View allAll Photos Tagged development
April 09, 2019 - WASHINGTON DC - 2019 World Bank/ IMF Spring Meetings. World Bank Group CEO Kristalina Georgieva, IFC VP for Latin America & the Caribbean and Europe and Central Asia Georgina Baker, and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative founder Claudia Garcia-Moreno, 11 winners from around the world were awarded prize money to design, implement, and capture results of new solutions, including the first-ever private sector winner. Photo: World Bank / Grant Ellis
April 09, 2019 - WASHINGTON DC - 2019 World Bank/ IMF Spring Meetings. World Bank Group CEO Kristalina Georgieva, IFC VP for Latin America & the Caribbean and Europe and Central Asia Georgina Baker, and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative founder Claudia Garcia-Moreno, 11 winners from around the world were awarded prize money to design, implement, and capture results of new solutions, including the first-ever private sector winner. Photo: World Bank / Grant Ellis
A Level Textiles Flower project. Design and print development. Range of dresses based on the process of decay in flowers, and the process of creating textile print
Original Caption: Land Development on Rampod Key near the Western Tip of the Florida Keys. View Shows the Typical Scraped Land and "Plugged" Canals of the Developers. Permits to Dig Waterways to the Sea Are Hard to Get. Hence the Practice of Digging the Canals Just Short of Open Water.
U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 412-DA-6153
Photographer: Schulke, Flip, 1930-2008
Subjects:
Key West (Key West, Florida Keys, Monroe county, Florida, United States) inhabited place
Environmental Protection Agency
Project DOCUMERICA
Persistent URL: arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ExternalIdSearch?id=548640
Repository: Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001.
For information about ordering reproductions of photographs held by the Still Picture Unit, visit: www.archives.gov/research/order/still-pictures.html
Reproductions may be ordered via an independent vendor. NARA maintains a list of vendors at www.archives.gov/research/order/vendors-photos-maps-dc.html
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted
Use Restrictions: Unrestricted
The high-level event “Empowering Women in Development: Challenges Beyond 2015” took place in Vilnius on October 8-10. Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Development Cooperation and the Eastern Europe Studies Center in partnership with the Community of Democracies Working Group on Women and Democracy, the event brought together leading figures from governments and civil society, including the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė.
The Secretary General of the Community of Democracies, Ambassador Maria Leissner, participated in the event as a panelist in a panel titled “Women’s Leadership for Democratic Development”. Secretary General Leissner also held a series of advisory meetings with four delegates attending through the Community’s LEND Network, all of whom are involved in promoting women’s political participation in Moldova and Tunisia. One of them, Olga Melniciuc, economic adviser to the Prime Minister’s Economic Council in Moldova, spoke on a conference panel, “Women’s Economic Empowerment: Overcoming Barriers.”
April 09, 2019 - WASHINGTON DC - 2019 World Bank/ IMF Spring Meetings. World Bank Group CEO Kristalina Georgieva, IFC VP for Latin America & the Caribbean and Europe and Central Asia Georgina Baker, and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative founder Claudia Garcia-Moreno, 11 winners from around the world were awarded prize money to design, implement, and capture results of new solutions, including the first-ever private sector winner. Photo: World Bank / Grant Ellis
Muscular Development article about me from August, 1985. I was approached by the magazine after my appearance in the 1983 amateur Mr. World contest, where I won people's choice, first place and judge's choice, fifth place. The photos for the article were shot at the old City Gym owned by Diego in DTLA, now the present location of Staples Center. Diego hung photos of me on the walls of the City Gym as well.
The Pitt Community College Workforce Development Program offers focused short-term training for specific needs in local industries, specifically targeted at the unemployed, underemployed, and anyone interested in upgrading or learning new skills to move their careers forward. The programs include HR development, automotive, construction trades, EMS and Fire/Rescue training, advanced manufacturing, and much more.
Learn more at pittcc.edu/community/continuing-education/
April 12, 2014 - WASHINGTON DC. 2014 IMF / World Bank Group Spring Meetings. Development Committee Meeting. Development Committee Chair Marek Belka; World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim; IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. Photo: Eugenio Salazar / World Bank
I like the simplicity of these cranes, located in Tredigr docks in Cardiff Bay. Not sure what they were being used to build as access was blocked, but there does seem to be alot of development work going on there.
I added a small scenic board alongside the narrow (one foot) hill baseboard. A block of four large terraced houses (the Kingsway TERBF kit) just fits on this. It acts as a background for photos taken at Trinity Square terminus and also as a 'blocker' in order to suggest new vistas.
The side elevation of the houses provides a means of blocking the view 'into reality' above the bill poster boards. This makes photography at the Trinity Square terminus more pleasing.
Gerardo Lopez, Director, Statistics on Science and Technology, Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, Mexico, speaking at the WTIS 2014, International Coordination of ICT Measurement, 10th Anniversary of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, Tbilisi, Georgia.
©ITU/ R.Farrell
Happy Easter every one
(Back shot from 2016)
On a walk around the city to catch up on the rebuild. May 24 Christchurch New Zealand.
Here is some info on the rebuild and some photos: www.otakaroltd.co.nz/?gclid=CJ3A_eyyp9MCFYSYvAodaZ8JSg
April 12, 2014 - WASHINGTON DC. 2014 IMF / World Bank Group Spring Meetings. Development Committee Meeting. Development Committee Chair Marek Belka; World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim; IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. Photo: Eugenio Salazar / World Bank
Kawasaki XC-2 18-1202 / 202 (cn 002, second C-2 prototype) Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), Air Development and Test Wing (飛行開発実験団, Hiko Kaihatsu Jikken Dan) landing at its home base Gifu (photo 8877-1).
The Kawasaki XC-2 (previously C-X) is a mid-size, twin-turbofan engine, long range, high speed military transport aircraft being developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. After researching foreign aircraft like the C-130J Super Hercules, C-17 Globemaster III, and Airbus A400M, the Japanese Ministry of Defense concluded that no aircraft had the capabilities the JASDF required. It therefore decided to its own transport aircraft planning to buy 40 aircraft to replace its aging Kawasaki C-1 and C-130 Hercules fleets.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries was chosen to develop the aircraft, in parallel with the P-X (later P-1, the P-3 replacement) to cut costs, sharing major airframe parts and system components and using the same basic wing structure (although there are several obvious differences too). The roll-out of the first prototype took place on July 4, 2007 along with its cousin aircraft P-X (P-1). First flight of the XC-2 took place on 26 January 2010.
