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El Burrito now offers a variety of Mexican groceries available for take away, within the restaurant. Some products include: Gansito, Choco Roles, Negrito Bimbo, sopitas Knorr, canned beans, salsas, chiles —including jalapeños—, cuitlacoche, nopales (tender cactus) and whole tomatillos.
LIST OF PRODUCTS
Mamut
Gansito
ChocoRoles
Sopitas Knorr
Negrito Bimbo
Nopales (tender cactus)
Tomatillo
Chile Chipotle
Green nacho jalapeño
Salsa verde mexicana
Salsa roja mexicana
Salsa Valentina amarilla
Cuitlacoche
Salsa chipotle
Salsa habanero roja
Salsa habanero verde
Salsa arriera
Salsa ranchera
Salsa picante (hot sauce)
Frijoles negros refritos (black refried beans)
Frijoles negros enteros (whole pinto beans)
Mazapán de la Rosa
Harina para hotcakes (pancake flour)
Cajeta envinada
Cajeta quemada
Pulparindo
Peanut candy bar
Sesame & peanut candy
Amaranth and peanut
Japanese style spicy pealed nuts
Amaranth candy bar
Chile guajillo
Chile pasilla
El Burrito
5 Charlotte Place
London W1T 1SF
(Nearest tube station: Goodge Street / Northern Line)
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7580 5048
Open Mon-Fri 12-3 & 6-10pm
This is a Kinetic Photograph which includes Poe, one of my cats; some of my furniture; a candle; a lamp; and my television screen. Viewed at original size it's a hoot!
One shot SOOC.
Want more? See my new set, "Drawing with Light:"
www.flickr.com/photos/motorpsiclist/sets/72157630589237982/
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Kinetic: Relating to, caused by, or producing motion.
These are called “Kinetic” photographs because there is motion, energy, and movement involved, specifically my and the camera’s movements.
I choose a light source and/or subject, set my camera for a long exposure (typically around 4 seconds), focus on my subject and push the shutter button. When the shutter opens I move the camera around with my hands...large, sweeping, dramatic movements. And then I will literally throw the camera several feet up into the air, most times imparting a spinning or whirling motion to it as I hurl it upward. I may throw the camera several times and also utilize hand-held motion several times in one photo. None of these are Photoshopped, layered, or a composite photo...what you see occurs in one shot, one take.
Aren’t I afraid that I will drop and break my camera? For regular followers of my photostream and this series you will know that I have already done so. This little camera has been dropped many times, and broken once when dropped on concrete outside. It still functions...not so well for regular photographs, but superbly for more kinetic work.
To read more about Kinetic Photography click the Wikipedia link below:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_photography
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Albeit supremely risky this is one of my favorite ways to produce abstract photographs.
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My photographs and videos and any derivative works are my private property and are copyright © by me, John Russell (aka “Zoom Lens”) and ALL my rights, including my exclusive rights, are reserved. ANY use without my permission in writing is forbidden by law.
The Dallas Arts District's "Spotlight Sunday" on October 18
Festivities to celebrate the opening of the new AT&T Performing Arts Center include a day of free admission and extended hours. Enjoy performances in the exhibition All the World’s a Stage, tours family experiences, and much more.
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The Dallas Arts District
2200 Ross Ave
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 744-6642
The Dallas Arts District is a unique, 68-acre, 19-block neighborhood in the heart of the city. A rare jewel that is the centerpiece of the region’s cultural life, the District is home to some of the finest architecture in the world. Enhancing the downtown Dallas skyline are buildings by Pritzker Prize winners I.M. Pei, Renzo Piano, Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas and AIA “Gold Medal” recipient Edward Larrabee Barnes.
Our neighborhood is a center for innovative architecture, world-class exhibits, exemplary cultural programming and much more. We are restaurants, hotels, churches, residences and even the world headquarters of 7-Eleven.
This website is designed to help you explore the many facets of the district. And whether you are coming from around the corner or from around the world, we hope you will find your trip enjoyable and your experience unparalleled.
We look forward to sharing with you the works of art, the performances, the cuisine and the vibrancy of the Dallas Arts District.
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Dallas Museum of Art
The Dallas Museum of Art ranks among leading art institutions in the country and is distinguished by its innovative exhibitions and groundbreaking educational programs.
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Nasher Sculpture Center
The Nasher Sculpture Center opened in 2003 as the first institution in the world dedicated exclusively to the exhibition of modern and contemporary sculpture with a collection of global significance at its foundation.
www.nashersculpturecenter.org/
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Trammell Crow Center and Crow Collection of Asian Art
The Trammell and Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art is nestled like a small jewel in Dallas’ Arts District, offering visitors a glimpse of a world possessing serene beauty and spirituality in the heart of a bustling city.
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Belo Mansion
The current home of the Dallas Bar Association, the Belo Mansion was built c. 1890 by Coleonel A. H. Belo, founder of the Dallas Morning News.
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Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe
The city’s oldest Catholic parish, this High Victorian Gothic cathedral is the second busiest Catholic cathedral in the nation.
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Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center
Since its grand opening celebration, the legendary rich sound of the Meyerson’s Eugene McDermott Concert Hall has made it a premier destination for the world’s finest soloists and conductors.
www.dallasculture.org/meyersonSymphonyCenter/
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AT&T Performing Arts Center Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House
With transparent, soaring 60-foot glass walls revealing views of the Grand Lobby and a café open throughout the day, the Winspear Opera House is a destination for all.
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AT&T Performing Arts Center Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre
The world’s only vertical theatre, the innovative design of the Wyly Theatre creates ultimate performance flexibility.
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Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts
The school’s dual emphasis on arts and academics has produced a stellar list of famous graduates including Grammy Award®-winners Norah Jones, Erykah Badu and jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove.
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St. Paul United Methodist Church
St. Paul United Methodist Church was founded in 1873 by freed slaves from Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
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One Arts Plaza
One Arts Plaza is a multiuse structure comprised of residences, corporate offices and retail, the first of three buildings on over 10 acres at the eastern edge of the Dallas Arts District.
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Dallas Black Dance Theatre
Dallas Black Dance Theatre is the city’s oldest continuously operating dance company.
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AT&T Performing Arts Center Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park
Weaving together the Winspear Opera House, Wyly Theatre, Strauss Square and City Performance Hall, the ten-acre park stretches from Woodall Rodgers Freeway to Ross Avenue, and is the first public park in the Dallas Arts District.
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Outside the AT&T Performing Arts Center Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre
As always NEoN celebrates its festival with a late night party. Acts include Plastique Fantastique, Verity Brit & Musician U, Fallope & The Tubes and Resident DJ RHL. With a pop up bar and performances amongst our large group exhibition the vast factory space West Ward Works, this night promises to be a visual audible delight.
Plastique Fantastique (UK)
A performance fiction envisaged as a group of human and non-human avatars delivering communiqués from the past and the future. The communiqués are channelled through installations, writing, comics and sound and moving image work and performances, addressing technology, popular and mass media and sacred cultures and also human-machine animals and non-human entities and agents. Over several years, numerous people have produced Plastique Fantastique but there is also a core group producing the performance fiction. Plastique Fantastique was first presented by David Burrows and Simon O’Sullivan and developed with long-term collaborators Alex Marzeta and Vanessa Page, and more recently with Mark Jackson. For NE0N 2017, this group will call forth and trap a bit-coin-fairy-spirit to ask it seems questions. The performance – Plastique Fantastique Protocols for the Society for Cutting Up Mun-knee-snakers (S.C.U.M.): I-Valerie-Solaris-AKA-@32ACP-Amazon.co.uk-recommends-‘Pacific-Rim’ may/may-not shoot b1t-c0in-f@iry-sp1r1t) – uses drone-folk-songs, moving image projection, reliquaries and ritual to manifest the block-chain-spirit.
David Burrows, Alex Marzeta, Vanessa Page and Mark Jackson will be performing.
Rites of the Zeitgeber, Verity Brit & Musician ‘U’ (UK)
9 channel video installation, live score performed by musician ‘U’
The Zeitgeber (‘time giver’ or ‘synchroniser’) is honoured by a triadic henge of stacked CRT monitors in which past durations collide with future vacuums. Strange extra-terrestrial topographies are traversed across geological time and the internet. Curious substances are unearthed and lost languages resurrected. Fragments from Mina Loy, J. G. Ballard and Henri Bergson emerge amongst an archaeology of media from Super 8, VHS, to HD. Time bends from matter, history is up-set and the clock is obsolete.
Verity Birt an artist based in London. She studied an MA in Moving Image at the Royal College of Art (2013–2015) and BA in Art Practice at Goldsmiths University of London (2008–2011). She is involved with collaborative research groups; The Future is a Collective Project, Reconfiguring Ruins and a founding member of women artists collective Altai. This summer, Verity was artist in residence at BALTIC and The Newbridge Project in Newcastle. Previous exhibitions include: Our House of Common Weeds; Res. Gallery, London (2017); Relics from the De-crypt | Gossamer Fog Gallery London (2017), Altai in Residence, Experiments in Collective Practice, Dyson Gallery, London (2017); Chemhex Extract, Peacock Visual Arts, Aberdeen (2016); Feeling Safer, IMT Gallery, London and Gallery North, New York (2016); Come to Dust, Generator Projects, Dundee (2016)
Fallopé & The Tubes (UK)
A weirdo-punk performance band. Each live show features live humans! film and visuals! costumes! sculpture! visual props! and music/a sequence of sounds!
Fallopé and The Tubes is a fluctuating live musical and performative event with contributions from Sarah Messenger, Ruby Pester, Nadia Rossi, Rachel Walker, Catherine Weir, Emma McIntyre and Skye Renee Foley. The group are made up of Scottish based artists and musicians that are also filmmakers, festival organisers, librarians, boatbuilders and more who work collaboratively to devise live performances. Drawing influence from a wide range of fringe and mainstream musical genres, exploring sexuality, elements of social satire, self promotion and leftist political ideologies.
The group was established in January 2014 at Insriach Bothy, Aviemore and have developed their practice during numerous residency experiences across Scotland. By living and working together ‘off grid’ the group have developed experimental techniques to create a collective energy. Fallopé & The Tubes draw influence from a wide range of fringe and mainstream musical genres, as well as sexuality, elements of social satire and self promotion and leftist political ideologies. Soakin Records
DJ RHL (UK)
Resident NEoN DJ has been entertaining us since 2010. Djing for about 25 years, he predominately plays Techno but you often find him playing anything dance music related. Spinning old school vinyl sets containing an eclectic mix of old and new stuff. RHL just likes making people dance. Check here for past performances.
Accompanying DJ RHL is ‘The Wanderer‘ aka Naomi Lamb. Naomi works layers of diverse video loops into an ever evolving collage colours textures and shape and intuitively mixies visuals live. She improvises, freestyles and channels the room, customising the ephemeral moving collage in response to the tone of the happening.
For the past 20 years Naomi has been a prolific live video art performer utilising techniques and process that is often associated with the ever growing subculture of VJing and presents under the name of ‘The Wander’. Naomi has an intimate knowledge of not only the process of live video performance but also an wide reaching connections within the VJ community and has performed at many of the leading outdoor music and art festivals in New Zealand with a debut at two English Festivals this summer and she is super please for her first time mixing it up in Scotland to be at NEoN. “
AGK Booth
Yuck ’n Yum hereby invites you to attend the Annual General Karaoke booth at this year’s NEoN at Night. The AGK is a fiercely contested karaoke video competition, getting creative types to make videos that will shock, delight and confound its audience. First staged back in 2010, over the years the AGK has built up a sizeable back catalogue of singalong anthems encompassing everything from pop classics to the most extreme avant garde out there. Now Yuck ’n Yum will bring the AGK archive to NEoN revellers in an audiovisual extravaganza that will overturn everything you ever thought you knew about karaoke convention. This November, Yuck ’n Yum together with NEoN are making a song and dance about it.
About the Artists Yuck ‘n Yum is a curatorial collective formed in Dundee 2008. Until 2013 its main raison d’etre was to make zines and distribute art. The AGK booth is the first of three projects that will kick start a period of activity after a couple of years of hibernation.
Yuck ‘n Yum are Andrew Maclean, Gayle Meikle, Ben Robinson, Alexandra Ross, Alex Tobin, Becca Clark and Morgan Cahn.
WEST WARD WORKS
Guthrie Street
DD1 5BR
Images: Kathryn Rattray Photography
Hall of Honor awards held Thursday Sept. 19, 2019 at the Line Hotel in Austin, Texas. Award winners include: Dr. Forest Baskett, Dr. Nikhil Advani, and Tyrrell Flawn
The project includes new voltage-regulating equipment that will help maintain service reliability if a transmission line in the area experiences an outage. Crews are also installing four new circuit breakers that will enhance system performance and help shorten power outage restoration time.
Dubai Gold Souk or Gold Souk (Arabic: سوق الذهب), is a traditional market (or souk) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The souk is located in the heart of Dubai's commercial business district in Deira, in the locality of Al Dhagaya. The souk consists of over 300 retailers that trade almost exclusively in jewellery. Retailers in the souk include both well established stores like Damas, ARY Jewellery, Shyam Jewellery and Joy Alukkas as well as smaller stores that operate mainly in the gold souk. By some estimates, approximately 10 tons of gold is present at any given time in the souk.
North Country families serving with the Colours include the following:Mr. J. Webb, Dawdon: 5 sons, and son-in-law (Sergt.-Major Watson).
This photograph was published in the Illustrated Chronicle on the 5th of May 1915.
During the Great War the Illustrated Chronicle published photographs of soldiers and sailors from Newcastle and the North East of England, which had been in the news. The photographs were sent in by relatives and give us a glimpse into the past.
The physical collection held by Newcastle Libraries comprises bound volumes of the newspaper from 1910 to 1925. We are keen to find out more about the people in the photographs. If you recognise anyone in the images or have any stories or information to add please comment below.
Copies of this photograph may be ordered from us, for more information see: www.newcastle.gov.uk/tlt Please make a note of the image reference number above to help speed up your order.
Frankreich / Provence - Nationalpark Calanques
Massif de Marseilleveyre
Sunset. On the way from Sommet de Marseilleveyre back to Les Goudes.
Sonnenuntergang Auf dem Weg vom Sommet de Marseilleveyre zurück nach Les Goudes.
Calanques National Park (French: Parc national des Calanques; Occitan: Parc Nacional dels Calanques) is a French national park located on the Mediterranean coast in Bouches-du-Rhône, Southern France.
Established in 2012, it extends over 520 km2 (201 sq mi), of which 85 km2 (33 sq mi) is land, while the remaining is marine area. It includes parts of the Massif des Calanques stretching between Marseille's southern arrondissements, Cassis and La Ciotat. Some of the park's best known features include the calanques of Sormiou, Morgiou, Port-Miou, Sugiton, En-Vau, as well as the Cosquer Cave.
