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(•) – The Lockheed Martin HC-130J Hercules The Combat King II is the U.S. Air Force's only dedicated fixed-wing personnel recovery platform and is flown by the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and Air Combat Command (ACC). This C-130J variation specializes in tactical profiles and avoiding detection and recovery operations in austere environments. The HC-130J replaces HC-130P/Ns as the only dedicated fixed-wing Personnel Recovery platform in the Air Force inventory. It is an extended-range version of the C-130J Hercules transport. Its mission is to rapidly deploy to execute combatant commander directed recovery operations to austere airfields and denied territory for expeditionary, all weather personnel recovery operations to include airdrop, airland, helicopter air-to-air refueling, and forward area ground refueling missions. When tasked, the aircraft also conducts humanitarian assistance operations, disaster response, security cooperation/aviation advisory, emergency aeromedical evacuation, and noncombatant evacuation operations.
Features
Modifications to the HC-130J have improved navigation, threat detection and countermeasures systems. The aircraft fleet has a fully-integrated inertial navigation and global positioning systems, and night vision goggle, or NVG, compatible interior and exterior lighting. It also has forward-looking infrared, radar and missile warning receivers, chaff and flare dispensers, satellite and data-burst communications, and the ability to receive fuel inflight via a Universal Aerial Refueling Receptacle Slipway Installation (UARRSI).
The HC-130J can fly in the day; however, crews normally fly night at low to medium altitude levels in contested or sensitive environments, both over land or overwater. Crews use NVGs for tactical flight profiles to avoid detection to accomplish covert infiltration/exfiltration and transload operations. To enhance the probability of mission success and survivability near populated areas, crews employ tactics that include incorporating no external lighting or communications, and avoiding radar and weapons detection.
Drop zone objectives are done via personnel drops and equipment drops. Rescue bundles include illumination flares, marker smokes and rescue kits. Helicopter air-to-air refueling can be conducted at night, with blacked out communication with up to two simultaneous helicopters. Additionally, forward area refueling point operations can be executed to support a variety of joint and coalition partners.
Background
The HC-130J is a result of the HC/MC-130 recapitalization program and replaces Air Combat Command's aging HC-130P/N fleet as the dedicated fixed-wing personnel recovery platform in the Air Force inventory. The 71st and 79th Rescue Squadrons in Air Combat Command, the 550th Special Operations Squadron in Air Education and Training Command, the 920th Rescue Group in Air Force Reserve Command and the 106th Rescue Wing, 129th RQW and 176th Wing in the Air National Guard will operate the aircraft.
First flight was 29 July 2010, and the aircraft will serve the many roles and missions of the HC-130P/Ns. It is a modified KC-130J aircraft designed to conduct personnel recovery missions, provide a command and control platform, in-flight-refuel helicopters and carry supplemental fuel for extending range or air refueling.
In April 2006, the personnel recovery mission was transferred back to Air Combat Command at Langley AFB, Va. From 2003 to 2006, the mission was under the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Previously, HC-130s were assigned to ACC from 1992 to 2003. They were first assigned to the Air Rescue Service as part of Military Airlift Command.
General Characteristics
Primary function: Fixed-wing Personnel Recovery platform
Contractor: Lockheed Aircraft Corp.
Power Plant: Four Rolls Royce AE2100D3 turboprop engines
Thrust: 4,591 Propeller Shaft Horsepower, each engine
Wingspan: 132 feet, 7 inches (40.4 meters)
Length: 97 feet, 9 inches (29.57 meters)
Height: 38 feet, 9 inches (11.58 meters)
Operating Weight: 89,000 pounds (40,369 kilograms)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 164,000 pounds (74,389 kilograms)
Fuel Capacity: 61,360 pounds (9,024 gallons)
Payload: 35,000 pounds (15,875 kilograms)
Speed: 316 knots indicated air speed at sea level
Range: beyond 4,000 miles (3,478 nautical miles)
Ceiling: 33,000 feet (10,000 meters)
Armament: countermeasures/flares, chaff
Basic Crew: Three officers (pilot, co-pilot, combat system officer) and two enlisted loadmasters
Unit Cost: $66 million (fiscal 2010 replacement cost)
Initial operating capability: 2013.
Dedicated in August 2001 , it is a 12 foot high bronze sculpture, on a granite base, along the Gloucester waterfront
Saint Saviour Church (or Crkva sveti Spasa in Croatian) is a small votive church located in Dubrovnik's Old Town. It is dedicated to Jesus Christ, and was built in 1520.
Dubrovnik (historically called Ragusa in Latin and Italian) is a city on the Adriatic Sea in southern Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, a seaport and the center of Dubrovnik-Neretva County. Its total population is 42,615 (census 2011). In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites.
The prosperity of the city was historically based on maritime trade; as the capital of the maritime Republic of Ragusa, it achieved a high level of development, particularly during the 15th and 16th centuries, as it became notable for its wealth and skilled diplomacy. The city has been controlled by the Venetians, French, and Austrians at different times in its history.
In 1991, after the break-up of Yugoslavia, Dubrovnik was besieged by Serbian and Montenegrin soldiers of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) for seven months and suffered significant damage from shelling. After repair and restoration works in the 1990s and early 2000s, Dubrovnik re-emerged as one of the top tourist destinations in the Mediterranean.
Information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubrovnik
CONTINGENCY OPERATING LOCATION DEASON, Iraq – Staff Maj. Gen. Ali Jassim Muhammad al-Furaiji, commanding general of 17th Iraqi Army Division, and Col. Roger Cloutier, commander of 1st Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Div., stand in front of a giant eagle head statue dedicated to 17th IA prior to the opening ceremony of the new Combined Division Operations Center May 23. The eagle head was originally a gift to U.S. forces and since 17th IA is nicknamed “the Eagles,” U.S. leaders said it was fitting to pass the gift on. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Daniel Schneider, 366th MPAD, USD-C)
This 1866 memorial window is dedicated to the memory of Charles & Mary Boucher. Designed by William Wailes in a 13th century style. It contains 15 medallions depicting scenes from the life of Christ.