October 12, 2013 - Washington Dc., 2013 World Bank / IMF Annual Meetings. Development Committee Meeting. Photo: Simone D. McCourtie / World Bank
Bribie Island development
July 1964
ID: 436411 photographic album
Negative number: C2-5035
"Bribie Island is the smallest and most northerly of three major sand islands forming the coastline sheltering the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The others are Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island. Bribie Island is 34 kilometres (21 miles) long, and 8 kilometres (5.0 miles) at its widest. Archibald Meston believed that the name of the island came from a corruption of a mainland word for it, Boorabee. meaning 'koala bear'.
Bribie Island hugs the coastline and tapers to a long spit at its most northern point near Caloundra, and is separated from the mainland by Pumicestone Passage. The ocean side of the island is somewhat sheltered from prevailing winds by Moreton Island and associated sand banks and has only a small surf break. The lee side is calm, with white sandy beaches in the south.
Most of the island is uninhabited national park (55.8 square kilometres or 21.5 square miles) and forestry plantations. The southern end of the island has been intensively urbanised as part of the Moreton Bay Region, the main suburbs being Bongaree, Woorim, Bellara and Banksia Beach. A bridge from Sandstone Point on the mainland was completed in 1963.
Buckley's Hole, at the southern tip of the island, is an important bird habitat and refuge.
There are many types of wildlife present on the island. Kangaroos, wallabies, emus, various snake species, green tree frogs and dingos can often be seen venturing from the national park into the surrounding suburbs.
Pumicestone Passage, located between the island and the mainland, is a protected marine park that provides habitat for dugongs, turtles and dolphins. There are also extensive mangrove forests in this area. Eucalypt forests, banksias and heathlands are the predominant vegetation elsewhere.
Bribie Island is home to around 350 species of bird. This includes a range of honeyeater species, lorikeets, waterbirds and birds of prey. Flying foxes (also called fruit bats) visit the area, along with several species of small insect-eating bats. Flying foxes are important pollinators and seed dispersers while the insect-eating bats help control mosquito and other insect populations.
Buckley's Hole, at the southern tip of the island, was declared an environmental park in 1992.
The island seems particularly prone to instances of bee swarming.”
Information from Bribie Island
Deputy Director of the IMF Institute for Capacity Development Roger Nord and Acting Assistant Administrator of USAID Peter Natiello participate in a signing ceremony welcoming USAID as a partner of the IMF’s Caribbean Regional Capacity Development Centre during the 2021 Annual Meetings at the International Monetary Fund.
IMF Photo/Allison Shelley
18 October 2021
Washington, DC, United States
Photo ref: AS211018033.ARW
Bribie Island development
July 1964
ID: 436411 photographic album
Negative number: C2-5032
"Bribie Island is the smallest and most northerly of three major sand islands forming the coastline sheltering the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The others are Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island. Bribie Island is 34 kilometres (21 miles) long, and 8 kilometres (5.0 miles) at its widest. Archibald Meston believed that the name of the island came from a corruption of a mainland word for it, Boorabee. meaning 'koala bear'.
Bribie Island hugs the coastline and tapers to a long spit at its most northern point near Caloundra, and is separated from the mainland by Pumicestone Passage. The ocean side of the island is somewhat sheltered from prevailing winds by Moreton Island and associated sand banks and has only a small surf break. The lee side is calm, with white sandy beaches in the south.
Most of the island is uninhabited national park (55.8 square kilometres or 21.5 square miles) and forestry plantations. The southern end of the island has been intensively urbanised as part of the Moreton Bay Region, the main suburbs being Bongaree, Woorim, Bellara and Banksia Beach. A bridge from Sandstone Point on the mainland was completed in 1963.
Buckley's Hole, at the southern tip of the island, is an important bird habitat and refuge...
There are many types of wildlife present on the island. Kangaroos, wallabies, emus, various snake species, green tree frogs and dingos can often be seen venturing from the national park into the surrounding suburbs.
Pumicestone Passage, located between the island and the mainland, is a protected marine park that provides habitat for dugongs, turtles and dolphins. There are also extensive mangrove forests in this area. Eucalypt forests, banksias and heathlands are the predominant vegetation elsewhere.
Bribie Island is home to around 350 species of bird. This includes a range of honeyeater species, lorikeets, waterbirds and birds of prey. Flying foxes (also called fruit bats) visit the area, along with several species of small insect-eating bats. Flying foxes are important pollinators and seed dispersers while the insect-eating bats help control mosquito and other insect populations.
Buckley's Hole, at the southern tip of the island, was declared an environmental park in 1992.
The island seems particularly prone to instances of bee swarming.”
Information from Bribie Island
April 18, 2015 - Washington DC., 2015 World Bank Group / IMF Spring Meetings.
Photo: Yuri Gripas / World Bank
Director General of Revenue of Somalia Jafar Mohamed Ahmed, Director General of Somalia National Bureau of Statistics Sharmarke Farah, Senior Economist Vincent de Paul Koukpaizan, and Deputy Division Chief of the IMF Statistics Department Zaijin Zhan participate in a Capacity Development Talk titled Building Capacity in Fragile States moderated by Noha El-Gebaly at the International Monetary Fund.
IMF Photo/Cory Hancock
12 April 2022
Washington, DC, United States
Photo ref: CH220412070.arw
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Even while the heavy T43 (M103) tank was still in development during the early Fifties, the U.S.A. was not done with attempts at making better heavy tanks. The primary concern were the Soviet heavy tanks that were expected to roll over Western Germany in the case of a Cold War escalation. Development was split into two schools of thought: One based its work on the T43, leading to the T57 and T58 auto loading tanks, while the other started from scratch, trying to mount a heavy weapon that could engage enemy tanks at long range in a more compact hull than the large and heavy T43.
In June 1954, the Detroit Arsenal held its third Question Mark Conference, the goal of which was brainstorming ideas for new heavy tanks. Conditions these proposals had to meet were that a prototype had to be constructed within two years, and the vehicle had to be able to fit within the confines of the Berne International Clearance Diagram, a code of standardization for rail tunnels established at the international conference at Berne, Switzerland, in 1913.