History
In 1923, the Comité de défense des Calanques was established with the aim of preventing industrial development at En-Vau. In 1999, the groupement d'intérêt public (GIP) des Calanques was founded to prepare the creation of a national park. Eleven years later, the GIP presented its first draft for a national park; the third draft was approved in 2011. On 18 April 2012, Prime Minister François Fillon signed the decree establishing Calanques National Park.
(Wikipedia)
Dominating the southern districts of Marseille at an altitude of nearly 432 metres, the Massif de Marseilleveyre offers fascinating landscapes. In just a few minutes, you leave the second largest city in France to enter a mineral universe, both wild and grandiose. Marseilleveyre is a masterly gateway to discover the best kept treasures of the Calanques National Park, between sky and sea.
Hiking and outdoor activities
For lovers of nature and outdoor activities, Marseilleveyre is an invitation to go hiking. Numerous itineraries cover its valleys, hills and ridges. A wide variety of landscapes awaits walkers of all levels. There are easy trails for families or walkers who wish to stroll through a remarkable setting. The more experienced walkers can take much more aerial paths, such as those that weave their way between the vertiginous blades of rock tapering from the Goudes summits. Hundreds of kilometres of marked paths await you, and your hike from Marseilleveyre can take you to the most secret corners of the Calanques National Park, from Callelongue to Morgiou, Sugiton or even Cassis.
The white limestone of Marseilleveyre rises to the sky in rocky bars and cliffs, and offers numerous routes of all levels to climbing enthusiasts. From secure sites for beginners to large, challenging routes for thrill-seekers, lovers of vertical climbing meet every year in the hills bordering the south of Marseille.
Cycling and mountain biking enthusiasts can explore some of the tracks and roads of the Marseilleveyre massif. Along the water’s edge or in the middle of the pine trees, cyclists alternate descents, bends and climbs in a beautiful setting.
Nature sports enthusiasts can also discover the marine treasures of the Marseilleveyre massif, which plunges into the Mediterranean Sea. Several service providers offer discovery courses or scuba diving in the protected waters of the Park.
A preserved natural area
To the south of the Marseilleveyre massif, the flora has adapted to the aridity of the area and the salinity of the air. Here you can observe unusual plants such as the Marseille astragalus. The valleys, which are more sheltered from the sun, are home to beautiful holm oak forests or astonishing mantles of sarsaparilla.
The hills are home to many birds, especially birds of prey. The Great Horned Owl, the Short-toed Eagle and Bonelli’s Eagle reign supreme, while several species of bats nest in the caves and rocky crevices. Wild boars, rabbits, foxes, genets and roe deer have also found refuge in this protected area. You might also discover an ocellated lizard or a gecko snoozing in the sun at the bend in the path.
A viewpoint over Marseille and limestone Provence
To the north, the massif borders the city. The Campagne Pastré, the Parc du Roy d’Espagne, the Cayolle district, the Baumettes hamlet and the Luminy estate, with its universities and colleges, follow each other at the foot of the hills. This privileged location, at the gateway to the city, is one of the main assets of Marseilleveyre.
This lilting name can indeed be translated, for some linguists, by the expression “Seeing Marseille”. The name of the second summit of the massif, the Béouveyre, owes its name to the Provençal term for “belvedere”. The etymology pays tribute to the 360 degree view that the hills of Marseilleveyre offer over the city of Marseille, the Mediterranean Sea, the harbour, the islands, the Côte Bleue and the many hills that have surrounded and protected the city for thousands of years.
As you stroll along, you will discover breathtaking views of the different districts of Marseille. The golden statue of the “Bonne Mère” (“Good Mother”), who has watched over the city and its inhabitants from the top of the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica for several centuries, is a real eye-catcher.
Explore Marseilleveyre safely
The Marseilleveyre massif is one of the driest places in France. The paths are potentially steep, and some routes offer conditions similar to those encountered in the mountains or high mountains. We invite you to bring appropriate equipment: sufficient water (at least two litres of water per person in summer), a hat and sunglasses, walking shoes…
The Calanques are a fragile and protected area. You must stay on the marked paths, do not pick plants or flowers, and bring back your rubbish. More detailed information is available on the official website of the Calanques Natural Park.
Access to the massifs may be restricted depending on the weather conditions. A total ban is possible in periods of high heat, drought or strong winds. You should find out the day before your visit on www.myprovence.fr/en/enviedebalade to find out the conditions of access to the Bouches-du-Rhône massifs.
(provence-alpes-cotedazur.com)
Die Calanques, auch bekannt unter den Namen Calanques de Marseille, Calanques de Cassis oder Massif des Calanques, sind ein Mittelgebirge in Südfrankreich, im Départements Bouches-du-Rhône, das zwischen den Städten Marseille und Cassis liegt. Der etwa 20 km lange Küstenstreifen des Mittelmeeres besteht aus einer Aneinanderreihung von tiefen und engen, schluchtartigen Buchten. Solch eine Bucht wird Calanque genannt. Der höchste Punkt der Bergkette ist der Mont Puget mit 565 m, der östlich von Marseille und dem Massif de Marseilleveyre liegt. Die Calanques und die Küste von Cassis bis La Ciotat wurden im April 2012 zum Nationalpark Calanques (Parc National des Calanques) erklärt.
Topographische Lage
Die einzelnen Calanques sind in das Massif de Marseilleveyre und den Mont Puget eingegraben. Sie erstrecken sich von dem Hafenstädtchen Les Goudes im Marseiller Vorort la Madrague de Montredon bis zum Cap Croisette in der Calanque Port-Miou, der einzigen Calanque der Gemeinde Cassis. Von Les Goudes bis Cassis gibt es 27 Calanques. Die 17 größten und bekanntesten sind:
la calanque de Callelongue: Hafen, Restaurant und Tauchzentrum der UCPA;
la calanque de la Mounine: enge Bucht, die hinter dem Col du Sémaphore liegt und das Tal la Mounine abschließt;
la calanque de Marseilleveyre: kleine Bar mit Restaurant, Tauchzentrum, zu Fuß von Callelongue erreichbar;
la calanque des Queyrons: windgeschützter kleiner Kieselstrand;
la calanque de Podestat: Kieselstrand, westlich liegt eine kleine schattige Grotte;
la calanque de Cortiou: Abfluss der Kläranlage von Marseille;
la calanque de Sormiou: Hafen mit kleinem Dorf, eingeschränkte Zufahrt mit dem Auto, bekanntes Klettergebiet;
la calanque de la Triperie: Unterwassereingang zur Grotte Cosquer, kein Zugang;
la calanque de Morgiou: Hafen mit kleinem Dorf, eingeschränkte Zufahrt mit dem Auto, bekanntes Klettergebiet;
la calanque de Sugiton: vielbesuchte, familienfreundliche Bucht, zu Fuß vom Campus de Luminy erreichbar;
la calanque des Pierres-Tombées: FKK-Strand;
la calanque de l’Œil de Verre: schwieriger Zugang nur für erfahrene Wanderer;
la calanque du Devenson: geschützt durch 200 m hohe Felsen, nur mit dem Boot oder durch Abseilen erreichbar;
la calanque de l’Oule: eingebettet zwischen 70 m Felsen, nur mit dem Boot erreichbar;
la calanque d’En-Vau: überlaufen, Kieselstrand, steile Felswände schließen die Bucht ein, bekanntes Klettergebiet;
la calanque de Port-Pin: zu Fuß in 30 Minuten von Cassis erreichbar;
la calanque de Port-Miou: nahe dem Ort Cassis, Jachthafen, östlicher Zugang zum Massif des Calanques.
Auf den vor Marseille liegenden Inseln Ratonneau, Pomègues, Riou und Plane haben sich auch mehrere Calanques gebildet.
Entstehung der Calanques
Das Massif des Calanques besteht aus Kalkstein, der sich im Wesentlichen im Mesozoikum gebildet hat. Das Mesozoikum umfasst die Zeitspanne von vor 250 Millionen Jahren bis vor 65 Millionen Jahren. Das Gestein entstand im Laufe von Millionen Jahren zwischen der Mitte des Jura vor etwa 150 Millionen Jahren und der Kreide vor etwa 110 Millionen Jahren. Dabei entstand Sedimentgestein in tieferen Wasserzonen durch Meeresablagerungen mineralischer und organischer Stoffe, die unter dem Druck von Wasser und jüngeren, darüber liegenden Gesteinsschichten komprimiert und verfestigt wurden. In flachen Wasserzonen bildeten sich Korallenriffe. Fossile Meeresorganismen zeugen von diesen Ablagerungen. Darauffolgende tektonische Aktivitäten führten zu horizontalen Bewegungen und Verwerfungen. Erosion ebnete die Verwerfungen wieder ein.
Während der messinischen Salinitätskrise vor 5,96 bis 5,32 Millionen Jahren wurde das Mittelmeer vom Atlantik isoliert. In der Folge sank sein Wasserspiegel bis zu 1.500 m unter den des Atlantiks ab. Die Flüsse, die ins Mittelmeer flossen, vertieften ihre Täler um Hunderte von Metern. Die fluviale Erosion durch kleinere Bäche und Flüsse schuf wahrscheinlich auch im Massif des Calanques zahlreiche tiefe, steilwandige Täler.
Vor etwa 1,5 Millionen Jahren, zu Beginn des Quartärs, hob sich die gesamte Region, und eine neue Erosionsperiode begann mit den eiszeitlichen Meeresspiegelsenkungen. Während dieser glazialen Niedrigwasserperioden bildeten sich entlang der Mittelmeerküste weitere steilwandige Täler durch die Erosion durch Flüsse, die in das Meer mündeten, welches etwa 100 Meter tiefer lag als heute.
Der Anstieg des Meeresspiegels des Mittelmeers nach den großen Eiszeiten überflutete vor etwa 12.000 Jahren einen Teil der Schluchten, so dass sie heute unter Wasser weit ins Meer hineinreichen. In dieser Zeit wurden auch die äußersten Teile des Festlands zu Inseln. Durch Verkarstung bildeten sich große Höhlen (Saint-Michel d'Eau douce) und unterirdische Flüsse (z. B. in der Calanque de Port-Miou und der Calanque de Sugiton).
Der Norden des Massif de Marseilleveyre und die Hochebene von Carpiagne bestehen aus dem ältesten Gestein, das aus dem Jura stammt, mit einem Alter von 200 Millionen bis 140 Millionen Jahren. Der größte Teil des Massif des Calanques sowie die Inseln bestehen aus urgonischem Kalkstein, etwa 115 Millionen Jahre alt, welcher sehr hart und von weißer Farbe ist und von Korallen in einem flachen warmen Meer aufgebaut wurde. Zwischen Luminy und des Calanque de Sugiton findet man aber auch dolomitische, eher sandige Kalke des Valanginium, die etwa 140 Millionen bis 134 Millionen Jahre alt sind.
Hydrologie
Das Wasser des Mittelmeeres vor der Calanquesküste ist oft kühler als in den umliegenden Meeresregionen. Dies liegt einerseits daran, dass die Klippen im Meer steil abfallen ohne seichtere Küstengewässer. Zum anderen existieren zahlreiche kalte Süßwasserquellen unter der Meeresoberfläche, die durch ein Netzwerk unterirdischer Bäche gespeist werden, die sowohl das Massif de Marseilleveyre als auch die Hochebenen Carpiagne entwässern. Diese Phänomen der Karstquellen ist von allen Kalkküsten des Mittelmeers bekannt, da der Meeresspiegel während der Eiszeiten des Quartärs erst um etwa 135 m sank, bevor er vor etwa 10.000 Jahren wieder das heutige Niveau erreichte und so die Quellen und Bäche überschwemmte.
Ein unterirdischer Fluss mit einer beträchtlichen Fließgeschwindigkeit und einem Volumenstrom von 5 m³/s bis 7 m³/s endet fast auf Meereshöhe in der Calanque Port-Miou. Er kommt wahrscheinlich aus dem Massif de Sainte-Baume und wird von einem 1.000 km² großen Grundwasservorkommen unter der Provence gespeist. Eine solche Durchflussmenge könnte mehr als eine Million Menschen mit Trinkwasser versorgen.
Eine weitere Karstquelle endet einige Dezimeter unter dem Meeresspiegel des Strandes von Bestouan (am Westausgang von Cassis), wodurch das Wasser dieses Strandes selbst im Hochsommer sehr kalt ist.
Klima
In den Calanques herrscht mediterranes Klima mit starker Trockenheit. Die vorhandene Feuchtigkeit stammt im Wesentlichen aus der Verdunstung des Meerwassers sowie aus starken Regenfällen im Herbst und Winter. Die Regenfälle sind jedoch durch lange Trockenperioden getrennt. Aufgrund des Abflusses kommen sie nur sehr bedingt der Vegetation zugute. Die durchschnittliche Niederschlagsmenge liegt bei etwa 600 mm pro Jahr. Das Cap Croisette, das Tor zu den Calanques im Westen, ist mit durchschnittlich 360 mm das trockenste Gebiet Frankreichs. Die Heftigkeit mancher Niederschläge ist extrem. So wurde von Météo-France am 1. Dezember 2003 innerhalb von zwei Stunden eine Niederschlagsmenge von 218 mm in Marseille und von 235 mm in Cassis gemessen.
Zusammen mit hohen Temperaturen hat der Wind einen großen Einfluss auf die Verdunstung, insbesondere an der Küste. Der Mistral und der häufig starke Nordwestwind machen 43 % der windigen Tage aus. An der Meeresoberfläche führen diese Winde zu sehr starken Strömungen und damit zum Aufsteigen von Tiefenwasser. Wenn der Mistral weht, kann die Wassertemperatur an der Oberfläche innerhalb weniger Stunden um bis zu 10 K abnehmen, d. h. von 23 °C – 25 °C auf 13 °C – 15 °C. Dieses aufsteigende Tiefenwasser ermöglicht eine hohe Biodynamik an der Küste durch die Anreicherung des Wassers mit Mineralien.
Lebensräume
In den Calanques gibt es keine Wasserläufe auf Grund der geringen Niederschlagsmengen und der Verkarstung des Untergrundes. In den südseitigen, mistral-geschützten Lagen bildet sich ein Mikroklima aus, bestimmt durch die Wärmeregulierung des Meeres, der Sonneneinstrahlung und den hohen weißen Felswänden. Im Winter sind Temperaturdifferenzen von 10 K zwischen den südseitigen und den nordseitigen Lagen beziehungsweise der Innenstadt von Marseille möglich. Die Bestandsaufnahme der Lebensräume, die im Rahmen der Natura-2000-Studie durchgeführt wurde, weist für die Calanques sechsundzwanzig natürliche Lebensräume aus, zu denen noch vierzig gemischte Lebensräume hinzukommen. Es gibt vier große Gruppen: Felslebensräume mit Klippen und Geröllhalden, Waldlebensräume mit klimatisch bedingten Kiefernwäldern, offene Lebensräume wie Rasen und Garrigue sowie Küstenlebensräume. Natura 2000 hat die geschützten Tiere und Pflanzen in einer Liste zusammengefasst.
