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From my 7 images entered in to the IGPG Photographic Competition 2020.
I won the "Amateur Photographer of the Year" category
Panelists include Joumanna Bercetche, Reporter, CNBC, David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director, IMF, Hélène Rey, Lord Bagri Professor of Economics, London Business School, Philip Lane, Governor, Central Bank of Ireland, Agustin Carstens, General Manager, Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and Gene Frieda, Executive Vice President and Global Strategist, PIMCO during the seminar Booms and Busts: Are We Better Able to Deal with Them Today? at the 2018 IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings on Saturday, April 21 in Washington, D.C. Ryan Rayburn/IMF Photo
South Shields is a coastal town at the mouth of the River Tyne, England, about 4.84 miles (7.79 km) downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne. Historically in County Durham, the town has a population of 82,854, the second largest in Tyneside after Newcastle. It is part of the metropolitan borough of South Tyneside which includes the towns of Jarrow and Hebburn. South Shields is represented in Parliament by Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck.
The first evidence of a settlement within what is now the town of South Shields dates from pre-historic times. Stone Age arrow heads and an Iron Age round house have been discovered on the site of Arbeia Roman Fort. The Romans built a fort here around AD 160 and expanded it around AD 208 to help supply their soldiers along Hadrian's Wall. Divisions living at the fort included Tigris bargemen (from Persia / modern day Iraq), Spanish / French soldiers and Syrian archers / spearmen. The fort was abandoned as the Roman Empire declined in the 4th century AD. Many ruins still exist today and some structures have been rebuilt as part of a modern museum and popular tourist attraction.
There is evidence that the site was used in the early post-Roman period as a British settlement. It is believed it became a royal residence of King Oswald of Northumbria; records show that his son Oswin was born within 'Caer Urfa', by which name the fort is thought to be known after the Romans left. Furthermore, Bede records Oswin giving a parcel of land to St Hilda for the foundation of a monastery here in c.647; the present-day church of St Hilda, by the Market Place, is said to stand on the monastic site.
History of South Shields.
In the 9th century, Scandinavian peoples made Viking raids on monasteries and settlements all along the coast, and later conquered the Saxon Kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. It is said in local folklore that a Viking ship was wrecked at Herd Sands in South Shields in its attempts to disembark at a cove nearby.
The current town was founded in 1245 and developed as a fishing port. The name South Shields developed from the 'Schele' or 'Shield', which was a small dwelling used by fishermen. Salt-panning expanded as an industry in the 15th century, polluting the air and surrounding land. In 1644 during the English Civil War, Parliament's Scottish Covenanter allies captured the town and its small fortification close to the site of the original Roman fort to aid their ongoing siege of Newcastle. This was in a bid to control the mouth of the River Tyne and caused the Royalist force to flee south, leading to the Battle of Boldon Hill.
In the 19th century, coal mining, alkaline production and glass making led to a boom in the town. The population increased from 12,000 in 1801 to 75,000 by the 1860s, bolstered by economic migration from Ireland, Scotland and other parts of England. These industries played a fundamental part in creating wealth both regionally and nationally. In 1832, with the Great Reform Act, South Shields and Gateshead were each given their own Member of Parliament and became boroughs, resulting in taxes being paid to the Government instead of the Bishops of Durham. However, the rapid growth in population brought on by the expansion of industry made sanitation a problem, as evident by Cholera outbreaks and the building of the now-listed Cleadon Water Tower to combat the problem. In the 1850s 'The Tyne Improvement Commission' began to develop the river, dredging it to make it deeper and building the large, impressive North and South Piers to help prevent silt build up within the channel. Shipbuilding (along with coal mining), previously a monopoly of the Freemen of Newcastle, became another prominent industry in the town, with John Readhead & Sons Shipyard the largest.
During World War I, German Zeppelin airships bombed South Shields in 1915. Later during World War II, the German Luftwaffe repeatedly attacked the town and caused massive damage to industry and killed many residents. Gradually throughout the 20th century, coal and shipbuilding industries ceased, due to competitive pressures from more cost effective sources of energy and more efficient shipbuilding elsewhere in Europe and in Asia. In the 21st century, the local economy primarily includes port-related, ship repair and offshore industries, manufacturing, retail, the public sector and the ever increasing role of tourism.
Photo taken on the seafront looking towards the Pier at South Shields on a very misty day, we could hear the fog horns out at sea but couldn't see any.
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Four poster bed in Castle de Haar , Kasteel de Haar near the suburb of Vleuten that includes village of Haarzuilen rebuild by architect Pierre Cuyper Project was finished in around 1912 took 20 years finish , Photograph converted to black and white , Martin’s photograph , Utrecht , Nederland , June 5. 2019
Four poster bed
Fireplace with beautiful screen and mantel
Beautiful formal gardens with piramide shaped trees
Beautiful staircase
Beautiful staircase in castle , Kasteel de Haar
Staircase
Formal gardens
Stairway critters sculptures in Castle
Stairway sculptures
Spiral stairway
Central Station in Amsterdam , build by architect Pierre Cuyper
de Rijks Museum in Amsterdam build by architect Pierre Cuyper
de Rijks Museum in Amsterdam
Central Station in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Lavet bad tub
Lavet bad tub and washing machine
main door
Beautiful staircase
Kasteel de Haar near the suburb of Vleuten that includes village of Haarzuilen
architect Pierre Cuyper
Martin’s photograph
Utrecht
the Netherlands
Nederland
June 2019
Favourites
IPhone 6
Village of Haarzuilen
Kasteel de Haar
Castle the Haar
Kasteel de Haar was rebuild by architect Pierre Cuyper Project was finished in around 1912 took 20 years to be finished
city of Utrecht in the province Utrecht
Beautiful staircase in Kasteel de Haar
Door knocker
Beautiful window and seating
Photograph converted to black and white
Black and white
Black & white
Monochrome
Zwart wit
Zwart en wit
Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England, named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, 2 miles NW of Simonsbath. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and 55 kilometres (34 mi) of the Bristol Channel coast. The highest point on Exmoor is Dunkery Beacon; at 519 metres (1,703 ft) it is also the highest point in Somerset. The total area of the Exmoor National Park is 692.8 square kilometres (267.5 sq mi), of which 71% is in Somerset and 29% in Devon.
Exmoor was designated a National Park in 1954, under the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act. The Exmoor National Park is primarily an upland area with a dispersed population living mainly in small villages and hamlets. The largest settlements are Porlock, Dulverton, Lynton, and Lynmouth, which together contain almost 40% of the park's population. Lynton and Lynmouth are combined into one parish and are connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway.
Exmoor has 55 kilometres (34 mi) of coastline, including the highest sea cliffs in England, which reach a height of 314 metres (1,030 ft) at Culbone Hill. However, the crest of this coastal ridge of hills is more than 1.6 km (0.99 mi) from the sea. If a cliff is defined as having a slope greater than 60 degrees, the highest sea cliff on mainland Britain is Great Hangman near Combe Martin at 318 metres (1,043 ft) high, with a cliff face of 250 metres (820 ft). Its sister cliff is the 250 metres (820 ft) Little Hangman, which marks the edge of Exmoor.
The scenery of rocky headlands, ravines, waterfalls and towering cliffs gained the Exmoor coast recognition as a heritage coast in 1991. With its huge waterfalls and caves, this dramatic coastline has become an adventure playground for both climbers and explorers. The cliffs provide one of the longest and most isolated seacliff traverses in the UK. The South West Coast Path, at 1,014 kilometres (630 mi) the longest National Trail in England and Wales, starts at Minehead and runs along all of Exmoor's coast. There are small harbours at Lynmouth, Porlock Weir and Combe Martin. Once crucial to coastal trade, the harbours are now primarily used for pleasure; individually owned sail boats and non-commercial fishing boats are often found in the harbours. The Valley of the Rocks beyond Lynton is a deep dry valley that runs parallel to the nearby sea and is capped on the seaward side by large rocks and Sexton's Burrows forms a natural breakwater to the Harbour of Watermouth Bay on the coast.
(Wikipedia)
-----
After a few days visit, I have to say that Exmoor national park is a hidden gem on the western coast of England. Stunning scenery and picturesque villages create a lovely combination of a peaceful place that is really worth visiting.
There are a lot of trails in the national park, both on the coast and in the hilly interior - and we of course tried a few of those.
A small gable on the roof of the Castle de Haar , Kasteel de Haar near the suburb of Vleuten that includes village of Haarzuilen rebuild by architect Pierre Cuyper Project was finished in around 1912 took 20 years to be finished , Martin’s photograph , Utrecht , the Netherlands , June 5. 2019
Old steam heater
A outside service walk way inside the castle
Fireplace with beautiful screen and mantel
Beautiful formal gardens with piramide shaped trees
Beautiful staircase
Beautiful staircase in castle , Kasteel de Haar
Staircase
Narrow passage inside the castle
Formal gardens
Stairway critters sculptures in Castle
Stairway sculptures
Spiral stairway
Central Station in Amsterdam , build by architect Pierre Cuyper
de Rijks Museum in Amsterdam build by architect Pierre Cuyper
de Rijks Museum in Amsterdam
Central Station in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Lavet bad tub
Lavet bad tub and washing machine
main door
Beautiful staircase
Kasteel de Haar near the suburb of Vleuten that includes village of Haarzuilen
architect Pierre Cuyper
Martin’s photograph
Utrecht
the Netherlands
Nederland
June 2019
Favourites
IPhone 6
Village of Haarzuilen
Kasteel de Haar
Castle the Haar
Kasteel de Haar was rebuild by architect Pierre Cuyper Project was finished in around 1912 took 20 years to be finished
city of Utrecht in the province Utrecht
Beautiful staircase in Kasteel de Haar
Door knocker
Beautiful window and seating
A small gable
A Scott and a Streetlite
Princes Street in Edinburgh includes many historic Monuments, none more stunning than the Scott Monument. Built between 1840 - 1844, the tower is 200 feet 6 inches (61.11 m) high and has viewing platforms reached by a series of spiral staircases giving panoramic views of central Edinburgh and its surroundings. The highest platform is reached by a total of 287 steps. It is built from Binny sandstone quarried near Ecclesmachan in West Lothian.
It is placed on axis with South St. David Street, the main street leading off St. Andrew Square to Princes Street, and is a focal point within that vista, its scale being large enough to screen the Old Town behind. Its location appears more random when seen from the south side and Princes Street Gardens, but it dominates the eastern section of the gardens through its scale and elevated position. It stands in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, opposite the Jenners department store on Princes Street and near to Edinburgh Waverley Railway Station, which is named after Scott's Waverley novels.
John Steell was commissioned to design a monumental statue of Scott to rest in the centre space within the tower's four columns. It is made from white Carrara marble and shows Scott seated, resting from writing one of his works with a quill pen, his dog Maida by his side. The monument carries 64 figures of characters from Scott's novels and its well worth a visit to see if you can spot them all.
The Streetlite, in case you’re interested, is 47650 (SN14FGA).
++++ from WIKIPEDIA ++++++
Abruzzo (UK: /æˈbrʊtsoʊ/,[5] US: /ɑːˈbruːtsoʊ, əˈ-/; Italian: [aˈbruttso]; Abbrùzze [abˈbruttsə], Abbrìzze [abˈbrittsə] or Abbrèzze [abˈbrɛttsə] in Neapolitan Abruzzese; Aquilano: Abbrùzzu) or Abruzzi is a region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four provinces: L'Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Its western border lies 80 km (50 mi) east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into a mountainous area in the west, which includes the Gran Sasso d'Italia, and a coastal area in the east with beaches on the Adriatic Sea.
Abruzzo is considered a region of Southern Italy in terms of its culture, language, history and economy, although geographically it may also be considered central.[8] The Italian Statistical Authority (ISTAT) also deems it to be part of Southern Italy, partly because of Abruzzo's historic association with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Abruzzo is known as "the greenest region in Europe" as almost half of its territory, the largest in Europe,[9] is set aside as national parks and protected nature reserves. There are three national parks, one regional park, and 38 protected nature reserves. These ensure the survival of 75% of Europe's living species, including rare species such as the golden eagle, the Abruzzo (or Abruzzese) chamois, the Apennine wolf and the Marsican brown bear.[10] Abruzzo is also home to Calderone, Europe's southernmost glacier.
The visiting nineteenth-century Italian diplomat and journalist Primo Levi (1853–1917) said that the adjectives "forte e gentile" (strong and kind) best describe the beauty of the region and the character of its people. "Forte e gentile" has since become the motto of the region and its inhabitants.
Provinces and politics
Abruzzo provinces
Provinces
Abruzzo is divided into four administrative provinces:
Province Area (km2) Population Density (inh./km2)
Chieti 2,588 396,190 153.1
L'Aquila 5,034 308,876 61.3
Pescara 1,225 318,701 260.1
Teramo 1,948 308,769 158.5
Politics
History
Human settlements in Abruzzo have existed since at least the Neolithic times. A skeleton from Lama dei Peligni in the province of Chieti dates back to 6,540 BC under radiometric dating.[13] The name Abruzzo appears to be derivative of the Latin word "Aprutium". In Roman times, the region was known as Picenum, Sabina et Samnium, Flaminia et Picenum, and Campania et Samnium.[14] The region was known as Aprutium in the Middle Ages, arising from four possible sources: it is a combination of Praetutium, or rather of the name of the people Praetutii, applied to their chief city, Interamnia, the old Teramo.
Many cities in Abruzzo date back to ancient times. Corfinio was known as Corfinium when it was the chief city of the Paeligni, and later was renamed Pentima by the Romans. Chieti is built on the site of the ancient city of Teate, Atri was known as Adria. Teramo, known variously in ancient times as Interamnia and Teramne, has Roman ruins which attract tourists.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, a string of invasions and rulers dominated the region, including the Lombards, Byzantines, and Hungarians. Between the 9th and 12th centuries, the region was dominated by the popes. Subsequently, the Normans took over, and Abruzzo became part of the Kingdom of Sicily, later the Kingdom of Naples. Spain ruled the kingdom from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The French Bourbon dynasty took over in 1815, establishing the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and ruled until Italian unification (also known as the Risorgimento) in 1860.
Until 1963, Abruzzo was part of the combined Abruzzi e Molise region. The term Abruzzi (plural of Abruzzo) derives from the time when the region was part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The territory was administered as Abruzzo Citeriore (nearer Abruzzo) and Abruzzo Ulteriore I and II (farther Abruzzo I and II) from Naples, the capital of the kingdom.[14] Abruzzo Citeriore is now Chieti province. Teramo and Pescara provinces now comprise what was Abruzzo Ulteriore I. Abruzzo Ulteriore II is now the province of L'Aquila.
In the twentieth century, war had a great impact on the region. During the Second World War, Abruzzo was on the Gustav Line, part of the German's Winter Line. One of the most brutal battles was the Battle of Ortona. Abruzzo was the location of two prisoner of war camps, Campo 21 in Chieti,[18] and Campo 78 in Sulmona. The Sulmona camp also served as a POW camp in World War 1; much of the facility is still intact and attracts tourists interested in military history.
Geography
Geographically, Abruzzo is located in central Italy and southern Italy, stretching from the heart of the Apennines to the Adriatic Sea, and includes mainly mountainous and wild land. The mountainous land is occupied by a vast plateau, including Gran Sasso, at 2,912 metres (9,554 ft) the highest peak of the Apennines, and Mount Majella at 2,793 metres (9,163 ft). The Adriatic coastline is characterized by long sandy beaches to the North and pebbly beaches to the South. Abruzzo is well known for its landscapes and natural environment, parks and nature reserves, characteristic hillside areas rich in vineyards and olive groves, and one of the highest densities of Blue Flag beaches.
Climate
The Abruzzo region has two types of climate that are strongly influenced by the Apennine Mountains, dividing the climate of the coastal and sub-Apennine hills from the interior's high mountain ranges. Coastal areas have a Mediterranean climate with hot dry summers and mild winters and rainy hills with a sublittoral climate where temperatures decrease progressively with increasing altitude and precipitation with altitude. Precipitation is also strongly affected by the presence of the Apennines mountain ridges of the region; it increases with the proportion being more abundant in the field and on the slopes exposed to the west, instead of decreasing towards the east and east-facing slopes. Often the Adriatic coast are sidelined rainfall from the west to the barrier effect of the Apennines undergoing the action of gentle winds descending from it (or Libeccio).[21] The minimum annual rainfall, however, is found in some inland valleys, sheltered from much disturbance to the blocking action of mountain ridges, such as the Peligna Valley, or the valley of the river Tirino, which in some places (Ofena, Capestrano) showed barely 500 millimetres (19.7 inches), and not along the coast where it never falls below 600 millimetres (23.6 inches); for if Teramo is relatively little watered by rain (Teramo less than 800 millimetres (31.5 inches)), the metre is exceeded in Chieti, reaching maximum levels in the Adriatic, while between Ortona and Vasto in Costa dei Trabocchi decrease again.[21] The highest rainfall occurs in upland areas on the border with Lazio; they are especially vulnerable to Atlantic disturbances. Around 1,500 to 2,000 millimetres (59 to 79 inches) of precipitation is typical (Pescara in 2010 showed a value close to 2,800 millimetres (110.2 inches)).
Flora and fauna
As with many Mediterranean regions, Abruzzo's vegetation is characterized by different Mediterranean ecosystems. The coast and the surrounding areas are characterized by the presence of typical plants of Mediterranean shrubland, such as myrtle, heather and mastic, while in the hilly areas other species grow, including olive, pine, willow, oak, poplar, alder, arbutus, broom, acacia, capers, rosemary, hawthorn, licorice and almond trees, interspersed with oak trees. At elevations between 600 and 1,000 metres (2,000 and 3,300 ft) there is sub-montane vegetation, mainly characterized by mixed forests of oak and turkey oak, maple and hornbeam; shrubs include dog rose and red juniper. Elevations between 1,000 and 1,900 metres (3,300 and 6,200 ft) are dominated by beech trees. In the Apennine Mountains at elevations above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) species include alpine orchid, mountain juniper, silver fir, black cranberry and the Abruzzo edelweiss.