Various designs were submitted and discussed: The TS-2 and TS-5 were both armed with a 105 mm (4.13 in) T210 smoothbore gun; in a turret on the TS-2, and in a fixed casemate on the TS-5. The TS-6 and TS-31 were armed with the 120 mm (4.72 in) T123E1 gun; again in a turret on the TS-6, and casemate on the TS-31. Power for the tanks would have been supplied by either a 700 hp Continental AOI-1490-1 engine with an XT-500 transmission (TS-2 and TS-5), or an 810 hp Continental AVI-1790-8 with an XT-500 transmission (TS-6 and TS-31).
In the end, the TS-31, outfitted with a gimbal gun mount and estimated to weigh 45 tons, was chosen for further development, because it promised the most compact outlines. Chrysler was assigned to the development of the TS-31, which was given the project designation “120mm gun tank T110”; at the same time, the T43 was entering pre-production as the M103.
The original TS-31/T110 had a driver in the hull, a gunner to the left of the gun, a commander and his machine gun cupola to the right of the gun, and two loaders. It was rear-engined and had six road wheels on either side. Armor was to be as thick as 9 inches (228.6 mm) on the gun mantlet. Despite the TS-31 concept being chosen as the winner, it still was slightly too big to fit through the Berne Clearance Dimensions. Additional problems were found with the off-center commander’s cupola: the field of view was poor and the additional metal to support it added to the tank’s weight and increased its size. These flaws led to Chrysler redesigning the tank.
The second draft, the T110E1, was an improvement over the original TS-31. It was slightly smaller, becoming shorter and the front becoming flat. The driver was moved into the casemate, to the left of the gun, with the gunner being moved to the right of the gun. Behind the driver and gunner were two loaders and the commander behind them. The commander was placed directly in the middle of the tank, leaving him to sit almost directly atop the engine and with his feet worryingly close to the gun breech. Despite all this, it was still too big to fit through the Berne Clearance Dimensions. Size, in addition to the Detroit Arsenal’s disapproval of the driver’s position, led to a second redesign.
The third draft, the T110E2, was sort of a reversion to the original; the driver was moved back to the hull outside of the casemate, and the gunner was moved back to the left of the gun. The commander’s turret was moved slightly forward, so he would no longer have to sit on top of the engine, but was now forced to sit in a very awkward and cramped position in order to avoid being crushed by the gun’s recoil every time it fired. The casemate reverted to being rounded at the front. Unfortunately, the third draft was no smaller in size than the second.
The Detroit Arsenal replied to Chrysler’s unsatisfactory proposals with the fourth draft of the T110 on its own (even though this proposal did not receive a dedicated designation): The casemate was moved to the back, hanging over the rear of the tank. The transmission was moved to the rear as well, joining the engine. In its place up front was a massive fuel tank, nearly encompassing the driver. The power plant (which was now a Continental 700 hp AOI-1490) was pushed to the left to afford the commander a more comfortable (but still probably hot) position on the far rear right. The suspension was changed to a more conventional (for the Americans) type, with smaller road wheels; although the original draft was without them, return rollers would have been necessary.
Chrysler rejected the Detroit Arsenal’s idea to put the casemate on the very back on the tank and kept it in the middle, leading to the T110E3. The driver was moved back again inside of the casemate, this time to the right of the gun and in an elevated position that offered a very good field of view, and the driver had an M24 infrared periscope.
Chrysler originally tried to simplify maintenance on this design by allowing the engine to be pulled out, on rails, via a hatch in the rear of the tank. But this novel feature created rigidity issues and the engine was returned to a standard position, now turned lengthwise in the tank. This new engine placement again left the commander stuck between the engine and the gun breech. The gun mantlet, which had been relatively tiny before, was much bigger in this iteration, weighing 2 tons and being 9 inches (228.6 mm) thick. The tank was now short and narrow enough to barely fit into the limits of the Berne Tunnel standard.
This version of the T110 was eventually the first deemed worthy enough to be turned into hardware. A wooden mockup was built and engineering diagrams were drawn up. The main weapon was a 120 mm T123E1 rifled anti-tank gun (the same gun that was carried by the M103, later designated M58), combined with an M14 stereoscopic sight. Gun traverse was 15 degrees to each side, with 20 degrees of gun elevation and 10 degrees of gun depression. Frontal armor was 5 inches (127 mm) at a 60 degree slope from vertical. Secondary weaponry comprised as a .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine gun, paired with the main gun, and the commander had a remote-controlled .50 cal (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun on the M1 cupola, which could be aimed and fired from the inside.
Interest from the U.S. Army for this tank, which was rather a self-propelled gun carriage than a classic battle tank and rather passé in the U.S. Army’s eyes, was high enough to warrant the build of two prototypes – primarily because the Army was not too enthusiastic about the large M103. While the T110E3 featured basically the same armament as the M103 and offered comparable frontal armor, it was considerably lighter (50 vs. 65 tons) and more compact.
In order to save cost and development time, a modified M48 Patton chassis was chosen for the prototypes, which featured three rollers per side and the early track tension wheel between the last road wheel and the sprocket wheel at the rear. All six road wheel pairs were sprung on independent torsion arms, while the two front pairs and rear ones received extra shock absorbers with dampers to block excessive amplitude from the torsion arms. Power came from an uprated Continental Motors, Inc. AV-1790-3 petrol engine, which delivered 875 hp instead of the early M48’s 810 hp standard output.
The prototypes were built by Chrysler and ferried to the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground for field tests and comparison with the current standard tanks, namely the T43/M103 and the standard medium M48 MBT.
Potential service vehicles would have received the designation M90 and were supposed to be powered by a more reliable and longer-range Continental AVDS-1790-2 diesel power plant, but no more than the two T110E3 prototypes were built and tested in the course of 1956. However, no series production ensued, since the tank’s performance did not meet the U.S. Army’s expectations – even though the T110E3 proved to be much more agile than the T43/M103 and the commonality with the M48 made the T110E3 an attractive concept. Alas, the casemate layout was outdated and the ergonomics for the crew were poor and the interior was cramped due to the large cannon and the need for two loaders, because charges and warheads for the 120 mm rounds were separate and weighed 51 lbs (23.1 kg) in total, too much for a single loader and a decent rate of fire. The commander had, despite the cupola, a very limited field of view esp. of the tank’s direct surroundings. Furthermore, the development of improved armor-piercing ammunitions for lighter guns, as well as the advent of guided anti-tank missiles, made the heavy tank, including the M103 as well as the T110E3, obsolete. As a final blow to the project, development of the new medium M60 tank with the powerful Royal Ordnance L7 105mm cannon had just started when the T110E3 finished its trials, and an update of the M48 with the L7 cannon was the eventual solution.