Flora
Die Calanques sind ein außergewöhnliches Ökosystem, in dem selbst subtropische Pflanzenarten die Kälteperioden des Quartärs überstanden haben. Es gibt kaum fruchtbare Erde auf dem Karstboden. Die Kalksteinfelsen mit ihren Geröllhalden sind von zahlreichen Rissen und Spalten durchzogen, in denen sich die Wurzeln der Pflanzen verankern können. Aufgrund der trockenen Standorte beziehen die Pflanzen ihr Wasser aus verdunstendem Meerwasser und der mit salzigen Wassertröpfchen angereicherten Meeresluft. Auch morgendlicher Tau trägt zur Wasserversorgung der Pflanzen bei. Die Vegetation der Calanques ist nicht bodendeckend, sondern gedeiht in Form von vereinzelten, relativ niedrigen Büschen. Das Gebiet ist größtenteils von Macchienvegetation bedeckt: Heidekräuter (Erica), Dornpolster aus Astragale de Marseille (Astragalus tragacantha), Lorbeerblättriger Schneeball (Viburnum tinus), Kermes- oder Stech-Eiche (Quercus coccifera), Raue Stechwinde (Smilax aspera) und Wacholder sowie kleinen Wäldchen aus Aleppo-Kiefern. Darüber hinaus kommen endemische Arten vor wie der Skopendien-Farn oder das Sabline de Provence (Arenaria provincialis), eines der Symbole der Calanques. Insgesamt kann man davon ausgehen, dass etwa 83 Arten entweder geschützt sind oder auf der Liste der bedrohten Arten stehen.
Fauna
Die Fauna der Calanques ist entweder angepasst, dies gilt besonders für Insekten, oder ist ein Relikt aus früheren Zeiten wie der Habichtsadler. Die größte europäische Eidechsenart, die Perleidechse, lebt ebenso hier wie die Bulldoggfledermaus. Das Massiv beherbergt einen hohen Anteil an Seevögeln. 30 % der Population der Corysturmtaucher (Calonectris borealis, französisch Puffin cendré) Frankreichs leben hier. Dazu kommen in den Küstengewässern noch Meeresschildkröten und Delfine.
Die hier lebenden Wirbellosen sind gut an den Lebensraum angepasst. Dabei handelt es sich entweder um Coleopteren (Käfer), die Elytren haben, die sie vor dem Austrocknen schützen (z. B. der Große Eichenbock), oder um Schmetterlinge.
Cosquer-Höhle
Südöstlich von Marseille am Cap Morgiou liegt die von Henri Cosquer entdeckte Cosquer-Höhle mit Höhlenmalereien aus der Zeit zwischen 27.000 und 19.000 v. Chr., die Bisons, Pferde, Steinböcke aber auch Meerestiere wie Robben und Alkenvögel darstellen. Ihr Eingang liegt 37 m unter der Meeresoberfläche und ist durch ein Gitter verschlossen.
Tourismus
Im Jahr 2008 verzeichneten die Calanques zwei Millionen Besucher. Zum Schutze der Natur wurde der Nationalpark Calanques nach jahrelanger schwieriger Vorarbeit im April 2012 als zehnter französischer Nationalpark gegründet. Im Jahr 2020 erleben die Calanques einen Besucherrekord mit geschätzten mehr als drei Millionen Besuchern. Die Calanques sind Opfer ihres Erfolgs und des Phänomens des Übertourismus. Die Besucher konzentrieren sich dabei auf die beliebtesten Orte En-Vau, Port-Pin, Morgiou, Sormiou und Sugiton. In der Calanque de Sormiou werden Spitzenwerte von 2.000 Personen/Tag erreicht, in En-Vau von 1.000 Personen/Tag. Die akzeptable Schwelle liegt bei einigen hundert Besuchern pro Tag und Standort.[ In der Calanque de Sugiton sind die Auswirkungen auf die Flora durch wiederholtes Betreten und die dadurch verursachte Bodenerosion unübersehbar. Diese touristische Überlastung existiert aber auch an leicht zugänglichen Kletter-, Tauch- und Bootsankerplätzen.
Didier Réault, der Präsident des Nationalparks Calanques, sprach sich für die Regulierung der Besucherströme aus, nicht für ein Zutrittsverbot, und entschied sich für eine Organisationslogistik der „geringsten Auswirkungen“. Um Autos, Motorräder und Boote zurückzudrängen, beschloss die Nationalparkführung unter anderem die Einführung einer Besucherquote für die Calanque de Sugiton, die am stärksten von der Überfüllung betroffen ist.
Aktivitäten
Wegen Brandgefahr ist der Zugang zum Massif des Calanques vom 1. Juni bis zum 30. September reglementiert (eingeschränkter Zugang bei großer Hitze, vollständiges Verbot bei Wind usw.). Per prefektoralem Erlass werden Dauer und Art der Verbote festgelegt. Diese werden täglich an die Wetterlage angepasst und auf der Website des Nationalparks veröffentlicht.
Obwohl das Massif des Calanques am Meer liegt, birgt es ähnliche Risiken wie Bergwanderungen. Die Wege sind steil, teilweise sehr ausgesetzt und somit riskant für ungeübte Wanderer. Starker Mistral beinhaltet das Risiko bei Böen, das Gleichgewicht zu verlieren, was insbesondere auf Bergrücken und entlang exponierter Pfade gefährlich ist. Wegen der vielen Spaziergänger und Wanderer ist der Boden aus Kalksteinfelsen von den zahlreichen Passagen häufig wie poliert und sehr rutschig.
Als Standardwanderausrüstung wird folgendes empfohlen: gute Wander- oder Trailschuhe, Kopfbedeckung und Sonnencreme (mindestens Lichtschutzfaktor 30 und 50+ für Kinder), Sonnenbrille (100 % UV-Filter und polarisierend), Mobiltelefon, Verpflegung und vor allem Wasser. Im Massif des Calanques gibt es kaum Schatten. Die Mitnahme von 1,5 l Wasser pro Person ist die Basismenge. Jeder Person sollte noch mindestens 0,5 Liter Wasser pro Wanderstunde mitnehmen. Einige Wasserstellen wurden in den Randgebieten des Massivs eingerichtet wie an der Schranke von Luminy, dem Parkplatz von La Cayolle, bei der Busendhaltestelle Madrague de Montredon und am Start des GR 51-98. Vorhandenes Oberflächenwasser ist generell ungenießbar (wie z. B. Grand Malvallon, Fontaine de Voire).
Das Massiv kann auf mehrere Routen von West nach Ost, d. h. von der Calanque de Callelongue bis nach Cassis durchquert werden.
Um alle Calanques so nah wie möglich am Meer zu durchwandern, sind 12 Stunden zu veranschlagen bei einer Weglänge von 28 km.
Der direktere Fernwanderweg GR 51-98 erfordert 6,5 Stunden effektive Gehzeit bei eine Länge von 21 km bis Port-Miou, inklusive 1000 m positivem Höhenunterschied.
Wanderwege und Gehzeiten zu den Calanques sind etwa:[16]
Callelongue → Marseilleveyre (50 min), les Queyrons (1 h) und Podestat (1h 15 min);
Col de Sormiou → l’Escu (1 h);
La Cayolle → Sormiou (1 h) und l’Escu (1 h 20 min);
Les Baumettes → Morgiou (1 h) und Sormiou (50 min);
Luminy → Sugiton (55min) und Morgiou (50 min);
La Gineste / La Gardiole → En-vau (2 h) und Port-miou (1 h 50 min);
Halbinsel Cassis → Port-miou (5 min), Port-pin (25 min), En-vau (1 h 10 min).
Klettern
In den Calanques wird seit über 100 Jahren geklettert. Im Jahre 2004 gab es in der Calanques 3.436 gut dokumentierte Kletterrouten (2.440 Sport- und 996 Abenteuerrouten). Mit meist einfachen Zugängen und einem zu jeder Jahreszeit günstigen Klima sind die Calanques heute eines der bekanntesten und beliebtesten Klettergebiete in Frankreich und Europa. In der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung des Departements Bouches-du-Rhône sind Natursportarten nicht berücksichtigt. Im Nationalpark Calanques werden Kletterer nicht mit „offenen Armen“ empfangen, da die Felsen der Calanques eine außergewöhnliche Biodiversität besitzen. Klettern ist mit größtem Respekt vor der Natur auszuüben. Die Gründung des Nationalparks führte zu einem Verbot der Erschließung neuer Routen und zu Maßnahmen zum Schutze der Fauna und Flora. Die Nationalparkverwaltung bittet, definierte Zugangswege nicht zu verlassen und Betretungsverbote zu Nistklippen einzuhalten.
Die Anfänge des Kletterns
Der Gipfel der Grande Candelle wurde erstmals 1879 von dem britischen Konsul Francis W. Mark bestiegen. Damit begann die Erschließung der Calanques durch lokale Bergsteiger. Diese sahen aber in den Felsen und Türmen nur ein Trainingsgebiet für die Alpen. Ab Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts wurden die entlegenen Orte erkundet wie das Val Vierge oder die Calanque de Devenson, und die wichtigsten Gipfel und Nadeln wurden bestiegen: Rocher des Goudes (1900), Aiguille de Sugiton (1903), Aiguille de Sormiou (1904). In den 1920er Jahren wurden erste große Routen entlang von Graten eröffnet, wie l’Arête de Marseille an der Grande Candelle (April 1927) oder am Rocher Saint-Michel l’Arête de la cordée (Februar 1928).
Die Erschließung des Gebietes
Erst durch die Einführung besserer Sicherungsmittel (Felshaken) wurden Routen durch die Felswände eröffnet. Ab den 1930er Jahren erschlossen Kletterer aus Marseille wie Édouard Frendo (1910–1968) immer schwierigere Routen. Der Schwierigkeitsgrad VI wurde in den Calanques erst 1938 von Duchier und Charles Magol mit der Nordwest-Wand des Rocher des Goudes erreicht. In den folgenden zwei Jahrzehnten wurde die Entwicklung des Kletterns in den Calanques von Gaston Rébuffat (1921–1985) und Georges Livanos (1923–2007) entscheidend mitgeprägt, wobei Livanos, genannt „Le Grec“, etwa 400 Routen in den Calanques erstbeging. Beide haben auch das Klettern im gesamten Alpenraum beeinflusst. Mit einer Mischung und freier Kletterei und technischer Kletterei wurden in praktisch allen Felswänden mehrere Routen eröffnet.[ Ein gutes Beispiel für diese Art Route ist der Éperon des Américains in der Calanque d'En-Vau, 1963 erstbegangen durch die amerikanischen Kletterer Gary Hemming, Royal Robbins und John Harlin. Mit den Jahren, im Geiste der Direttissimas, nahm der Anteil technischer Kletterei an den Routen immer mehr zu. Höhepunkt der technischen Kletterei wurde 1966 durch Mark Vaucher und Le Grec mit der Begehung der Directissime de la Concave erreicht.
Die Zeit des Sportkletterns
Bernard Vaucher konstatierte, dass während der 1970er Jahre die Calanques eine untergeordnete Rolle in der Entwicklung des Kletterns eingenommen haben. Die angesagten Klettergebiete dieser Zeit waren das Klettergebiet Verdonschlucht, Buoux im Luberon und Deux Aiguilles am Fuße des Montagne Sainte-Victoire. Die Calanques-Kletterer wie Francois Guillot, Claude Cassin oder Joel Coqueugniot eröffneten schwere und schlecht gesicherte Abenteuer-Routen („terrain aventure“) an schwer zugänglichen Felsen wie der Sektor La Bidule an der Halbinsel Castelvieil oder Coryphène.
Ende der 1970er Jahre und in den 1980er Jahren wurden sehr viele Routen mit Hilfe von Bohrhaken für das Sportklettern eingerichtet und der Ruf der Calanques verbreitete sich in Frankreich und Europa. Immer schwierigere Freikletterrouten wurden erstbegangen wie Patrick Edlingers „Nymphodalle“ (7c) von 1979 bis hin zu François Legrands „Robi in The Sky“ (9a) von 2000. Ganz im Sinne der Zeit wurden Routen durch alle großen Grotten (La Grotte d’Ours, la Grotte de l’Ermite und das Paroi des Toits) eingerichtet und frei geklettert. Die Erschließung neuer Routen setzte sich in den folgenden Jahrzehnten fort, finanziert von Vereinen und den Gemeinden. Heute gilt an vielen Felsen ein Erschließungsverbot.
Freizeitschifffahrt, Seekajak und Bootstouren
Die vom Meer aus leicht zugänglichen Calanques sind häufig von Besuchern überlaufen. Um vor allem die Auswirkungen von Motorbooten auf Flora und Fauna zu begrenzen, ist der Zugang zu den Calanques vom Wasser aus reglementiert. Jeder gewerbliche wie auch private Bootsvermieter benötigt eine Genehmigung der Parkverwaltung. Diese stellt fünf Genehmigungen pro Jahr für private Vermieter aus, beziehungsweise eine dauerhafte Genehmigung für gewerbliche Vermieter. Folgende Einschränkungen sind von Bootseignern und Bootsmietern zu beachten: Nicht in verbotenen Zonen ankern, Verbotszonen für Motorschiffe respektieren, Zugangsbeschränkungen zu den Calanques d’En-Vau, Port-Pin und Port-Miou berücksichtigen, in einem Streifen von 300 m entlang der Küste gilt die Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung von 5 Knoten.
Die Calanques bieten sich wegen der zahlreichen Felsbuchten zum Küstenpaddeln an. Zudem sind einige kleine Höhlen bei ruhigem Wasser mit dem Boot befahrbar, wie z. B. die Grotte Bleue am Eingang zu der Calanque de Morgiou. Bei Seekajaktouren ist auf gute und stabile Wetterverhältnisse zu achten, besonders auf ruhige Windverhältnisse wegen des starken, ablandigen Windes bei Mistral. Schwimmwesten sind Pflicht. An Steilküsten ist nur an wenigen Uferstellen ein Ausstieg möglich. Sonnencreme, Sonnenbrille und eine Kopfbedeckung sowie Trinkwasser und Proviant sind bei längeren Touren unerlässlich. Neoprenschuhe zu tragen ist beim Anlegen in kleinen Buchten sinnvoll, da der Grund oft voller kantiger und spitzer Steine und Seeigel ist. Anlegen ist verboten, wenn der Nationalpark wegen Brandgefahr geschlossen ist.
Der Besuch der Calanques kann in Rahmen von Bootstouren unterschiedlicher Dauer und Länge erfolgen, die von Schifffahrtsgesellschaften von Marseille oder Cassis aus angeboten werden.