The fauna of Abruzzo is highly varied, including the region's symbol, the Abruzzo chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata), which has recovered from near-extinction. Animals typical of this region include: marsican brown bear, along with Italian wolf, deer, lynx, roe deer, snow vole, fox, porcupine, wild cat, wild boar, badger, otter, and viper.
The natural parks of the region include the Abruzzo National Park, the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park,[24] the Maiella National Park and the Sirente-Velino Regional Park, as well as many other natural reserves and protected areas.
Economy
Until a few decades ago, Abruzzo was a region of poverty in Southern Italy; over the past decades, however, it has developed to such an extent that it has escaped from the spiral of underdevelopment to become the 'first' region of the 'Italian Mezzogiorno'. This confirms its pivotal role in the national economic system. Since the 1950s, Abruzzo has had steady economic growth. In 1951, Abruzzo per capita income or GDP was 53% of that of Northern Italy, the nation's richest region. By 1971, Abruzzo was at 65% and, by 1994, per capita income was at 76% of Northern Italy's per capita income, giving Abruzzo the highest per capita GDP of Southern Italy and surpassing the growth of every other region of Italy. The construction of autostrade (motorways) from Rome to Teramo (A24) and Rome to Pescara (A25) opened Abruzzo to easy access. State and private investment in the region increased, and Abruzzo attained higher per capita education levels and greater productivity growth than the rest of the South. As of 2003, Abruzzo's per capita GDP was €19,506 or 84% of the national average of €23,181 and well outpacing that of the South (€15,808). The region's average GDP per capita was approximately 20,100 EUR.
The 2009 L'Aquila earthquake led to a sharp economic slowdown. However, according to statistics at the end of 2010, it seems that the economy of Abruzzo is recovering, despite the negative on regarding employment.[28] In fact, at the end of 2010, Abruzzo's growth was 1.47%, which placed it fourth among the Italian regions with the highest annual growth rates after Lazio, Lombardy and Calabria.[30] In 2011 Abruzzo's economic growth was +2.3%, the highest percentage among the regions of Southern Italy.[31] The region is also the richest region of Southern Italy, with a GDP per capita of €25,700.[21]
Travel poster from the 1920s.
Abruzzo's industrial sector expanded rapidly, especially in mechanical engineering, transportation equipment and telecommunications. The structure of production in the region reflects the transformation of the economy from agriculture to industry and services. Although industry has developed strongly, it retains weak points due to the existence of only a few large businesses alongside a huge fabric of small and medium-sized businesses. Both pure and applied research are carried out in the region, where there are major institutes and factories involved in research in the fields of pharmaceutics, biomedicine, electronics, aerospace and nuclear physics. The industrial infrastructure is spread throughout the region in industrial zones. The most important of these are: Val Pescara, Val Sangro, Val Trigno, Val Vibrata and Conca del Fucino. A further activity worthy of note is seaside and mountain tourism, which is of considerable importance to the economy of the region.[33] Agriculture, involving small holdings, has succeeded in modernising and offering high-quality products. The mostly small, agricultural holdings produce: wine, cereals, sugar beet, potatoes, olives, vegetables, fruit and dairy products. Traditional products are saffron and liquorice. Most famous in the world is Abruzzo's wine Montepulciano d'Abruzzo; in the late 20th and early 21st century, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo earned a reputation as being one of the most widely exported DOC classed wine in Italy.[34]
In the past decade, tourism has increased, in particular by internal and European arrivals. Abruzzo is world-famous for its wildlife parks (Abruzzo National Park, Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, Maiella National Park) and regional park (Sirente Velino), and 38 protected areas between oasis, regional reserves, and state reserves. The inland mountainous region contains several ski resorts, and coastal tourism is also well-developed, in particular, the Trabocchi Coast. Abruzzo's castles and medieval towns, especially around the town of L'Aquila, have earned it in some quarters the nickname of "Abruzzoshire", by analogy with the "Chiantishire", nickname sometimes used to refer to the Chianti area of Tuscany, but Abruzzo is still off the beaten path for most visitors to Italy.[35]
Chieti
Although the population density of Abruzzo has increased over recent decades, it is still well below the Italian national average: in 2008, 123.4 inhabitants per km2, compared to 198.8. In the provinces, the density varies: as of 2008 Pescara is the most densely populated with 260.1 inhabitants per km2, whereas L'Aquila is the least densely populated with 61.3 inhabitants per km2, although it has the largest area. After decades of emigration from the region, the main feature of the 1980s is immigration from third world countries. The population increase is due to the positive net migration. Since 1991 more deaths than births were registered in Abruzzo (except for 1999, when their numbers were equal).[36] In 2008, the Italian national institute of statistics ISTAT estimated that 59,749 foreign-born immigrants live in Abruzzo, equal to 4.5% of the total regional population.
The most serious demographic imbalance is between the mountainous areas of the interior and the coastal strip. The largest province, L'Aquila, is situated entirely in the interior and has the lowest population density. The movement of the population of Abruzzo from the mountains to the sea has led to the almost complete urbanization of the entire coastal strip especially in the province of Teramo and Chieti. The effects on the interior have been impoverishment and demographic aging, reflected by an activity rate in the province of L'Aquila which is the lowest among the provinces in Abruzzo – accompanied by geological degradation as a result of the absence of conservation measures. In the coastal strip, however, there is such a jumble of accommodations and activities that the environment has been negatively affected. The policy of providing incentives for development has resulted in the setting-up of industrial zones, some of which (Vasto, Avezzano, Carsoli, Gissi, Val Vibrata, Val di Sangro) have made genuine progress, while others (Val Pescara, L'Aquila) have run into trouble after their initial success. The zones of Sulmona and Guardiagrele have turned out to be more or less failures. Outside these zones, the main activities are agriculture and tourism.
Main settlements
L'Aquila is both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila and second largest city (pop. 73,000). L'Aquila was hit by an earthquake on 6 April 2009, which destroyed much of the city centre. The other provincial capitals are Pescara, which is Abruzzo's largest city and major port (pop. 123,000); Teramo (pop. 55,000) and Chieti (pop. 55,000). Other large municipalities in Abruzzo include the industrial and high tech center Avezzano (pop. 41,000), as well as three important industrial and touristic centers such as Vasto (pop. 40,636), Lanciano (pop. 36,000), and Sulmona (pop. 25,000).
Transport
Airports
Abruzzo International Airport is the only international airport in the region. Open to civilian traffic since 1996, the number of passengers has increased over the years because of low-cost air carriers' use of the facility. Today, the airport has a catchment area of over 500,000 passengers annually and connects the city of Pescara and the entire region with many Italian and Europe destinations.
L'Aquila-Preturo Airport is located in the nearby village of Courts and was recently renovated and modernized to accommodate presidential flights for G8 activities.
Ports
There are four main ports in Abruzzo: Pescara, Ortona, Vasto and Giulianova.
Over the years the Port of Pescara became one of the most important tourist ports of Italy and the Adriatic Sea. Heavily damaged in World War II, it underwent some sixty years of major restoration and was reborn as a modern marina with advanced moorings and shipbuilding facilities. It has been honored with the European Union's blue flag for the quality of services offered. The port of Pescara has lost passenger traffic because of its shallowness and silting, but its fishery and aquaculture activities are thriving.[38]
Railways
There is a significant disparity between the railways of the Abruzzo coast and the inland areas, which badly need modernization to improve the service, in particular, the Rome-Pescara line.
Existing railway lines:
Adriatic railway runs through the whole of Italy from north to south, along the Adriatic Sea.
Train Rome – Sulmona – Pescara
Sulmona – Carpinone
Sulmona–Terni railway
Avezzano railroad – Roccasecca
Giulianova – Teramo
Sangritana (Lanciano – Castel di Sangro)
Highways
There are three highways that serve the region:
Highway A24 Rome – L'Aquila – Teramo, was built in the 1970s and connects Rome with Lazio and more specifically to the Abruzzo Teramo via L'Aquila. It performs an important liaison function of the region, both Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic, due to the presence of several interchanges of connecting roads and highways. The Gran Sasso tunnel, the longest road tunnel entirely on Italian territory, was opened in 1984. It connects L'Aquila and Teramo on the A24 making the northern Abruzzo coast reachable within two hours from Rome.
Highway A25 Turin – Avezzano – Pescara makes the connection between Rome and Pescara. The road running out of Turin begins its journey where it branches off the A24, runs into the Conca del Fucino, crosses the Abruzzo Apennines, comes to the valley of Peligna, and ends at the exit for Pescara-Villanova to join the A14.
Motorway A14 Bologna – Taranto known as the A14 "Adriatica", includes 743 km (461.68 mi) of road, including lengths in the cities of Bologna and Taranto. Opened to traffic in 1965, it is now a major tourist road, running through the coastal towns of Emilia Romagna, Marche, Abruzzo, Molise, and Apulia.
Culture
Castel del Monte, one of Abruzzo's little-known hill towns
Gabriele d'Annunzio from Pescara
Abbazia di San Liberatore a Majella (Serramonacesca)
Ovid from Sulmona
Cathedral of San Giustino (Chieti)
Fishing trabucco of San Vito Chietino
The museum Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo in Chieti houses the famed warrior statue Warrior of Capestrano which was found in a necropolis from 6th century B.C. Of cultural importance are: Teramo Cathedral, its archeological museum and Roman theater, the Castello della Monica, the Collurania-Teramo Observatory, the famous L'Aquila Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio (which holds the remains of Pope Celestine V), the Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Santa Maria del Suffragio, the Forte Spagnolo, the Fountain of 99 Spouts, Gabriele D'Annunzio's house in Pescara, Campli's Scala Sancta and its church, the church of Santissima Annunziata in Sulmona, the cathedrals of Chieti, Lanciano, Guardiagrele, Atri and Pescara along with the castles of Ortona, Celano and Ortucchio.
Every 28–29 August, L'Aquila's Santa Maria di Collemaggio commemorates the Perdonanza Celestiniana, the indulgence issued by Pope Celestine V to any who, "truly repentant and confessed" would visit that Church from the Vespers of the vigil to the vespers of 29 August.[39] Sulmona's Holy Week is commemorated with traditional celebrations and rituals, such as 'La Madonna che Scappa in Piazza', where a large statue of the Madonna, carried by a group of Sulmonesi part of Confraternities, is taken through the square towards her resurrected Son.[40] Cocullo, in the province of L'Aquila, holds the annual 'Festa dei serpari' (festival of snake handlers) in which a statue of St. Dominic, covered with live snakes, is carried in a procession through the town; it attracts thousands of Italian and foreign visitors. In many Abruzzo villages, Anthony the Great's feast is celebrated in January with massive and scenic bonfires.[41] In the past, the region of Abruzzo was well known for the transumanza, the migratory movement of sheep principally south to the region of Puglia during the cold winter months.[42] The Feast of St. Biagio, protector of wool dealers, is the most widespread in Abruzzo. On the third of February in Taranta Peligna every year since the sixteenth century an evocative ritual is carried out, entailing the distribution of panicelle, which are small loaves made of flour and water, in the shape of a blessing hand, which are distributed to the faithful.
Historical figures include: the Roman orator Asinius Pollio; Latin poets Sallust and Ovid, who were born in L'Aquila and Sulmona respectively, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman senator and leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar; and Pontius Pilate, who was born in the province of Teramo and is best known for authorizing the crucifixion of Jesus. Abruzzo's religious personalities include Saint Berardo; John of Capistrano, who led a crusade against the Ottoman Empire; Thomas of Celano, author of three hagiographies about Saint Francis of Assisi; and Alessandro Valignano, who introduced Catholicism to the Far East and Japan. The Polish Pope John Paul II loved the mountains of Abruzzo, where he would retire often and pray in the church of San Pietro della Ienca. When he died, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, gave the local Abruzzo community some of the late pontiff's blood as a token of the love he had felt for the mountainous area.[43] The greatest Italian poet of the 20th century Gabriele D'Annunzio was from Pescara; other notable Abruzzo personalities in the field of humanities include: poet Ignazio Silone, director Ennio Flaiano who co-wrote La dolce vita, philosopher Benedetto Croce, composer Sir Paolo Tosti and the sculptor Venanzo Crocetti.
American artists and celebrities such as: Madonna, Dean Martin, Bradley Cooper, Perry Como, Henry Mancini, Nancy Pelosi, Rocky Marciano, Rocky Mattioli, Bruno Sammartino, Mario Batali, John and Dan Fante, Tommy Lasorda, Dan Marino, Mario Lanza, Garry Marshall, Penny Marshall, Al Martino, Ariana Grande and Canadian Michael Bublé have Abruzzo origins.
Some international movies shot in Abruzzo include The American, Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose, Fellini's La Strada and I Vitelloni, Schwarzenegger's Red Sonja, Ladyhawke, King David, Francesco, Keoma, The Barbarians, The Fox and the Child and Krull.
Medieval and Renaissance hill towns
The fortress of Civitella is the most visited monument in Abruzzo
For most of its history, a large number of the Abruzzese people have been hill people, often working as shepherds in mountainous areas, or establishing hill towns, especially in the parts of Abruzzo further from the Adriatic coast.[citation needed] Before the 2009 earthquake, Abruzzo was the region with the highest number of castles and hill towns in Italy, but it still holds many of Italy's best-preserved medieval and Renaissance hill towns, twenty-three of which are among The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy.[44] These awards are not only for aesthetic beauty but also for art and culture, historical importance and livability.
The abrupt decline of Abruzzo's agricultural economy in the early to mid-20th-century saved some of the region's historic hill towns from modern development. Many lie entirely within regional and national parks. Among the most well preserved are Castel del Monte and Santo Stefano di Sessanio, which lie in the Gran Sasso National Park on the edge of the high plain of Campo Imperatore and nestled beneath the Apennines' highest peaks. Both hill towns, which were ruled by the Medicis for over a century-and-a-half, have relatively little tourism. Between the two towns sits Rocca Calascio, the ruin of an ancient fortress popular with filmmakers. Both Monteferrante and Roccascalegna are two of the most representative Abruzzo villages in the province of Chieti. Within the Gran Sasso National Park is also found Castelli, an ancient pottery center whose artisans produced ceramics for most of the royal houses of Europe.
Civitella del Tronto played a crucial role in the history of the unification of Italy. The fortress of Civitella is the most visited monument in the Abruzzo region today.[45] Other medieval hill towns located fully within Abruzzo's park system are Pacentro in the Maiella National Park and Pescasseroli in the Abruzzo National Park. Pacentro, which features a 14th-century castle with two intact towers, has been little touched by modernisation. The Shrine of Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, in the province of Teramo, which attracts some two million visitors per year, is one of the 15 most-visited sanctuaries in the world.[46] Capestrano, a small town in the province of L'Aquila, is the hometown of Saint John of Capistrano, Franciscan friar and Catholic priest, as well as the namesake of the Franciscan missions San Juan Capistrano in Southern California, the mission Mission San Juan Capistrano (Texas) and the city of San Juan Capistrano in Orange County. Giulianova is a notable example of a Renaissance "ideal city."
The proximity to Rome, the protected natural reserves and landscapes which make the region one of the greenest in Europe, the presence of some of the most beautiful Italian villages, its rich and heterogeneous gastronomy, along with a long history of deep-rooted local tradition and authentic Italian culture, make Abruzzo fifth among Italian regions for tourist visits after Calabria, Marche, Sardinia and Trentino. In 2010, visitors included 6,381,067 Italians and 925,884 foreign tourists.
In 2015, the American organization Live and Invest Overseas included Abruzzo on its list of World's Top 21 Overseas Retirement Havens. The study was based on such factors as climate, infrastructure, health care, safety, taxes, cost of living and more. In 2017 the Chamber of Commerce of Pescara presented Abruzzo region to the Annual conference of Live and Invest Overseas in Orlando (USA). One year later, in October 2018, Live and Invest Overseas held its first conference in Abruzzo.
Universities
There are three universities in the Abruzzo region:
University of L'Aquila
D'Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara
University of Teramo
Harvard University bases an intensive summer Italian language and culture program in Vasto, a resort town on Abruzzo's southern coast.
Science
Between the province of Teramo and L'Aquila, under the Gran Sasso Tunnel, is the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) of the INFN, one of the three underground astroparticle laboratories in Europe.
The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "Giuseppe Caporale", which conducts research in veterinary and environmental public health, is located in Teramo.
The Gran Sasso Science Institute, located in L'Aquila, is an advanced research institute which offers doctorates in astroparticle physics, computer science, and mathematics as well as urban studies and regional science, and which also conducts scientific research.
Sports
Interamnia World Cup, the largest international youth handball competition worldwide, takes place yearly in Teramo.[51]
There are several football clubs in Abruzzo. Delfino Pescara 1936 is a Serie B club; based in Pescara, its home stadium is Stadio Adriatico – Giovanni Cornacchia.
Dialects
The regional dialects of Abruzzo include Teramano, Abruzzese Orientale Adriatico and Abruzzese Occidentale. The first two form part of the dialect of southern Italy also known simply as "Neapolitan" since the region has been part of the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, while Aquilano is related to the Central Italian dialects including Romanesco. The dialects spoken in the Abruzzo region can be divided into three main groups:
Sabine dialect, in the province of L'Aquila (central Italian dialects)
Abruzzo Adriatic dialect, in the province of Teramo, Pescara and Chieti, that is virtually abandoned in the province of Ascoli Piceno (southern Italian dialects)
Abruzzo western dialect, in the province of L'Aquila (southern Italian dialects)
Cuisine
Renowned for its variety and richness due to the heterogeneity of its territory, Abruzzo's cuisine is among the best in Italy. In 2013 an Italian organization Confesercenti survey of foreign tourists showed that Abruzzo is the best Italian region to eat in. Both the agricultural and coastal aspects of Abruzzo have contributed to its cuisine. Due to the mountains, much of Abruzzo was isolated from international influence until the 20th century. As a result, the region's cuisine remained unique.