A single T110E3, the first prototype, survived and is preserved at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, MI.
Specifications:
Crew: Five (commander, gunner, 2× loader, driver)
Weight: 50 tonnes
Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in) hull only
9.29 m (30 ft 5 in) overall
Width: 3.65 m (12 ft 0 in)
Height: 3,02 m (9 ft 11 in)
Suspension: Torsion-bar
Ground clearance: 15.2 in (387 mm)
Fuel capacity: 200 US gal (760 l; 170 imp gal)
Armor:
12.7 – 229 mm (0.5 – 9 in)
Performance:
Speed:
- Maximum, road: 30 mph (48 km/h)
- Sustained, road: 25 mph (40 km/h)
- Cross country: 9.3 to 15.5 mph (15 to 25 km/h)
Climbing capability:
- 40% side slope and 60% max grade
- Vertical obstacle of 36 inches (91 cm)
- 102 inches (2.59 m) trench crossing
Fording depth: Unprepared: 4 ft (1.219 m), prepared: 8 ft (2.438 m)
Operational range: 160 ml (258 km) on road
Power/weight: 17.5 hp/t
Engine:
1× Continental Motors, Inc. AV-1790-3 petrol V12 engine with fuel injection, delivering 875 hp,
plus a 1-cylinder auxiliary generator
Transmission:
General Motors CD-850-4A with 2 ranges forward, 1 reverse
Armament:
1× 120 mm T123E1 (M58) rifled anti-tank gun with 34 rounds
1× co-axial 7.62 mm M73 machine gun with 3.000 rounds
1× 12.7mm M2 Browning anti-aircraft machine gun on the commander’s cupola with 900 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
Yes, this is a whiffy tank, but the T110 project as such actually existed as an alternative to the M103. However, there never was any hardware beyond a wooden mock-up, and after many iterations (T110E5 was the last one!) the project was dropped in favor of classic designs with a fully rotating turret, and the availability of the British L7 cannon made the need for the American 120mm cannon obsolete.
I came across this obscure American tank project when I browsed the online shop of the German tank model/conversion kit manufacturer ModellTrans/Silesian Models, who offer a T110E3 resin conversion kit for an unspecified M48 chassis. I found the concept odd and the kit looked good, so I bought one, together with an ESCI M48A2 kit as chassis donor.
The rest was simple kitbashing. The M48 chassis was built OOB, just the upper hull replaced by the T110 resin parts, which also include the gun barrel and the mantlet, the commander’s cupola and several other small parts. Fit was/is surprisingly good! The T110 hull also went very smoothly onto the ESCI chassis: not plastic or resin had to be cut, just a 2mm gap at the lower rear had to be filled with a styrene strip, and only minor PSR had to be done on the front and the rear.
Some personal improvements include a scratched wall inside of the muzzle brake (made from a simple piece of 0.5 mm styrene sheet) and rails along the sidewalls, made from thin brass wire. Furthermore, some small parts from the ESCI M48 were transferred to the T110, including the barrel support, the housings for the stereoscopic rangefinder and a jerry can. Since this was supposed to become a prototype, I did not want to change too much.
Painting and markings:
The whole vehicle became Olive Drab, a conservative choice. I could not imagine that this outdated tank concept could have seriously entered service, so I decided to represent a prototype. But even if I had wanted a U.S. Army in-service vehicle, it would most probably have been painted all-over Olive Drab, anyway, since more complex paints schemes were only introduced in the late Seventies.
AFAIK there was no clearly defined standard for “Olive Drab” in practice, even though there was a contemporary Federal Standard tone, 24087 (very different from the later, much lighter FS tone with this code), also known as “OD ‘50”. In order to keep things simple, I chose Humbrol 66 (HM3), since it is supposed to represent the typical US Army tone. At first this looked rather dark and murky, but with some dry-brushing (with a mix of 66 and 111) after a washing with a mix of black and red brown, things started to look really good – esp. after the decals had been applied. The latter primarily came from the OOB ESCI sheet, complemented with the markings “TEST” and “T110E3”, created with single white 3mm letters from TL Modellbau and seen on contemporary American test vehicles in a similar fashion.
Further weathering was done through more dry-brushing with Humbrol 72 (Khaki Drill), then the model received a coat of matt acrylic varnish. Once the tracks (painted with a mix of acrylic black, brown and iron beforehand) had been mounted and finishing touches had been made, the lower areas were dusted with a reddish-brown mix of mineral pigments, reflecting the red-brownish washing all over the hull.
Not a very complex project, the most tedious aspect of this build was the M48 running gear. However, the latter went together well with little resistance, and the T110 hull from ModellTrans/Silesian Models was easy to integrate, too. I am actually very impressed by the good fit, the details and the molding quality of the resin parts. Even thin and delicate parts and areas like the mudguards have been crisply molded and they are not distinguishable from the IP counterparts from the ESCI kit! And I like the result: the T110E3 looks very retro, a design fallen out of time, and a worthy post-WWII what-if model.
Panelists at the WTIS 2014 - International Coordination of ICT Measurement - 10th Anniversary of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, Tbilisi, Georgia.
©ITU/ R.Farrell
A look at how your baby changes from week 14 to week 25.http://www.justthefactsbaby.com/pregnancy/development
Scarlett Fondeur Gil, Economic Affairs Officer, ICT Analysis Section, UNCTAD, on behalf of the Partnership Steering Committee, speaking at the WTIS 2014, International Coordination of ICT Measurement, 10th Anniversary of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, Tbilisi, Georgia.
©ITU/ R.Farrell
2013 World Water Week.
Wednesday, September 4.
Private Sector Partnership for Development: Textile Sector, K24.
Photo: Peter Tvärberg, SIWI.
After the Millennium Development Goals, the 150+ members of United Nations crafted a new 15-year agenda that fight social injustice, poverty, and climate change called as the Sustainable Development Goals. There are 17 goals tackling economic progress, education upgrade, social fairness, and environmental protection.