Radfahren und Mountainbiken
Die Calanques sind ein beliebtes Gebiet für Mountainbiker. Routenvorschläge werden auf vielen Online-Plattformen angeboten. Die Benutzung von E-Bikes hat in den letzten Jahren stark zugenommen. Seit November 2021 ist Radfahren und Mountainbiken in den Calanques reglementiert. Fahrräder dürfen nur auf einem Netz erlaubter Pisten, Wege und Pfade benutzt werden. Außerhalb dieses Netzes ist das Radfahren verboten. Eine Online-Karte der erlaubten Wege ist verfügbar.
Tauchen
Der Nationalpark Calanques beherbergt eine vielfältige und artenreiche Unterwasser-Flora und -Fauna. Auch die Vielseitigkeit der Unterwasserlandschaften ist erheblich mit Höhlen, felsigem Grund, Neptungräsern, Korallenriffen und Unterwasserschluchten. Die zahlreichen Wracks in den Gewässern des Nationalparks machen ihn zu einem Hotspot der Unterwasserarchäologie.
Tauchen ist im Nationalpark erlaubt, aber reglementiert. Die „Tauchercharta“ und die nautischen Vorschriften zum Schutze der Artenvielfalt müssen eingehalten werden. Die Entnahme von archäologischen Artefakten und Überresten ist verboten. Es ist weiter verboten, in den zwei archäologischen Schutzzonen (ZPR) zu tauchen: im Cousteau-Dreieck vor den Inseln Riou und Plane sowie an der Pointe de la Voile am Cap Morgiou. An vielen Tauchspots sind Bojen am Meeresboden befestigt. Es ist empfohlen diese zu benützen, anstatt Anker zu werfen. Der Zugang zu den Bojen ist frei und kostenlos.
In der Calanque de Sormiou entwickelten Jacques-Yves Cousteau („Le Commandant“) und Georges Beuchat die moderne Tauchausrüstung und unternahmen dort ihre ersten Unterwasser-Entdeckungen. Hier wurde das moderne Tauchen geboren.
(Wikipedia)
Das Massif de Marseilleveyre ist ein zerklüftetes, verkarstetes Bergmassiv südlich von Marseille. Seine spektakulären fjordartigen Buchten sind Teil der Calanques.
Geographie
Tief eingeschnittene Täler und Schluchten wie das Grand Malvallon, das Vallon de la Mounine oder das Vallon des Aiguilles führen nur nach Regenfällen Wasser in den Bächen auf dem Talgrund. Zahlreiche Höhlen wie die Grotte de l'Ours, die Grotte de l'Eremite oder der Aven Gombault, Karstquellen wie die Fontaine de Voire oder die Fontaine de Brès und bizarre Felsformationen wie der natürliche Steinbogen Les Trois Arches im oberen Malvallon prägen das Massiv. Zahlreiche Wanderwege und Kletterrouten durchziehen die Berge. Der Col de la Selle und der Col des Chèvres östlich bzw. westlich des Sommet de Marseilleveyre ermöglichen die Überschreitung des Bergmassivs in Nord-Süd-Richtung.
Toponymie
Der Name des Massivs bedeutet Massiv, von dem man Marseille sieht (veyre = okzitanisch 'sehen').
Vegetation
Die natürlich karge Vegetation wird durch wiederkehrende Waldbrände zusätzlich vermindert. Typische Pflanzen sind die Aleppokiefer, die Garrigue und vereinzelte Pinien und Zypressen. Wälder finden sich fast nur noch am nördlichen Fuß des Massivs und im Bois de la Selle unterhalb des Col de la Selle.
Bemerkenswerte Erhebungen
Sommet de Marseilleveyre, 432 m, höchster Punkt des Massivs
Béouveyre, 397 m
Tête de l'Homme, 396 m
Tête de la Mounine, 385 m
Sommet Ouest de l'Homme Mort, 374 m
Tête de la Melette, 362 m
Pointe Callot, 346 m
Les Trois Pics, 335 m
Rocher St. Michel, 322 m
Tête du Trou du Chat, 281 m
Rocher des Goudes, 258 m
(Wikipedia)
Aspinwall House is a large sea-facing heritage property in Fort Kochi on the way to Mattancherry.
The property was originally the business premises of Aspinwall & Company Ltd. established in 1867 by English trader John H Aspinwall. Under the guidance of Aspinwall the Company traded in coconut oil, pepper, timber, lemon grass oil, ginger, turmeric, spices, hides and later in coir, coffee, tea and rubber.
The large compound contains office buildings, a residential bungalow and a number of warehouses and smaller outer-lying structures. Aspinwall House will be a primary venue of the Biennale, hosting numerous artist led projects and events spaces.
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Kochi is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. Kochi is located in the district of Ernakulam. Old Kochi loosely refers to a group of islands including Willingdon Island, Fort Kochi and Mattancherry. Today Kochi includes Ernakulam, old parts of Kochi, Kumbalangi, and outlying islands.
For many centuries up to and during the British Raj, the city of Kochi was the seat of the eponymous princely state. Kochi traces its history back many centuries, when it was the centre of Indian spice trade for hundreds of years, and was known to the Yavanas (Greeks and Romans), Jews, Arabs and Chinese since ancient times. Kochi earned a significant position on the world trading map after the port at Kodungallur (Cranganore) was destroyed by massive flooding of the river Periyar in 1341.
The earliest documented references to Kochi occur in the books written by Chinese voyager Ma Huan, during his visit to Kochi in the 15th century as part of the treasure fleet of Admiral Zheng He. There are also references to Kochi in accounts written by Italian traveller Niccolò Da Conti, who visited Cochin in 1440 . Today, Kochi is the commercial hub of Kerala, and one of the fastest growing second-tier metros in India.
PREHISTORY
Not much is known about the prehistory of Kochi. There has been no clear evidence of Stone Age inhabitation. Quite ironically, Kochi forms the central part of the Megalithic belt of Kerala. The only trace of prehistoric life in the region is the menhir found in Tripunithura.
PRINCELY RULE
The history of Kochi prior to the Portuguese is not well documented. Though places north and south of Kochi are mentioned in quite detail in many accounts by ancient travellers, even a mention of Kochi is absent prior to the arrival of the Portuguese. Kochi's prominence as a trading port grew after the collapse of the port at Kodungallur in 1341 AD.
The Cochin State came into existence in 1102 AD after the breaking up of the Kulasekhara empire.
FOREIGN RULE
Kochi was under the rule of many foreign empires, during which the Raja of Kochi still remained the titular head.
PORTUGUESE PERIOD (1503-1663)
Kochi was the scene of the first European settlement in India. In the year 1500, Portuguese Admiral Pedro Álvares Cabral, landed at Cochin after being repelled from Calicut. The King of rival Kochi welcomed his guests and a treaty of friendship was signed. Promising his support in the conquest of Calicut, the admiral coaxed the king into allowing them to build a factory at Cochin. Assured by the support, the king called war with the Zamorins of Calicut. However, the admiral retreated in panic on seeing the powers of the Zamorin. The Zamorins, on the other hand, eager to win the favor of the Portuguese, left without a war. Another captain, João da Nova was sent in place of Cabral. However, he too faltered at the sight of the Zamorin. The consecutive retreats made the King of Portugal indignant. The king sent Vasco Da Gama, who bombed Calicut and destroyed the Arab trading posts. This invited the anger of the Zamorin, who declared a war against the Kochi Raja.
The war between Calicut and Cochin began on 1 March 1503. However, the oncoming monsoons and the arrival of a small Portuguese fleet under Francisco and Afonso de Albuquerque alarmed the Zamorin, and he called back his army. The Zamorin resorted to a retreat also because the revered festival of Onam was near, and the Zamorin intended to keep the auspicious day holy. This led to a triumph for the king of Kochi, who was later re-established in the possession of his kingdom. However, much of the kingdom was burnt and destroyed by the Zamorins.
After securing the king in his throne, the Portuguese got permission to build a fort – Fort Kochi (Fort Emmanuel) (after the reigning king of Portugal) - surrounding the Portuguese factory, in order to protect it from any further attacks. The entire work was commissioned by the Cochin Raja, who supplied workers and material. The Raja continued to rule with the help of the Portuguese. Meanwhile, the Portuguese secretly tried to enter into an alliance with the Zamorins. A few later attempts by the Zamorin at conquering the Kochi port was thwarted by the Cochin Raja with the help of the Portuguese. Slowly, the Portuguese armory at Kochi was increased, with the presumed notion of helping the raja protect Kochi. However, the measured led to decrease in the power of the Cochin Raja, and an increase in the Portuguese influence. From 1503 to 1663, Kochi was ruled by Portugal through the namesake Cochin Raja. Kochi remained the capital of Portuguese India till 1510. In 1530, Saint Francis Xavier arrived and founded a Christian mission. This Portuguese period was difficult for the Jews installed in the region, since the Inquisition was active in Portuguese India. Kochi hosted the grave of Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese viceroy, who was buried at St. Francis Church until his remains were returned to Portugal in 1539. Soon after the time of Albuquerque, the Portuguese rule in Kerala declined. The failure is attributed to several factors like intermarriages, forcible conversions, religious persecution etc.
DUTCH PERIOD (1663-1773)
The Portuguese rule was followed by that of the Dutch, who had by then conquered Quilon, after various encounters with the Portuguese and their allies. Discontented members of the Cochin Royal family called on the assistance of the Dutch for help in overthrowing the Cochin Raja. The Dutch successfully landed at Njarakal and headed on to capture the fort at Pallippuram, which they handed over to the Zamorin.
MYSORE INVASION
The 1773 conquest of the Mysore King Hyder Ali in the Malabar region descended to Kochi. The Kochi Raja had to pay a subsidy of one hundred thousand of Ikkeri Pagodas (equalling 400,000 modern rupees). Later on, in 1776, Haider captured Trichur, which was under the Kingdom of Kochi. Thus, the Raja was forced to become a tributary of Mysore and to pay a nuzzar of 100,000 of pagodas and 4 elephants and annual tribute of 30,000 pagodas. The hereditary Prime Ministership of Cochin came to an end during this period.
BRITISH PERIOD (1814–1947)
In 1814 according to the Anglo-Dutch Treaty, the islands of Kochi, including Fort Kochi and its territory were ceded to the United Kingdom in exchange for the island of Banca. Even prior to the signing of the treaty, there are evidence of English residents in Kochi. Towards the early 20th century, trade at the port had increased substantially, and the need to develop the port was greatly felt. Harbour Engineer Robert Bristow, was thus brought to Cochin in 1920 under the direction of Lord Willingdon, then the Governor of Madras. In a span of 21 years, he had transformed Cochin as the safest harbour in the peninsula, where ships berthed alongside the newly reclaimed inner harbour equipped with a long array of steam cranes. Meanwhile, in 1866, Fort Cochin was made a municipality, and its first Municipal Council election to a board of 18 members was conducted in 1883. The Maharajah of Cochin, in 1896 initiated local administration, by forming town councils in Mattancherry and Ernakulam. In 1925, Kochi legislative assembly was constituted due to public pressure on the state. The assembly consisted of 45 members, 10 of who were officially nominated. Thottakkattu Madhaviamma became the first woman to be a member of any legislature in India.
POST INDEPENDENCE ERA
In 1947, India gained independence from the British colonial rule. Cochin was the first princely state to join the Indian Union willingly. Post independence, E. Ikkanda Warrier became the first Prime Minister of Kochi. K. P. Madhavan Nair, P.T Jacob, C. Achutha Menon, Panampilly Govinda Menon were few of the other stalwarts who were in the forefront of the democratic movements. Then in 1949, Travancore-Cochin state came into being by the merger of Cochin and Travancore, with Parur T. K. Narayana Pillai as the first chief minister. Travancore-Cochin, was in turn merged with the Malabar district of the Madras State. Finally, the Government of India's 1 November 1956 States Reorganisation Act inaugurated a new state – Kerala – incorporating Travancore-Cochin, Malabar District, and the taluk of Kasargod, South Kanara. On 9 July 1960, the Mattancherry council passed a resolution that was forwarded to the government, requesting the formation of a Municipal Corporation by combining the existing municipalities of Fort Kochi, Mattancherry and Ernakulam. The proposal was condemned by the Fort Kochi municipality. However, the Ernakulam municipality welcomed the proposal, suggesting the inclusion of more suburban areas in the amalgamated Corporation. Major Balagangadhara Menon, the then Director of Local Bodies was appointed by the government to study the feasibility of the suggested merger. And based on the report submitted by him, the Kerala Legislative Assembly approved the formation of the Corporation. Thus, on 1 November 1967, exactly 11 years since the conception of the state of Kerala, the corporation of Cochin came into existence, by the merger of the municipalities of Ernakulam, Mattancherry and Fort Kochi, along with that of the Willingdon Island and four panchayats viz. Palluruthy, Vennala, Vyttila and Edappally and the small islands of Gundu and Ramanthuruth.
WIKIPEDIA
The set includes:
- three types of steam locomotive used on the KCR
- Original liveried EMD G12 number KCR 51
- KCR liveried EMD G26CU number KCR 60
- Siemens “Eurorunner” ER20
- Original condition Metro Cammell EMU
- Original liveried Phase 2 LRV
- Refurbished Metro Cammell EMU
- KCR liveried Phase 1 LRV
- KCR liveried SP1900 EMU
- Original liveried Ktt locomotive
On display at the Hong Kong Railway Museum.
An hour to kill in Worthing while my glasses were being "re-glazed" - a tweak to the reading prescription on my varifocals.
The “INKredible 2″ Pack includes 20 NEW polymer clay patterns sheets designs introducing a variety & mix of materials to use along with alcohol inks.
These sheets can be applied in any bead, jewel, or accessory of your choice – flat or curved, small or large.
I implemented my pattern sheets on earrings & beads.
The materials I used are probably already in your polymer clay toolbox, taken from many of my previous classes –
Alcohol inks, chalk pastels, paints, stazon inks, stencils etc.
This class is a new version of my known previous INKredible class, now offering a celebration of exciting, new techniques, encouraging you to use anything on your worktable, along with alcohol inks.
20 patterns came out of my personal laboratory, but the combinations are infinite!
www.polypediaonlineexpress.com/product/complete-inkredibl...
If you are interested in combining these beads in elaborated, impressive Micro Macrame knotting, you are welcome to check out the new "INKredible Macrame" class -
www.polypediaonlineexpress.com/inkredible2-inkredible-mac...
The geothermal areas of Yellowstone include several geyser basins in Yellowstone National Park as well as other geothermal features such as hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles. The number of thermal features in Yellowstone is estimated at 10,000. A study that was completed in 2011 found that a total of 1,283 geysers have erupted in Yellowstone, 465 of which are active during an average year. These are distributed among nine geyser basins, with a few geysers found in smaller thermal areas throughout the Park. The number of geysers in each geyser basin are as follows: Upper Geyser Basin (410), Midway Geyser Basin (59), Lower Geyser Basin (283), Norris Geyser Basin (193), West Thumb Geyser Basin (84), Gibbon Geyser Basin (24), Lone Star Geyser Basin (21), Shoshone Geyser Basin (107), Heart Lake Geyser Basin (69), other areas (33). Although famous large geysers like Old Faithful are part of the total, most of Yellowstone's geysers are small, erupting to only a foot or two. The hydrothermal system that supplies the geysers with hot water sits within an ancient active caldera. Many of the thermal features in Yellowstone build up sinter, geyserite, or travertine deposits around and within them.