Popular dishes
One of the most popular regional dishes is spaghetti alla chitarra which is made by pressing or cutting pasta through a chitarra, an implement to form long thin noodles similar to spaghetti. The pasta is served with a tomato-based sauce, often flavored with peppers, pork, goose, or lamb. This dish is complemented by regional side dishes, such as the bean and noodle soup, sagne e fagioli. This soup is traditionally flavored with tomatoes, garlic, oil, and peperoncini. In terms of common ingredients, cuisine in Abruzzo often includes:
Lamb and mutton, primarily in the mountains.[54] Sheep's milk (or ricotta) is an important source of Abruzzese cheese, and lamb intestines are used as sausage casing or for stuffed meat rolls.[54][55] Mountain goat meat is also common in Abruzzo.
Truffles and mushrooms, particularly wild mushrooms from the forests and hills
Garlic, especially red garlic
Rosemary
Hot chili pepper or peperoncini, regionally known as diavolilli or diavoletti, is common in Abruzzese cuisine and often used to add spice to dishes. Abruzzo residents are well known for frequently adding peperoncini, or hot peppers, to their meals.
Vegetables such as lentils, grasspeas and other legumes, artichoke, eggplant, and cauliflower[54][55][56][57]
Other popular dishes include:
Gnocchi carrati, flavored with bacon, eggs and pecorino cheese
Scrippelle, a rustic French-style crêpe served either mbusse (a type of soup) or used to form a sort of soufflé with some ragù and stuffed with chicken liver, meatballs, hard-boiled eggs, and cheese
Pastuccia, a polenta stew with sausage, eggs, and cheese
Across the region, roast lamb is enjoyed in several variations. Some of these variations include:
Arrosticini, a skewered lamb dish
Pecora al cotturo, lamb stuffed with a variety of mountain herbs and cooked in a copper pot
Lamb cooked whole in a bread oven
Agnello cacio e ovo, a lamb-based fricassee
Mazzerella: lamb intestines stuffed with lamb, garlic, marjoram, lettuce, and spices
Le virtù: a soup from Teramo filled with legumes, vegetables and pork, usually eaten in the spring at celebrations
Timballo abruzzese: lasagna-like dish with pasta sheets (scrippelle) layered with meat, vegetables and rice; often served for Christmas and Easter[58]
Porchetta abruzzese: moist boneless-pork roast, slow-roasted with rosemary, garlic, and pepper[58]
Seafood is also popular, especially in coastal areas. The variety of fish available to the area has resulted in several fish-based Brodetti (broths), coming from such places as Vasto, Giulianova, and Pescara. These broths are often made by cooking fish, flavored with tomatoes, herbs, and peperoncino, in an earthenware pot. Rustic pizzas are also very common. Some of these are:
Easter Pizza, a rustic cake with cheese and pepper from the Teramo area
Fiadoni from Chieti, a dough of eggs and cheese well risen, cooked in the oven in a thin casing of pastry
A rustic tart pastry filled with everything imaginable: eggs, fresh cheeses, ricotta, vegetables, and all sorts of flavorings and spices.
Also from Teramo are the spreadable sausages flavored with nutmeg, and liver sausages tasting of garlic and spices. The ventricina from the Vasto area is made with large pieces of fat and lean pork, pressed and seasoned with powdered sweet peppers and fennel all encased in the dehydrated stomach of the pig itself. Atri and Rivisondoli are famous for cheeses. Mozzarella, either fresh or seasoned, is made from ewe's milk, although a great number of lesser known varieties of these cheeses can be found all over Abruzzo and Molise.
Sweets
The Abruzzo's sweets are world-famous and include:
Confetti, sugar-coated almonds, from Sulmona
Torrone Nurzia, a chocolate nougat from L'Aquila
Parrozzo , a cake-like treat made from a mixture of crushed almonds, and coated in chocolate.
Ferratelle (also known as Pizzelle). A wafer cookie, often flavored with anise
Croccante, a type of nougat made from almonds and caramelized suger, often flavored with lemon[59]
A Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wine labelled as being made from old vines.
Olive oil
The extra-virgin olive oil produced in Colline Teramane (Teramo hills) is marked by the DOP.[60]
The region has several cultivars that includes Carboncella, Dritta (Dritta Francavillese and Dritta di Moscufo), Gentile del Chieti, Nostrana (Nostrana di Brisighella), and Sargano olive cultivars.[61]
Wines and liquors
Renowned wines like Montepulciano DOCG and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC are judged to be amongst the world's finest.[62] In 2012, a bottle of Trebbiano d'Abruzzo ranked No. 1 in the top 50 Italian wine awards.[63] In recent decades these wines have been joined, particularly, by wines from lesser known (heritage) white grapes, such as, Pecorino, Cococciola, Passerina, Montonico Bianco and Fiano.[64]
The region is also well known for the production of liquors such as Centerbe, Limoncello, Ratafia and Genziana.
A day at the point-to-point racing at Parham
Apparently, the locals pronounce it as "pa-rum" not "par-ham"
Includes teams from Mitchell, Harrisburg, Watertown, Aberdeen Central. Permission granted for journalism outlets and educational purposes. Not for commercial use. Must be credited. Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
©2021 SDPB
Includes teams from Wagner/Bon Homme, Britton-Hecla, Vermillion, Stanley County and West Central. Permission granted for journalism outlets and educational purposes. Not for commercial use. Must be credited. Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
©2021 SDPB
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos,_Portugal
Lagos (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈlaɣuʃ], literally lakes, from the Latin lacobriga) is a municipality at the mouth of Bensafrim River and along the Atlantic Ocean, in the Barlavento region of the Algarve, in southern Portugal.[4]
The main town of Lagos (which includes only the parishes of Santa Maria and São Sebastião) has a population of approximately 22,000 residents, while the municipality supports a resident population of 31,048 inhabitants.[5] Typically, these numbers increase during the summer months, with the influx of visiting tourists and seasonal residents. While the majority of the population lives along the coast and works in tourism and services, the inland region is sparsely inhabited, with the majority of the people working in agriculture and forestry.
Lagos is one of the most visited cities in the Algarve and Portugal, due to its variety of tourist-friendly beaches, bars, restaurants, and hotels, renowned for its vibrant summer nightlife and parties. Yet, Lagos is also a historic centre of the Portuguese Age of Discovery, frequent home of Henry the Navigator, historical shipyard and, at one time, centre of the European slave trade[6]. In 2012, travel website TripAdvisor, classified Lagos as the number 1 travel destination, on a list of "15 destinations on the rise" worldwide.
Lagos is an ancient maritime town with more than 2000 years of history. The name Lagos comes from a Celtic origin, derived from the Celtic Lacobriga, the name of the settlement was established during the pre-Punic civilizations. It became a early settlement of the Carthaginians, who recruited Celtic tribesmen in their war against the Romans (the Punic Wars). Owing to its already important harbour, it was colonized by the Romans and integrated into the Roman province of Lusitania, becoming known as Lacobriga. Quintus Sertorius, a rebellious Roman general, helped by the Lusitanians of Lacobriga (who had been oppressed under Roman Generals and members of Lucius Cornelius Sulla party), successfully defeated the Roman army of Caecilius Metellus Pius probably at nearby Monte Molião.
With the fall of Roma, the towns of Lagos were occupied in the 6th century by the Visigoths from the Kingdom of Toledo and later by the Byzantines.
The Moors arrived in the 8th century from North Africa, renaming the settlement Zawaia (meaning lago, or lake). It became part of the much larger coastal region of al-Gharb, which eventually became known as the algarve. The Moors fortified the town and established important trade links to Northern Africa from their bases in the Iberian peninsula. In 1174, the local Wāli gave permission for the Christian peoples to construct a church dedicated to São João Baptista, which was built outside the town's walls (becoming the oldest church in the Algarve).
Kingdom
Even as King Afonso Henriques advanced to the south, the Christian Reconquista never made it into Algarve and Alentejo, and remained under Moorish control. King Sancho I, with the support of Crusader forces used Lagos as a stepping stone to attack the fortress of Alvôr.[8] Zawaia was eventually captured by King Afonso III of Portugal in 1241, but was only taken definitively in 1249. From this period on the King began self-styling himself as the "King of Portugal and the Algarve", stressing the fact that the Algarve (which had for so long been ruled by the Moors as a foreign country) had been annexed into the dominion of the Portuguese. Lagos became an independent jurisdiction under the rule of King Peter I in 1361.
King John I assembled his fleet in the harbour of Lagos, before setting sail for the siege and conquest of the city of Ceuta in 1415. This was the first step in opening the Muslim world to medieval Europe, which in fact led to the Age of Discovery with Portuguese explorers sailing across the whole world. By the 15th century, Lagos became the centre of Portuguese martime exploration, with ships ordered south to trace the shoreline of Africa in order to find routes to India. Infante Henry the Navigator, third son of King John, lived most of the time in Lagos. From here he directed expeditions to Morocco and to the western coast of Africa with caravels, lateen-rigged ships with excellent seafaring capabilities. Lagos was also the home port for Gil Eanes who was the first to sail beyond Cape Bojador in 1434, after a failed attempt in 1433 that put him out of favour with the, then considered the end of the world. The act of rounding the Cape, much like the later rounding of the Cape of Good Hope, permitted Eanes (and the navigators that followed) to advance into the African subcontinent. When, by 1443, Lançarote (then fiscal officer of the crown) had sailed as far as Arguim and brought back 275 Africans, the Portuguese had sufficient slaves to relieve the perpetual handicap of agricultural labour.[9]
Over the following decades, news of discoveries and achievements, and ships loaded with spices and goods would flow into the port of Lagos. It was also the gateway for the first African slaves into post-medieval Europe.[10] Even before Africa was opened-up to the Portuguese, the seamen of Lagos were already enthusiastic slave-catchers.[11] From the first slave markets in Lagos (the Mercado de Escravos, which opened in 1444), many Africans were dispersed throughout Europe, bringing a considerable income to the Portuguese monarchy and merchant classes, as well as cheap labour force.[10] As the major sponsor of these expeditions, Prince Henry received one-fifth of the selling price of every slave. The demand for the indentured labour force was so high that, by 1450, profit on Mauritanian slaves was 700 percent.[12] The discovery of gold by Alfonso Gonçales also increased activities in Lagos, whose residents petitioned the Infante Henry to establish a trading company to pursue gold deposits in the region.[13] This included Juan Dias (ancestor of Bartolomeu Dias who rounded the Cape of Good Hope), Gil Eanes, Lançarote de Freitas, Estevan Alfonso and Rodrigo Alvarez, who provisioned a squadron of six caravels to travel to isle of Garças in 1444, but returned with 150 Africans.[13]
Following the death of Prince Henry, and the expansion into the Atlantic and New World, the port of Lagos continued to receive shipments of goods and slaves, but its role began to decrease. Lisbon, began to prosper, with ships returning directly from the colonies of the Azores, Madeira and Brazil, while trading houses began to relocate to the capital. But, even as the wealth arrived in Lisbon and Lagos, the ostentation was widely on display in the royal residences.[14]
King Sebastian, obsessed with his plans for a great crusade against the Kingdom of Fez, assembled a huge fleet in Lagos in 1578.[15] During this ill-fated attempt he and most of Portugal's nobility were killed in the Battle of Ksar El Kebir in Morocco, eventually causing a succession crisis, that eventually resulted in the Iberian Union.
When Portugal came under Spanish rule, the Portuguese coast became a target for the English fleet. Lagos, close to the Spanish naval base of Cadiz, was attacked by Sir Francis Drake in the late 1580s, but was defended by its inhabitants, resulting in Drakes sack of Faro.[16] But, the coast was under regular attack of other pirates and corsairs, in addition to the Spanish who bombarded the Algarve during the Portuguese Restoration War (1640–1668), which led to the construction of a string of forts all along the coast. One of them was the late 17th century Ponta da Bandeira Fort in Lagos, which was completed between 1679 and 1690 (according to the stone inscription over the main door).
From 1576 to 1755, Lagos was a high-profile capital of the Algarve, until the old Portuguese town was destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami of 1755. Although some walls from the 16th century still remain, as well as the governor's castle, many of the buildings are from the 17th century.
Two well-known naval battles took place off Lagos, reflecting its strategic location: in the Battle of Lagos (1693) a French flotilla defeated a combined Anglo-Dutch force, while in the Battle of Lagos (1759) a British force defeated a French force.
Geography
Physical geography
By its geographical position (east-northeast to west-southwest orientation) and lithological diversity, the Algarve stands out as unique stratigraphic and morpho-tectonicregion.[17] A peripheral Carboniferous unit of the Variscan orogeny, it constitutes the Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary layers, deposited onto two totally distinct superimposed basins.[17] Between the Middle-Upper Triassic to Hettangian, sediments evolved from continental (fluvial red sandstone) to shallow marine over the entire region, which included instances of evaporates, tholeiite fissural magmas, lava flows, volcanic ash and pyroclasts.[17]
The area of Lagos, conforms to the Middle Miocene Lagos-Portimão formation (a band that extends along the coast from Lagos to Albufeira, abutting the Serra do Caldeirão to the north) and which corresponds to marine sedimentation over relatively stable, but a minorly deformed limestone shelf platform.[17][18][19] A period of calm during the intra-Miocene (of approximately 2.4 Ma) led to generalized exposure and development of karst, that influences the present day coastline.[17][19] The conspicuous horizontal bending of this profile in the cliffs of Lagos, much like the remainder of the Lagos-Portimão formation, is formed by alternating bands of siliciclastic and calcareous lithologies.[18] The low degree of cementation in the layers causes a high degree of instability of the cliffs.[18] The littoral and cliff sands are dominated by various bivalve organisms, bryozoans, larger benthic foraminifers and Coralline algaewith minor additions of echinoids and balanids implying a shallow-water depositional system of a warm-temperate climatic regime.[18] The locality of Cerro das Mós, from where a large crocodilian (Tomistoma schlegelii) tooth was collected long ago,[20] has also produced some Odontoceti teeth. These may be dated from the Serravallian, which, constitute the oldest marine mammal occurrence in Algarve.[
Ecoregions/Protected areas
Lagos has many natural interest sites, including:
•Ponta da Piedade (English: Mercy Point)
•Grutas da Costa d'Oiro (English: Golden Coast Grottos)
•Laguna de Alvor (English: Lagoon of Alvor)
•Mata Nacional de Barão de S.João (English: National Forest of the Baron of Saint John), representing a varied flora that includes Pine (Pinaceae), Acacia (Acacia), Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus) and Strawberry trees (Arbutus unedo), with six pedestrian trails and six campsites. In the zone of Pedra Branca, is a Paleolithic menhir, called the Menhir of Pedro do Galo, accessible through the pedestrian trails, visitors can use the tables and picniking areas near the guardhouse for barbecues, while small children have access to a playground. A public sports field and 100 metre interval obstacle course was also constructed to attract activity, near the picnic area.
Beaches
•Meia Praia (Half Beach) — consisting of soft, white sand, Meia Praia is one of the largest open bays in Europe, resulting in calm seas, permitting conditions for many nautical sports, while cliffs provide sheltered coves from strong windy conditions;
•Praia Solaria (Sunny Beach);
•Praia da Batata (Potato Beach) — a small beach tucked between two small cliffs (where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean), it is known for the small music festivals that take place there during summer;
•Praia dos Estudantes (Students' Beach);
•Praia da Dona Ana (Dona Ana Beach) - probably the most frequented beach by tourists, its areal is slightly thicker than the beaches in the surrounding area and it is surrounded by striking rock formations. At high tide the beach is split by the geomorphology of the cliffs;
•Praia do Canavial (Canavial Beach);
•Praia de Camilo (Camilo Beach);
•Praia da Luz (Beach of Light) - located in the parish of Luz, the beach is bounded in the east by Rocha Negra (English: Black Rock), providing summer vactioners with a popular escape during the summer.
Human geography
The municipality of Lagos is located approximately 35 kilometers east of the Cape St. Vincent coast, along the southern coast of the Algarve. It is surrounded along its borders by the municipalities of Vila do Bispo (to the west), Aljezur (to the northwest), Monchique (to the northeast) and Portimão (to the east).
To the north of Lagos is the road to Silves, the first capital of Algarve, Monchique (spa town/mountain), Milfontes, a coastal town and port/harbour of the city of Sines, that winds through the scenic protected landscape of the Southwest Natural Park (Costa Sudoeste Alentejana e Vicentina).
Population of
Lagos
(1801 - 2011)
YearPop.±%
18019,789—
184911,012+12.5%
190013,937+26.6%
193016,210+16.3%
196017,060+5.2%
198119,700+15.5%
199121,526+9.3%
200125,398+18.0%
200929,298+15.4%
201130,755+5.0%
The municipality is composed of the following 6 parishes:
•Barão de São João
•Bensafrim - with approximately 8600 inhabitants (2001 Census), the parish was based on the Arabic settlement of Benassaharim, developing slowly until the 20th century (when even in the 1950s donkey or oxen were used as means of conveyance). Its current claim to fame is their annual fair held on the 25–26 August;
•Praia da Luz - a tourist-oriented civil parish with less than 3068 residents (2001 Census), its growth was attributed vacationers and sunseekers who flocked to its beaches throughout the summer. Popular by foreign visitors, it was notoriously identified with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and the resulting investigation in 2007;
•Odiáxere
•Santa Maria
•São Sebastião
towns — Sister cities
Lagos is twinned with:
• Torres Vedras, district of Lisbon, Portugal
• Ribeira Grande, island of São Miguel, Azores
• Ribeira Grande de Santiago, island of Santiago, Cape Verde
• Palos de la Frontera, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain
Economy
Lagos' economy, like many coastal towns in Portugal, has always been closely linked to the sea, and fishing has been an important activity since very ancient times. Since 1960, the city has embracedtourism, which has become its most important economic activity. It has beautiful beaches, good climate, the sea, a scenic coastline, and historical patrimony.