I took this photo during the SDG Bayanihan Summit in FEU Institute of Technology, Manila #SBS2019.
Medium: Canon EOS 4000D
Date Taken: October 26, 2019.
Copyright 2019. All Rights Reserved.
Reference:
About the Sustainable Development Goals. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2019, from United Nations Sustainable Development: www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development...
2013 World Bank Group / Fund Annual Meetings. 2013 Development Committee. Photos By: Eugene Salazar / World Bank
Photo ID: 101213_AM_DEVCOM_008_F
Community committee meeting involved in the Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environmental Management Project.
Project Result:
Delivering Basic Services to Communities on India’s Karnataka Coast
India Sanitation - Investments Make Coastal Cities More Livable
Read more on:
Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environmental Management Project
Original Caption: New housing development arises near one of the few remaining farm fields in fast growing Orange County. Some 84 percent of the state's residents live within 30 miles of the coast resulting in increased land use pressure. Since November, 1972 regulatory commissions have been charged with determining development within 1,000 yards of the coast. The commissions must submit a report to the legislature by January, 1976, recommending a plan for future coastal development, May 1975
U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 412-DA-15027
Photographer: O'Rear, Charles, 1941-
Subjects:
Los Angeles (California)
Environmental Protection Agency
Project DOCUMERICA
Persistent URL: research.archives.gov/description/557479
Repository: Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001.
For information about ordering reproductions of photographs held by the Still Picture Unit, visit: www.archives.gov/research/order/still-pictures.html
Reproductions may be ordered via an independent vendor. NARA maintains a list of vendors at www.archives.gov/research/order/vendors-photos-maps-dc.html
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted
Use Restrictions: Unrestricted
October 12, 2013 - Washington Dc., 2013 World Bank / IMF Annual Meetings. Development Committee Meeting. Photo: Simone D. McCourtie / World Bank
Badami formerly known as Vatapi, is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD. It is famous for its rock cut structural temples. It is located in a ravine at the foot of a rugged, red sandstone outcrop that surrounds Agastya lake. Badami has been selected as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
- Dravidian architecture - Badami Chalukyas
- Hindu temple architecture - Badami Chalukya architecture
- Political history of medieval Karnataka - Badami Chalukyas
- Architecture of Karnataka - Badami Chalukya architecture
- Chalukyas of Badami
PRE-HISTORIC
Badami is surrounded by many pre-historic places including Khyad area of Badami, Hiregudda, Sidlaphadi and Kutkankeri (Junjunpadi, Shigipadi and Anipadi), there we can see the rock shelters megalithic burial sites and paintings.
BADAMI CHALUKYAS AND OTHER DYNASTIES
MYTHOLOGY
The Puranic story says the wicked asura Vatapi was killed by sage Agastya (as per Agastya-Vatapi story), the area in which the incident happened so named as Vatapi. At Aihole there was a merchant guild known as Ayyavole Ainuravaru lived in the area have reformed. As per scholar Dr. D. P. Dikshit, the first Chalukya king was Jayasimha (a feudatory lord in the Kadamba dynasty), who in 500 AD established the Chalukya kingdom. His grandson Pulakeshin Ibuilt a fort at Vatapi.
BADAMI CHALUKYAS
It was founded in 540 AD by Pulakeshin I (535-566 AD), an early ruler of the Chalukyas. His sons Kirtivarma I (567-598 AD) and his brother Mangalesha (598-610 AD) constructed the cave temples.Kirtivarma I strengthened Vatapi and had three sons Pulakeshin II, Vishnuvardhana and Buddhavarasa, who at his death were minors, thus making them ineligible to rule, so Kirtivarma I's brother Mangalesha took the throne and tried to establish rule, only to be killed by Pulakeshin II who ruled between 610 A.D to 642 A.D. Vatapi was the capital of the Early Chalukyas, who ruled much of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Few parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh between the 6th and 8th centuries. The greatest among them was Pulakeshin II (610-642 AD) who defeated many kings including the Pallavas of Kanchipuram.
The rock-cut Badami Cave Temples were sculpted mostly between the 6th and 8th centuries. The four cave temples represent the secular nature of the rulers then, with tolerance and a religious following that inclines towards Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. cave 1 is devoted to Shiva, and Caves 2 and 3 are dedicated to Vishnu, whereas cave 4 displays reliefs of Jain Tirthankaras. Deep caverns with carved images of the various incarnations of Hindu gods are strewn across the area, under boulders and in the red sandstone. From an architectural and archaeological perspective, they provide critical evidence of the early styles and stages of the southern Indian architecture.
The Pallavas under the king Narasimhavarma I seized it in 642 AD & destroyed the vatapi. Pulakeshin II's son Vikramaditya I of Chalukyas drove back Pallavas in 654 AD and led a successful attack on Kanchipuram, the capital of Pallavas. Then Rashtrakutas came to power in Karnataka including Badami around 757 AD and the town lost its importance. Later it was ruled by the Hoysalas.
Then it passed on to Vijayanagara empire, The Adil Shahis, Mughal Empire, The Savanur Nawabs (They were vassals of Nizams and Marathas), The Maratha, Hyder Ali. The Britishers made it part of the Bombay Presidency.
INSCRIPTIONS
Badami has eighteen inscriptions, among them some inscriptions are important. The first Sanskrit inscription in old Kannada script, on a hillock dates back to 543 CE, from the period of Pulakeshin I (Vallabheswara), the second is the 578 CE cave inscription of Mangalesha in Kannada language and script and the third is the Kappe Arabhatta records, the earliest available Kannada poetry in tripadi (three line) metre. one inscription near the Bhuthanatha temple also has inscriptions dating back to the 12th century in Jain rock-cut temple dedicated to the Tirtankara Adinatha.
VATAPI GANAPATI
In the Carnatic music and Hamsadhwani raga the Vatapi Ganapatim Bhaje by the composer Muthuswami Dikshitar. The idol of Vatapi Ganapati brought from Badami by Pallavas, is now in the Uthrapathiswaraswamy Temple, near Thanjavur of Tamil Nadu.
In 7th century, Vatapi Ganapati idol was brought from Badami (Vatapi - Chalukya capital) by Pallava who defeated Chalukyas.
TOURISM
Landmarks in Badami include cave temples, gateways, forts, inscriptions and sculptures.
- A Buddhist cave in a natural setting that can be entered only by crawling on knees.