The various geyser basins are located where rainwater and snowmelt can percolate into the ground, get indirectly superheated by the underlying Yellowstone hotspot, and then erupt at the surface as geysers, hot springs, and fumaroles. Thus flat-bottomed valleys between ancient lava flows and glacial moraines are where most of the large geothermal areas are located. Smaller geothermal areas can be found where fault lines reach the surface, in places along the circular fracture zone around the caldera, and at the base of slopes that collect excess groundwater. Due to the Yellowstone Plateau's high elevation the average boiling temperature at Yellowstone's geyser basins is 199 °F (93 °C). When properly confined and close to the surface it can periodically release some of the built-up pressure in eruptions of hot water and steam that can reach up to 390 feet (120 m) into the air (see Steamboat Geyser, the world's tallest geyser). Water erupting from Yellowstone's geysers is superheated above that boiling point to an average of 204 °F (95.5 °C) as it leaves the vent. The water cools significantly while airborne and is no longer scalding hot by the time it strikes the ground, nearby boardwalks, or even spectators. Because of the high temperatures of the water in the features it is important that spectators remain on the boardwalks and designated trails. Several deaths have occurred in the park as a result of falls into hot springs.
Prehistoric Native American artifacts have been found at Mammoth Hot Springs and other geothermal areas in Yellowstone. Some accounts state that the early people used hot water from the geothermal features for bathing and cooking. In the 19th century Father Pierre-Jean De Smet reported that natives he interviewed thought that geyser eruptions were "the result of combat between the infernal spirits". The Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled north of the Yellowstone area in 1806. Local natives that they came upon seldom dared to enter what we now know is the caldera because of frequent loud noises that sounded like thunder and the belief that the spirits that possessed the area did not like human intrusion into their realm. The first white man known to travel into the caldera and see the geothermal features was John Colter, who had left the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He described what he saw as "hot spring brimstone". Beaver trapper Joseph Meek recounted in 1830 that the steam rising from the various geyser basins reminded him of smoke coming from industrial smokestacks on a cold winter morning in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the 1850s famed trapper Jim Bridger called it "the place where Hell bubbled up".
The heat that drives geothermal activity in the Yellowstone area comes from brine (salty water) that is 1.5–3 miles (7,900–15,800 ft; 2,400–4,800 m) below the surface. This is actually below the solid volcanic rock and sediment that extends to a depth of 3,000 to 6,000 feet (900 to 1,800 m) and is inside the hot but mostly solid part of the pluton that contains Yellowstone's magma chamber. At that depth the brine is superheated to temperatures that exceed 400 °F (204 °C) but is able to remain a liquid because it is under great pressure (like a huge pressure cooker).
Convection of the churning brine and conduction from surrounding rock transfers heat to an overlaying layer of fresh groundwater. Movement of the two liquids is facilitated by the highly fractured and porous nature of the rocks under the Yellowstone Plateau. Some silica is dissolved from the fractured rhyolite into the hot water as it travels through the fractured rock. Part of this hard mineral is later redeposited on the walls of the cracks and fissures to make a nearly pressure-tight system. Silica precipitates at the surface to form either geyserite or sinter, creating the massive geyser cones, the scalloped edges of hot springs, and the seemingly barren landscape of geyser basins.
There are at least five types of geothermal features found at Yellowstone:
Fumaroles: Fumaroles, or steam vents, are the hottest hydrothermal features in the park. They have so little water that it all flashes into steam before reaching the surface. At places like Roaring Mountain, the result is loud hissing of steam and gases.
Geysers: Geysers such as Old Faithful are a type of geothermal feature that periodically erupt scalding hot water. Increased pressure exerted by the enormous weight of the overlying rock and water prevents deeper water from boiling. As the hot water rises it is under less pressure and steam bubbles form. They, in turn, expand on their ascent until the bubbles are too big and numerous to pass freely through constrictions. At a critical point the confined bubbles actually lift the water above, causing the geyser to splash or overflow. This decreases the pressure of the system and violent boiling results. Large quantities of water flash into tremendous amounts of steam that force a jet of water out of the vent: an eruption begins. Water (and heat) is expelled faster than the geyser's recharge rate, gradually decreasing the system's pressure and eventually ending the eruption.
Hot springs: Hot springs such as Grand Prismatic Spring are the most common hydrothermal features in the park. Their plumbing has no constrictions. Superheated water cools as it reaches the surface, sinks, and is replaced by hotter water from below. This circulation, called convection, prevents water from reaching the temperature needed to set off an eruption. Many hot springs give rise to streams of heated water.
Mudpots: Mudpots such as Fountain Paint Pots are acidic hot springs with a limited water supply. Some microorganisms use hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell), which rises from deep within the earth, as an energy source. They convert the gas into sulfuric acid, which breaks down rock into clay.
Travertine terraces: Travertine terraces, found at Mammoth Hot Springs, are formed from limestone (a rock type made of calcium carbonate). Thermal waters rise through the limestone, carrying high amounts of dissolved carbonate. Carbon dioxide is released at the surface and calcium carbonate deposited as travertine, the chalky white rock of the terraces. These features constantly and quickly change due to the rapid rate of deposition.
Geyser basins
The Norris Geyser Basin 44°43′43″N 110°42′16″W is the hottest geyser basin in the park and is located near the northwest edge of Yellowstone Caldera near Norris Junction and on the intersection of three major faults. The Norris-Mammoth Corridor is a fault that runs from Norris north through Mammoth to the Gardiner, Montana, area. The Hebgen Lake fault runs from northwest of West Yellowstone, Montana, to Norris. This fault experienced an earthquake in 1959 that measured 7.4 on the Richter scale (sources vary on exact magnitude between 7.1 and 7.8; see 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake). Norris Geyser Basin is so hot and dynamic because these two faults intersect with the ring fracture zone that resulted from the creation of the Yellowstone Caldera of 640,000 years ago.
The Basin consists of three main areas: Porcelain Basin, Back Basin, and One Hundred Springs Plain. Unlike most of other geyser basins in the park, the waters from Norris are acidic rather than alkaline (for example, Echinus Geyser has a pH of ~3.5). The difference in pH allows for a different class of bacterial thermophiles to live at Norris, creating different color patterns in and around the Norris Basin waters.
The Ragged Hills that lie between Back Basin and One Hundred Springs Plain are thermally altered glacial kames. As glaciers receded the underlying thermal features began to express themselves once again, melting remnants of the ice and causing masses of debris to be dumped. These debris piles were then altered by steam and hot water flowing through them. Madison lies within the eroded stream channels cut through lava flows formed after the caldera eruption. The Gibbon Falls lies on the caldera boundary as does Virginia Cascades.
Algae on left bacteria on right at the intersection of flows from the Constant & Whirlgig Geysers at Norris Geyser Basin
The tallest active geyser in the world, Steamboat Geyser,[11] is located in Norris Basin. Unlike the slightly smaller but much more famous Old Faithful Geyser located in Upper Geyser Basin, Steamboat has an erratic and lengthy timetable between major eruptions. During major eruptions, which may be separated by intervals of more than a year (the longest recorded span between major eruptions was 50 years), Steamboat erupts over 300 feet (90 m) into the air. Steamboat does not lie dormant between eruptions, instead displaying minor eruptions of approximately 40 feet (12 m).
Norris Geyser Basin periodically undergoes a large-scale, basin-wide thermal disturbance lasting a few weeks. Water levels fluctuate, and temperatures, pH, colors, and eruptive patterns change throughout the basin. During a disturbance in 1985, Porkchop Geyser continually jetted steam and water; in 1989, the same geyser apparently clogged with silica and blew up, throwing rocks more than 200 feet (61 m). In 2003 a park ranger observed it bubbling heavily, the first such activity seen since 1991. Activity increased dramatically in mid-2003. Because of high ground temperatures and new features beside the trail much of Back Basin was closed until October. In 2004 the boardwalk was routed around the dangerous area and now leads behind Porkchop Geyser.
North of Norris, Roaring Mountain is a large, acidic hydrothermal area (solfatara) with many fumaroles. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the number, size, and power of the fumaroles were much greater than today. The fumaroles are most easily seen in the cooler, low-light conditions of morning and evening.
The Gibbon Geyser Basin 44°41′58″N 110°44′34″W includes several thermal areas in the vicinity of the Gibbon River between Gibbon Falls and Norris. The most accessible feature in the basin is Beryl Spring, with a small boardwalk right along the Grand Loop Road. Artists' Paintpots is a small hydrothermal area south of Norris Junction that includes colorful hot springs and two large mudpots.
The Monument Geyser Basin 44°41′03″N 110°45′14″W has no active geysers, but its 'monuments' are siliceous sinter deposits similar to the siliceous spires discovered on the floor of Yellowstone Lake. Scientists hypothesize that this basin's structures formed from a hot water system in a glacially dammed lake during the waning stages of the Pinedale Glaciation. The basin is on a ridge reached by a very steep one-mile (1.6 km) trail south of Artists' Paint Pots. Other areas of thermal activity in Gibbon Geyser Basin lie off-trail.
South of Norris along the rim of the caldera is the Upper Geyser Basin 44°27′52″N 110°49′45″W, which has the highest concentration of geothermal features in the park. This complement of features includes the most famous geyser in the park, Old Faithful Geyser, as well as four other predictable large geysers. One of these large geysers in the area is Castle Geyser which is about 1,400 feet (430 m) northwest of Old Faithful. Castle Geyser has an interval of approximately 13 hours between major eruptions, but is unpredictable after minor eruptions. The other three predictable geysers are Grand Geyser, Daisy Geyser, and Riverside Geyser. Biscuit Basin and Black Sand Basin are also within the boundaries of Upper Geyser Basin.
The hills surrounding Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin are reminders of Quaternary rhyolitic lava flows. These flows, occurring long after the catastrophic eruption of 640,000 years ago, flowed across the landscape like stiff mounds of bread dough due to their high silica content.
Evidence of glacial activity is common, and it is one of the keys that allows geysers to exist. Glacier till deposits underlie the geyser basins providing storage areas for the water used in eruptions. Many landforms, such as Porcupine Hills north of Fountain Flats, are made up of glacial gravel and are reminders that 70,000 to 14,000 years ago, this area was buried under ice.
Signs of the forces of erosion can be seen everywhere, from runoff channels carved across the sinter in the geyser basins to the drainage created by the Firehole River. Mountain building is evident on the drive south of Old Faithful, toward Craig Pass. Here the Rocky Mountains reach a height of 8,262 feet (2,518 m), dividing the country into two distinct watersheds.
Midway Geyser Basin 44°31′04″N 110°49′56″W is much smaller than the other basins found alongside the Firehole River. Despite its small size, it contains two large features, the 200-by-300-foot-wide (60 by 90 m) Excelsior Geyser which pours over 4,000 U.S. gallons (15,000 L; 3,300 imp gal) per minute into the Firehole River. The largest hot spring in Yellowstone, the 370-foot-wide (110 m) and 121-foot-deep (37 m) Grand Prismatic Spring is found here. Also in the basin is Turquoise Pool and Opal Pool.
Lower Geyser Basin
Blue spring with steam rising from it; irregular blotches of red and orange residue are on the banks, along with dead tree trunks.
Silex Spring at Fountain Paint Pot
Farther north is the Lower Geyser Basin 44°32′58″N 110°50′09″W, which is the largest geyser basin in area, covering approximately 11 square miles. Due to its large size, it has a much less concentrated set of geothermal features, including Fountain Paint Pots. Fountain Paint Pots are mud pots, that is, a hot spring that contains boiling mud instead of water. The mud is produced by a higher acidity in the water which enables the spring to dissolve surrounding minerals to create an opaque, usually grey, mud. Also there is Firehole Spring, Celestine Pool, Leather Pool, Red Spouter, Jelly spring, and a number of fumaroles.
Geysers in Lower Geyser Basin include Great Fountain Geyser, whose eruptions reach 100 to 200 feet (30–61 m) in the air, while waves of water cascade down its sinter terraces., the Fountain group of Geysers (Clepsydra Geyser which erupts nearly continuously to heights of 45 feet (14 m), Fountain Geyser, Jelly Geyser, Jet Geyser, Morning Geyser, and Spasm Geyser), the Pink Cone group of geysers (Dilemma Geyser, Labial Geyser, Narcissus Geyser, Pink Geyser, and Pink Cone Geyser), the White Dome group of geysers (Crack Geyser, Gemini Geyser, Pebble Geyser, Rejuvenated Geyser, and White Dome Geyser), as well as Sizzler Geyser.
Clepsydra Geyser erupting. July 2019
Fountain Paint Pots
White Dome Geyser
West Thumb Geyser Basin
Several pools of blue water in ashen rock basin.
West Thumb Geyser Basin
Blackened basin with orange streaks; steam is rising from it with fir trees in the background.
Overflow areas of Silex springs
The West Thumb Geyser Basin 44°25′07″N 110°34′23″W, including Potts Basin to the north, is the largest geyser basin on the shores of Yellowstone Lake. The heat source of the thermal features in this location is thought to be relatively close to the surface, only 10,000 feet (3,000 m) down. West Thumb is about the same size as another famous volcanic caldera, Crater Lake in Oregon, but much smaller than the great Yellowstone Caldera which last erupted about 640,000 years ago. West Thumb is a caldera within a caldera.
West Thumb was created approximately 162,000 years ago when a magma chamber bulged up under the surface of the earth and subsequently cracked it along ring fracture zones. This in turn released the enclosed magma as lava and caused the surface above the emptied magma chamber to collapse. Water later filled the collapsed area of the caldera, forming an extension of Yellowstone Lake. This created the source of heat and water that feed the West Thumb Geyser Basin today.
The thermal features at West Thumb are not only found on the lake shore, but extend under the surface of the lake as well. Several underwater hydrothermal features were discovered in the early 1990s and can be seen as slick spots or slight bulges in the summer. During the winter, the underwater thermal features are visible as melt holes in the icy surface of the lake. The surrounding ice can reach three feet (one yard) in thickness.
Perhaps the most famous hydrothermal feature at West Thumb is a geyser on the lake shore known as Fishing Cone. Walter Trumbull of the 1870 Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition described a unique event while a man was fishing adjacent to the cone: "...in swinging a trout ashore, it accidentally got off the hook and fell into the spring. For a moment it darted about with wonderful rapidity, as if seeking an outlet. Then it came to the top, dead, and literally boiled." Fishing Cone erupted frequently to the height of 40 feet (12 m) in 1919 and to lesser heights in 1939. One fisherman was badly burned in Fishing Cone in 1921. Fishing at the geyser is now prohibited.