William Wailes (1808-81) was born in Northumberland and in 1838 established a business in Newcastle-upon-Tyne which developed to a considerable size and supplied glass by various designers to churches all over England, though the greatest quantity of their work is to be found in the North East. Wailes, by origin a grocer and also a landscape painter, was interested mainly in the business side and his new approach, which involved making glass on a scale previously unheard of, helped to ensure his success, for it meant he could undercut the prices of his rivals yet prosper. For a few years from 1841 he was A W N Pugin’s preferred glass maker and in the 1850s the expanding business supplied architects like W Butterfield, J L Pearson and H Woodyer. Its designs continued to be firmly gothic after Wailes in 1861 went into partnership with his son-in-law Thomas Rankine Strang (1835-99). Strang was also primarily a businessman, who took over the firm after Wailes died and was in turn followed by his son William Wailes Strang (1867-1942) until it closed in 1914. For much of this later period the main designer is thought to have been T R Strang’s wife, Margaret Janet Strang (1834-1901), who was the daughter of Wailes.
The Great Central Railway held its annual ‘Wartime Weekend’ event on 9th June 2012, with stations each carrying a theme and occupied by dedicated forces, with reenactors mingling with the public and carrying out numerous demonstrations throughout both days.
Dedicated to those who lost their lives trying to save the German Barque "Mexico", wrecked off Southport, the night of December 9th, 1886.
The Mexico was on its way from Liverpool to Guayaquil, Ecuador when it was caught in a storm. Lifeboats were launched from Lytham, St. Annes and Southport to rescue the crew. The Lytham lifeboat Charles Biggs, which was on her maiden rescue, rescued the twelve crew but both the St. Annes lifeboat Laura Janet and the Southport lifeboat Eliza Fernley were capsized, and 27 of the 29 crew were drowned. To date, this is the worst loss of RNLI crew in a single incident.
Dedicated to the founders and contributors that offered their time and help to our distinctive students; the first graduating class of the President's Society.
Dedicated to the Glory of Ukraine - 20 images - Canon EOS 40D with Legacy Super-Takumar 1:3.5 28mm Prime (M42 mount) & Fotodiox M42-EOS adapter & Polarizer - Photographer Russell McNeil PhD (Physics) lives on Vancouver Island, where he works as a writer.
The Foișor Church is located at 119 Foișorului Street in Bucharest, Romania.
It is dedicated to the Nativity of Mary.
Situated on a hillock, the church was founded by Smaranda, the third wife of Prince Nicholas Mavrocordatos, as a chapel for her houses.
The pisanie is from November 1745, marking the date of completion.
The princely houses offered a fine view of the Dâmbovița River.
They were linked to the Văcărești Monastery over the swampy ground in between by a wooden bridge provided with a turret or foișor.
This foisor gave rise to the name of the district and church.
The church and houses were placed under the authority of Radu Vodă Monastery, which owned the area.
Ban Mihail Cantacuzino mentioned the church as possessing an inn, namely the houses.
By 1813, the building was in ruins and needed repairs, carried out in 1849.
The iconostasis of the church was damaged by the 1838 earthquake.
Until 1880, the open portico served as a church school for the children of parishioners; a church singer would teach pupils to read the Horologion and the psalter.
In 1888-1889, the portico was enclosed with glass and the windows enlarged.
An ambon was installed and the old frescoes covered in oil paintings by Gheorghe Tattarescu.
A lead roof was added in 1914-1915, while an altar entrance room was added to the southeast.
Serving as a vestry and, in the basement, as a deposit for liturgical items, the small area is decorated similarly to the facade.
The interior, maintaining much of its original appearance, is in contrast with the exterior, modified during the 19th century.
In the 1980s, when the neighborhood underwent systematization, the architect in charge deliberately omitted the church from the plans he presented to dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, in order to protect it from demolition.
The cross-shaped Foisor church measures 20.3 meters long by 8.7 meters wide, with an ample dome above the nave and a bell tower above the narthex.
The octagonal domes sit on square bases; their windows fit into recessed semicircular arches.
The narthex and portico area is significantly broader than the nave.
There is a cornice between the side apses and the narthex, beneath the joint roof.
The portico features three frontal three-lobed arches; the pediment above ends in a cross.
The portal leading to the narthex has a Brâncovenesc frame with floral motifs.
The pisanie sits above, displaying the Wallachian coat of arms.
The door, from 1757, has a special lock, signed by its maker, the carpenter Andrei.
The facades are divided into two sections of unequal size, separated by a simple string course.
On the lower side, there is a series of arched frames resting on simple columns; the windows, ending in arches, are between these.
The upper part is narrow.
On the west and north sides, there are medallions, once painted; on the south, horizontal fluting in the masonry and tracery carved in stone.
The portico has a vaulted ceiling and consolidated arches.
The narthex ceiling, typical for the 18th century, is also vaulted, ending in pendentives and wide lateral arches.
Portico and narthex are separated by a wall with three three-lobed arches held up by stone columns with slightly twisted double fluting.
The capitals, bases and two supports of the columns, decorated with flowers in relief, are characteristic of the Mavrocordatos era.
The columns on the side walls are worked simply in masonry.
The main dome rises above the austere nave, held up by arches and pendentives.
The 18th-century masonry iconostasis has door frames with accolades.
The bishop’s throne to the right and the side seats are finely carved in wood.
The ktetors’ portraits are on the right side of the narthex.
The churchyard is entered beneath a belfry built later.
Fragments of the old houses, built using narrow bricks, survive.
There are two old stone crosses inscribed in Romanian Cyrillic.
The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.
A Rockbridge County bridge on I-81 is dedicated July 14, 2014, at the Hines Memorial Armory in Lexington, Va., in honor of Master Trooper Jerry Hines, a Virginia State Police trooper killed in the line of duty Feb. 20, 1989, who also served as a first sergeant at the armory later named in his honor. Col. W. Steven Flaherty, superintendent for the Virginia State Police officiated the ceremony and Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds and Virginia state Delegate Ben Cline, who both sponsored the legislation to name the bridge in Hines’ honor, spoke at the ceremony, along with retired Maj. J.T. “Jimmy” Poole, Hines’ commander at the time of his death. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Terra C. Gatti, Virginia Guard Public Affairs)
The dedicated high speed line allowed our TGV service to reach its optimum cruising speed of 320km/h or exactly 200mph. Travelling at that speed across the eastern part of France was delightful, with a silky smooth ride and an ever changing vista outside.
