital's venues.
Athens is home to three European multi-sport clubs: Panathinaikos, originated in Athens city centre, Olympiacos, originated in the suburb of Piraeus and AEK Athens, originated in the suburb of Nea Filadelfeia. In football, Panathinaikos made it to the 1971 European Cup Final, Olympiacos have dominated domestic competitions, while AEK Athens is the other member of the big three. These clubs also have basketball teams; Panathinaikos and Olympiacos are among the top powers in European basketball, having won the Euroleague six times and three respectively, whilst AEK Athens was the first Greek team to win a European trophy in any team sport.
Other notable clubs within Athens are Athinaikos, Panionios, Atromitos, Apollon, Panellinios, Egaleo F.C., Ethnikos Piraeus, Maroussi BC and Peristeri B.C. Athenian clubs have also had domestic and international success in other sports.
The Athens area encompasses a variety of terrain, notably hills and mountains rising around the city, and the capital is the only major city in Europe to be bisected by a mountain range. Four mountain ranges extend into city boundaries and thousands of kilometres of trails criss-cross the city and neighbouring areas, providing exercise and wilderness access on foot and bike.
Beyond Athens and across the prefecture of Attica, outdoor activities include skiing, rock climbing, hang gliding and windsurfing. Numerous outdoor clubs serve these sports, including the Athens Chapter of the Sierra Club, which leads over 4,000 outings annually in the area.
Athens was awarded the 2004 Summer Olympics on 5 September 1997 in Lausanne, Switzerland, after having lost a previous bid to host the 1996 Summer Olympics, to Atlanta, United States. It was to be the second time Athens would host the games, following the inaugural event of 1896. After an unsuccessful bid in 1990, the 1997 bid was radically improved, including an appeal to Greece's Olympic history. In the last round of voting, Athens defeated Rome with 66 votes to 41. Prior to this round, the cities of Buenos Aires, Stockholm and Cape Town had been eliminated from competition, having received fewer votes. Although the heavy cost was criticized, estimated at $1.5 billion, Athens was transformed into a more functional city that enjoys modern technology both in transportation and in modern urban development. The games welcomed over 10,000 athletes from all 202 countries.
Company/Owner: Victory Liner, Inc.
Fleet/Bus Number: 2102
Classification: Air-conditioned Provincial Bus
Coachbuilder: Santarosa Motor Works, Inc./Columbian Motors Corporation
Body Model: MAN/Santarosa EXFOH High-Deck A55
Engine Model: MAN D2866LOH27
Chassis Model: MAN 18.310 HOCL (PBMA551038MX)
Transmission: 6-speed Automatic Transmission
Suspension: Air Suspension
Seating Configuration: 2×2
Seating Capacity: 49
Route: San Fernando City, Pampanga–Monumento, Caloocan City via NLEX-San Fernando–NLEX-Balintawak - extra trip route; Monumento, Caloocan City–Olongapo City, Zambales via Jose Abad Santos Avenue (Olongapo–Gapan Road) / Olongapo–Bugallon Road - regular trip route
Municipalities/cities passing: N/A
Type of Operation: Provincial Operation Public Utility Bus (Regular Class)
Area of Operation: Central Luzon (Region III)
Shot location: Victory Liner Terminal, Barangay Dolores, San Fernando City, Pampanga
Date taken: June 8, 2015
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