Early visitors would arrive at West Thumb via stagecoach from the Old Faithful area. They had a choice of continuing on the stagecoach or boarding the steamship Zillah to continue the journey by water to Lake Hotel. The boat dock was located near the south end of the geyser basin near Lakeside Spring.
Backcountry Geyser Basins
The Heart Lake 44°18′00″N 110°30′56″W, Lone Star 44°24′50″N 110°49′04″W, and Shoshone Geyser Basins 44°21′16″N 110°47′57″W are located away from the road and require at least several miles of hiking to reach. These areas lack the boardwalks and other safety features of the developed areas. As falling into geothermal features can be fatal, it is usually advisable to visit these areas with an experienced guide or at the very least, travelers need to ensure they remain on well-marked trails.
The Heart Lake Geyser Basin contains several groups of geysers and deep blue hot springs near Heart Lake in the south-central portion of Yellowstone, southeast of most of the main geyser basins. Lying in the Snake River watershed east of Lewis Lake and south of Yellowstone Lake, Heart Lake was named sometime before 1871 for Hart Hunney, a hunter. Other explorers in the region incorrectly assumed that the lake's name was spelled 'heart' because of its shape. The Heart Lake Geyser Basin begins a couple miles from the lake and descends along Witch Creek to the lakeshore. Five groups of hydrothermal features comprise the basin, and all of them contain geysers, although some are dormant.
Between Shoshone Lake and Old Faithful is the Lone Star Geyser Basin, of which the primary feature is Lone Star Geyser, named for its isolation from the nearby geysers of the Upper Geyser Basin. The basin is reachable on foot or bicycle via a 3 mile road that is closed to vehicles.
The Shoshone Geyser Basin, reached by hiking or by boat, contains one of the highest concentrations of geysers in the world – more than 80 in an area 1,600 by 800 feet (490 by 240 m). Hot springs and mudpots dot the landscape between the geyser basin and Shoshone Lake.
Hot Spring Basin is located 15 miles (24 km) north-northeast of Fishing Bridge and has one of Yellowstone's largest collections of hot springs and fumaroles. The geothermal features there release large amounts of sulfur. This makes water from the springs so acidic that it has dissolved holes in the pants of people who sit on wet ground and causes mounds of sulfur three feet (1 m) high to develop around fumaroles. The very hot acidic water and steam have also created voids in the ground that are only covered by a thin crust.
Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park adjacent to Fort Yellowstone and the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District. It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day in a solution). Because of the huge amount of geothermal vents, travertine flourishes. Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas.
The thermal features at Mud Volcano and Sulphur Caldron are primarily mud pots and fumaroles because the area is situated on a perched water system with little water available. Fumaroles or "steam vents" occur when the ground water boils away faster than it can be recharged. Also, the vapors are rich in sulfuric acid that leaches the rock, breaking it down into clay. Because no water washes away the acid or leached rock, it remains as sticky clay to form a mud pot. Hydrogen sulfide gas is present deep in the earth at Mud Volcano and is oxidized to sulfuric acid by microbial activity, which dissolves the surface soils to create pools and cones of clay and mud. Along with hydrogen sulfide, steam, carbon dioxide, and other gases explode through the layers of mud.
A series of shallow earthquakes associated with the volcanic activity in Yellowstone struck this area in 1978. Soil temperatures increased to nearly 200 °F (93 °C). The slope between Sizzling Basin and Mud Geyser, once covered with green grass and trees, became a barren landscape of fallen trees known as "the cooking hillside".
Yellowstone National Park is a national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone was the first national park in the U.S. and is also widely held to be the first national park in the world. The park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially the Old Faithful geyser, one of its most popular. While it represents many types of biomes, the subalpine forest is the most abundant. It is part of the South Central Rockies forests ecoregion.
While Native Americans have lived in the Yellowstone region for at least 11,000 years, aside from visits by mountain men during the early-to-mid-19th century, organized exploration did not begin until the late 1860s. Management and control of the park originally fell under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the first Secretary of the Interior to supervise the park being Columbus Delano. However, the U.S. Army was eventually commissioned to oversee the management of Yellowstone for 30 years between 1886 and 1916. In 1917, the administration of the park was transferred to the National Park Service, which had been created the previous year. Hundreds of structures have been built and are protected for their architectural and historical significance, and researchers have examined more than a thousand archaeological sites.
Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468.4 sq mi (8,983 km2), comprising lakes, canyons, rivers, and mountain ranges. Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-elevation lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest super volcano on the continent. The caldera is considered a dormant volcano. It has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years. Well over half of the world's geysers and hydrothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism. Lava flows and rocks from volcanic eruptions cover most of the land area of Yellowstone. The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining nearly intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone. In 1978, Yellowstone was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians have been documented, including several that are either endangered or threatened. The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Yellowstone Park is the largest and most famous megafauna location in the contiguous United States. Grizzly bears, cougars, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in this park. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States. Forest fires occur in the park each year; in the large forest fires of 1988, nearly one-third of the park was burnt. Yellowstone has numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing, and sightseeing. Paved roads provide close access to the major geothermal areas as well as some of the lakes and waterfalls. During the winter, visitors often access the park by way of guided tours that use either snow coaches or snowmobiles.
Teton County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 23,331. Its county seat is Jackson. Its west boundary line is also the Wyoming state boundary shared with Idaho and the southern tip of Montana. Teton County is part of the Jackson, WY-ID Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Teton County contains the Jackson Hole ski area, all of Grand Teton National Park, and 40.4% of Yellowstone National Park's total area, including over 96.6% of its water area (largely in Yellowstone Lake).
Wyoming is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the south. With a population of 576,851 in 2020, Wyoming is the least populous state despite being the 10th largest by area, with the second-lowest population density after Alaska. The state capital and most populous city is Cheyenne, which had an estimated population of 63,957 in 2018.
Wyoming's western half consists mostly of the ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains; its eastern half consists of high-elevation prairie, and is referred to as the High Plains. Wyoming's climate is semi-arid in some parts and continental in others, making it drier and windier overall than other states, with greater temperature extremes. The federal government owns just under half of Wyoming's land, generally protecting it for public uses. The state ranks sixth in the amount of land—-and fifth in the proportion of its land—-that is owned by the federal government. Its federal lands include two national parks (Grand Teton and Yellowstone), two national recreation areas, two national monuments, and several national forests, as well as historic sites, fish hatcheries, and wildlife refuges.
Indigenous peoples inhabited the region for thousands of years. Historic and currently federally recognized tribes include the Arapaho, Crow, Lakota, and Shoshone. Part of the land that is now Wyoming came under American sovereignty via the Louisiana Purchase, part via the Oregon Treaty, and, lastly, via the Mexican Cession. With the opening of the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the California Trail, vast numbers of pioneers travelled through parts of the state that had once been traversed mainly by fur trappers, and this spurred the establishment of forts, such as Fort Laramie, that today serve as population centers. The Transcontinental Railroad supplanted the wagon trails in 1867 with a route through southern Wyoming, bringing new settlers and the establishment of founding towns, including the state capital of Cheyenne. On March 27, 1890, Wyoming became the union's 44th state.
Farming and ranching, and the attendant range wars, feature prominently in the state's history. Today, Wyoming's economy is largely based on tourism and the extraction of minerals such as coal, natural gas, oil, and trona. Its agricultural commodities include barley, hay, livestock, sugar beets, wheat, and wool.
Wyoming was the first state to allow women the right to vote (not counting New Jersey, which had allowed it until 1807), and the right to assume elected office, as well as the first state to elect a female governor. In honor of this part of its history, its most common nickname is "The Equality State" and its official state motto is "Equal Rights". It is among the least religious states in the country, and is known for having a political culture that leans towards libertarian conservatism. The Republican presidential nominee has carried the state in every election since 1968.
City Palace, Jaipur, which includes the Chandra Mahal and Mubarak Mahal palaces and other buildings, is a palace complex in Jaipur, the capital of the Rajasthan state, India. It was the seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur, the head of the Kachwaha Rajput clan. The Chandra Mahal palace now houses a museum but the greatest part of it is still a royal residence. The palace complex, which is located northeast of the centre of the grid patterned Jaipur city, incorporates an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. The palace was built between 1729 and 1732, initially by Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber. He planned and built the outer walls, and later additions were made by successive rulers right up to the 20th century. The credit for the urban layout of the city and its structures is attributed to two architects namely, Vidyadar Bhattacharya, the chief architect in the royal court and Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, apart from the Sawai himself who was a keen architectural enthusiast. The architects achieved a fusion of the Shilpa Shastra of Indian architecture with Rajput, Mughal and European styles of architecture.
The palace complex lies in the heart of Jaipur city, to the northeast of the very centre. The site for the palace was located on the site of a royal hunting lodge on a plain land encircled by a rocky hill range, five miles south of Amber (city). The history of the city palace is closely linked with the history of Jaipur city and its rulers, starting with Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II who ruled from 1699-1744. He is credited with initiating construction of the city complex by building the outer wall of the complex spreading over many acres. Initially, he ruled from his capital at Amber, which lies at a distance of 11 kilometres from Jaipur. He shifted his capital from Amber to Jaipur in 1727 because of an increase in population and increasing water shortage. He planned Jaipur city in six blocks separated by broad avenues, on the classical basis of principals of Vastushastra and other similar classical treatise under the architectural guidance of Vidyadar Bhattacharya, a man who was initially an accounts-clerk in the Amber treasury and later promoted to the office of Chief Architect by the King.
Following Jaisingh's death in 1744, there were internecine wars among the Rajput kings of the region but cordial relations were maintained with the British Raj. Maharaja Ram Singh sided with the British in the Sepoy Mutiny or Uprising of 1857 and established himself with the Imperial rulers. It is to his credit that the city of Jaipur including all of its monuments (including the City Palace) are stucco painted 'Pink' and since then the city has been called the "Pink City". The change in colour scheme was as an honour of hospitality extended to the Prince of Wales (who later became King Edward VII) on his visit. This colour scheme has since then become a trademark of the Jaipur city.
Man Singh II, the adopted son of Maharaja Madho Singh II, was the last Maharaja of Jaipur to rule from the Chandra Mahal palace, in Jaipur. This palace, however, continued to be a residence of the royal family even after the Jaipur kingdom merged with the Indian Union in 1949 (after Indian independence in August 1947) along with other Rajput states of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner. Jaipur became the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan and Man Singh II had the distinction of becoming the Rajapramukh (present day Governor of the state) for a time and later was the Ambassador of India to Spain.
Oncidium is a large, diverse group of plants that includes over 600 species! Flower displays in this group are among the most dramatic in the orchid world. The colors range from bright yellow to bronze, white with pink and glittering shades of dark red. Some have hundreds of blooms on flower spikes over 4ft long!
Early explorers were spellbound by fields of golden yellow, doll-like flowers moving gracefully in the wind. So the fiirst Oncidiums were called "The Dancing Lady", in honor of the beautiful, exotic dancers of Ceylon ( Sri Lanka).
Because Oncidiums grow in many different habitats, they seem to be more accomodating in their growing requirements than most orchids. Most are excellent plants for "northern" growers whose temperatures are cooler during winter months.
Oncidiums don't like wet feet. In their natural habitat they are epiphytic (air plants) that grow on rocks or in trees - never in the ground. That's why you'll often see active roots growing above the pot. Nature has also equipped Oncidiums with a "storage tank" at the base of each growth called a pseudobulb. These pseudobulbs provide water to the plant during long dry periods between rain showers.
To prevent overwatering, Oncidium are usually planted in a coarse, fast draining media. This can make correct watering a challenge. As the water quickly runs through the pot, how can you be sure the plant is getting anything? Soaking the root system at the sink or in a bucket of water is the only way. This is time consuming when you have more than a couple of plants. And if you water too often, the roots will rot quickly. But it's well worth it.
Oncidium Sharry Baby, Orchid Show, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, FL
The Wind Sensor Set includes Onset's research-grade plug-and-play Wind Speed Smart Sensor and the Wind Direction Smart Sensor. This combination provides average wind speed, highest three-second wind gust and average wind direction for the measurement interval. These durable sensors will provide many years of accurate and reliable performance.
Hundreds of guests turned out to view the works of College of DuPage Photography students and local high school students at “Exposed,” the Photography program’s second annual student showcase. The event included a variety of work, including architectural, studio photography, fine art and portraiture. High school winners include Clare Pikul, first place, Downers Grove South High School; Carolin STasica, second place, York High School; Alessandra Lane, third place, Downers Grove South High School; and Madison Casey, honorable mention, Downers Grove South High School. College winners include: Lauren Laws, Best of Show; and Ethan Chivari, Meghan Daley and Susan Krpan, Juror’s Selections.
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten, Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman (SEAC) Ramon "CZ" Colon-Lopez and USO entertainers, tour Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska during the annual Vice Chairman’s USO Tour, March 2, 2020. Hyten, along with USO entertainers, will be visiting service members at various locations throughout the nation. This year’s entertainers include comedians Scott Armstrong and Matt Walsh, actor Brad Morris, country music band LoCash, MMA Fighter Illima-Lei Macfarlane and DJ J. Dayz (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II)
Week 4's theme was “Butterfly Bonanza.” The Polar Bears and Penguins created and decorated magnetic butterfly memo clips. In Ceramics, the campers enjoyed painting their clay hands and foot prints. All your
children’s projects will be sent home shortly. We are so excited for all the progress the children have made in swimming. The swim reports will be sent home at the end of the summer.
With the weather extremely hot, we changed our schedule to include more indoor activities. This helped both the campers and counselors stay as cool as possible. Of course, we added additional swim periods and encouraged lots of water breaks to help everyone beat the heat.
Both groups have started practicing their “Puttin’ on the Hits” dances. The children are excited about performing in front of the whole camp at the Best of “Puttin’ on the Hits.” The Polar Bears are dancing to “Magic” by B.O.B. and the Penguins are grooving to “Move It” by Baha Men. We will make sure to capture these memories.
Willow Grove Day Camp provides summer fun for kids who live in Willow Grove, Abington, Blue Bell, Hatboro, Horsham, Huntingdon Valley, Lafayette Hill, Philadelphia, Plymouth Meeting, Southampton and the surrounding areas. For more information on Willow Grove Day Camp and the services they provide please visit: www.willowgrovedaycamp.com
Some historic buildings in Snowtown include:
1.The old butcher shop and bakery. It began in 1889 in a small shop. New section with classical pediment built in 1910 after a major fire. The old classical style shops east of it were built as a general store in 1889. After the 1909 fire the large general store was rebuilt in 1909in its original classical style. This drapery general store closed in 1933. It was used by the Girl Guides but is now vacant and fronted with ugly galvanised iron.
2.The former English Scottish and Australia Bank with triple window in gable. Built 1893. Was an ANZ bank in the 1970s now a residence.
3.The town shops built in 1924. The site was used for the first flourmill built in 1879. It closed in 1911 and was demolished in 1923 for the shops.
4.The Institute Library was built on the corner in 1881 and the new War Memorial Hall was added to it in 1924. The Institute entrance opened in 1885. Presbyterian Church services 1886 and Lodge services etc were held here.