The TGV was a double decker - very comfortable and spacious with AC power delivered to your seat. Highly recommended.
Joseph Stella: Visionary Nature
February 24 – May 21, 2023
Italian-born American modernist Joseph Stella (1877–1946) is primarily recognized for his dynamic Futurist-inspired paintings of New York, especially the Brooklyn Bridge and Coney Island. Lesser known, but equally as ambitious, is his work dedicated to the natural world, a theme that served as a lifelong inspiration. Throughout his career, Stella produced an extraordinary number of works—in many formats and in diverse media—that take nature as their subject. These lush and colorful works are filled with flowers, trees, birds, and fish—some of which he encountered on his travels across continents or during his visits to botanical gardens, while others are abstracted and fantastical. Through these pictures, he created a rich and variegated portrait of nature, a sanctuary for a painter in a modern world.
Joseph Stella: Visionary Nature is co-organized by the High and the Brandywine River Museum of Art and is the first major museum exhibition to exclusively examine Stella’s nature-based works. The exhibition features more than one hundred paintings and works on paper that reveal the complexity and spirituality that drove Stella’s nature-based works and the breadth of his artistic vision. Through expanded in-gallery didactics, including a graphic timeline of Stella’s career and a short film, the exhibition digs deeply into the context of the works, exploring their inspirations, meanings, and stylistic influences.
Touring Dates:
Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida (October 15, 2022–January 15, 2023)
Brandywine Museum of Art, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania (June 17, 2023–September 24, 2023)
www.nytimes.com/2022/11/30/arts/design/joseph-stella-flor...
www.forbes.com/sites/natashagural/2022/12/21/joseph-stell...
www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/joseph-stel...
If you know the painter Joseph Stella, it’s probably from his famous urban landscapes like Brooklyn Bridge (1921), a futurist interpretation of New York’s dramatic 20th-century industrialization. But Stella was just as captivated by the botanical world as he was by cityscapes, and today, Atlantans can see that side of the artist in vivid color. Joseph Stella: Visionary Nature, an explosive new exhibit at the High Museum of Art, features dozens of his flower and plant-filled paintings and drawings. In Atlanta through May 21, the exhibit travels chronologically through Stella’s lifelong love-affair with the natural world, from an early study of a piece of bark to the epic, intricate Tree of My Life.
Visionary Nature was a joint effort between the High; the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach, Florida; and the Brandywine Museum in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, where it heads next. “They were really focused on [Stella’s] nature works, and we have a great work by Stella here at the High,” said Stephanie Heydt, the museum’s Margaret and Terry Stent Curator of American Art. “It was a great collaboration.”
Stella was born in 1877 in Muro Lucano, a hilly city in southern Italy. He immigrated to New York originally intending to follow his brother into medicine, but after a uninspired stint in medical school, he pivoted to painting. Stella studied briefly under the impressionist painter William Merritt Chase at the New York School of Art and soon developed a reputation as a sensitive interpreter of the urban working class.
The High’s exhibit features of some of these early works, in which the natural world spills out amidst the smokestacks and steel mills of America’s industrial revolution. “This is the Progressive Era at the turn of the twentieth century,” Heydt explained. “And he’s looking at the people in his own community, specifically the Italian immigrants.”
Traveling back in Europe, Stella was inspired by the contemporary artists he saw there: the cubism of Pablo Picasso and early futurism of Umberto Boccioni. He drew on these sources back in the U.S, earning acclaim for his dynamic geometric paintings of the metropolis; several choice selections, including American Landscape (1929), and Smoke Stacks (1921), are on view in this exhibit.
But even as Stella built his career on the towering achievements of urban industry, he yearned for the sunny landscapes of his youth. He frequented havens like the Bronx Botanical Gardens, which opened in 1891 and offered escape from New York’s sooty streets. Walking through Brooklyn one day, he later wrote in an essay, he stumbled across a sapling.
“This little tree is coming up from a crack in the sidewalk, shadowed by a factory, and he sees himself in this tree,” Heydt said. “He says, This is me.”
That encounter inspired Tree of My Life (1919) a florid aria sung to the natural world. A sturdy olive tree—Stella himself—anchors the canvas, surrounded by a vortex of tropical plants, birds, and, in the background, Stella’s native Italian hills. Brandywine Museum Director Thomas Padon envisaged the exhibit after seeing Tree of My Life in a private collection. “I was transfixed,” Padon told the New York Times.
Stella painted Tree of My Life and Brooklyn Bridge within a year of each other, announcing a duality that would define the rest of this career. While he painted flowers throughout his life, it was his moody, futurist treatments of New York that made him an art-world celebrity. European artists fleeing World War I were landing in New York in droves, sparking a new creative fascination with the cutting-edge American city. “(Marcel) Duchamp says the art of Europe is dead, and this century is about America,” explained Heydt. “Stella’s understood to be one of the first American-based painters to figure out . . . how to paint the new modern city.”
But Stella’s love of the natural world—and of Europe—endured. He returned to botanical themes throughout his life, infused with the Old Master styles of the Italian Renaissance. Many works in this exhibit invoke the sun-drenched vistas and towering cathedrals of Italy, overrun by sumptuous flowers that are decidedly not native to the Iberian peninsula. Stella—a native turned immigrant—seems to delight in the contradiction: in Dance of Spring (1924), tropical orchids and calla lilies burst open in a beam of beatific light, like Jesus rising to the heavens in a Raphael. Purissima (1927), part of the High’s own collection, evokes the iconic Renaissance Madonna, here transformed by Stella’s whimsy: the stamens of a lily serve as her celestial crown, while snowy egrets (the Florida kind) grace her sides.