The Marina de Lagos has 460 berths and has become an important centre for long-distance cruisers, and it is also known for its modern drawbridge.
Lagos also has plenty of cultural and night-life entertainment venues.
Architecture
Prehistoric
•Menhir of Cabeço do Rochedo (Portuguese: Menir da Cabeço do Rocheado)
Civic
•Barracks of the Guarda Fiscal of Lagos (Portuguese: Quartel e Posto da Guarda Fiscal)
•Building of the Caixa Geral de Depósitos (Portuguese: Edifício da Caixa Geral de Depositos)
•Building of the Correios, Telégrafos e Telefonos (Portuguese: Edifício dos Correios, Telégrafos e Telefones de Lagos)
•Building of the Portagem (Portuguese: Edifício Antigo da Portagem)
•District Courthouse/Palace of Justice (Portuguese: Tribunal da Comarca/Palácio da Justiça)
•District Jailhouse of Lagos/Cultural Centre of Lagos (Portuguese: Cadeia Comarcã de Lagos/Centro Cultural)
•D. Maria Bridge (Portuguese: Ponte Dona Maria)
•Fonte Coberta Dam (Portuguese: Barragem da Fonte Coberta)
•Gil Eanes Secondary/Commercial-Industrial School (Portuguese: Escola Industrial e Comercial de Lagos/Escola Secundária Gil Eanes)
•Hotel Tivolli Lagos (Portuguese: Hotel de Lagos)
•Municipal Hall of Lagos (Portuguese: Edifício dos Paços do Concelho)
•Lighthouse of Ponta da Piedade (Portuguese: Farol da Ponta da Piedade)
•Pillory of Lagos (Portuguese: Pelourinho de Lagos)
•Regional Museum of Lagos (Portuguese: Museu Regional de Lagos) - this modest regional museum is located next to the church of Santo António.,[22] housing the eclectic collection of archaeological finds from prehistory and the Neolithic, in addition to minerals, Roman mosaics, Moorish oil-lamps and pottery. The ethnographic section includes exhibits from life in the Algarve, that includes not only residential, but also military artefacts, such as swords, muskets and cannonballs, and the foral (charter) issued by King Manuel for Lagos. Religious artefacts are also prominent in the displays, that include the sacerdotal vestments worn by the canons who said Holy Mass to King Sebastian (before he left on his ill-fated conquest of Morocco), and a diptych (dating from the 16th century) with scenes from the Annunciation and Presentation of Jesus at the Temple.
•Slave Market/Customshoues of Lagos (Portuguese: Mercado de Escravos/Vedoria/Alfândega de Lagos)
Military
•Bulwark of Alcaria/Freiras (Portuguese: Baluarte da Alcaria/das Freiras)
•Bulwark of Porta dos Quartos (Portuguese: Baluarte da Porta dos Quartos)
•Bulwark of Santa Maria/Porta da Vila (Portuguese: Baluarte de Santa Maria/da Porta da Vila)
•Bulwark of São Francisco/Jogo da Bola (Portuguese: Baluarte de São Francisco/do Jogo da Bola)
•Castle of Senhora da Luz (Portuguese: Castelo da Senhora da Luz)
•Fort of Meia Praia (Portuguese: Forte da Meia Praia)
•Fort of Ponta da Bandeira (Portuguese: Forte da Ponta da Bandeira) - also known as the Forte do Pau da Bandeira, the Forte de Nossa Senhora da Penha de França or the Forte do Registo, the fort, which guarded the entrance to the harbour, was originally dedicated to the Santa Virgem Senhora da Penha de França (to which it was referred).[23] This squat rectangular fort guards the entrance to the harbour, accessed by a smalldrawbridge, to terraced spaces (that overlook the town, beach and harbour) and the small chapel (decorated with 17th century azulejos tile). Until the late 20th century, the fort was used as a service depot for military forces and housed services linked to maritime activities (such as supplies for lifeboats and nautical sports). It was restored between 1958 and 1960, and officially acquired by the municipality of Lagos in 1983m where it was converted into exhibition displays of maritime history, with astrolabes and models of caravels.
•Fort of Pinhão (Portuguese: Forte do Pinhão)
•Military Barracks of Lagos (Portuguese: Edifício Militar em Lagos/Trem de Artilharia)
•Musketeers' Workshop/Warehouse and Saddlery (Portuguese: Edifício Oficina do Espingardeiro/Armazém do Espingardeiro/Selaria)
•Regimental Warehouse/Church of São Brás (Portuguese: Armazém Regimental e Desparecido Igreja de São Brás)
•Tower of Atalaia (Portuguese: Torre da Atalaia)
•Walled/Tower Fortifications of Lagos (Portuguese: Muralhas e Torreões de Lagos)
Religious
•Chapel/Hermitage of São João Baptista (Portuguese: Capela/Ermida de São João Baptista)
•Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo (Portuguese: Igreja da Nossa Senhora do Carmo)
•Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz (Portuguese: Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Luz)
•Church of Odiáxere (Portuguese: Igreja de Odiáxere)
•Church of Santa Maria (Portuguese: Igreja de Santa Maria/da Misericórdia)
•Church of Santo António (Portuguese: Igreja de Santo António) - its simple façade with the asymmetrical bell towers, date from 1715, and contrast sharply with the extravagantly decorated interior, which is covered in gilded wood carvings and blue-and-white 18th century azulejo tiles (talha dourada) which fill the walls of the nave, while six Baroque paintings by José Joaquim Rasquinho, representing the miracles of Saint Anthony are hung on its walls. The wooden vault was painted with a trompe-l'oeil effect, while polychrome statues of cherubs playing with animals and fishes are scattered within the interior. It was one of the few buildings to survive the Great Earthquake of 1755, reconstructed by the local commander of Regimental Infantry, who may have added the polychromatic statue of St. Anthony with military sash. Purportedly, King Sebastian attended his last mass in this church, before his ill-fated expedition to Morocco.* Convent of Nossa Senhora do Loreto (Portuguese: Convento de Nossa Senhora do Loreto)
•Church of São Sebastião (Portuguese: Igreja de São Sebastião/de Nossa Senhora da Conceição)
•Hermitage of São Pedro de Pulgão/Nossa Senhora dos Aflitos (Portuguese: Ermida de São Pedro do Pulgão/Nossa Senhora dos Aflitos)
•Ruins of the Hermitage of Santo Amaro (Portuguese: Ruinas da Ermida de São Amaro)
•Ruins of the Convent of the Trinity (Portuguese: Ruinas do Antigo Convento da Trinidade/dos Frades Trinos)
Culture
Many local traditions are celebrated in the municipality and range from gastronomy to traditional handicrafts.
In gastronomy, there are the local specialties: Dom rodrigos and morgados cookies based on local products, such as almonds, figs and eggs. Lagos is also a wine producing region and is famous for its moscatel wine, and also for a strong alcoholic spirit, the aguardente de medronho, made of berries of strawberry tree.
Notable citizens
•São Gonçalo de Lagos (c. 1370 - Torres Vedras; 15 October 1422), saint of the Order of Saint Augustine
•Soeiro da Costa (c. 1390 — c. 1472), navigator and one of the Heroic Twelve of the Lusiadas
•Gil Eanes (born 15th century - died 15th century), navigator and explorer of the 15th century
•Lançarote de Freitas (born 15th century - died 15th century), navigator and merchant during the 15th century
•Júlia Barroso (11 August 1930 - Lisboa; 23 December 1996) actress, singer and teacher
•Júlio Dantas (19 May 1876 — Lisboa; 25 May 1962), doctor, poet, journalist, screenwriter, politician and diplomat
•José Reis, first Portuguese geriatric medic
The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a bird of prey found in North America. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.
The bird is the national symbol of the United States of America.
The Bald Eagle is a large bird, with a body length of 70 - 102 cm, a wingspan of 180 - 234 cm, and a mass of 2.5 - 7 kg; females are about 25 percent larger than males. The adult Bald Eagle has a brown body with a white head and tail, and bright yellow irises, taloned feet, and a hooked beak; juveniles are completely brown except for the yellow feet. Males and females are identical in plumage coloration.
The Bald Eagle's diet is opportunistic and varied, but most feed mainly on fish. Its name in Latin means "the sea eagle with a white head".
De Amerikaanse zeearend of witkopzeearend (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) komt voor langs de kusten, rivieren en meren in Canada en in de Verenigde Staten, waarvan het de nationale vogel is.
De zeearend is een grote vogel met een lengte van 70 à 102 cm, een vleugekspanwijdte van 180 à 234 cm en een gewicht van 2,5 à 7 kg. Vrouwtjes zijn circa 25 % groter dan de mannetjes.
De volwassen Amerikaanse zeearend heeft een bruin lichaam met een witte kop en staart, en felle gele irissen, jonge vogels zijn volledig bruin met uitzondering van de gele voeten.
Mannetjes en vrouwtjes zijn identiek in gevederte kleuring.
Het dieet van deze roofvogel is gevarieerd, maar het meest wordt vis gegeten.
De opname van deze Amerikaanse zeearend, met de naam Max, is gemaakt tijdens een roofvogelworkshop in Zevenaar verzorgd door valkerij www.devalkenhof.nl/ uit Aalten (Gld).
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All rights reserved. Copyright © Martien Uiterweerd. All my images are protected under international authors copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission.
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Gold Pack Includes:
Gold Pack Incluye:
Todos los 4 estilos de la falda
+ Todos los 4 estilos de la tapa
+50 Color hud
+ Style Hud
+ mangas libres con 50 colores Hud
All the 4 Styles of the Skirt
+All the 4 Styles of the Top
+50 Color hud
+ Style Hud
+Free Sleeves With 50 Color Hud
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tan/33/21/22
lana-sl.com/product/the-femme-fatale/
No te olvides con el grupo VIP ahorras un 10%!
URL: secondlife: /// app / group / 0d53ec33-5339-8ddc-f891-d6b3cf24d93c / sobre
Model & Photographe: jenferr araw
I include 4 photos because I have never seen a cat do a vertical stretch from a lying-down position. It's a kind of Goldilocks situation: one shot is just the prelude to the stretch, two are too blurry--but they show the peak of the stretch and the following bliss, etc. No one photo was "just right".
Kit includes the native OBJ or FBX file to download.
It allows you to create your own Texture Hud that customers can use to texture our existing meshes. Customers will need to purchase the mesh from us.
You can make as many textures as you like and sell them on your own custom Hud. You do not need Affiliate access for these kits!
SLurl:
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zoobyville/156/145/24
We did it! My Thomas the Tank Engine IDEAS project has finally hit 10.000 supporters. As to celebrate this final colossal milestone and to thank you all for your support, I designed one of the biggest (and also one of my favorite) engines, Diesel 10!
This build includes 4 new printed pieces along with 2 separate removable roofs, an articulated build for Pinchy and even plenty of room for a battery pack inside the body. Like my previous builds before, I've taken some creative liberties with the design to fit that of that little Puffball better.
Thank you all so much to the ones who supported the project and helped me get to this point! This wouldn't have been possible without you :D
Includes teams from Brookings, SF Roosevelt, SF Lincoln, RC Central. Permission granted for journalism outlets and educational purposes. Not for commercial use. Must be credited. Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
©2021 SDPB
The Bara Gumbad, or "big dome," is a large domed structure grouped together with the Friday mosque of Sikander Lodi and a mehman khana (guesthouse), located in New Delhi's Lodi Gardens. The buildings were constructed at different times during the Lodi era and occupy a common raised platform. Formerly an outlying area of Delhi, the Lodi Gardens are a British-planned landscaped garden which includes a number of monuments (primarily tombs) from the Sayyid and the Lodi dynasties. Originally called Willingdon Park, the gardens were located in the former village of Khairpur, now on the edge of Lutyen's Delhi, the colonial capital built by the British in the early 20th century. The gardens, which cover approx. 70 acres, have come to be surrounded by institutional buildings and some of contemporary Delhi's most expensive real estate.
Although they were built under the same dynasty, each of the three structures was undertaken separately. The Bara Gumbad, completed in 1490, is considered to have the first full dome constructed in Delhi. Its original purpose is contested; although it appears to be a freestanding tomb, it contains no tombstone. This causes the speculation that the building might have been intended as a gateway for the Friday mosque; however, their respective placements, stylistic differences, and construction dates do not support this theory. The Friday mosque, completed in 1494, is the first example of the new mosque type that developed during the Lodi era. Characterized by a relatively simple five bay prayer hall building adjacent to a simple open courtyard, this type was an important precedent for mosque architecture in the Lodi and Mughal eras.
The complex can be accessed from various points along the roads bordering the Lodi Gardens, with the access from the Lodi road towards the south most prominent. The buildings are situated at a distance of about 300 meters from Muhammad Shah's tomb towards the south and about 380 meters from Sikander Lodi's tomb towards the north. Another prominent structure, the Shish Gumbad, is located facing the Bara Gumbad at a distance of about seventy-five meters towards the north. The area surrounding the buildings is landscaped with manicured grass lawns. Few trees are planted in the immediate vicinity, leaving the view of the structures unobscured. The path winding through the Lodi Gardens approaches the buildings axially from the north, although the building plinth is accessible all from all sides.
The buildings are sited on a three-meter-high platform, measuring approximately 30 meters (east-west) by 25 meters (north-south). The Friday mosque is located along the western edge of the platform; the guesthouse is sited opposite it, occupying the eastern edge, while the Bara Gumbad is located along the southern edge. Stone masonry walls, about six meters high, connect the three structures along the southern edge. The northern edge is provided with staircases for accessing the platform. A centrally located straight flight comprising of eight steps, about ten meters wide, connects the ground to a generous mid landing. Another 'C' shaped flight of eight steps wraps around the landing, creating an amphitheatre-like space and reaching the top of the platform. The current arrangement of steps appears to be more recent, and the remains of walls adjoining the southern face of the guesthouse and the mosque indicate that the northern edge might have originally been walled. In the center of the raised court, with its southern edge along the staircase, are the remains of a square shaped platform, 8 meters wide, which appears to be a grave.
Friday mosque:
The Friday mosque is a single aisled, rectangular building, approx. 30 meters (north-south) by 8 meters (east-west). The mosque is organized in five unequal bays, which correspond to the five arched doorways on the eastern (entry) elevation. The width of the arched doorways decreases from the center towards the sides. The arches span across grey granite piers. The central arch is framed within a projecting rectangular portal, measuring about 8 meters in height by 6 meters wide. The piers of the rectangular frame are cased in dressed granite and have three shallow arched niches in red sandstone, occurring vertically above the springing point of the arch, on either side. The doorway itself is described by four receding planes of ogee arches, the outermost one being in line with the external face of the rectangular portal. The doorways immediately to the side of the central portal are about 5 meters wide, while those at the two ends are approx. 1.5 meters wide with two receding planes of ogee arches, adding to the prominence of the central doorway. The apex of each innermost arch is constant, measuring approx. 5 meters from the top of the platform. Each arch is finished in plaster and embellished with intricate carved Arabic inscriptions. The spandrels are also heavily carved with geometric motifs, and their the corners are adorned with round inscribed plaster medallions. Red sandstone eaves (chajjas) on stone brackets top the arches, interrupted only by the central projecting portal that extends above them. There is a blank plastered frieze above the eaves, followed by the projecting horizontal bands of the cornice that is topped by a blind masonry parapet adorned with petal shaped crenellations with inscribed plaster medallions.
The interior of the prayer hall reflects the five bay division of the eastern elevation. It is a rectangular space, measuring about 27 meters (north-south) by about 7 meters (east-west). Additional arches spanning between the piers on the eastern elevation and the engaged piers of the western wall emphasize the demarcation of the interior space into bays. These internal ogee arches reach a height of about five meters. They are finished in plaster and profusely decorated with carvings of Arabic inscriptions. The piers are unornamented, dressed gray granite.
The qibla (western) wall of the prayer hall is a blind wall divided into five unequal bays expressed as recessed ogee arched niches, reflecting the arched openings on the eastern wall. The two bays adjacent to the central bay have three equal niches carved out from the portion below the springing line of the main arch. These niches are separated by granite piers, which have smaller arched niches in the top third of their elevation. The three niches are made of two layers of ogee arches framed by the piers. The external layer is in gray-yellow granite, while the interior arch is made of red sandstone. The central niche is mildly distinguishable from the others because its arched portion is curved and the imposts are engraved, while those of the adjacent arches are plain. The innermost rectangular portion of the central niche is blank, while that of the adjoining niches has the carving of a vase and flora inscribed in it. The tympanum of the main outer arch is finished in plaster and has an additional niche directly above the central niche which is embellished heavily with plaster carvings of Arabic inscriptions. A band of similar inscriptions runs along the interior perimeter of the arch and around the upper niche in a closed loop. The voussoirs of the outer arch are plastered and embellished with another layer of carvings. The central bay of the western wall also has three niches, each made of four recessed planes of alternating rectangular and arched profiles. The central mihrab niche is taller and wider. It is also shallower and the innermost plane is blank, while the other two niches are deeper set with relief work. A stone minbar with three steps has been provided abutting the northern pier of the central niche.
Hemispherical domes cover the three central bays, while the terminal bays are covered by low flat vaulted ceilings. The square plan of the three central bays transitions into an octagonal drum through the application of corbelled pendentives at the corners. The corbelling occurs in four layers, which increases in width from the bottom up. The layers are further embellished with curved niches set into rectangular frames, which also increase in number, the lowest corbel having one and the last corbel having five such niches. The last layers of the pendentives form alternate edges of the octagonal drum; the remaining edges being formed by the extension of the walls and are also provided with similar curved niches. The octagonal drum transitions into a hexadecagon, followed by a thirty-two-sided polygon by the provisions of small struts. Each face of the hexadecagon is provided with shallow niches, while the thirty-two-sided polygon is described by a projecting band of red sandstone, followed by a band of inscriptions finally topped by the hemispherical dome. The dome is finished in plain plaster. The voussoirs of the arches, the pendentives and the tympanum are all covered by intricate stucco Arabic inscriptions. The central dome is relatively higher that the other two domes.