5.The Savings Bank of South Australia 1956. Built in ultra-modern style. Used for storing bodies in the barrel murders.
6.The Snowtown Hotel. Built in 1880 with two storeys. In 1913 extended lengths ways. Detour here to see the old bakery and go around the block.
7.The old bakery on the corner of High Street East. The low pug house behind the shop was built in 1890. The building in front on the street was built as a shop around 1900 and then used as a Plymouth Brethren Church. It subsequently became a bakery.
8.Snowtown IGA. This was branch 43 of Eudunda Farmers. Eudundas opened in 1939 in a former old general store built in 1902. This was modernised around 1960. The Eudundas store closed 1985.
9.The Police Station (was built in 1883) now replaced and next to it the old Post Office on the corner also built in 1883. The gable section was added around 1910.
10.The Independent Order of Oddfellows Hall. The Lodge was established in 1881 and the lodge building opened in 1910. Note the lack of windows.
Robert Herrick (baptised 24 August 1591 – buried 15 October 1674[1]) was a 17th-century English lyric poet and cleric. He is best known for his book of poems, Hesperides. This includes the carpe diem poem To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time, with the first line Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.
Born in Cheapside, London, he was the seventh child and fourth son of Julia Stone and Nicholas Herrick, a prosperous goldsmith.[2] His father died in a fall from a fourth-floor window in November 1592, when Robert was a year old (whether this was suicide remains unclear).[3] The tradition that Herrick received his education at Westminster is based on the words "beloved Westminster" in his poem Tears to Thamesis, but the allusion is to the city, not the school.[4] It is more likely that (like his uncle's children) he attended The Merchant Taylors' School. In 1607 he became apprenticed to his uncle, Sir William Herrick, who was a goldsmith and jeweler to the king. The apprenticeship ended after only six years when Herrick, at age twenty-two, matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge. He later migrated to Trinity Hall graduating in 1617.[5] Robert Herrick became a member of the Sons of Ben, a group centered upon an admiration for the works of Ben Jonson.[3] Herrick wrote at least five poems to Jonson. Herrick was ordained in 1623 and in 1629 became the vicar of Dean Prior in Devonshire.[2]
Civil War[edit]
In 1647, in the wake of the English Civil War, Herrick was ejected from his vicarage for refusing the Solemn League and Covenant.[6] He then returned to London, living in Westminster and depending on the charity of his friends and family. He spent some time preparing his lyric poems for publication, and had them printed in 1648 under the title Hesperides; or the Works both Human and Divine of Robert Herrick, with a dedication to the Prince of Wales.
Restoration and later life[edit]
When King Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, Herrick petitioned for his own restoration to his living. Perhaps King Charles felt kindly towards this genial man, who had written verses celebrating the births of both Charles II and his brother James before the Civil War. Herrick became the vicar of Dean Prior again in the summer of 1662 and lived there until his death in October 1674, at the age of 83. His date of death is not known, but he was buried on 15 October. Herrick was a bachelor all his life, and many of the women he names in his poems are thought to be fictional.[7]
Poetic style and stature[edit]
Title page of Hesperides (1648)
Main article: Hesperides (poetry)
Herrick wrote over 2,500 poems, about half of which appear in his major work, Hesperides.[6] Hesperides also includes the much shorter Noble Numbers, his first book, of spiritual works, first published in 1647. He is well known for his style and, in his earlier works, for frequent references to lovemaking and the female body. His later poetry was more of a spiritual and philosophical nature. Among his most famous short poetical sayings are the unique monometers, such as number 475, "Thus I / Pass by / And die,/ As one / Unknown / And gone."
Herrick sets out his subject-matter in the poem he printed at the beginning of his collection, The Argument of his Book. He dealt with English country life and its seasons, village customs, complimentary poems to various ladies and his friends, themes taken from classical writings and a solid bedrock of Christian faith, not intellectualized but underpinning the rest. It has been said of Herrick's style 'his directness of speech with clear and simple presentation of thought, a fine artist working with conscious knowledge of his art, of an England of his youth in which he lives and moves and loves, clearly assigns him to the first place as a lyrical poet in the strict and pure sense of the phrase'.[8]
Herrick never married, and none of his love-poems seem to connect directly with any one woman. He loved the richness of sensuality and the variety of life, and this is shown vividly in such poems as Cherry-ripe, Delight in Disorder and Upon Julia’s Clothes.
The over-riding message of Herrick’s work is that life is short, the world is beautiful, love is splendid, and we must use the short time we have to make the most of it. This message can be seen clearly in To the Virgins, to make much of Time; To Daffodils; To Blossoms; and Corinna going a-Maying, where the warmth and exuberance of what seems to have been a kindly and jovial personality comes over strongly.
Gather Ye rosebuds While Ye May, by John William Waterhouse, (1909)
The opening stanza in one of his more famous poems, "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", is as follows:
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.
This poem is an example of the carpe diem genre; the popularity of Herrick's poems of this kind helped revive the genre.
His poems were not widely popular at the time they were published. His style was strongly influenced by Ben Jonson, by the classical Roman writers, and by the poems of the late Elizabethan era. This must have seemed quite old-fashioned to an audience whose tastes were tuned to the complexities of the metaphysical poets such as John Donne and Andrew Marvell. His works were rediscovered in the early nineteenth century, and have been regularly printed ever since.[9]
The Victorian poet Swinburne described Herrick as "the greatest song writer ever born of English race".[10] Despite his use of classical allusions and names, Herrick's poems are easier for modern readers to understand than those of many of his contemporaries.
Works[edit]
Herrick,Robert & Pulgrave F .T .(ed) A Selection of Lyrical poems, ISBN 1419103199, Kindle ebook May 2012
In fiction[edit]
Robert Herrick is a major character in Rose Macaulay's 1932 historical novel, They Were Defeated.
In Ken Bruen's debut noir crime novel Rilke on Black, Herrick's two-line poem "Dreams" is a favorite of the protagonist, Nick.
Robert Herrick is one of many historical characters in the alternate history series 1632.
Rizokarpaso (Greek: Ριζοκάρπασο [locally [rizˑoˈkar̥paso]]; Turkish: Dipkarpaz) is a town on the Karpas Peninsula in the Northeastern part of Cyprus. While nominally part of the Famagusta District of the Republic of Cyprus, it has been under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus since the illegal Turkish invasion of the island in 1974, being administered as part of the İskele District.
Rizokarpaso is one of the largest towns on the peninsula. Soil near the town consists of terra fusca, which is very fertile. Local crops include carob, cotton, tobacco, and grain. The town's surroundings are renowned for being the wildest and one of the most unspoilt parts of the island. The municipality's territory features the Karpaz National Park, home to the Karpass donkey and some of the finest beaches of the island.
The economy is primarily based on agriculture, husbandry, and fisheries. Since 2000, the town has embraced the concept of eco-tourism, and converted old traditional village houses into guesthouses in traditional styles. The area lacks any industrial plants.
Two kilometres north of the town of Rizokarpaso lies the Ayfilon Beach, administered by the municipality as a public beach. The beach takes its name from the Ayios Philon Church in the ancient town of Karpasia, which is located 500 metres away. The beach is a breeding ground for loggerhead sea turtles, and is as such a center of attention for conservationists. It is also billed in tourist guides as a "spot to watch sunsets". It hosts an annual festival dedicated to sea turtles in August featuring concerts, release of turtle hatchlings, beach clean-ups, and other environmental awareness activities on the beach.
The Rizokarpaso area contains some of the earliest inhabited places in the island. These include the ancient cities of Karpasia and Aphendrika. It was the seat of one of the largest Lusignan baronies.
In 1222, the Lusignan dynasty ruling the Kingdom of Cyprus, together with the Latin nobility, decided that the traditional Greek Cypriot bishoprics in the urban centres would be abolished. Karpasia was one of the only four Greek bishoprics in the island that were allowed to continue to function (together with Solea, Arsinoe and Lefkara), and in practice subsumed the Bishopric of Famagusta, as the Bishop of Famagusta was sent to Rizokarpaso and continued his work in St. Synesios, the main Orthodox church in the region. This arrangement was formalised by the Bulla Cypria, a papal bull issued by Pope Alexander IV in 1260. Despite the official assignment of the bishopric to Karpasia, by then the town had lost the importance it held in the Late Antique period, and it is thought to be "probable" that by 1260 the bishops did not really reside in Karpasia but kept on operating from Famagusta. According to Stefano Lusignan, the town of Rizokarpaso became a part of the feudal estate of the de Nores family, until James II of Cyprus revoked Gauthier de Nores' rights due to his support of Queen Charlotte, James' opponent.
The town has two churches: St. Synesios and the church of the Holy Trinity. They are examples of the typical Cypriot mixed style, combining features of the late Gothic introduced by the Lusignans with the late Byzantine style of the Orthodox tradition. These are two of the few Christian churches to operate in the northern part of Cyprus, and has allegedly had services stopped by the Turkish Cypriot police.
Rizokarpaso is partly located in the ancient city of Karpasia on the West coast, according to legend founded by king Pygmalion.
Before 1974, the town was predominantly inhabited by Greek-Cypriots. During the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on 20 July 1974, the peninsula was cut off by Turkish troops, and this prevented the town's Greek-Cypriot inhabitants from fleeing to the south. As a result, with 250 Greek Cypriot inhabitants, Rizokarpaso is the home of the biggest Greek population in the North. Between 1974 and 1985, however, around 2500 Greek Cypriots left the village. Although the Greek-Cypriot population is now mainly elderly and shrinking in size, they are still supplied by the UN, and Greek-Cypriot products are consequently available in some places. The town was captured by the Turkish Army during the early days of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
In 1977, Turkish settlers were brought from different areas of Turkey, including Kars, Muş, Diyarbakır and Ağrı in the Eastern Anatolia Region, Mersin and Adana in the Mediterranean Region and Akkuş, Çarşamba, Akçaabat, Sürmene, Araklı and Trabzon in the Black Sea Region. In the 21st century, some Turkish Cypriots and Europeans also bought properties in the village and are now its residents.
The town has a Turkish Cypriot municipality, whose current mayor is Suphi Coşkun from the Republican Turkish Party. Coşkun won the post in 2014, by winning over 50% of the votes and beating his predecessor, Mehmet Demirci of the National Unity Party.
Turkish Cypriot Dipkarpaz Sports Club was founded in 1978; its football team in 2015 played in Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA) K-PET 2nd League. Education in the town includes a primary school and the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Secondary School. The town hosts some small touristic facilities. Twenty kilometres east lies the Golden Beach, a pristine 4 km long beach, and the Apostolos Andreas Monastery.
Rizokarpaso is twinned with:
Turkey Ankara, Turkey (since 1986)
Turkey Pendik, Istanbul, Turkey (since 1986)
Azerbaijan Yasamal, Baku, Azerbaijan (since 2005)
Turkey Ardeşen, Rize, Turkey
Turkey Tatvan, Bitlis, Turkey
Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.
Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides.
A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.
Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with the support and approval of the TRNC government, while the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union as a whole, and the international community regard it as an occupation force. This military presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are mostly moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", PACE under the name "Turkish Cypriot Community", and Organization of Turkic States with its own name.
Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.
Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the late nineteenth-century and the first half of the twentieth-century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.
The repeated rejections by the British of Greek Cypriot demands for enosis, union with Greece, led to armed resistance, organised by the National Organization of Cypriot Struggle, or EOKA. EOKA, led by the Greek-Cypriot commander George Grivas, systematically targeted British colonial authorities. One of the effects of EOKA's campaign was to alter the Turkish position from demanding full reincorporation into Turkey to a demand for taksim (partition). EOKA's mission and activities caused a "Cretan syndrome" (see Turkish Resistance Organisation) within the Turkish Cypriot community, as its members feared that they would be forced to leave the island in such a case as had been the case with Cretan Turks. As such, they preferred the continuation of British colonial rule and then taksim, the division of the island. Due to the Turkish Cypriots' support for the British, EOKA's leader, Georgios Grivas, declared them to be enemies. The fact that the Turks were a minority was, according to Nihat Erim, to be addressed by the transfer of thousands of Turks from mainland Turkey so that Greek Cypriots would cease to be the majority. When Erim visited Cyprus as the Turkish representative, he was advised by Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the then Governor of Cyprus, that Turkey should send educated Turks to settle in Cyprus.
Turkey actively promoted the idea that on the island of Cyprus two distinctive communities existed, and sidestepped its former claim that "the people of Cyprus were all Turkish subjects". In doing so, Turkey's aim to have self-determination of two to-be equal communities in effect led to de jure partition of the island.[citation needed] This could be justified to the international community against the will of the majority Greek population of the island. Dr. Fazil Küçük in 1954 had already proposed Cyprus be divided in two at the 35° parallel.
Lindley Dan, from Notre Dame University, spotted the roots of intercommunal violence to different visions among the two communities of Cyprus (enosis for Greek Cypriots, taksim for Turkish Cypriots). Also, Lindlay wrote that "the merging of church, schools/education, and politics in divisive and nationalistic ways" had played a crucial role in creation of havoc in Cyprus' history. Attalides Michael also pointed to the opposing nationalisms as the cause of the Cyprus problem.
By the mid-1950's, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey. In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise". This perspective contributed to the willingness of Turkish Cypriots to align themselves with the British, who started recruiting Turkish Cypriots into the police force that patrolled Cyprus to fight EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that sought to rid the island of British rule.
EOKA targeted colonial authorities, including police, but Georgios Grivas, the leader of EOKA, did not initially wish to open up a new front by fighting Turkish Cypriots and reassured them that EOKA would not harm their people. In 1956, some Turkish Cypriot policemen were killed by EOKA members and this provoked some intercommunal violence in the spring and summer, but these attacks on policemen were not motivated by the fact that they were Turkish Cypriots.
However, in January 1957, Grivas changed his policy as his forces in the mountains became increasingly pressured by the British Crown forces. In order to divert the attention of the Crown forces, EOKA members started to target Turkish Cypriot policemen intentionally in the towns, so that Turkish Cypriots would riot against the Greek Cypriots and the security forces would have to be diverted to the towns to restore order. The killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman on 19 January, when a power station was bombed, and the injury of three others, provoked three days of intercommunal violence in Nicosia. The two communities targeted each other in reprisals, at least one Greek Cypriot was killed and the British Army was deployed in the streets. Greek Cypriot stores were burned and their neighbourhoods attacked. Following the events, the Greek Cypriot leadership spread the propaganda that the riots had merely been an act of Turkish Cypriot aggression. Such events created chaos and drove the communities apart both in Cyprus and in Turkey.
On 22 October 1957 Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot replaced Sir John Harding as the British Governor of Cyprus. Foot suggested five to seven years of self-government before any final decision. His plan rejected both enosis and taksim. The Turkish Cypriot response to this plan was a series of anti-British demonstrations in Nicosia on 27 and 28 January 1958 rejecting the proposed plan because the plan did not include partition. The British then withdrew the plan.