With saturations of color abounding in every room, Visionary Nature enjoys an added depth through words. Stella was a prolific writer, and the exhibit makes canny use of text to explore his passion for the living world. “My devout wish,” reads one such diary segment on view, “That my every working day might begin and end . . . with the light, gay painting of a flower.” In a unique addition to their exhibition, the High created a short video featuring more of Stella’s own thoughts. “We wanted to end with his voice telling us how he felt about various paintings in the show . . . or his ideas about art,” explained Heydt.
Stella, who died in 1946, spent the last years of his life in ill health, largely confined to his studio. He never stopped painting the natural world; a few of those last works, modest trees still full of flair, are on view here. A few years before his death, his friend and fellow artist Charmion von Wiegand paid a visit to his studio. She found Stella amidst a riot of color, studiously painting his favorite subject. “Flower studies of all kinds litter the floor,” wrote von Wiegand, “and turn it into a growing garden.”
Brihadeeshwara Temple (Peruvudaiyar Kovil) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in Thanjavur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is also known as Periya Kovil, RajaRajeswara Temple and Rajarajesvaram. It is one of the largest temples in India and is an example of Dravidian architecture during the Chola period. Built by emperor Raja Raja Chola I and completed in 1010 AD, the temple turned 1000 years old in 2010. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the “Great Living Chola Temples”, with the other two being the Brihadeeswarar Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Airavatesvara temple.
The temple stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in the 16th century. The vimanam (temple tower) is 216 ft (66 m) high and is the tallest in the world. The Kumbam (the apex or the bulbous structure on the top) of the temple is carved out of a single rock and weighs around 80 tons.
There is a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock measuring about 16 ft (4.9 m) long and 13 ft (4.0 m) high at the entrance. The entire temple structure is made out of granite, the nearest sources of which are about 60 km to the west of temple. The temple is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu.
History of Brihadeeswarar Temple
rulmozhivarman, a Tamil emperor who was popular as Rajaraja Chola I laid out foundations of Brihadeeswarar Temple during 1002 CE. It was first among other great building projects by Tamil Chola. A symmetrical and axial geometry rules layout of this temple. Temples from same period and two following centuries are expressions of Tamils Chola power, artistic expertise and wealth. Emergence of these types of features, such as multifaceted columns along with projecting signals of square capitals signifies arrival of Chola style, which was new at that time.
It is one architectural exemplar, which showcases true form of Dravida kind of architecture in temples and is a representative of ideology of Chola Empire and Southern India’s Tamil civilization. Brihadeeswarar Temple “testifies to Chola’s brilliant achievements in architecture, painting, bronze casting and sculpture.”
It is said that after seeing Pallava Rajasimha Temples in Kanchipuram, Emperor Rajaraja Cholan had the dream of establishing such a huge temple for Lord Shiva. Brihadeeswarar Temple is first among all buildings, which make use of granite fully and it finished within five years from 1004 AD to 1009 AD.
The greatest of Chola emperors Rajaraja-I (985 A.D – 1012 A.D) the son of Sundara Chola (Parantaka-II) and Vanavan mahadevi built this magnificent temple named Brihadeeswarar at Thanjavur – the capital of Chola dynasty.
From the Epigraphical evidence it is known about Rajaraja-I started building this temple on his 19th year and completed on 275th day of his 25th year. It took just 6 years to complete this work on 1010 A.D.
The Chola reign declined and they were ousted by the Pandyas who were in turn thrown over by the Vijayanagara Empire. In 1535, the Vijayanagara king installed a Nayak king and the clan, called Tanjore Nayaks, reigned till the mid-17th century. In 1674, the Marathas conquered Tanjore. Later, like the rest of the country, Thanjavur too fell into British hands.
The inscriptions and frescoes on the walls of Brihadeeswarar Temple record the rise and fall of the city’s fortunes. Shiva’s representation is as a gigantic stone lingam. This is covered by a vimanam that extends to 216 feet. It is built with stones that are bonded and notched without any mortar. The topmost stone, an engineering marvel, weighs about eighty tons.
Rajaraja-I named this temple as Rajarajesvaram and the deity Shiva in Linga form as Peruvudaiyar, the temple is also known in the deity’s name as Peruvudaiyarkovil (in Tamil language). In later period Maratta and Nayaks rulers constructed various shrines and gopurams of the temple.
The Brihadeeswarar Temple was completed in around 1010 in the southeastern part of the new capital Thanjavur constructed in the basin of the Kaveri (Cauvery) River by the king of the Chola Dynasty, Rajaraja I (r. 985-1014). It has also been called Rajarajesvara Temple after the king’s name. It is one of the two greatest temples from the age of the Chola Dynasty together with the Rajendra -Cholisvara Temple built in the next new capital, Gangaikondacholapuram, which was constructed by his successor Rajendra I. Those constructions were prodigious national projects showing the Chola Empire’s hegemony in south India.
It is said that the Brihadeeswarar Temple was erected in only seven years. Its precincts are surrounded with cloisters covering an area of 120m by 240m and are also surrounded outside with heavy brick walls for an area of 350m square including a large tank (reservoir).
There is a Nandi Shrine, two continuous extensive Mandapas (worship rooms), an Antarala (antechamber), and a Vimana with a high tower, all in line on the east-west axis.
On the same axis stand Gopurams (temple gateways) of the early phase at the eastern center of the cloister and the brick wall. They are the sole entrance spots to the temple precincts.
Though they are embellished with sculptures, they look much lower than later Gopurams of huge temples in south India, as the height of the Vimana is great in contrast.
The second Gopura on the line of the cloisters is 24m in both width and height, lower than the first Gopura, but its sculptures are larger, with a pair of Dvarapalas (guardian figures) on both sides of the doorway.