- The Bhuhtanatha temple, a small shrine, facing the lake, constructed in 5th century.
- Badami Fort situated on top of the hill.
- Many Shivalayas including the Malegatti Shivalaya with 7th century origins.
- The Dattatreya temple.
- The Mallikarjuna temple dating back to the 11th century, built on a star shaped plan.
- a Dargah, a dome of an Islamic place of worship on the south fort side.
- Vista points on top of the North Fort for the view of the ancient town below.
- Temple of Banashankari, a Kuladevata (family deity) for many families, is located near Badami.
- Archaeological museum, that has collection of sculptures from Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal.
BADAMI CAVE TEMPLES
The Badami cave temples are a complex of four cave temples located at Badami, a town in the Bagalkot district in the north part of Karnataka, India. They are considered an example of Indian rock-cut architecture, especially Badami Chalukya architecture initiated during the 6th century. Badami was previously known as Vataapi Badami, the capital of the early Chalukya dynasty, who ruled much of Karnataka from middle of the sixth until the middle of the eighth centuries. Badami is situated on the west bank of an artificial lake filled with greenish water dammed by an earthen wall faced with stone steps. Badami is surrounded in the north and south by forts built in later times from the ramparts that crown their summits.
The Badami cave temples represent some of the earliest known experimentation of Hindu temple prototypes for later temples in the Indian peninsula. Along with Aihole, states UNESCO, their pioneering designs transformed the Malaprabha river valley into a cradle of Temple Architecture, whose ideas defined the components of later Hindu Temples elsewhere. Caves 1 to 3 feature Hindu themes of Shiva and Vishnu, while Cave 4 features Jain icons. There is also a Buddhist Cave 5 which has been converted into a Hindu temple of Vishnu. Another cave identified in 2013 has a number of carvings of Vishnu and other Hindu deities, and water is seen gushing out through the cave all the time.
GEOGRAPHY
The Badami cave temples are located in the Badami town in the north central part of Karnataka, India. The temples are about 110 km northeast from Hubli-Dharwad, the second largest metropolitan area of the state. Malaprabha river is 4.8 km away. Badami, also referred to as Vatapi, Vatapipuri and Vatapinagari in historical texts, and the 6th-century capital of Chalukya dynasty, is at the exit point of the ravine between two steep mountain cliffs. Four cave temples have been excavated in the escarpment of the hill to the south-east of the town above the artificial lake called Agastya Lake created by an earthen dam faced with stone steps. To the west end of this cliff, at its lowest point, is the first cave temple dedicated to Shiva, followed by a cave north east to it dedicated to Vishnu but is at a much higher level. The largest is Cave 3, mostly a Vaishnava cave, is further to the east on the northern face of the hill. The first three caves are dedicated to Hindu gods and goddesses including Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The fourth cave, dedicated to Jainism, is a short distance away.
HISTORY OF CAVE TEMPLES
The cave temples, numbered 1 to 4 in the order of their creation, identified in the town of Badami, the capital city of the Chalukya kingdom (also known as Early Chalukyas) are dated from the late 6th century onwards. The exact dating is known only for cave 3 which is a Brahmanical temple dedicated to Vishnu. An inscription found here records the creation of the shrine by Mangalesha in Saka 500 (lunar calendar, spanning 578 to 579 CE). These inscriptions are in Kannada language, and have been the source for dating these rock cave temples to the 6th-century. The Badami caves complex are part of the UNESCO inscribed World Heritage Site under the title "Evolution of Temple Architecture – Aihole-Badami-Pattadakal" in the Malaprabha river valley which is considered a cradle of Temple Architecture, which formed the template for later Hindu temples in the region. The art work in Cave 1 and Cave 2 exhibit the northern Deccan style of 6th- and 7th-century, while those in Cave 3 show a simultaneous co-exhibition of two different ancient Indian artistic traditions – the northern Nagara and the southern Dravida styles. The Cave 3 also shows icons and reliefs in the Vesara style – a creative fusion of ideas from the two styles, as well as some of the earliest surviving historical examples of yantra-chakra motifs and colored fresco paintings in Karnataka. The first three caves feature sculpture of Hindu icons and legends focusing on Shiva and Vishnu, while Cave 4 features Jain icons and themes.
TEMPLE CAVES
The Badami cave temples are composed of mainly four caves, all carved out of the soft Badami sandstone on a hill cliff, dated to the late 6th to 7th centuries. The planning of four caves (1 to 4) is simple. The entrance is a verandah (mukha mandapa) with stone columns and brackets, a distinctive feature of these caves, leading to a columned mandapa – main hall (also maha mandapa) and then to the small square shrine (sanctum sanctorum, garbhaghrha) cut deep into the cave. The cave temples are linked by stepped path with intermediate terraces looking over the town and lake. Cave temples are labelled 1–4 in their ascending series even though this numbering does not necessarily reflect the sequence of excavation.
The cave temples are dated to 6th to 8th century, with an inscription dated to 579 CE. The inscriptions are in old Kannada script. The architecture includes structures built in Nagara style and Dravidian style which is the first and most persistent architectural idiom to be adopted by the early chalukyas There is also the fifth natural cave temple in Badami – a Buddhist temple, a natural cave, which can be entered kneeling on all fours.
CAVE 1
The cave is just about 18 m above the street level on the northwest part of the hill. Access is through series of steps which depict carvings of dwarfish ganas (with "bovine and equine heads") in different postures. The verandah with 21 m length with a width of 20 m in the interior, has four columns all sculpted with reliefs of the god Shiva in different dancing positions and different incarnations. The guardian dwarapalas at the entrance to the cave stand to a height of 1.879 m.
The cave portrays the Tandava-dancing Shiva, as Nataraja. The image, (1.5 m tall, has 18 arms, in a form that express the dance positions arranged in a geometric pattern, which Alice Boner states, is a time division symbolizing the cosmic wheel. Some of the arms hold objects while most express mudras (symbolic hand postures). The objects include drums, trident and axe. Some arms also have serpents coiled around them. Shiva has his son Ganesha and the bull Nandi by his side. Adjoining to the Nataraja, a wall depicts the goddess Durga, depicted slaying the buffalo-demon Mahishasura. Elsewhere, the two sons of Shiva, Ganesha and Kartikkeya, the god of war and family deity of the Chalukya dynasty are seen in one of the carved sculptures on the walls of the cave with Kartikkeya riding a peacock.