The northern and southern walls of the mosque are punctured by ogee arch doorways below the springline of the main arch. Each opening leads to a projecting balcony, comprising of red sandstone posts supporting a tiered roof. The balconies protrude out from the faade and are supported on red sandstone brackets, whose profiles and carvings are characteristic of Hindu architecture. An elaborately carved arched niche is provided above each opening on the interior wall. It is set into a rectangular frame embossed with Arabic text.
The plasterwork on the external northern and southern walls of the mosque has fallen off, exposing the stone masonry, while that on the western wall has survived. The central bay of the western wall projects out and is marked by two solid towers at the corners. These towers are divided vertically into four layers; the first two layers from the bottom are orthogonal, while the third layer has alternating curved and angular fluting; the top layer, extending over the parapet of the mosque, has a circular section. The corners of the mosque are marked by similar tapering towers, which are divided into four layers. Each layer is circular in plan except the third layer, which is described by alternating curved and angular fluting. All the towers have the remains of finials at their apex. The central projecting wall has four red sandstone brackets in its upper third portion, which may have supported a projecting balcony similar to those on the north and south elevations.
The plasterwork on the walls of the plinth is now gone, exposing the rubble masonry construction below. The western face of the plinth is punctured by five ogee arch openings set into rectangular frames, one in the center and two each on the sides. These openings provide access to the basement within the plinth.
The roof has three domes corresponding to the three central bays of the prayer hall and the three central arches on the eastern elevation. The extrados of the domes are finished in plaster. The octagonal drums supporting the domes protrude out over the roof level, above which the circular bases of the domes are decorated with blind crestings having floral motifs. The central dome is marginally larger than the adjacent domes and all three have the remains of lotus finials at their apex.
Bara Gumbad:
Square in plan, the Bara Gumbad measures approx. 20 meters per side. Set on a plinth 3 meters high, it joins the common plinth on the north and projects beyond it to the south. Its plinth is decorated on the east, south, and west with ogee arch openings set into rectangular frames. These provide access to a basement.The walls of the Bara Gumbad are approx. 12 meters tall, above which a hemispherical dome on a hexadecagonal drum extends another 14 meters from the roof level, for a total building height of 29 meters above ground level.
Each of its elevations is nearly identical and divided into 2 horizontal sections. A projecting portal composed of an ogee arch set in a rectangular frame (approx. 8 meters wide), is centered in each elevation and rises approximately 75 cm above the parapet line of the building. The 1.5 meter wide frame is made of dressed gray granite. Each vertical pier of the frame has six shallow red sandstone niches arranged atop one another at varying heights; nine niches continue in a line along the horizontal portion of the frame. The portal is described by two receding planes of grey granite ogee arches; the spandrels are cased with black granite with a thin projecting edge of red sandstone. Two round plaster medallions adorn the spandrels. The lower layer of the portal has a central doorway, spanned by two red sandstone brackets that form a trabeated arch supporting a black granite lintel. These brackets are supported on grey granite posts. An intricately carved red sandstone frame adorns the brackets and the lintel; it starts at the springing point of the arch and frames the lintel of the doorway. The entire composition is set in a rectangular yellow sandstone frame. An ogee arch window has been provided above the trabeated entrance. The portal is crowned by the arched crenellations of the blind parapet. Solid turrets mark the projecting corners of the portal.
The remainder of the elevation, that flanking the central portal on either side and recessed behind it, is divided vertically into two equivalent parts by projecting horizontal bands of stone. Each part is described by two equal arched panels set into rectangular frames. Both the panels of the upper part on either side of the portal are blind and filled with granite masonry. The lower panels located adjacent to the portal are windows, while the lower panels at the edges are filled in. The parapet, like the portal, is decorated with arched crenellations, and the roof has solid turrets at each corner.
A single hemispherical dome surmounted on a sixteen-sided drum crowns the building. Each face of the drum is described by an ogee arched niche set in a rectangular frame. The voussoirs of the arches are gray granite, while the spandrels are clad with red sandstone. The top edge of the drum is decorated with a band of arched crenellations, similar to those on the roof parapets, running above a projecting band of stone that surrounds the drum. Below this projection is band of leaves carved in relief. The extrados of the dome are finished in smooth plaster. The lotus base, possibly for a vanished calyx finial, is still extant.
The structure can be entered either from the raised courtyard via the north elevation or from a double flight of steps located on the western elevation. Inside, the square building measures about seven meters per side. An 80 cm high, 45 cm wide solid seat runs continuously along the interior perimeter of the building. Light streams in from all four walls, which are punctured by the openings of the doorway at the ground level and the ogee arch window above. The interior surfaces of the Gumbad are unornamented and finished in dressed granite. The square plan of the room transitions into an octagon via squinches, which then support the thirty-two-sided drum and the dome. The apex of the dome has two bands of floral inscriptions; otherwise, the dome is finished in plaster. The absence of historical inscriptions has contributed to the confusion over the original purpose of the Bara Gumbad.
Mehman Khana:
The third structure in the group is rectangular in plan, measuring about 27 meters (north-south) by 7 seven meters (east-west). Located along the eastern edge of the common plinth, it faces the mosque and is connected to the Bara Gumbad by a masonry wall along its northern face. The structure is believed to have either been a mehman khana, (guesthouse) or a majlis khana (assembly hall).
The building is accessed from the common plinth through its western wall, which is divided into five bays, mirroring the eastern elevation of the mosque opposite it. The three central bays are considerably larger and have ogee arch doorways, giving access to the interior, while windows puncture the smaller end bays. The arches are set in rectangular frames, which are recessed from the face of the elevation. Each opening is composed of two recessed planes of arches. The spandrels are clad in red sandstone, contrasting with the gray granite of the elevation, and are decorated with round plaster medallions with lotus motifs. The window openings have an additional tie beam or lintel at the springline. The tympanum of the window towards the south has been filled with stone, while that of the window towards the north has been left open. A continuous chajja, supported on equidistant stone brackets, projects from the western wall above the rectangular frame. The cornice is unornamented and is topped by the projecting horizontal band of the parapet, which reaches a height of approximately five meters from the top of the raised plinth. The roof of the structure is flat. The exterior of the building lacks decoration and is finished in dressed granite.
The interior is divided into seven chambers occurring from north to south; the central chamber is the largest, measuring about 5 meters (north-south) long. It is abutted by relatively narrow chambers (approx. 2.5 meters long). The outside chambers which flank the 2.5 meter wide chambers on either side are approximately the size of the central chamber, and correspond to the arched openings in the western wall. The chambers are separated from each other by gray granite walls, punctured by simple ogee arched doorways set in rectangular frames. Square in plan, the outer rooms are separated from the adjacent chambers by stone walls with rectangular door openings with blind ogee arches and rectangular frames. Each doorway has shallow rectangular recesses on either side, as well as a small arched window set into a rectangular recess and a stone jali screen set above the doorway within the tympanum of the main arch. The eastern wall of the building has blind ogee arches, occurring as two successive planes, reflecting the arched openings of the western elevation.
The roof of the central chamber is flat and supported on arches located on four sides; flat stone brackets appear at the corners. The two adjacent rooms are covered by shallow domes supported on squinches. The interior domes are finished in plaster with carved concave fluting. The exterior of the domes has been filled to blend with the flat roof of the central room.
Certain stylistic continuities are recognizable in the three buildings; each was constructed with (local) gray granite and lime mortar. However, the degree and type of embellishment, both interior and exterior, on the mosque differs substantially from that found on the other two, relatively unadorned, buildings.
Apart from the grouping of the three structures and their stylistic similarities, the buildings do not appear to have been planned as a complex. The Friday mosque is the first example of the panchmukhi building type, where "panch" (five) and "mukhi " (facade) characterize a five-bay prayer hall. This approach was influential in both the Lodi and the Mughal periods. The Bara Gumbad is significant for having the first complete hemispherical dome in Delhi.
The differences in the surface ornament of the buildings suggest that the buildings were constructed at different times, with the Bara Gumbad and the guesthouse being similar in style and decoration, without the multilayered arches of the Friday mosque. The function of the Bara Gumbad is still unknown; its geometry and form aligns with the predominant tomb architecture of the period (like the neighboring Shish Gumbad). However, there is no grave or cenotaph in the building, and rather than being blank, its qibla wall (like its other walls) is punctured by an entrance. While the continuous stone bench in the interior is also found in gateway architecture, (as in the Alai Darwaza at the Quwat-ul-Islam Mosque in Mehrauli), the size of the Bara Gumbad vis-a-vis the Friday mosque does not support this conjecture. Some scholars surmise that the structure might have been a gateway to the larger complex of tombs within the Lodi Gardens.
Lodi Dynasty
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The Lodi dynasty in India arose around 1451 after the Sayyid dynasty. The Lodhi Empire was established by the Ghizlai tribe of the Afghans. They formed the last phase of the Delhi Sultanate. There were three main rulers in the history of Lodi dynasty. All three of them have been discussed in detail in the following lines. So read on about the Lodi dynasty history.
Buhlul Khan Lodi
Buhlul Khan Lodi (1451-1489) was the founder of the Lodi dynasty in India and the first Afghan ruler of Delhi. He was an Afghan noble who was a very brave soldier. Buhlul Khan seized the throne without much resistance from the then ruler, Alam Shah. His territory was spread across Jaunpur, Gwalior and northern Uttar Pradesh. During his reign in 1486, he appointed his eldest son Barbak Shah as the Viceroy of Jaunpur. Though he was an able ruler, he really couldn't decide as to which son of his should succeed him as the heir to the throne.
Sikandar Lodi
After the death of Buhlul Khan, his second son succeeded him as the king. He was given the title of Sultan Sikander Shah. He was a dedicated ruler and made all efforts to expand his territories and strengthen his empire. His empire extended from Punjab to Bihar and he also signed a treaty with the ruler of Bengal, Alauddin Hussain Shah. He was the one who founded a new town where the modern day Agra stands. He was known to be a kind and generous ruler who cared for his subjects.
Ibrahim Lodhi
Ibrahim Lodhi was the son of Sikander who succeeded him after his death. Due to the demands of the nobles, his younger brother Jalal Khan was given a small share of the kingdom and was crowned the ruler of Jaunpur. However, Ibrahim's men assassinated him soon and the kingdom came back to Ibrahim Lodhi. Ibrahim was known to be a very stern ruler and was not liked much by his subjects. In order to take revenge of the insults done by Ibrahim, the governor of Lahore Daulat Khan Lodhi asked the ruler of Kabul, Babur to invade his kingdom. Ibrahim Lodhi was thus killed in a battle with Babur who was the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India. With the death of Ibrahim Lodhi, the Lodhi dynasty also came to an end.
Ushant (/ˈʌʃənt/;[2] Breton: Eusa, pronounced [ˈøsa]; French: Ouessant, pronounced [wɛsɑ̃]) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and, in medieval terms, Léon. In lower tiers of government, it is a commune in the Finistère department. It is the only place in Brittany, save for Brittany itself, with a separate name in English.Neighbouring islets include Keller Island (Île de Keller) and Kadoran (Île Cadoran) to the north. The 200-meter (660 ft) channel between Ushant and Keller is called the Toull C'heller.
Ushant marks a southern limit of the Celtic Sea[3] and the southern end to the western English Channel, the northern end being the Isles of Scilly, southwest of Land's End in Cornwall, England. According to definitions of the International Hydrographic Organization the island lies outside the English Channel and is in the Celtic Sea. The island is a rocky landmass at most eight by three kilometres (five by two miles), covering 15 km2 (5+3⁄4 sq mi).Ushant is famous for its maritime past, both as a fishing community and as a key landmark in the Channel approaches. It is named in the refrain of the sea shanty "Spanish Ladies":
We'll rant and we'll roar like true British sailors,
We'll rant and we'll roar across the salt seas,
Until we strike soundings in the channel of old England,
From Ushant to Scilly 'tis thirty-five leagues.
Several naval battles have been fought near Ushant between the British and French navies.In 2007, Ushant hosted a Scottish book festival and subsequently created their own tartan registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans;[10] and in August 2010, the islanders were reported to be seeking to establish cultural links with a Scottish island. Rob Gibson, Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Highlands and Islands welcomed the suggestion.
On 23 July 1815 the captive Emperor Napoleon – aboard HMS Bellerophon towards his final exile – spent several hours on deck watching Ushant, the last part of France he would see.[5]
During World War II, a force of British Commandos and US Army Rangers of the 29th Provisional Rangers successfully attacked a German radar installation on the island.[
In March 1978, the oil tanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground at Portsall about 19 miles (31 km) from the island, leading to major pollution of the Brittany coast.
According to a repetitive old Breton proverb, "Qui voit Molène voit sa peine / Qui voit Ouessant voit son sang / Qui voit Sein voit sa fin / Qui voit Groix voit sa croix." ("Who sees Molène sees his pains (or penalty) / who sees Ushant sees his blood / who sees Sein sees his end / who sees Groix sees his cross"). This proverb underlines local points being often deadly to navigate with many rocks, and tidal streams of more than ten knots.
A standard start and finish line for traditional all-oceans circumnavigations is between Ushant and Lizard Point.
I was invited on a trekking weekend trip to la Île d'Ouessant. Somehow an uruguayan like me ended up in the island farther to the west of france, in the french department of finistère, the end of the earth, as once they thought it to be, beyond that only sea.
Island of Ouessant, France, travel by boatBeforehand I had no expectations, I knew it was an island we where going to, and that we would walk like there's no tomorrow (I guess that's trekking) but nothing else. I found myself in the charming company of around 20 or 30 french of an average age of 50, myself being 26 at the time. The whole experience turned out to be very different, but in a positive kind of way. The adventure started travelling to the port in Brest where you take the boat to reach the island.
Island of Ouessant, France, trekkingAfter almost an hour of travelling by boat on a rather uncalm sea we arrived to the island. I was completly wet, drenched in salty water, as I decided to stay outside the boat to appreciate better the landscape and every now and then a wave crashing to the boat rained over me. It may sound silly but I don't regret it.
The rather small demi desserted island has some romantic mystic to it. The place is a grassland with almost no population, surrounded by lighthouses planted every now and then. They told me that the most powerfull lighthouse in the world "lives" there.Island of Ouessant, France
We walked around 20 kilometers per day, around the perimeter of the island. I found the place the perfect spot to retire on a book reading and mind resting holiday since it's as calm as it gets, the presence of the sea is everywhere providing that feeling of solitude and calmfulness that a sea horizon and the sound of the waves can provide, and you are sourrounded by that.
trippingdiary.blogspot.com/2005/12/france-island-of-ouess...
Hi all.
While researching Atlantis I came across a fascinating book online. This specific link is about the Celtic connection to Atlantis, but there are many other interesting links there as well. Here's the link and an excerpt (from Atlantis And The Antedeluvian World by Ignatius Donnelly- 1888):
www.sacred-texts.com/atl/ataw/ataw507.htm
"We would naturally expect, in view of the geographical position of the country, to find Ireland colonized at an early day by the overflowing population of Atlantis. And, in fact, the
GORSEDD's annals tell us that their island was settled prior to the Flood. In their oldest legends an account is given of three Spanish fishermen who were driven by contrary winds on the coast of Ouessant before the Deluge. After these came the Formorians, who were led into the country prior to the Deluge by the Lady Banbha, or Kesair; her maiden name was h'Erni, or Berba; she was accompanied by fifty maidens and three men--Bith, Ladhra, and Fintain. Ladhra was their conductor, who was the first buried in Hibernia. That ancient book, the "Cin of Drom-Snechta," is quoted in the "Book of Ballymote" as authority for this legend.
The Druid's annals speak of the Formorians as a warlike race, who, according to the "Annals of Clonmacnois," "were a sept descended from Cham, the son of Noeh, and lived by pyracie and spoile of other nations, and were in those days very troublesome to the whole world."
Were not these the inhabitants of Atlantis, who, according to Plato, carried their arms to Egypt and Athens, and whose subsequent destruction has been attributed to divine vengeance invoked by their arrogance and oppressions?
The Formorians were from Atlantis. They were called Fomhoraicc, F'omoraig Afraic, and Formoragh, which has been rendered into English as Formorians. They possessed ships, and the uniform representation is that they came, as the name F'omoraig Afraic indicated, from Africa. But in that day Africa did not mean the continent of Africa, as we now understand it. Major Wilford, in the eighth volume of the "Asiatic Researches," has pointed out that Africa comes from Apar, Aphar, Apara, or Aparica, terms used to signify "the West," just as we now speak of the Asiatic world as "the East." When, therefore, the Formorians claimed to come from Africa, they simply meant that they came from the West--in other words, from Atlantis--for there was no other country except America west of them.
They possessed Ireland from so early a period that by some of the historians they are spoken of as the aborigines of the country.
The first invasion of the archipel between Ireland and Bretagne, specifically here in Ouessant, subsequent to the coming of the Formorians, was led by a chief called Partholan: his people are known in the Irish annals as "Partholan's people." They were also probably Atlanteans. They were from Spain. A British prince, Gulguntius, or Gurmund, encountered off the Hebrides a fleet of thirty ships, filled with men and women, led by one Partholyan, who told him they were from Spain, and seeking some place to colonize. The British prince directed him to Ireland. ("De Antiq. et Orig. Cantab.")"
Etc. There is more at the link. It's a lot so I hesitate to post more here.
If anyone has any information on Atlantis I would be interested as that is one of my personal areas of informal study.
Celticism is a spiritual alchemical civilization based on ancient beliefs. Ouessant is ideally located on the axis leading to Santiago de Compostela and theories about the location of Atlantis or its hypothetical survival. Try to avoid the comparison of our anarchic social state and the theocratic and hierarchical social state of the old ages: giants or pygmies?