Nandhi of Brihadeeswarar Temple
In the cloisters surrounding the precincts is a line of Lingas (phalluses), symbol of Shiva, and wall paintings from the Nayaka period on the rear walls delight the eye of pilgrims. This Brihadeeswarar Temple made of granite and brick is the greatest work of the Dravidian (northern) style in its grand scale and high degree of perfection, alongside of the great temple in Gangaikondacholapuram. The development of stone temples in the southern Indian style, having started at the small temples at Mahabalipuram, reached their summit here. It became the model of the temples to be built in south India and Southeast Asia in the period of the Chola Dynasty.
However, after the end of the Chola Dynasty in the 13th century, temple style would change dramatically. Huge Vimanas would not be built anymore, rather temple precincts would be expanded, surrounding the temple in fold upon fold, and constructing only Gopurams in a colossal scale on the four sides. The outer Gopurams would be erected higher, and would eventually attain more than 60m. The relationship of height between the main shrine and its gates would be completely reversed. From this point too, the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur is the best representative of orthodox south Indian temple architecture.
Popularity
Thanjavur Periya Koil is the grandest creation of Cholas and it is visible from any area in Thanjavur, perhaps the only temple with such a characteristic.
This temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Great Living Chola Temples”. The temple became popular all over the country on its 1000th birthday in September 2010. In its commemoration, a rupees postage stamp, featuring the 216 feet tall Raja Gopuram (Vimana) was released by the India Post. A 5 rupee coin was released by the Reserve Bank of India. A 1000 Rupees Commemorative Coin with the same picture on the 5 rupees coin of Thanjavur Periya Kovil will be issued soon. This will be the first 1000 Rupees coin to be released in the Republic of India coinage, but it will not be for public circulation. In April 1954, the Reserve Bank of India had released a 1000 rupees currency note with panoramic view of the temple. Later, during the Indira Gandhi rule, all 1000 rupees notes were demonetized to curtail black money.
Temple Timeline
he much celebrated ‘Ponnambalam’ (temple with golden roof) at Thillai (Chidambaram) was just a few hours of journey away.
Thiruvarur, the most important ‘Sapta Vitanka Sthalam’, which had the patronage of the Cholas right from the days of Manuneedhi Cholan and Musukuntha Cholan, was also nearby.
So were numerous temples referred to as ‘paadal Petra Sthalangals’ – temples where the Saivite saints Appar, Sundarar, Sambandhar and Manickavasagar had sung Thevaram hymns (religious hymns praising the deeds of Lord Shiva).
Then, what made Rajaraja Cholan build a massive temple in his capital city?
Few centuries back, the Pallavas had given a new dimension to art and architecture. Under their patronage rose the majestic Rathas, Shore Temple and Yali Caves at Mamallapuram. Rajasimha Pallavan built two splendid temples in Kanchipuram ‘Paramesvara Vinnagaram’ and ‘Kailasanathar Kovil’. The latter, dedicated to Lord Siva, held Rajaraja Cholan’s attention. He called it ‘kachchipettu Periya Thali’ (The Big Temple of Kanchipuram). Rajaraja Cholan’s dreams and aspirations were always huge. The visionary he was in all matters, there is no wonder that he envisaged a huge temple to celebrate the power of divinity.
Many a people, have wondered why he chose to build an imposing monument. Did he want to showcase the power and might of his empire by building something colossal? Did he want to stamp his authority and tell the world, ‘Look what I have accomplished?’ Did he want to get rid of sins wrought by years of warfare or get a magical cure to a disease of unknown origin, as some people claim? May be the reason was simple. He wanted to show the whole world the towering presence of God that is everlasting against human life that is highly evanescent.
أفرح معك و أزعل عليك و أشتاق لك و أتحداك
أضعف و أقوى بين يديك و تجرفني اللـهفه جداك
بكل المقاييس أهتويك في القلب و المهجه غلاك
و أصبّر فوادي عليك و أصفح و أسامح لك خطاك
و أبيع غيرك و أشتريك و أنسى الألم و أنا معاك
Detail from the facade of the smaller of the two temples at Abu Simbel, dedicated to the favourite wife of Ramesses II, Queen Nefertari.
The rock-cut temples of Abu Simbel are one of Egypt's greatest wonders, and the most powerful testimony to the ambition of the country's greatest Pharaoh, Ramesses II. The visitor cannot fail to be impressed by the sheer spectacle of it all, there is simply nothing else quite like standing before these awe-inspiring colossi hewn from the living rock.
The temples were carved in the 19th Dynasty (c1264-44 BC) at the height of the long reign of Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses the Great) at a remote location along the Nile close to Egypt's southern border in Nubia (close to the border of modern-day Sudan), doubtless to serve as a statement of Pharaonic power to Egypt's southern neighbours. Any visitor travelling northwards would have passed these wonders and have immediately known who was in charge!
The temples also serve as Ramesses's offering to the gods, though deities are easily forgotten amidst his own omnipresent likenesses. The more famous main temple featuring the four seated colossi of Ramesses is dedicated to the gods Ptah, Amun and Ra-Horakhte, along with Ramesses deified self, the whole edifice serving as his own apotheosis. The interior of the temple culminates with (sadly mutilated) carved figures of all four, which are illuminated by the Sun on two separate days of the year.
The facade is dominated by the two pairs of Ramesses colossi, each with smaller figures of queens and princesses alongside or between their legs. The upper half of one of the great figures collapsed in antiquity, pieces of the head and crown remain lying on the ground below. In the centre within a niche above the entrance stands the falcon-headed Sun-god Ra-Harakhte (large in itself though dwarfed by Ramesses) but even the act of placing a deity at the centre of the facade serves the cult of the Pharaoh, since the god holding an User-staff and a figure of the goddess Maat enables the statue to symbolise Ramesses's coronation-name 'User-Maat-Re'.
Within the temple lies an impressive pillared hall, each column again bearing the likeness of Ramesses, this time in standing figures in the pose of Osiris. Reliefs show the king before the gods and a large chariot scene from the battle of Kadesh. Various side rooms contain more humbly finished reliefs whilst the final room is the sanctuary with the gods' images described above.
To the right of the temple of Ramesses stands the smaller temple dedicated to his favourite wife, Queen Nefertari (nominally dedicated to the goddess Hathor whose image is carved on the columns within). The facade is adorned with six standing figures in deeply-splayed niches, four more of Ramesses himself and the remaining two of Nefertari, and unusual prominence for a queen.