The cave also has carved sculptures of the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati flanking Harihara, a 2.36 m high sculpture of a fused image that is half Shiva and half Vishnu. To the right, Ardhanarishvara, a composite androgynous form of Shiva and his consort Parvati, is sculpted towards the end of the walls. All the carved sculptures show ornaments worn by them, as well as borders with reliefs of various animals and birds. Lotus design is a common theme. On the ceiling are images of the Vidyadhara couples. Through a cleavage in the back side of the cave is a square sanctuary with more images carved.
Other prominent images in the cave are Nandi, the bull, in the sculptural form of Dharmadeva, the god of justice, Bhringi, a devotee of Shiva, a female decorated goddess holding a flat object in her left hand, which are all part of Ardhanarishvara described earlier. The roof in the cave has five carved panels with the central panel depicting the serpent Shesha. The head and bust are well formed and project boldly from the centre of the coil. In another compartment a bass-relief of 0.76 m diameter has carvings of a male and female; the male is Yaksha carrying a sword and the female is Apsara with a flying veil. The succeeding panel has carvings of two small figures; and the panel at the end is carved with lotuses.
CAVE 2
Cave 2, facing north, to the west of Cave 3, created in late 6th century AD, is almost same as cave 1 in terms of its layout and dimensions but it is dedicated primarily to Vishnu. Cave is reached by climbing 64 steps from the first cave. The cave entrance is the verandah, divided by four square pillars, which has carvings from its middle section to the top where there are yali brackets with sculptures within them. The cave is adorned with reliefs of guardians. Like the Cave 1, the cave art carved is a pantheon of Hindu divinities.
The largest relief in Cave 2 shows Vishnu as Trivikrama – with one foot on Earth and another – directed to the north. Other representations of Vishnu in this cave include Varaha (boar) where he is shown rescuing Bhudevi (symbolism for earth) from the depths of ocean, and Krishna avatars – legends found in Hindu Puranas text such as the Bhagavata Purana. Like other major murti (forms) in this and other Badami caves, the Varaha sculpture is set in a circle, the panel is an upright rectangle, states Alice Boner, whose "height is equal to the octopartite directing circle and sides are aligned to essential geometric ratios, in this case to the second vertical chord of the circle". The doorway is framed by pilasters carrying an entablature with three blocks embellished with gavaksha ornament. The entrance of the cave also has two armed guardians holding flowers rather than weapons. The end walls of the outer verandah is occupied by sculpted panels, to the right, Trivikrama; to the left, Varaha rescuing Bhudevi, with a penitent multi-headed snake (Nag) below. The adjacent side walls and ceiling have traces of colored paintwork, suggesting that the cave used to have fresco paintings. The columns show gods and battle scenes, the churning of cosmic ocean (Samudra Manthan), Gajalakshmi and figures, Brahma, Vishnu asleep on Shesha, illustrations of the birth of Krishna, Krishna's youth, Krishna with gopis and cows.
The ceiling of Cave 2 shows a wheel with sixteen fish spokes in a square frame along with swastikas and flying couples. The end bays have a flying couple and Vishnu on Garuda.[8] The main hall in the cave is 10.16 m in width, 7.188 m deep and 3.45 m high and is supported by eight square pillars in two rows. The roof of this hall has panels which have carvings. At the upper end of the wall a frieze runs all along the wall with engravings of episodes from the Krishna or Vishnu legends.
The sculptures of Cave 2, like Cave 1, are of the northern Deccan style of 6th-and 7th-century similar to that found in Ellora caves.
CAVE 3
The Cave 3 is dedicated to Vishnu, and is the most intricately carved and the biggest. It has well carved giant figures of Trivikrama, Anantasayana, Paravasudeva, Bhuvaraha, Harihara and Narasimha. The theme on which the Cave 3 is carved is primarily Vaishnavite, however the cave also shows Harihara on its southern wall – half Vishnu and half Shiva shown fused as one, making the cave important to Shaivism studies as well. Cave 3, facing north, is 60 steps away from the Cave 2. This cave temple's veranda, 21 m in length with an interior width of 20 m, has been sculpted 15 m deep into the mountain, and an added square shrine at the end extends the cave some 3.7 m further inside. The verandah itself is 2.1 m wide and has four free standing carved pillars separating it from the hall. The cave is 4.6 m high, supported by six pillars each measuring 0.76 m square. Each column and pilaster is carved with wide and deep bases crowned by capitals which are camouflaged by brackets on three sides. Each bracket, except for one bracket, has carvings of standing human figures, under foliage in different postures, of a male and female mythological characters, along with attendant figure of a dwarf. A moulded cornice in the facia, with a dado of blocks below it (generally in 2.1 m lengths), have about thirty compartments carved with series of two fat dwarfs called ganas. The cave shows a Kama scene on one pillar, where a woman and man are in maithuna (erotic) embrace beneath a tree.
Cave 3 also shows fresco paintings on the ceiling, but some of these are faded, broken and unclear. These are among the earliest known and surviving evidence of fresco painting in Indian art.[14] The Hindu god Brahma is seen in one of the murals, while the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, attended by various Hindu deities, is the theme of another. There is a lotus medallion on the floor underneath the mural of four armed Brahma. The sculpture is well preserved, and a large number of Vishnu's reliefs including standing Vishnu with 8 arms, Vishnu seated on a hooded serpent called Sesha or Ananta on the eastern side of the verandha, Vishnu as Narasimha (half human – half lion), Varaha fully armed, a boar incarnation of Vishnu in the back wall of the cave, Harihara (a syncretic sculpture of Vishnu and Shiva), and Trivikrama avatars. The back wall also has carvings of Vidhyadaras holding offerings to Varaha, and adjoining this is an inscription dated 579 AD with the name Mangalis inscribed on it. At one end of the pilaster there is a sculpture of the fourth incarnation of Vishnu as Vamana shown with eight arms called Ashtabhuja decorated with various types of weapons. A crescent moon is crafted above his face, crown of Vishnu decorates his head and is flanked by Varaha and two other figures and below on his right is his attendant Garuda. The images in front of Vamana are three figures of Bali and his wife with Shukra, his councilor. Reliefs stand 4 metres tall. The culture and clothing embedded in the sixth century is visible in the art sculpted in this cave. The roof in the verandha has seven panels created by cross beams, each is painted in circular compartments with images of Shiva, Vishnu, Indra, Brahma, Kama and so forth with smaller images of Dikpalas (cardinal guardians) with geometric mosaics filling the gaps at the corners.