"The edifice of the old synthesis has collapsed; but the debris can be made to speak. - It is necessary that the soul of the past teaches us the ways of the Future: the era of the painful Christ will not be long in closing, and it will be the advent of the Christ of glory.
Thus, in the 1970s, the dating of the megaliths of Ushantine attest their anteriority compared to the pyramids, some scholars, within the framework of studies mixing spirituality and history, emit the hypothesis of the Atlantean origin of these constructions, and more generally of the hypothetical Atlantic megalithic arc, source of the European civilization.
The Celtic wisdom is nourished by the megalithic culture of Hyperborea, the famous Doggerland that goes back to the end of the great ice ages. The Hyperboreans would be Atlantean survivors who prolong their philosophy, religion or magic.
Behind these mountains and beyond the Aquilon, a happy nation, if one believes the stories, called the Hyperboreans, and where men reach a great old age; fabulous wonders are told: it is said that there are the hinges of the world and the last limit of the revolution of the stars: the sun gives there a light of six months and only one day, and it hides not, as ignorant people said, from the equinox of spring to that of autumn; but there is in the year only one rising at the summer solstice, that one setting at the winter solstice. The region is well exposed, of a happy temperature, and free of any harmful wind.
The Hyperboreans are both shamans and thinkers or even philosophers. They are the origin of the Druids and their traditions belonged not only to the Celtic heritage but to a people of the North. The latter had lived, thousands of years ago, on a favourable Earth before a planetary catastrophe created a gigantic tidal wave that submerged an entire continent. The Vikings had also inherited from these distant ancestors.
The sea level would then have risen at a lightning speed and thousands of inhabitants would have drowned. According to this hypothesis, this city would have disappeared between 18,000 and 5500 B.C. Fossilized mammoth bones show that the Doggerland landscape was made up of hills and valleys and the archipelago formed by Beniguet, Quèmènes, Molène and Ouessant, seem to be the hilltops of this ancient hilly territory.
So what's up? Summit of the mountains? Roof of the World? Connections with the Celestial World, Maï Sous Dantec and Gwenc'hlan Le Scouëzec in "Enez Eusa" restore legends in this esoteric sense.
"Three girls from the village of Pern were kidnapped by those who came from the village of Porzh Nev in a cart drawn by two black horses. .........
Porzh Nenv means the port of heaven, a metaphysical paradise, Pern a strange rabble, a petrified herd: see what you have come for, monsters perhaps, but also sweet frozen forms. Great terrifying, similar to the great Moai of another island,
but shaped differently. You will find toads, in prayer, convincing warriors, though petrified, painted in the colors of curly lichens of a tender green, mixed with yellow mushrooms. They are inseparable and can only live like this.
Are we sure that these warriors are so immobile as that
"Entez Eusa Ouessant mysterious
The druids exploited the island Porzh an Nenv would be the place of a druidic sanctuary, Porz an Nenv means the "port of the sanctuary".
The legendary history of the island of Ouessant speak of abduction with black horses, like stone vessels, so it is perhaps a celestial device? "Celestial Port " is a translation of the Celtic word "Porz an Nenv".
...page 31 of the book of legends, it is written the back to the Vaisseau de Pierre towards Roc'h ar Bayaned, there would have been an alignment of erected stones.........one evokes a temple of the Sun in the same vicinity...
The "bugel naz" siren would be a manifestation of the Other World which seems unknown here in Ouessant. It is on this moor that the viltansou dance ... I leave you therefore by returning " kenavo, be careful with the viltansou ".
Maybe the Atlanteans walked on the top of its hills and sanctified it and raised it to other dimensions. They would have guaranteed this passage by a recognition and an offering destined to all. They would have succeeded after the opening of Elohim to guarantee a terrestrial life from the cited period, that is to say 4.5 million terrestrial years ago. They are all the same on both sides of the Atlantic: the Atlanteans who, following the loss of their island (the island of the Blessed, Makaron Nésos), disembarked by successive waves more than 12,000 years ago. Recent mediums such as Papus or Edgar Cayces describe them as "red men".
As soon as they arrived, the miracle of the Neolithic revolution and the mutations in cereals were recorded, which were undoubtedly the first organisms genetically modified by the hand of man. The ancient pharaohs were probably Atlanteans who could not mix with others and had to practice royal incest, simply because they were genetically incompatible with ordinary humans!
The Romans and the Greeks probably destroyed many ancient signs, only the testimonies of the Genesis preceding the episode of the Flood remain and, however short it is, gave rise to various interpretations, often of an esoteric nature.
Are the Atlanteans the nephilim described in Genesis? They are associated, by comparison, with other giants mentioned in the Bible. Indeed, "traditions see in them a force superior to the other men: what corresponds to the sense in Genesis. They are sometimes assimilated to the gibborim, from the root gabar, which means "strong", hence their assimilation to the giants. Oral tradition gives them back to us as Atlanteans. They are even part of the vocabulary of architecture at the end of the 19th century by carrying heavy balconies. Atlas? Fugitive atlante who flees the enormous tsunamis?
At that time the Megalithic civilization just after the tsunamis and floods that submerged the Breton lands, humans are initiated to agriculture and to settle down.
They build their temples which are in reality raised stones with which they can master the cosmic and telluric energies to heal the earth and the men.
They identify the ancient lines of earth forces with megaliths and correct them to use their energy as giant acupuncture needles. There are "Ideas-Forces" in nature, dynamic powers that impose themselves imperiously on individuals, the Megaliths are part of them.
Logically, these Ideas-Forces grow in the religious centers, alignment of cairns, menhirs, constituted in the name of a principle that you can name egregores or centers of forces. They constitute places endowed with supra-normal faculties.
Their spiritual leaders (men and women) are complementary, they each have a particular role and help the development of the consciousness of their people. The earth has a density that you cannot find anywhere else. It is a transitional stage: souls live in a form of luminous expansion with the recognition of souls who have traveled together to other planets.
The ancestors of the Ushantines established contacts with all the planets of the sister constellations and made life easier for our solar system. The Dogons keep traces of precise links with Orion which they describe and it is necessary to wait for the Hubble space telescope to confirm their cosmogonies. The relationship with Adebaran is confirmed by the Hyperboreans. The Pleiades contributes to the universal balance; nothing can hinder the origin of its luminous and divine space which grows with the passing of the millennia.
The continuation of this prehistory is situated about 5000 years before our era, in the region between the Cotentin and Brittany. At that time the land was advancing further into the sea as it encompassed the Channel Islands. A first collapse had already taken place swallowing up Atlantis. The Atlantean survivors of the Red race are few in number and had to ally themselves with just about anyone to be able to survive, the descendants being more or less sterile. But they still possess the art of extracting and shaping gold, this metal being unknown to other peoples.
The Celtic and Gaelic clans attack the Atlanteans, initially victorious they are ultimately defeated by blindness due to the famous ruse of the reflection of the sun on the gold that the Atlanteans possess. Generous, these propose peace, look after the wounded and send back the survivors with proposal of alliance. But as it is often the case,
the attraction of the power will make sink this balance. The magicians will impose themselves
and gradually take the lead over their male counterparts. This period is the one of the power of the women (we can call it incorrectly the "civilization of the Amazons").
The Amazons raised the souls and walked our world in teachings. This was done after the debacle, after the confrontation that wiped out most of the last Atlantean giants. Only the survivors who took refuge in the inner earth were saved. The concept of a hollow earth called Agartha must be found.
In the same way, those who participated in the migration following the advice of Master Ora were spared and placed all over the earth. You, the ouessantine, are maybe one of these sentinels in charge of maintaining a knowledge of Celtic shamanism. In your ker, you are looking for the head of this part of the Atlantean sisters and brothers.
Several other countries like Alsace, South Algeria, California, and especially Tibet were invaded by these same sources and were resourceful centers of light. The ancient runic language is the only trace that can unite the Sumerians to the Celts.
Men were gradually treated as an inferior sex and assigned subordinate functions. For many centuries, women's power was exercised without resistance. (This situation is comparable to the contemporary one
(This situation is comparable to the contemporary one where men still exercise, in several countries, a despotic power over women).
It is then that a male child is born, at the current French-Belgian border, who will take the name Ram. His coming on earth aims at restoring equality between men and women.
A founding legend of Celticism speaks of a prophet named Ram. He would be an avatar, (a god incarnated like Jesus and Buddha). He would have lived 5000 years before J.C. in the West and in the East. He would be the spiritual father of the Megalithic-Celtic tradition. The story of Ram was transmitted orally to the initiates but the Aquarian era allows it to be known by the greatest number.
Ram puts himself at the head of the men's revolt (the warrior fight was still the means to assert the highest virtues). He clashes violently with the all-powerful female power which tries to destroy him. The rivers are tinted red so much the battles are bloody. Invaluable knowledge will be lost forever, because any destruction always generates a collapse of the conscience. "The Ram cycle; Fabre d'Olivet and Saint-Yves d'Alveydre: heroic times
We can take up the esoteric mytho-history of Saint-Yves d'Alveydre with his civilizing hero Ram and the "Irshou schism", and outline the principles of a model of synarchic organization, conceived as a "living synthesis of individualism (anarchy) and collectivism (socialism)" The myth of Ram, "Tradition" and Celtic ethno-mytho-history then merge in a surprising way, as in this reflection on the headdresses of the women of the Bigouden country:
"It is known that Ram established a Mother Theocracy in the Empire of Aries or the Universal Alliance (5000 years BC). This Aryan theocracy was the direct heritage of the pure Tradition given to the druids of Armor and Celtide by the previous Initiates. There are still vestiges of Asian and Egyptian crossings in Armorica, in Pont-l'Abbé in particular; the types of current women are still characteristic, their hairstyles always carry the Egyptian hieroglyphs of the Phallus and the Sun-Osiris. This is very suggestive and proves the Egyptian-Celto-Judaic filiation of the perfect Tradition, which was later distorted by the schism of Irshou.
At the end of these fights, Ram and his victorious followers, will join Hindus to establish themselves there. It will be after a long and painful pilgrimage where Ram will leave Ram-ses in Egypt and Hi-ram in Iram (Iran) then Abrah-ram (the opposite of Ram in Sumerian) Abraham and especially the brah-ram (brahmanes) and will found the valley of Ram in Tibet then become valley of Lam (the soul or lamb-lamb). The runic language of the Hyperboreans becomes that of the Celts, then the cuneiform of the Sumerians in a huge arc that unifies Sanskrit with the Celtic language.
The Romans are the barbarians who will destroy this civilization
It is in Northern India that the Megalithic-Celtic practices of Ram will meet the Tantric spirituality. A religion will be born that we call today Hinduism.
The Brahmins, the priests of this religion, are in a way the heirs of Ram.
So what do you think of these megaliths in Ushantine? Are they the remains of energetic fluids coming from the infrater? Are there Atlantean giants at their feet?
Pol came to erase these legends, maybe with a storm or rather the storm did not prevent his landing ... did his leather curragh fail? in the cove where there is no bottom, in this strange island without harbor, nor port "not sure my sister, not certain brother, no port ... Look at this cove with very parallel edges ... it's a port, isn't it?
Twelve mermaids that came from the Rock of Youc'h kozh attracted him ......... Pol scattered the snakes, melusines ??? Undines ???? In fact he evangelized, he removed the magic of Ushant and gave his name to Lampaul. Note that Paul is the nomad who practiced syncretism, in short, it is the church that does not erase the memory, unlike Peter who is an official custodian, he would have the official license, the franchises Peter are the only ones to be recognized by the Vatican. Even though they would have the 3 keys of reconnection to envisage an astral voyage towards the other World, one effectively erased the other "doors of the sky" "port of the sky" or "roof of the World" like here at the top of the mountains almost swallowed by the flood. We are here on the roof of the World then?
folklore.livejournal.com/36251.html
Literary and musical references
Ferry approaching Ushant
Ushant is a minor character of Herman Melville's White-Jacket (1850). Ushant is highly admired for his beard.[18]
The island figures in Le Sang de la sirène (The Blood of the Siren, 1901) by Anatole Le Braz.
It is mentioned in the sea shanty "Spanish Ladies".
Rudyard Kipling mentions it in his poem Anchor Song.
Charles Tournemire's Symphony No. 2, completed in 1909, was inspired by and named for the island.
The 1910 novel Das Meer by German author Bernhard Kellermann takes place on the island. Features such as Phare du Creach and Port du Stiff are highly defined. The main character stays at the la Villa des tempêtes, in ruins today.
The secret of the seas (Le Secret des Eaux: Ouessant), is a 1923 novel by André Savignon set on Ushant.
"Lord Ushant" is the title given the heir to the Duchy of Tintagel (Cornwall) in Edith Wharton's The Buccaneers (1938).
Ushant is mentioned in George Orwell's diaries, in passing.[19]
A ship from Ushant is mentioned in the WWII Brest destruction commemorative ode Barbara by French poet Jacques Prévert.
Ushant is the autobiography of the American poet and novelist Conrad Aiken, published in 1952.
Ushant is one of the many French islands referenced in Laurent Voulzy's Belle-Île-en-Mer, Marie-Galante , a major hit in France since its release in 1986.
Ushant appears over and over in works of Patrick O'Brian as to the whereabouts and course of ships in his book series.
Ushant occasionally appears as a landfall in C. S. Forester's novels about Horatio Hornblower.
Mystery book Act of Mercy by Peter Tremayne is set in 666 AD Ushant and elsewhere.
Ushant is the setting of the 2004 French film L'Équipier (English title: The Light) directed by Philippe Lioret.
Father Truitard, a character in Bruce Chatwin's The Viceroy of Ouidah, spent "years communing with the waves and petrels on the island of Ushant".
It is mentioned in Dmitry Lukhmanov's narrative 20000 miles under sail.[20]
Yann Tiersen made the album Eusa in 2016. Each track is named after a location on the island.
A trip to the island forms an important plot point in Éric Rohmer's 1996 film A Summer's Tale.
Includes teams from Estelline/Hendricks, Chamberlain, Milbank Area, Wall/Kadoka Area/Philip and Sisseton. Permission granted for journalism outlets and educational purposes. Not for commercial use. Must be credited. Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
©2021 SDPB
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here's something else i'm really excited and curious about:
what's the favorite shot on YOUR own stream? Why?
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Lamington National Park includes a series of densely forested valleys and ranges rising to more than 1,100m on the crest of the McPherson Range, which marks the New South Wales--Queensland border. The park lies on the southern edge of the Scenic Rim, a chain of mountains stretching from the Gold Coast hinterland to Mount Mistake and is joined by parks, such as the Border Rangers National Park, in New South Wales.
First Nations people lived in this area, carefully managing and using its rich natural resources for thousands of years. Known as ‘Woonoongoora’ in the Yugambeh language, the mountains of Lamington National Park are sacred and spiritual, places to be nurtured and respected.
The Yugambeh family groups are identified as the Wangerriburra, Birinburra, Gugingin, Migunberri, Mununjali, Bollongin, Minjungbal and Kombumerri. They shared language, ceremonies, celebrations and economic exchange.
This kinship group used both the open forest and rainforest. Evidence of their occupation has been found in various parts of the park, including the ‘Kweebani’ (cooking) cave near Binna Burra. It is believed a traditional pathway passed through the southern section of Lamington National Park.
Lamington National Park is born—the Gazettal:
Lamington National Park has found a place in the hearts of many that have visited over the last 100 years. The campaign to preserve the resource-rich, mountainous land as national park began in the 1890s with a particularly passionate grazier Robert Collins, who, while travelling overseas, learned about the world’s first national park, Yellowstone, in the United States.
‘… within sight of Brisbane there is a fine area with a climate more equable than any New Zealand town enjoys, volcanic soil of surpassing richness, deep shady forests and scrubs, cool running streams, and splendid, bold mountain scenery.’
Mr Collins was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1896 and campaigned to have the area declared a national park. While New South Wales and Victoria had successfully declared national parks by 1900, many in Queensland still saw the land as a timber supply or potential dairy farm, and opposition remained strong. Attitudes began to shift by 1906 when the Queensland Parliament passed the State Forests and National Parks Act 1906. This led to the state’s first national park, Witches Falls (Tamborine Mountain), being declared in March 1908.
In 1911, Romeo Lahey, the engineer son of a Canungra sawmiller, joined the campaign and continued the fight after Collins’ death in 1913. Lahey argued that an even larger parcel of land should be protected, and drummed up support from locals with ‘lantern lectures’ (slide shows) and door-knocking.
In July 1915, 19,035ha of mountainous, forested land was declared Lamington National Park, in honour of the past Queensland Governor Lord Lamington. It was the state’s ninth national park, accomplished by a 20-year campaign.
Lahey and Lamington:
For Romeo Lahey, the campaign to protect the area that would become Lamington National Park would be a life-long passion that would last long after gazettal. The son of a timber-getter and Canungra sawmill operator, Lahey would often explore the surrounding region. In 1911, while studying an engineering degree at Sydney University, he returned to South East Queensland with a friend, William Potts, and documented their journey up the Coomera River to the border (McPherson Range). The article set in train his concept of a larger national park on the Queensland side of the McPherson Range.
‘…it is a land of mountains, waterfalls, valleys, rivers, scrubs, forests, magnificent panorama and charming spots teeming with native animals and plant life. Its mountains run up to 4000ft. high, and its waterfalls are not equalled outside the State. Within a five mile radius of the head of the Coomera River, there are fifty falls from 20ft to 600ft high, some of them the finest I have ever seen’.
Later that year, Lahey made his first approach to the Queensland Government for a large national park in a letter to Hon. E.H. Macartney, Minister for Lands.
‘This country contains some of the most beautiful country scenery I have ever seen…and culminates in the McPherson range in peaks over 4000ft high, from which an unsurpassed panorama is obtained over NSW and SE Queensland, including Brisbane. It is an ideal place in every way for a National Park… It will make a splendid preserve for game; at present it teems with all forms of native animal and bird life, many forms of which (e.g. lyre bird) are becoming extinct.’