The temples are often best remembered for their dramatic rescue during the 1960s when the construction of the Aswan High Dam threatened to submerge them completely. Many Nubian temples were relocated at this time to save them from the rising waters, but none more famous than Abu Simbel, where the unique rock-cut nature of the monuments complicated the rescue. After several options where explored a decision was made to slice the temples into hundreds of movable sections and relocate both to higher ground immediately above their former positions. Between 1964-8 a massive international effort saw the entire rock-face removed and the components of the temples re-erected before two artificial mountains above, each supported by a hollow concrete dome. The engineering feat involved is every bit as impressive as the temples themselves.
Today Abu Simbel is one of the greatest sights of Egypt, though its remoteness requires either a flight or a long three-hour drive south of the nearest city, Aswan. It is worth every effort to reach it, and once seen it is never forgotten.
Dedicated to Mónica for her help to locate this kind of bug, I had been a lot of time missing a macro shot.
Dedicated to my flickr-friend Hobo:
Li ho cercati, gli zingari felici in piazza Maggiore: che fossero questi?
"Ma ho visto anche degli zingari felici corrersi dietro, far l'amore e rotolarsi per terra. Ho visto anche degli zingari felici in piazza Maggiore a ubriacarsi di luna, di vendetta e di guerra."
-Claudio Lolli-
Jongmyo is a Confucian shrine dedicated to the perpetuation of memorial services for the deceased kings and queens of the Korean Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897). According to UNESCO, the shrine is the oldest royal Confucian shrine preserved and the ritual ceremonies continue a tradition established in the 14th century. Such shrines existed during the Three Kingdoms of Korea period (57-668), but these have not survived. The Jongmyo Shrine was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1995.
Jongmyo is adjacent to Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung in the south. They used to be connected in the Joseon period, but were separated by a road built by Japanese colonialists. Nowadays there is a construction plan to recover the original structure of the shrine.
The main buildings of Jongmyo was constructed in October, 1394 when Taejo, first king of Joseon Dynasty, moved the capital to Seoul. It was destroyed by fire in the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98), then rebuilt in 1608.
HISTORY
When it was built in 1394 by order of King Taejo, the Jongmyo Shrine was thought to be one of the longest buildings in Asia, if not the longest. The main hall, known as Jeongjeon, had seven rooms. Each room was reserved for a king and his queen. The complex was expanded by King Sejong (r. 1418–50) who ordered the construction of Yeongnyeongjeon (Hall of Eternal Comfort). This practice of expansion continued, with the growth of the complex moving from west to east, because of the need to house more memorial tablets during the reigns of later kings until there were a total of 19 rooms. However, during the Seven-Year War (1592–98), Japanese invaders burned down the original shrine and a new complex was constructed in 1601 and has survived to this day. The original tablets were saved in the invasion by hiding them in the house of a commoner and also survive. A king's tablets were enshrined three years after his death. There are 19 memorial tablets of kings and 30 of their queens, placed in the 19 chambers. Each room is very simple and plain in design. Only two kings' memorial tablets are not enshrined here. In addition to the tablet, there is a panel listing each king's accomplishments.
The current Jeongjeon is National treasure of Korea No. 227 and is the longest building in Korea of traditional design.
DESCRIPTION
Viewed from the king's throne at Gyeongbokgung Palace, Jongmyo Shrine would have been on the king's left while the Sajik Shrine, another important Confucian shrine, was on the right. This arrangement was derived from Chinese practice. The main halls are surrounded by hills. In front of the main hall is the Woldae Courtyard, which is 150 meters in length and 100 meters in width.
The south entrance gate was reserved for spirits to enter and exit, the east gate was for the king, and the west gate was for the performers of the royal ritual.
The Jongmyo Shrine is divided into 15 main parts.
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Jeong Moon -정문- (Front Gate),
'Mang-Myo Ru',
'Gong-min Wang' Shrine,
'Hyang-Dae Cheong (향대청)'
'Uh-sook' Room (shil),
'Panwi Dae',
'Jun-Sa Chung (전사청)'
RITUALS AND PERFORMANCES
An elaborate performance of ancient court music (with accompanying dance) known as Jongmyo jeryeak (hangul: 종묘제례악; hanja: 宗廟祭禮樂) is performed there each year for the Jongmyo jerye ritual. Musicians, dancers, and scholars would perform Confucian rituals, such as the Jongmyo Daeje (Royal Shrine Ritual) in the courtyard five times a year. Today the rituals have been reconstructed and revived. The Jongmyo Daeje has been designated as Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 56 and is performed every year on the first Sunday in May. The Jongmyo Jerye-ak, the traditional court music of Joseon, is performed by the Royal Court Orchestra and has been designated as Important Intangible Cultural Property of South Korea No. 1. This court music has its origins in Chinese court music that was brought to Korea during the Goryeo period (918-1392). King Sejong composed new music for the ritual based largely on hyangak (with some dangak) in 1447 and 1462. .
The songs invite the ancestral spirits to descend from heaven to enjoy the kings achievements in founding the dynasty and defending the country in order to encourage their descendants to follow in their footsteps.
Today the members of the Jeonju Yi Royal Family Association perform the rites to the accompaniment of music and dance provided by musicians from the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts and dancers from the Gukak National High School.
ACCESS
Jongmyo entry is located 155 Jong-no, Jongno-gu. The nearest subway station is Jongno 3-ga Station (Station #130 on Line 1, Station #329 on Line 3, Station #534 on Line 5).
WIKIPEDIA
Dedicated to my Uncle Robert, a.k.a. "Axel"
I de-saturated the sky a bit to give the image a dreamlike effect.
(Best viewed large).
Postscript: Uncle Robert has since passed away.
Dedicated to all the Dreamers, the world wouldnt have been the same without you folks
Clicked on Halloween's at DreamWorks
[ 3 of 5 from Kids on Halloween 2008 ]
Dedicated to Anita Burke to thank her! She loves contemplating Nature and hopefully this plant fits in!
dedicated 2 *rhy* my daughter who wanted a pic of a large cat >^..^<
a furry friend...i had taken in denver, coloado..