The front aisle's roof has panels with murals in the center of male and female figurines flying in the clouds; the male figure is yaksha holding a sword and a shield. Decoration of lotus blooms are also seen on the panels. The roof in the hall is divided into nine panels slightly above the level of the ceiling. The central panel here depicts a deva mounted on a ram – conjectured as Agni. Images of Brahma and Varuna are also painted in the central panels while the floating figures are seen in the balance panels.
CAVE 4
The Cave 4, to the east of Cave 3, excavated around 650 AD, is located higher than other caves. It is dedicated to revered figures of Jainism and was constructed last among all the caves. It also features detailed carvings and diverse range of motifs. The cave has five bayed entrance with four square columns with brackets and capitals, and to the back of this verandah is a hall with two standalone and two joined pillars. The first aisle is a verandah 9.4 m in length, 2.0 m wide and extends to 4.9 m deep. From the hall, steps lead to the sanctum sanctorum, which is 7.8 m wide extending to a depth of 1.8 m. On the back part of this, Mahavira is represented, sitting on lion throne, flanked by bas-reliefs of attendants with chauri (fans), sardulas and makara's heads. The end walls have Parshvanath (about 2.3 m tall) with his head decorated to represent protection and reverence by a multi-headed cobra, Indrabhuti Gautama covered by four snakes and Bahubali are seen; Bahubali is present to the left of Gautama shown with his lower legs surrounded by snakes along with his daughters Brahmi and Sundari. The sanctum, which is adorned by the image of Mahavira, has pedestal which contains an old Kannada inscription of the 12th century A.D. which registers the death of one Jakkave. Many Jaina Tirthankara images have been engraved in the inner pillars and walls. In addition, there are some idols of Yakshas, Yakshis, Padmavati and other Tirthankaras. Some scholars also assign the cave to the 8th century.
CAVE 5
It is a natural cave of small dimensions, undated, is approached by crawling as it has a narrow opening. Inside, there is a carved statue seated over a sculpted throne with reliefs showing people holding chauris (fans), tree, elephants and lions in an attacking mode. The face of this statue was reasonably intact till about 1995, and is now damaged and missing. There are several theories as to who the statue represents.
The first theory states that it is a Buddha relief, in a sitting posture. Those holding the chauris are Bodhisattvas flanking the Buddha, states this theory, and that the cave has been converted to a Hindu shrine of Vishnu, in later years, as seen from the white religious markings painted on the face of the Buddha as the 9th incarnation of Vishnu. Shetti suggests that the cave was not converted, but from the start represented a tribute to Mayamoha of the Hindu Puranas, or Buddhavatara Vishnu, its style suggesting it was likely carved in or before 8th century CE.
The second theory, found in colonial era texts such as one by John Murray, suggested that the main image carved in the smallest fifth cave is that of Jaina figure.
The third theory, by Henry Cousens as well as A. Sundara, and based by local legends, states that the statue is of an ancient king because the statue's photo, when its face was not damaged, lacked Ushnisha lump that typically goes with Buddha's image. Further, the statue has unusual non-Buddha ornaments such as rings for fingers, necklace and chest-band, it wears a Hindu Yajnopavita thread, and its head is stylistically closer to a Jina head than a Buddha head. These features suggest that the statue may be of a king represented with features of various traditions. The date and identity of the main statue in Cave 5, states Bolon, remains enigmatic.
OTHER CAVES
In 2013, Manjunath Sullolli reported the discovery of another cave with 27 rock carvings, about 500 metres from the four caves, from which water gushes year round. It depicts Vishnu and other Hindu deities, and features inscription in Devanagari script. The dating of these carvings is unknown.
OTHER TEMPLES AT BADAMI
On the north hill, there are three temples, of which Malegitti-Shivalaya is perhaps the oldest temple and also the finest in Badami, and has a Dravidian tower. Out of the two inscriptions found here, one states that Aryaminchi upadhyaya, as the sculptor who got this temple constructed and the other dated 1543 speaks of the erection of a bastion during the Vijayanagara rule. The lower Shivalaya has a Dravidian tower, and only the sanctum remains now.
Jambhulinga temple, situated in the town, is presumably the oldest known trikutachala temple in Karnataka. An inscription dated 699 ascribes construction of this temple to Vinayavathi mother of Emperor Vijayaditya.
The place also has Agasthya Tirtha, temples of Goddess Yellamma, Mallikarjuna, Datttreya and Virupaksha. Bhuthanatha group of temples are most important in Badami.
BADAMI FORT
Badami fort lies east of the Bhuthnatha temple, atop a cliff right opposite the Badami cave temples. The entrance to this temple is right through the Badami museum. It is a steep climb with many view points and dotted with little shrines. The path is laid with neatly cut stone, the same that adores all the architecture around.
ETYMOLOGY
The name Vatapi has origin in the Vatapi legend of Ramayana relating to Sage Agastya.There were two demon siblings Vatapi and Ilvala. They used to kill all mendicants by tricking them in a peculiar way. The elder Ilvala would turn Vatapi into a ram and would offer its meat to the guest. As soon as the person ate the meat, Ilvala would call out the name of Vatapi. As he had a boon that whomsoever Ilvala calls would return from even the netherland, Vatapi would emerge ripping through the body of the person, thus killing him. Their trick worked until Sage Agastya countered them by digesting Vatapi before Ilvala could call for him, thus ending the life of Vatapi at the hands of Ilvala. Two of the hills in Badami represent the demons Vatapi and Ilvala.
It is also believed that name Badami has come from colour of its stone (badam - Almond).
CULTURE
The main language is Kannada. The local population wears traditional Indian cotton wear.
GEOGRAPHY
Badami is located at 15.92°N 75.68°E. It has an average elevation of 586 metres. It is located at the mouth of a ravine between two rocky hills and surrounds Agastya tirtha water reservoir on the three other sides. The total area of the town is 10.3 square kilometers.
It is located 30 kilometers from Bagalkot, 128 kilometers from Bijapur, 132 kilometers from Hubli, 46 kilometers from Aihole, another ancient town, and 589 kilometers from Bangalore, the state capital.
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