In 1913, Lahey continued to write letters promoting the area of the McPherson Range for consideration as a national park to the Lands Department and copied letters to the shire councils of Tamborine and Beaudesert and then Premier Hon. D.F. Denham. He emphasised the economic and national importance of leaving scrub in rough country and articulated the responsibility of his generation in handing down to the next the ‘great heritage’ that had been handed to them.
‘I implore you in the name of, and for the sake of generations yet unborn, to vote for the immediate and total reservation of that area.’
The Beaudesert and Tamborine councils responded favourably to the idea, with the Tamborine Council supportive of the whole area being national park while the Beaudesert Council was agreeable to setting aside around 400ha for national park.
When World War I (WW1) broke out in August 1914, focus shifted away from the national park proposition. Undeterred, Lahey continued the campaign and in April 1915 he wrote to the Lands Minister, Hon. James Tolmie about his exploration of the McPherson Range. By May he had used lantern lectures (slide shows) and canvassed residents around the area of the proposed park for signatures on a petition in favour of the national park. He then wrote to the Minister of Lands Department advising that 521 residents of the district, a clear majority, had signed a petition in favour. He included an 11 page letter setting out 10 reasons for reserving the proposed national park; including the health benefits, the economic benefits, and the benefit to flora and fauna species preservation.
‘The reserve should be set apart for ever for the use and benefit of our people as a whole and not sacrificed to the short-sighted greed of a few.’
Following the state election and the new TJ Ryan Labor Government in May 1915, Lahey appealed to the newly appointed Minister for Lands, Hon. John Hunter, with a letter, photographs and signed petition. On 30 July 1915, the park was proclaimed and gazetted as Lamington National Park in honour of Lord Lamington.
After the area was proclaimed and gazetted as Lamington National Park, Lahey continued to fight for the national park ideal. In October 1915, he delivered a lecture to the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia Queensland Branch titled ‘Some reasons why national parks should be established in Queensland, with special reference to Lamington National Park’, and called for other large areas to be reserved as national parks as well as an extension of the state forest system. While enlisted in WW1 with the 11th Field Company Engineers AIF, Lahey continued to steer discussion about the park’s management, protection of all species, its access and the naming of locations (he suggested Aboriginal words be used as placenames).
‘There is only one way to “improve” a national park and this is to leave it absolutely alone.’
Hon. J. Hunter responded:
‘I could wish that you were here to help with your advice and other ways on this great matter which although to-day is not of much consequence will to come generations be of the greatest moment because the preservation and value of these creations cannot be overestimated. …One thing I am quite determined upon and that is the preservation of the park—an heirloom to the State as nature left it.’
By September 1919, Lahey had returned to Australia and was available to act as guide for Mr J. Hunter (now Queensland Agent General elect.) on his first visit to Lamington.
Rangers of Lamington:
When Lamington National Park was first gazetted in 1915, the park was barely surveyed, and there was no protection against illegal logging and poaching. In July 1918, Lamington National Park was declared a ‘reserve for the protection and preservation of native birds and native animals’. In December that year, the Queensland Naturalists explored, collected and recorded the flora and fauna found in the remote wilderness areas of Lamington National Park. New plant species were collected and the name ‘Green Mountains’ was coined as a result of their visit.
The park remained largely unpatrolled apart from scientists and government surveyors, until early 1919, when the O’Reilly brothers and cousins, along with Mr George Rankin were appointed unpaid honorary rangers under The Native Animals Protection Act 1906. Later that year, Mick O’Reilly was made the first paid park ranger, for £4 a week, an above average wage for the time (the average wage then was about £3 18s 7d a week (3 pounds and 18 shillings 7 pennies)). Mick O’Reilly had recently returned from the WWI Middle East campaign and was charged with protecting the park boundaries against illegal logging and poaching and eventually commencing the access tracks to scenic locations.
In 1937, the Forestry Sub-Department employed Lamington’s first forest ranger, Jack Gresty, and Gus Kouskos was appointed first track sub-foreman. An official full-time national park ranger for South Queensland, George Gentry, had also been appointed. Despite the Great Depression (1929–1939), government funding was approved for construction of tracks and other facilities beginning in July 1937. With the use of relief workers, groups of up to 50 men were employed to build a large portion of the track system, much of which is still open today. It is during this time that the Main Border Track was constructed. Built in two sections; one track crew from O’Reilly’s cut their way towards a second track crew working from Binna Burra, the 21.4km Border Track cost £1080 (approx. $90,300 today) and took 17 months to construct.
Construction crews lived in tent-like accommodation and spent their days clearing trees, shifting large rocks and excavating and benching slopes by hand along the surveyed route.
Many of the techniques, such as rock wall pitching and the construction of stone inverts, are still used in track building and maintenance today.
Today, Lamington is the second-largest national park on the Scenic Rim, and is internationally renowned for its ecological importance and inherent beauty.
In 1994, Lamington was World Heritage-listed and is now part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area that was previously known as the Central Eastern Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area.
QPWS rangers continue the role of protecting and presenting this World Heritage-listed park while managing increased visitation and the demand on facilities and park infrastructure.
Source: Queensland Government: Parks & Forests (Department of Environment & Science)
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Includes:
- MaitreyaX Lara & Petite
- Maitreya Lara & Petite
- Legacy & Perky & Bombshell
- Belleza GenX Classic & Cuvy
- EbodyReborn & Waifu
- INITHIUM Kupra
- Sample textures
- Normal textures
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- DAE+PSD file downloading URL included in the notecard
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I don't usually include feeder shots or man made materials in my photos but this one sort of tickled me so I decided to share it. I put out some left over buttermilk biscuits covered in peanut-butter and sprinkled with niger seed. I watched this downy for quite a while as he stuck his beak in the peanut butter and then licked it off with his tongue. I don't know if this is the same one that ate the beef marrow and the turkey neck or not . If it is, he may be turning into a bit of a gourmet.
Includes Ukrainian Ironbelly built with genuine non-Lego parts!
...I wanted to have the dragon on the roof, but I couldnt find a Lego dragon or wings that had the right scale and color, so I used the Indo-rex and made some fabric wings attached to a brick-built structure. I usually dont use non-Lego parts in my builds, but this time there was just nothing that even came close to what I needed for the build
Include (you can use separately):
☑ Lingerie Top
☑ Lingerie bottom
Bodies:
☑ Peach
☑ Inithium Kupra (Original + Low)
☑ Ebody Reborn (Regular + Waifu)
☑ Lara X
☑ Erika Kalhene
☑ Gen X Curvy
☑ Legacy (Regular)
Colors with hud:
☑ 10 colors for lingerie
☑ 10 colors for bows
(*)For more info can see the pic of the AD or try the demo.
Permissions:
☑ Copy
☑ Modify (need to rezz)
Note:
☑ Please try a DEMO before purchase, as all sales are final.
☑ Some bodies need to edit the shape or work without deformers
☑ If there are any issues or concerns send me a notecard or IM me before leaving bad reviews.
You can find it here:
a) Marketplace: marketplace.secondlife.com/es-ES/stores/199244
b) Landmark: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/New%20Frontier/85/97/3910
** Enjoying the group into world you can have discounts in the store. The discount is not available for new releases **
Grand View Overlook
Colorado National Monument is a National Park Service unit near the city of Grand Junction, Colorado. Sheer-walled canyons cut deep into sandstone and granite–gneiss–schist rock formations. This is an area of desert land high on the Colorado Plateau, with pinyon and juniper forests on the plateau. The park hosts a wide range of wildlife, including red-tailed hawks, golden eagles, ravens, jays, desert bighorn sheep, and coyotes. Activities include hiking, horseback riding, road bicycling, and scenic drives; a visitor center on the west side contains a natural history museum and gift shop. There are scenic views from trails, Rim Rock Drive, which winds along the plateau, and the campground. Nearby are the Book Cliffs and the largest flat-topped mountain in the world, the Grand Mesa.
The monument's feature attraction is Monument Canyon, which runs the width of the park and includes rock formations such as Independence Monument, the Kissing Couple, and Coke Ovens. The monument includes 20,500 acres (32.0 sq mi; 83 km2), much of which has been recommended to Congress for designation as wilderness.
The area was first explored by John Otto, who settled in Grand Junction in the early 20th century. Prior to Otto's arrival, many area residents believed the canyons to be inaccessible to humans. Otto began building trails on the plateau and into the canyons. As word spread about his work, the Chamber of Commerce of Grand Junction sent a delegation to investigate. The delegation returned praising both Otto's work and the scenic beauty of the wilderness area, and the local newspaper began lobbying to make it a National Park. A bill was introduced and carried by the local Representatives to the U.S. Congress and Senate but a Congressional slowdown in the final months threatened the process. To ensure protection of the canyons President William Howard Taft (who had visited the area) stepped in and used the highest powers available to him via the Antiquities Act and presidential proclamation to declare the canyons as a national monument.
The area was established as Colorado National Monument on May 24, 1911. Otto was hired as the first park ranger, drawing a salary of $1 per month. For the next 16 years, he continued building and maintaining trails while living in a tent in the park.
A herd of bison was introduced and maintained from 1925 to 1983. After a failed effort to introduce elk, Otto obtained two cows and one bull. The herd grew to as many as 45 animals, but generally the herd was kept at about 20-25 animals.
The park became more well known in the 1980s partly due to its inclusion as a stage of the major international bicycle race, the Coors Classic. The race through the park became known as "The Tour of the Moon", due to the spectacular landscapes the race passed through on Rim Rock Drive.
The issue of national park status has arisen time and again, usually during bust cycles brought on by the uranium industry and later oil and gas. As of June, 2014 Congressman Scott Tipton and Senator Mark Udall have carried the process closer to fruition than any other representatives since the initial effort in 1907. The two Representatives appointed an 18-member committee of locals to study the issue and learn the facts in 2011. After a groundswell of support from local residents and business owners, the Representatives then appointed a committee of five local residents to write draft legislation. The draft legislation was announced and released in early 2014. A public comment period on the draft legislation began soon after with an end date of June 29. Documentary producer Ken Burns (National Parks: America's Best Idea) weighed in of the effort, endorsing national park status for the Colorado National Monument. Burns compared the area to Seward, Alaska, which overcame opposition to create Kenai Fjords National Park. Burns said Seward locals came to refer to Kenai Fjords National Park as a "permanent pipeline".
Climate
Ecologically, Colorado National Monument sits on a large area of high desert in Western Colorado, though under the Köppen climate classification, it, like neighbouring Grand Junction, is temperate semi-arid. Summers are hot and dry while winters cold with some snow. Temperatures reach 100 °F (38 °C) on 6.0 days, 90 °F (32 °C) on 62.3 days, and remain at or below freezing on 12.9 days annually.
Trails
The Monument contains many hiking trails, with lengths and difficulties to suit all tastes. Summer storms can cause flash floods as well as dangerous trail conditions. Rattlesnakes are found on the Monument, and rough terrain exists everywhere, but most trails are well-maintained. Winter cross-country skiing is occasionally possible on trails such as the Liberty Cap Trail.
Serpents Trail, perhaps the most popular, follows the route of the original road to the top of the Monument. This trail is accessible by parking lots at both ends, both located off Rim Rock Drive. Serpents Trail provides views of both the Monument itself and the Grand Valley below. One of the shortest trails, also popular, is Devil's Kitchen. The trailhead is located near the eastern entrance of the park on Rim Rock Drive. This trail is about 1 mile long, and ends in a sandstone grotto.
Liberty Cap trail starts from the valley floor and climbs to the rim of the Monument. Liberty Cap itself is an ancient sand dune, and provides a beautiful view of the Grand Valley. Corkscrew Trail, closed for many years but reopened in mid-2006, branches off the Liberty Cap and skirts a small canyon and cliffs that cannot be seen from the valley floor. This trail, the only loop trail on the Monument, is about 3 miles long and features a less rigorous climb than Liberty Cap.
Monument Canyon trail follows Monument Canyon for about 5 miles. This trail is often hiked up-and-back, and provides close-up views of Independence Monument, the Colorado National Monument's most distinct feature, as well as a formation named Kissing Couple. The lower trailhead is accessible from CO 340 (Broadway).
No Thoroughfare Trail starts at the bottom of No Thoroughfare Canyon, near the east entrance. As the name implies, there is no official trail to the top of this canyon. The dead-end trail goes a few miles into the canyon, and up-and-back hiking is required. Some hikers have found a way to get through the entire canyon, but after a certain point the trail becomes difficult and unmarked. No Thoroughfare Canyon does have small waterfalls during the spring runoff, but is dry for most of the year.
Colorado National Monument was rated in 2017 as the best campsite in Colorado in a 50-state survey conducted by Msn.com.
Historic preservation
Many of the early visitor facilities at Colorado National Monument were designed by the National Park Service and constructed by the Public Works Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. Several of these areas have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of this and in consequence of their adherence to the National Park Service Rustic design standards of the time. The entire Rim Rock Drive is a National Historic District, as well as the Serpents Trail, the Devils Kitchen Picnic Shelter, and three places in the Saddlehorn area: the Saddlehorn Caretaker's House and Garage, Saddlehorn Comfort Station, and the Saddlehorn Utility Area Historic District. The Visitor Center complex is also included as an example of the Mission 66 program.
Geology
The park's geologic record preserves three different groups of rock and sediment. The oldest rocks are Early to Middle Proterozoic gneiss and schist, including the Ute Canyon Stock. Overlying these, and separated by an angular unconformity, are mostly horizontally bedded Mesozoic sedimentary rocks, including the cliff-forming Wingate Sandstone. Overlying these are various types of Quaternary unconsolidated deposits such as alluvium, colluvium, and dunes. The sedimentary rocks are folded into monoclines by several faults, including the Redlands Thrust Fault.
(Wikipedia)
Das Colorado National Monument ist ein Naturschutzgebiet vom Typ eines National Monuments im Westen des US-Bundesstaates Colorado. Es umfasst auf 83 km² eine Halbwüste im Bereich des Uncompahgre Uplift, das seinerseits die Nordost-Ecke des Colorado-Plateaus bildet.
Die Attraktivität des Gebietes wurde 1907 von einem Siedler namens John Otto erkannt, er überzeugte mit Hilfe der lokalen Behörden Präsident William H. Taft, die Region 1911 als National Monument auszuweisen. Das Schutzgebiet wird vom National Park Service verwaltet. Im Westen schließt sich die Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness unter der Verwaltung des Bureau of Land Management an, ein Wilderness Area und damit ein Naturschutzgebiet der strengsten Schutzkategorie der USA. Wegen der Bedeutung für Greifvögel ist das National Monument seit 2000 als Important Bird Area auf nationaler und Staatsebene ausgewiesen.
Beschreibung
Die vielfarbigen Sandstein-Formationen des Colorado National Monuments erheben sich mehr als 2000 Fuß (610 m) über dem Tal des Colorado River. Erosion durch Wind und Wasser, Hitze und Frost hat tiefe Abbrüche, steile Felswände und unverwechselbare Steinformationen geformt. Die Gesteinsschichten sind zwischen 1,5 Milliarden und etwa 80 Millionen Jahren alt; ihr Farbspektrum, das von orange über rot und purpur bis braun reicht, verdankt es den Einlagerungen von Eisen und anderen Mineralien.
Der 23 Meilen lange Rim Rock Drive führt vom Westeingang, der etwa 4 km von Fruita entfernt auf 1430 Metern (4690 Fuß) Höhe liegt, in vielen Windungen und durch Tunnel steil zum Hochplateau hinauf. Dort hat man einen Blick über das breite Tal des Colorado bis zu den Bookcliffs auf der anderen Seite, die sich als rosa und grau gestreifte Wand erstrecken, so weit das Auge reicht. Der Rim Rock Drive folgt dem Canyonrand und von vielen Aussichtspunkten kann man in die Abbruchkanten und auf die Sandsteinformationen sehen, die von frühen Besuchern sprechende Namen erhalten haben wie Balanced Rock, Window Rock, Sentinel Spire, Saddlehorn, Pipe Organ, Independence Monument, Kissing Couple, Cleopatras Couch, Coke Ovens, Squaw Fingers, Fallen Rock und Devils Kitchen. Den höchsten Punkt erreicht die Straße in der Nähe des Ute Canyon View mit 2024 Metern (6640 Fuß). Der Osteingang, von dem es bis Grand Junction noch 6 Kilometer sind, liegt auf 1503 Metern (4930 Fuß).
Geschichte
Der Nordosten des Colorado-Plateaus war in prähistorischer Zeit dünn durch Indianer der Basketmaker-Kultur besiedelt. Das Klima der Halbwüste auf dem Hochplateau machte die Region nicht attraktiv, die meisten Funde der Region liegen außerhalb des Schutzgebiets nahe dem Flussufer. In der Archaischen Periode reichte die Fremont-Kultur bis an den Colorado. In historischer Zeit gehörte das heutige Monument zum Jagdgebiet der Ute-Indianer. Die beiden letztgenannten hinterließen im Schutzgebiet vielfältige Petroglyphen und Felszeichnung.
Die Besiedelung der Region durch Weiße begann erst 1881, nachdem es vereinzelte Expeditionen durch das Gebiet gegeben hatte und 1838 ein Handelsposten für Geschäfte mit den Ute eingerichtet worden war. Das Hochland und die Canyons wurden für unzugänglich gehalten. Für den Siedler John Otto, der diese faszinierende Landschaft im Jahre 1907 zum ersten Mal sah, war sie „das Herz der Welt“. Er zog allein in den abgelegenen Canyon und überschüttete einflussreiche lokale Politiker und die zuständigen Stellen in Washington mit Briefen und Anträgen, um das Gebiet zu einem Nationalpark erklären zu lassen. Gleichzeitig legte er Wanderwege an, die auf das Plateau und in die Canyons führten, damit auch andere Menschen sich an der Landschaft erfreuen konnten. Er drängte die Bewohner Grand Junctions, ihn bei seinem Vorhaben durch weitere Briefe und Petitionen für den Schutz dieses Landes zu unterstützen. 1911 hatte er Erfolg: Am 24. Mai 1911 erklärte Präsident William H. Taft das Land zum Colorado National Monument. Otto wurde der erste Ranger des Schutzgebiets. Für ein symbolisches Gehalt von 1 Dollar im Monat übte er diese Tätigkeit bis 1927 aus.