^i^
I was born of the womb of a poisonous spell
Beaten and broken and chased from the lair
But I rise up above it, high up above it and see
I was hung from the tree made of tongues of the weak
The branches were bones of liars and thieves
Rise up above it, high up above and see
Pray to your god, open your heart
Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark
Cover your eyes, the devil inside
One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it'll all just end, oh
(Une, deux, trois, cinq)
Blessed by a bitch from a bastard's seed
Pleasure to meet you but prepare to bleed
Rise, I'll rise, I'll rise
Skinned her alive, ripped her apart
Scattered her ashes, buried her heart
Rise up above it, high up above and see
Pray to your god, open your heart
Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark
Cover your eyes, the devil inside
One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it'll all just end, oh
Honest to God I'll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
Honest to God I'll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
Honest to God I'll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
Honest to God I'll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it'll all just end, oh
*Night of the Hunter* ~ by 30 Seconds to Mars
special heavenly video made by *rhy*...
s365.photobucket.com/albums/oo91/VampirePrincess22192/?ac...
Pics Dedicated to my friend Cecil Rajendra.
Penang Heritage Trust Site Visit
The "High Chaparral" village ( Kampong Buah Pala, oldest cattle farm in Penang) celebrated its Ponggal Festival (Harvest Thanksgiving) from 14-18 January.
"High Chaparral" originally an Indian cattle rearing community who were the biggest suppliers of fresh milk in Penang last century - narrowly escaped demolition by developers last year. This year's Ponggal was therefore doubly meaningful for the villagers.
The Ponggal is a 4-day harvest thanksgiving festival : a tradition occasion for giving thanks to nature for its bounty of food especially rice and milk. The 4-day festival culminated with traditional festivities on Sunday (18 Jan).
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thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/1/19/nation/3060...
It was a test of manhood for young men at the 100th annual Ponggal festival at the “High Chaparral” of Penang.
In honour of the Harvest Festival, the Tamil community gathered to give thanks for the year’s prosperity and prove their worth through a series of daring competitions.
Groups of youths faced off with bulls, weighing over 400kg, in an effort to yank off garlands from their horns.
Each garland contained RM100 to be shared among the successful group of bull chasers.
The Burgos Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral de Burgos) is a Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral in Burgos, Spain. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is famous for its vast size and unique architecture. Its construction began in 1221, and was completed nine years later, following French Gothic parameters.
It had very important modifications in the 15th and 16th centuries (spires of the principal façade, Chapel of the Constable, cimborio of the transept: these elements of advanced Gothic give the cathedral its distinguished profile). The last works of importance (the sacristy or the Chapel of Saint Thecla) occurred during the 18th century, the century in which the Gothic statuary of the doors of the principal façade was also transformed.
At the beginning of the 20th century, some semidetached construction to the cathedral was eliminated, such as the Archepiscopal Palace and the upper floor of the cloister. The style of the cathedral is Gothic, although it has inside some Renaissance and Baroque decorations.
Source: Wikipedia
This image forms part of the digitised photographs of the Ross and Pat Craig Collection. Ross Craig (1926-2012) was a local historian born in Stockton and dedicated much of his life promoting and conserving the history of Stockton, NSW. He possessed a wealth of knowledge about the suburb and was a founding member of the Stockton Historical Society and co-editor of its magazine. Pat Craig supported her husband’s passion for history, and together they made a great contribution to the Stockton and Newcastle communities. We thank the Craig Family and Stockton Historical Society who have kindly given Cultural Collections at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia, access to the collection and allowed us to publish the images. Thanks also to Vera Deacon for her liaison in attaining this important collection.
Please contact Cultural Collections at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia, if you are the subject of the image, or know the subject of the image, and have cultural or other reservations about the image being displayed on this website and would like to discuss this with us.
Some of the images were scanned from original photographs in the collection held at Cultural Collections, other images were already digitised with no provenance recorded.
You are welcome to freely use the images for study and personal research purposes. Please acknowledge as “Courtesy of the Ross and Pat Craig Collection, University of Newcastle (Australia)" For commercial requests please consider making a donation to the Vera Deacon Regional History Fund.
These images are provided free of charge to the global community thanks to the generosity of the Vera Deacon Regional History Fund. If you wish to donate to the Vera Deacon Fund please download a form here: uoncc.wordpress.com/vera-deacon-fund/
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Exhibition dedicated to the discovery of the capital of the Thracian Kingdom of the Odryssians. Unfortnunately now the city is under the waters of Koprinka Dam.
Seuthopolis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Seuthopolis was an ancient city founded by the Thracian king Seuthes III, and the capital of the Odrysian kingdom since 320 BC. It was a small city, built on the site of an earlier settlement, and its ruins are now located at the bottom of the Koprinka Reservoir near Kazanlak, Stara Zagora Province, in central Bulgaria.
Seuthopolis was not a true polis, but rather the seat of Seuthes and his court. His palace had a dual role, functioning also as a sanctuary of the Cabeiri. Most of the space within the city was occupied not by homes but by official structures, the majority of the people living outside the city.
The dual role of Seuthes' palace (royal court and sanctuary) indicates that Seuthes was a priest-king: the high priest of the Cabeiri among the Odrysian Thracians. A hearth altar stood in the center of the Cabeiri sanctuary, the Cabeiri being associated with fire and metallurgy and with the smith-god Hephaestus.
The cemetery of Seuthopolis included a number of brick tholos tombs, some covered by tumuli, in which the upper-class were interred, sometimes along with their horses. The less affluent were cremated, with modest grave goods laid alongside.
The ruins of the city were discovered and excavated in 1948 by Bulgarian archeologists during the construction of the Georgi Dimitrov (later renamed Koprinka) Reservoir. However, it was decided to continue with the construction and flood the dam, leaving Seuthopolis at its bottom.
In 2005, Bulgarian architect Zheko Tilev proposed a project to uncover, preserve and reconstruct the city of Seuthopolis (the best preserved Thracian city in Bulgaria) by means of a dam wall surrounding the ruins in the middle of the dam, enabling the site's inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and making it a tourist destination of world importance. Tourists would be transported to the site by boats. The round wall, 420 metres in diameter, would enable visitors to see the city from 20 metres above and would also feature "hanging gardens", glass lifts, a quay, restaurants, cafés, shops, ateliers, etc. It would be illuminated at night.
The project was donated by the architect to Kazanlak municipality and funds are being raised to begin construction. According to Tilev, it would cost minimum €50 million.[1]
Phanom Rung or, with its full name, Prasat Hin Phanom Rung or Phanom Rung Stone Castle, or Prasat Phnom Rong in Khmer, is a Khmer temple complex 1,320 feet ( 400 metres ) above sea level, in Buri ram province in the Issan region of Thailand. It was built in sandstone and laterite in the 10th to 13th centuries. It was a Hindu shrine dedicated to Shiva, and symbolises Mount Kailash, his heavenly dwelling. Thailand's Department of Fine Arts spent 17 years restoring the complex to its original state from 1971 until 1988. On 21 May 1988, the park was officially opened by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. In 2005, the temple was submitted to UNESCO for consideration as a future World Heritage Site.
Phanom Rung is one of Thailand's most amazing Khmer architecture site, aged over a thousand years old. Built on an extinct volcano, it was originally a Hindu religious site and later became a Buddhist one. Several additions were made during the 15th-18th Buddhist century. The first thing noticed on arrival is a grand stairway from the foot of the hill up to the top. Most of the sanctuary buildings are made of laterite and sandstone, all with elaborate designs. The buildings are lined all the way to the main pagoda whose layout is according to Hindu belief of the layout of God Shiva’s heaven.
The large main pagoda has a square base facing the East. Exquisite designs on the pagoda, columns, doorway, and lintels tell a story of Hindu gods. Each building features descriptive motifs reciting a purpose of its construction, functionality and beliefs of ancient people. Based on these intricate designs and architecture, it is surmised that the pagoda, the stairway and the Naga Bridge were all built during the 17th Buddhist century.
After the three-levelled lower stairway, the visitor finds himself/herself on the first cruciform platform with a first peak at the main temple. On the right, northward, is Phlab Phla or the White Elephant House. The pavilion is believed to be the place where kings and the royal family would change attire before rituals. Royalty would then enter the Processional Walkway, one of the most impressive elements of the park. It is 160 meters long and bordered by seventy sandstone posts with tops of lotus buds. The Walkway itself is paved with laterite blocks.
The Walkway leads to the first of three naga bridges. The five-headed snakes face all four directions and are from the 12th century. This bridge represents the connection between heaven and earth. The naga bridge leads to the upper stairway, which is divided into five sets. Each set, has terraces on the sides. The last terrace is wide, made with laterite blocks. It has a cruciform shape and four small pools. A couple more steps lead to the second naga bridge. It has the same shape as the first one, only smaller. In the middle the remains of an eight petaled lotus carving can be seen.
This final terrace leads to the outer gallery. It probably used to be a wooden gallery with a tiled roof, but only a raised floor of laterite remains. After the outer gallery one reaches the inner gallery, which is divided in long and narrow rooms. It served as a wall around the principal tower. This last gallery leads to the third and last naga bridge, another small copy of the first one.
The bridge leads you directly into the main sanctuary. After the antechamber and the annexe, one reaches the principal tower. Double porches lead out in all directions. The inner sanctum used to have the inga, the divine symbol of Shiva. Currently, only the somasutra remains which was used to drain water during religious rites. The entrances have various lintels and icons depicting Hindu religious stories, e.g. the dancing Shiva and the five Yogi's. The southern entrance is guarded by a sandstone statue.
Apart from the main tower, other buildings in the compound are:
Two brick sanctuaries built around the 10th century, northeast of the tower.
The minor sanctuary southwest of the tower with a sandstone altar for a sacred image. It was built with sandstone in the 11th century. Prang Noi has only one entrance facing east. The sanctuary is square with indented corners, giving it a round feel.
Two Bannalai southeast and northeast of the principal tower. The buildings are rectangular and have only one entrance. They were built in the last period, around the 13th century, and used as a library for holy scriptures.
Admission to the park costs 40 Baht and it is open daily from 06:00 a.m. to 06:00 p.m. Tel: +66 4463 1746
How to get there: There is a bus from Buri ram city to Ban Ta-Ko and from there you can get a Songtaew to Phanom Rung.
The Village of Pinehurst, N.C. dedicated General George Catlett Marshall Park and Monument at grounds recently prepared near the Pinehurst Golf Resort. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, chief of staff of the U.S. Army provided the keynote address. Odierno joined Pinehurst Mayor Nancy Roy Fiorillo in laying a wreath at the newly dedicated monument. General of the Army George C. Marshall Was the Army Chief of Staff during World War II; later he served the nation as Secretary of State, President of the Red Cross, and Secretary of Defense. Marshall is also noted for the European Recovery Program in which the United States gave tens of billions of dollars in economic support, starting in 1948, to help rebuild European economies following the devastation of World War II. The plan became known as 'The Marshall Plan.' His post war work earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. Marshall originally hailed from Pennsylvania; when he retired from military and public service, he and his wife settled in Pinehurst, N.C. The Fort Bragg headquarters of U.S. Army Forces Command is named Marshall Hall in honor of Gen. Marshall. Gen. Mark A. Milley, FORSCOM commanding general, Maj. Gen. Jimmie Jaye Wells, FORSCOM chief of staff, and Command Sgt. Maj. Scott C. Schroeder, FORSCOM command sergeant major, all attended the dedication ceremony.
Photos by Bob Harrison, U.S. Army Forces Command Public Affairs
The judges are somewhat young, but their dedication and passion towards dancing are pretty serious matters, says their faces!
Callout is a constant, ongoing event going on with the street dancing communities of Perth, Australia, and they're now on their 10th!
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