Während der Great Depression gründete Präsident Franklin D. Roosevelt im Rahmen des New Deals 1933 das Civilian Conservation Corps, in dem junge arbeitslose Freiwillige unter Anleitung von Armee-Offizieren öffentliche Infrastruktur in den Vereinigten Staaten ausbauten. Ein Camp des CCC spielte eine wesentliche Rolle beim Bau des bereits seit 1929 geplanten Rim Rock Drive, der Erschließungsstraße des Gebiets mit Aussichtspunkten und Picknickplätzen.
Ökosysteme
Das Gebiet weist vielfältige Lebensräume für Tiere und Pflanzen auf. Die Halbwüste der Hochebene, die nackten Felswände und geschützte schattige Bereichen in den Canyons bieten völlig unterschiedliche Umweltbedingungen. Es gibt keine ganzjährigen Wasserläufe oder Quellen.
Das Hochplateau gehört geoökologisch zu den östlichsten Ausläufern der Wüste des Großen Beckens. Hier stehen vereinzelte Pinyon-Kiefern, die dominierenden Pflanzenfamilien sind Kakteen und Sukkulenten. Besonders fallen die Opuntien auf und darunter der Opuntia ficus-indica. Auf dem Plateau leben die größten Säugetiere des Gebietes, Maultierhirsche und Dickhornschafe. An Reptilien gibt es je neun Eidechsen und Schlangenarten im Schutzgebiet, darunter fallen der Halsbandleguan und die einzige giftige Schlange der Region, die midget faded rattlesnake, eine Unterart der Pazifik-Klapperschlange, auf.
Die Felswände sind der Lebensraum für neun Arten Greifvögel, darunter Wanderfalke, Steinadler, Rotschwanzbussard und Truthahngeier, und einige Singvögel wie Weißbrustsegler, Trauertauben und Kolkraben. Risse und Höhlen werden von mehreren Fledermausarten bewohnt. Am Fuß und in Spalten stehen Pinyon-Kiefern und Wacholder-Büsche.
Auf den Sohlen der Canyons gibt es geschützte Standorte, in denen Eschen wachsen. Hier leben auch Amphibien, die man in der Halbwüstenumgebung nicht vermuten würde. Darunter sind Laubfrösche und Amerikanische Schaufelfußkröten, die nach den seltenen Regenfällen innerhalb kürzester Zeit temporäre Gewässer zur Fortpflanzung nutzen. Der Großteil der Tieflagen ist mit lockerer Vegetation aus Wüsten-Beifuß und Gräsern bewachsen. Im Frühjahr und Spätsommer werden sie durch vielfältige Blütenpflanzen geprägt. Hier leben Baumwollschwanzkaninchen, Felsenhörnchen, Antilopenziesel und Streifenhörnchen. Andere Nagetiere wie Kängururatten, Buschratten und Pinyon-Mäuse sind seltener oder leben überwiegend versteckt. Die wichtigsten Vogelarten der Canyons sind Helmwachteln, Buschhäher und Nacktschnabelhäher, Schluchtenzaunkönige, Felsenzaunkönige, Lerchenstärlinge und Grauvireos.
Durch das ganze Gebiet streifen Graufüchse, Pumas, Kojoten und Rotluchse, Katzenfrette (ringtails) und Baumstachler (porcupines) bewohnen die dichter bewaldeten Anteile.
Das National Monument
Im Besucher-Zentrum, das sich rund 4 Meilen vom Westeingang entfernt befindet, kann man sich über die Geschichte und Entstehung des Parks, über die Geologie sowie die Tier- und Pflanzenwelt anhand von Büchern, Filmen und Karten informieren. Ranger bieten Vorträge und geführte Wanderungen an. Im Norden des Parks liegt ein einfacher Campingplatz. Für mehrtägige Wanderungen mit Übernachtung im Hinterland wird eine Genehmigung verlangt.
Die hauptsächliche Aktivität von Besuchern ist Wandern. Die kurvige und teils steile Parkstraße gilt auch als anspruchsvolle Radtour, da sich die Steigungen auf rund 37 Kilometern Strecke auf etwas über 700 Höhenmeter summieren. In der Tradition von John Otto besteigen Kletterer jährlich zum Independence Day am 4. Juli die 150 m hohe Steinformation Independence Monument und hissen das Sternenbanner.
Der Park leidet unter unmittelbar an seine Grenzen heranrückender Bebauung durch die zwischen den 1970er und 2000er Jahren verdoppelte Bevölkerung im Grand Valley. Der in den 1930er Jahren für den Freizeitverkehr gebaute, kurvige Rim Rock Drive wird von Bewohnern der Region auf dem täglichen Arbeitsweg genutzt. Die in den letzten Jahren stark gewachsene Siedlung Glade Park ist nur durch das Schutzgebiet zu erreichen.
(Wikipedia)
Bluestar….a potted history….
Go South Coast includes a multitude of brands and includes Morebus (services in Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch plus the surrounding areas), UNIBUS (The brand for Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth services), Salisbury Reds (The brand for Salisbury, as well as the surrounding area.)Southern Vectis (The brand for all buses on the Isle of Wight) Swindon's Bus Company (formerly Thamesdown Transport– The brand in Swindon), Unilink (Contracted to provide services for the University of Southampton) and finally Bluestar, which provides services in Southampton.
Bluestar started as a competitor to what was Southampton Citybus, a company that eventually became part of First Hampshire and Dorset. It was supported by Southern Vectis and traded under the Solent Blue Line title.
In October 1987, The Hants & Sussex Bus Company was purchased by Solent Blue Line, from Basil Williams.[5] This deal was finalised on 3 October 1987.
Throughout the 1980s, the National Bus Company was privatised and forcibly demerged. The bus market as a whole was deregulated. This resulted in Hants & Dorset being broken into three new companies in 1983. One of these was Hampshire Bus, which became part of Stagecoach South in April 1987. The Southampton and Eastleigh arm of this company was then sold to Solent Blue Line on 4 October 1987. The sale included 82 buses, the Eastleigh Chickenhall Lane depot and the local routes.
After less than a year operating, the company had gone from 16 buses to over 115. It had also developed a significant network.
Due to this, rationalisation was undertook, with the company restructuring its operations. By 1988, it was in a good position to challenge CityBus. In the next five years, the company bought new vehicles, so that in 1993, 1 in 3 of its buses were new. At this point, some services started to be run under franchise by Marchwood Motorways, with them operating route '30' and '32' from Totton to Southampton. This would later expand to include route '18' and '19'. This was based out of their Totton Salisbury Road depot. Brijan Tours was also used to run some services.
In July 2005 Solent Blue Line was included in the sale of Southern Vectis to the Go-Ahead Group. The head office functions of the company were consolidated with those of the other Go South Coast companies, Southern Vectis and Wilts & Dorset, in Poole
In March 2006, the company changed its legal name to Solent Blue Line. Then in October, Solent Blue Line purchased Marchwood Motorways.After the withdrawal of the Red Rocket brand on 25 February 2008, most of the company's services began to run under the Bluestar brand.
In December 2022, First Hampshire & Dorset announced the intention to withdraw their Southampton-based operations which took place on 19 February 2023 with Bluestar adding six replacement routes to its network, servicing the areas where the former company operated. In June 2023, Xelabus reduced their public bus network and passed two of its routes to the company. Since the company's takeover of First's Southampton's operations, in May 2024 they had received an order for 16 new Enviro400 MMCs for routes 2 and 7, as well as an additional 18 single deck buses and 11 refurbished London double decker buses to support their network.
Seen here in Bournemouth ls 1114 (HW58ATK).
The red kite (Milvus milvus) is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region of Europe and northwest Africa, though it formerly also occurred in northern Iran. It is resident in the milder parts of its range in western Europe and northwest Africa, but birds from northeastern and Central Europe winter further south and west, reaching south to Turkey. Vagrants have reached north to Finland and south to Palestine and Israel, Libya and Gambia.
Red kites are 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28 in) long with a 175–179 cm (69–70 in) wingspan; males weigh 800–1,200 g (28–42 oz), and females 1,000–1,300 g (35–46 oz). It is an elegant bird, soaring on long wings held at a dihedral, and long forked tail, twisting as it changes direction. The body, upper tail and wing coverts are rufous. The white primary flight feathers contrast with the black wing tips and dark secondaries. Apart from the weight difference, the sexes are similar, but juveniles have a buff breast and belly. Its call is a thin piping sound, similar to but less mewling than the common buzzard. There is a rare white leucistic form accounting for approximately 1% of hatchlings in the Welsh population but is at a disadvantage in the survival stakes.
Usually red kites first breed when they are two years old, although exceptionally they can successfully breed when they are only one year old. They are monogamous and the pair-bond in resident populations is probably maintained during the winter, particularly when the pair remain on their breeding territory. For migrant populations the fidelity to a particular nesting site means that the pair-bond is likely to be renewed each breeding season. The nest is normally placed in a fork of a large hardwood tree at a height of between 12 and 15 m (39 and 49 ft) above the ground. A pair will sometimes use a nest from the previous year and can occasionally occupy an old nest of the common buzzard. The nest is built by both sexes. The male brings dead twigs 30–50 cm (12–20 in) in length which are placed by the female. The nest is lined with grass and sometimes also with sheep's wool. Unlike the black kite, no greenery is added to the nest. Both sexes continue to add material to the nest during the incubation and nestling periods. Nests vary greatly in size and can become large when the same nest is occupied for several seasons.
The eggs are laid at three-day intervals. The clutch is usually between one and three eggs but four and even five eggs have occasionally been recorded. The eggs are non-glossy with a white ground and red-brown spots. The average size is 57 mm × 45 mm (2.2 in × 1.8 in) with a calculated weight of 63 g (2.2 oz).[16] In Britain and central Europe, laying begins at the end of March but in the Mediterranean area laying begins in early March.[20] The eggs are mainly incubated by the female, but the male will relieve her for short periods while she feeds. The male will also bring food for the female. Incubation starts as soon as the first egg is laid. Each egg hatches after 31 to 32 days but as they hatch asynchronously a clutch of three eggs requires 38 days of incubation. The chicks are cared for by both parents. The female broods them for the first 14 days while the male brings food to the nest which the female feeds to the chicks. Later both parents bring items of food which are placed in the nest to allow the chicks to feed themselves. The nestlings begin climbing onto branches around their nest from 45 days but they rarely fledge before 48–50 days and sometimes not until they are 60–70 days of age. The young spend a further 15–20 days in the neighborhood of the nest being fed by their parents. Only a single brood is raised each year but if the eggs are lost the female will relay.
The maximum age recorded is 25 years and 8 months for a ringed bird in Germany. The longevity record for Britain and Ireland is 23 years and 10 months for a bird found dead in Wales in 2012.
The red kite's diet consists mainly of small mammals such as mice, voles, shrews, young hares and rabbits. It feeds on a wide variety of carrion including sheep carcasses and dead game birds. Live birds are also taken and occasionally reptiles and amphibians. Earthworms form an important part of the diet, especially in spring. In some parts of the United Kingdom, red kites are also deliberately fed in domestic gardens, explaining the presence of red kites in urban areas. Here, up to 5% of householders have provided supplementary food for red kites, with chicken the predominant meat provided.
As scavengers, red kites are particularly susceptible to poisoning. Illegal poison baits set for foxes or crows are indiscriminate and kill protected birds and other animals. There have also been a number of incidents of red kites and other raptors being targeted by wildlife criminals.
In the United Kingdom, there have been several unusual instances of red kites stealing food from people in a similar manner to gulls. One such occurrence took place in Marlow, Buckinghamshire (a town near a major reintroduction site for the species in the UK in the nearby village of Stokenchurch), in which Red Kites swooped down to steal sandwiches from people in one of the town's parks.
Red kites inhabit broadleaf woodlands, valleys and wetland edges, to 800 metres (2,600 ft). They are native to the western Palearctic, with the European population of 19,000–25,000 pairs encompassing 95% of its global breeding range. It breeds from Spain and Portugal east into central Europe and Ukraine, north to southern Sweden, Latvia and the UK, and south to southern Italy. There is a population in northern Morocco. Northern birds move south in winter, mostly staying in the west of the breeding range, but also to eastern Turkey, northern Tunisia and Algeria. The three largest populations (in Germany, France and Spain, which together hold more than 75% of the global population) declined between 1990 and 2000, and overall the species declined by almost 20% over the ten years. The main threats to red kites are poisoning, through illegal direct poisoning and indirect poisoning from pesticides, particularly in the wintering ranges in France and Spain, and changes in agricultural practices causing a reduction in food resources. Other threats include electrocution, hunting and trapping, deforestation, egg-collection (on a local scale) and possibly competition with the generally more successful black kite M. migrans.
German populations declined by 25%–30% between 1991 and 1997, but have remained stable since. The populations of the northern foothills of the Harz Mountains (the most densely populated part of its range) suffered an estimated 50% decline from 1991 to 2001. In Spain, the species showed an overall decline in breeding population of up to 43% for the period 1994 to 2001–02, and surveys of wintering birds in 2003–04 suggest a similarly large decline in core wintering areas. The Balearic Islands population has declined from 41–47 breeding pairs in 1993 to just 10 in 2003. In France, breeding populations have decreased in the northeast, but seem to be stable in southwest and central France and Corsica. Populations elsewhere are stable or undergoing increases. In Sweden, the species has increased from 30–50 pairs in the 1970s to 1,200 breeding pairs in 2003. In Switzerland, populations increased during the 1990s, and have stabilised. According to a report by the Welsh Kite Trust, the UK is the only country in which the red kite population is increasing. Red kites are decreasing in their strongholds of Spain, France and Germany.
In the United Kingdom, red kites were ubiquitous scavengers that lived on carrion and rubbish. Shakespeare's King Lear describes his daughter Goneril as a detested kite, and he wrote "when the kite builds, look to your lesser linen" in reference to them stealing washing hung out to dry in the nesting season. In the mid-15th century, King James II of Scotland decreed that they should be "killed wherever possible", but they remained protected in England and Wales for the next 100 years as they kept the streets free of carrion and rotting food. Under Tudor "vermin laws" many creatures were seen as competitors for the produce of the countryside and bounties were paid by the parish for their carcasses.
By the 20th century, the breeding population was restricted to a handful of pairs in South Wales, but recently the Welsh population has been supplemented by re-introductions in England and Scotland. In 2004, from 375 occupied territories identified, at least 216 pairs were thought to have hatched eggs and 200 pairs reared at least 286 young. In 1989, six Swedish birds were released at a site in north Scotland and four Swedish and one Welsh bird in Buckinghamshire.[34] Altogether, 93 birds of Swedish and Spanish origin were released at each of the sites. In the second stage of reintroduction in 1995 and 1996, further birds were brought from Germany to populate areas of Dumfries and Galloway. Between 2004 and 2006, 94 birds were brought from the Chilterns and introduced into the Derwent Valley in north East England. In Northern Ireland, 80 birds from wild stock in Wales were released between 2008 and 2010, and the first successful breeding was recorded in 2010. The reintroductions in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty have been a success. Between 1989 and 1993, 90 birds were released there and by 2002, 139 pairs were breeding. They can commonly be seen taking advantage of thermals from the M40 motorway. Another successful reintroduction has been in Northamptonshire, which has become a stronghold for the red kite. Thirty Spanish birds were introduced into Rockingham Forest near Corby in 2000,[38] and by 2010, the RSPB estimated that over 200 chicks had been reared from the initial release. So successful has the reintroduction been that 30 chicks have been transported from Rockingham Forest for release in Cumbria. From the Chilterns they have spread as far east as Essex and can be seen over the Town of Harlow.
A sighting of the first red kite in London for 150 years was reported in The Independent newspaper in January 2006 and in June of that year, the UK-based Northern Kites Project reported that kites had bred in the Derwent Valley in and around Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear for the first time since the re-introduction.
In 1999, the red kite was named 'Bird of the Century' by the British Trust for Ornithology.[31] According to the Welsh Kite Trust, it has been voted "Wales's favorite bird".
In June 2010, the Forestry Commission North West England announced a three-year project to release 90 red kites in Grizedale Forest, Cumbria under a special license issued by Natural England. The Grizedale program was the ninth reintroduction of red kites into different regions of the UK and the final re-introduction phase in England.
The stated aims of the Grizedale project were:
To establish a viable population of red kites in Grizedale, South Cumbria by 2015.
To increase the rate of red kite expansion into North West England and link up with existing populations in Wales, Yorkshire, North East England and South West Scotland and so increase the chances of a continuous geographical range.
To develop community involvement and create educational opportunities arising from the project.
As of July 2011, non-breeding birds are regularly seen in all parts of Britain, and the number of breeding pairs is too large for the RSPB to continue to survey them on an annual basis.
Red kites were extinct in Ireland by the middle nineteenth century, due to persecution, poisoning and woodland clearance. In May 2007, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Dick Roche announced an agreement to bring at least 100 birds from Wales to restock the population as part of a 5-year programme in the Wicklow Mountains, similar to the earlier golden eagle reintroduction programme. On 19 July 2007, the first thirty red kites were released in County Wicklow. On 22 May 2010, 2 newly hatched red kite chicks were discovered in the Wicklow mountains, bringing the number of chicks hatched since reintroduction to 7.
Sweden is one location where the red kite seems to be increasing, with around 2,000 pairs in 2009, some of which are overwintering and some flying south to the Mediterranean for the winter. They return around March–April. The red kite is the landscape bird of Scania, and the coat of arms of the municipality of Tomelilla. The kite is often seen along the roadsides and roaming the open colorful wheat and rapeseed fields of Scania.
For more information, please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_kite
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