In 1957, Black Gang, a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation, was formed to patrol a Turkish Cypriot enclave, the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, against activities of EOKA. The organisation later attempted to grow into a national scale, but failed to gain public support.
By 1958, signs of dissatisfaction with the British increased on both sides, with a group of Turkish Cypriots forming Volkan (later renamed to the Turkish Resistance Organisation) paramilitary group to promote partition and the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as dictated by the Menderes plan. Volkan initially consisted of roughly 100 members, with the stated aim of raising awareness in Turkey of the Cyprus issue and courting military training and support for Turkish Cypriot fighters from the Turkish government.
In June 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, was expected to propose a plan to resolve the Cyprus issue. In light of the new development, the Turks rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned shops and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of the segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing, Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On 26 June 1984, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On 9 January 1995, Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.
The crisis reached a climax on 12 June 1958, when eight Greeks, out of an armed group of thirty five arrested by soldiers of the Royal Horse Guards on suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura, were killed in a suspected attack by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos.
After the EOKA campaign had begun, the British government successfully began to turn the Cyprus issue from a British colonial problem into a Greek-Turkish issue. British diplomacy exerted backstage influence on the Adnan Menderes government, with the aim of making Turkey active in Cyprus. For the British, the attempt had a twofold objective. The EOKA campaign would be silenced as quickly as possible, and Turkish Cypriots would not side with Greek Cypriots against the British colonial claims over the island, which would thus remain under the British. The Turkish Cypriot leadership visited Menderes to discuss the Cyprus issue. When asked how the Turkish Cypriots should respond to the Greek Cypriot claim of enosis, Menderes replied: "You should go to the British foreign minister and request the status quo be prolonged, Cyprus to remain as a British colony". When the Turkish Cypriots visited the British Foreign Secretary and requested for Cyprus to remain a colony, he replied: "You should not be asking for colonialism at this day and age, you should be asking for Cyprus be returned to Turkey, its former owner".
As Turkish Cypriots began to look to Turkey for protection, Greek Cypriots soon understood that enosis was extremely unlikely. The Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios III, now set independence for the island as his objective.
Britain resolved to solve the dispute by creating an independent Cyprus. In 1959, all involved parties signed the Zurich Agreements: Britain, Turkey, Greece, and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, respectively. The new constitution drew heavily on the ethnic composition of the island. The President would be a Greek Cypriot, and the Vice-President a Turkish Cypriot with an equal veto. The contribution to the public service would be set at a ratio of 70:30, and the Supreme Court would consist of an equal number of judges from both communities as well as an independent judge who was not Greek, Turkish or British. The Zurich Agreements were supplemented by a number of treaties. The Treaty of Guarantee stated that secession or union with any state was forbidden, and that Greece, Turkey and Britain would be given guarantor status to intervene if that was violated. The Treaty of Alliance allowed for two small Greek and Turkish military contingents to be stationed on the island, and the Treaty of Establishment gave Britain sovereignty over two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
On 15 August 1960, the Colony of Cyprus became fully independent as the Republic of Cyprus. The new republic remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.
The new constitution brought dissatisfaction to Greek Cypriots, who felt it to be highly unjust for them for historical, demographic and contributional reasons. Although 80% of the island's population were Greek Cypriots and these indigenous people had lived on the island for thousands of years and paid 94% of taxes, the new constitution was giving the 17% of the population that was Turkish Cypriots, who paid 6% of taxes, around 30% of government jobs and 40% of national security jobs.
Within three years tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. A constitutional court ruled in 1963 Makarios had failed to uphold article 173 of the constitution which called for the establishment of separate municipalities for Turkish Cypriots. Makarios subsequently declared his intention to ignore the judgement, resulting in the West German judge resigning from his position. Makarios proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution, which would have had the effect of resolving most of the issues in the Greek Cypriot favour. Under the proposals, the President and Vice-President would lose their veto, the separate municipalities as sought after by the Turkish Cypriots would be abandoned, the need for separate majorities by both communities in passing legislation would be discarded and the civil service contribution would be set at actual population ratios (82:18) instead of the slightly higher figure for Turkish Cypriots.
The intention behind the amendments has long been called into question. The Akritas plan, written in the height of the constitutional dispute by the Greek Cypriot interior minister Polycarpos Georkadjis, called for the removal of undesirable elements of the constitution so as to allow power-sharing to work. The plan envisaged a swift retaliatory attack on Turkish Cypriot strongholds should Turkish Cypriots resort to violence to resist the measures, stating "In the event of a planned or staged Turkish attack, it is imperative to overcome it by force in the shortest possible time, because if we succeed in gaining command of the situation (in one or two days), no outside, intervention would be either justified or possible." Whether Makarios's proposals were part of the Akritas plan is unclear, however it remains that sentiment towards enosis had not completely disappeared with independence. Makarios described independence as "a step on the road to enosis".[31] Preparations for conflict were not entirely absent from Turkish Cypriots either, with right wing elements still believing taksim (partition) the best safeguard against enosis.
Greek Cypriots however believe the amendments were a necessity stemming from a perceived attempt by Turkish Cypriots to frustrate the working of government. Turkish Cypriots saw it as a means to reduce their status within the state from one of co-founder to that of minority, seeing it as a first step towards enosis. The security situation deteriorated rapidly.
Main articles: Bloody Christmas (1963) and Battle of Tillyria
An armed conflict was triggered after December 21, 1963, a period remembered by Turkish Cypriots as Bloody Christmas, when a Greek Cypriot policemen that had been called to help deal with a taxi driver refusing officers already on the scene access to check the identification documents of his customers, took out his gun upon arrival and shot and killed the taxi driver and his partner. Eric Solsten summarised the events as follows: "a Greek Cypriot police patrol, ostensibly checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed."
In the morning after the shooting, crowds gathered in protest in Northern Nicosia, likely encouraged by the TMT, without incident. On the evening of the 22nd, gunfire broke out, communication lines to the Turkish neighbourhoods were cut, and the Greek Cypriot police occupied the nearby airport. On the 23rd, a ceasefire was negotiated, but did not hold. Fighting, including automatic weapons fire, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and militias increased in Nicosia and Larnaca. A force of Greek Cypriot irregulars led by Nikos Sampson entered the Nicosia suburb of Omorphita and engaged in heavy firing on armed, as well as by some accounts unarmed, Turkish Cypriots. The Omorphita clash has been described by Turkish Cypriots as a massacre, while this view has generally not been acknowledged by Greek Cypriots.
Further ceasefires were arranged between the two sides, but also failed. By Christmas Eve, the 24th, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had joined talks, with all sides calling for a truce. On Christmas day, Turkish fighter jets overflew Nicosia in a show of support. Finally it was agreed to allow a force of 2,700 British soldiers to help enforce a ceasefire. In the next days, a "buffer zone" was created in Nicosia, and a British officer marked a line on a map with green ink, separating the two sides of the city, which was the beginning of the "Green Line". Fighting continued across the island for the next several weeks.
In total 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the violence. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 103-109 villages fled and were displaced into enclaves and thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were ransacked or completely destroyed.
Contemporary newspapers also reported on the forceful exodus of the Turkish Cypriots from their homes. According to The Times in 1964, threats, shootings and attempts of arson were committed against the Turkish Cypriots to force them out of their homes. The Daily Express wrote that "25,000 Turks have already been forced to leave their homes". The Guardian reported a massacre of Turks at Limassol on 16 February 1964.
Turkey had by now readied its fleet and its fighter jets appeared over Nicosia. Turkey was dissuaded from direct involvement by the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Despite the negotiated ceasefire in Nicosia, attacks on the Turkish Cypriot persisted, particularly in Limassol. Concerned about the possibility of a Turkish invasion, Makarios undertook the creation of a Greek Cypriot conscript-based army called the "National Guard". A general from Greece took charge of the army, whilst a further 20,000 well-equipped officers and men were smuggled from Greece into Cyprus. Turkey threatened to intervene once more, but was prevented by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson, anxious to avoid a conflict between NATO allies Greece and Turkey at the height of the Cold War.
Turkish Cypriots had by now established an important bridgehead at Kokkina, provided with arms, volunteers and materials from Turkey and abroad. Seeing this incursion of foreign weapons and troops as a major threat, the Cypriot government invited George Grivas to return from Greece as commander of the Greek troops on the island and launch a major attack on the bridgehead. Turkey retaliated by dispatching its fighter jets to bomb Greek positions, causing Makarios to threaten an attack on every Turkish Cypriot village on the island if the bombings did not cease. The conflict had now drawn in Greece and Turkey, with both countries amassing troops on their Thracian borders. Efforts at mediation by Dean Acheson, a former U.S. Secretary of State, and UN-appointed mediator Galo Plaza had failed, all the while the division of the two communities becoming more apparent. Greek Cypriot forces were estimated at some 30,000, including the National Guard and the large contingent from Greece. Defending the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was a force of approximately 5,000 irregulars, led by a Turkish colonel, but lacking the equipment and organisation of the Greek forces.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1964, U Thant, reported the damage during the conflicts:
UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting.
The situation worsened in 1967, when a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Greece, and began applying pressure on Makarios to achieve enosis. Makarios, not wishing to become part of a military dictatorship or trigger a Turkish invasion, began to distance himself from the goal of enosis. This caused tensions with the junta in Greece as well as George Grivas in Cyprus. Grivas's control over the National Guard and Greek contingent was seen as a threat to Makarios's position, who now feared a possible coup.[citation needed] The National Guard and Cyprus Police began patrolling the Turkish Cypriot enclaves of Ayios Theodoros and Kophinou, and on November 15 engaged in heavy fighting with the Turkish Cypriots.
By the time of his withdrawal 26 Turkish Cypriots had been killed. Turkey replied with an ultimatum demanding that Grivas be removed from the island, that the troops smuggled from Greece in excess of the limits of the Treaty of Alliance be removed, and that the economic blockades on the Turkish Cypriot enclaves be lifted. Grivas was recalled by the Athens Junta and the 12,000 Greek troops were withdrawn. Makarios now attempted to consolidate his position by reducing the number of National Guard troops, and by creating a paramilitary force loyal to Cypriot independence. In 1968, acknowledging that enosis was now all but impossible, Makarios stated, "A solution by necessity must be sought within the limits of what is feasible which does not always coincide with the limits of what is desirable."
After 1967 tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an 'attainable solution', many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspiration for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece.
On his arrival, Grivas began by establishing a nationalist paramilitary group known as the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B or EOKA-B), drawing comparisons with the EOKA struggle for enosis under the British colonial administration of the 1950s.
The military junta in Athens saw Makarios as an obstacle. Makarios's failure to disband the National Guard, whose officer class was dominated by mainland Greeks, had meant the junta had practical control over the Cypriot military establishment, leaving Makarios isolated and a vulnerable target.
During the first Turkish invasion, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus territory on 20 July 1974, invoking its rights under the Treaty of Guarantee. This expansion of Turkish-occupied zone violated International Law as well as the Charter of the United Nations. Turkish troops managed to capture 3% of the island which was accompanied by the burning of the Turkish Cypriot quarter, as well as the raping and killing of women and children. A temporary cease-fire followed which was mitigated by the UN Security Council. Subsequently, the Greek military Junta collapsed on July 23, 1974, and peace talks commenced in which a democratic government was installed. The Resolution 353 was broken after Turkey attacked a second time and managed to get a hold of 37% of Cyprus territory. The Island of Cyprus was appointed a Buffer Zone by the United Nations, which divided the island into two zones through the 'Green Line' and put an end to the Turkish invasion. Although Turkey announced that the occupied areas of Cyprus to be called the Federated Turkish State in 1975, it is not legitimised on a worldwide political scale. The United Nations called for the international recognition of independence for the Republic of Cyprus in the Security Council Resolution 367.
In the years after the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus one can observe a history of failed talks between the two parties. The 1983 declaration of the independent Turkish Republic of Cyprus resulted in a rise of inter-communal tensions and made it increasingly hard to find mutual understanding. With Cyprus' interest of a possible EU membership and a new UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 new hopes arose for a fresh start. International involvement from sides of the US and UK, wanting a solution to the Cyprus dispute prior to the EU accession led to political pressures for new talks. The believe that an accession without a solution would threaten Greek-Turkish relations and acknowledge the partition of the island would direct the coming negotiations.
Over the course of two years a concrete plan, the Annan plan was formulated. In 2004 the fifth version agreed upon from both sides and with the endorsement of Turkey, US, UK and EU then was presented to the public and was given a referendum in both Cypriot communities to assure the legitimisation of the resolution. The Turkish Cypriots voted with 65% for the plan, however the Greek Cypriots voted with a 76% majority against. The Annan plan contained multiple important topics. Firstly it established a confederation of two separate states called the United Cyprus Republic. Both communities would have autonomous states combined under one unified government. The members of parliament would be chosen according to the percentage in population numbers to ensure a just involvement from both communities. The paper proposed a demilitarisation of the island over the next years. Furthermore it agreed upon a number of 45000 Turkish settlers that could remain on the island. These settlers became a very important issue concerning peace talks. Originally the Turkish government encouraged Turks to settle in Cyprus providing transfer and property, to establish a counterpart to the Greek Cypriot population due to their 1 to 5 minority. With the economic situation many Turkish-Cypriot decided to leave the island, however their departure is made up by incoming Turkish settlers leaving the population ratio between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots stable. However all these points where criticised and as seen in the vote rejected mainly by the Greek Cypriots. These name the dissolution of the „Republic of Cyprus", economic consequences of a reunion and the remaining Turkish settlers as reason. Many claim that the plan was indeed drawing more from Turkish-Cypriot demands then Greek-Cypriot interests. Taking in consideration that the US wanted to keep Turkey as a strategic partner in future Middle Eastern conflicts.
A week after the failed referendum the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU. In multiple instances the EU tried to promote trade with Northern Cyprus but without internationally recognised ports this spiked a grand debate. Both side endure their intention of negotiations, however without the prospect of any new compromises or agreements the UN is unwilling to start the process again. Since 2004 negotiations took place in numbers but without any results, both sides are strongly holding on to their position without an agreeable solution in sight that would suit both parties.
The Discovery Museum is a science museum and local history museum situated in Blandford Square in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It displays many exhibits of local history, including the ship, Turbinia. It is managed by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums.
History
The Discovery Museum started life in 1934 as the Municipal Museum of Science and Industry. The collections were housed in a temporary pavilion built for the 1929 North East Coast Exhibition in Exhibition Park, Newcastle.
The collections and displays grew for another forty years, until the temporary pavilion could no longer meet the museum's needs. In 1978, the museum was re-located to Blandford House, the former Co-operative Wholesale Society Headquarters for the Northern Region. Designed by Oliver, Leeson & Wood in 1899, the building had been the distribution centre for over 100 Co-op stores across the region, and contained extensive warehouse space and offices.
The museum was re-launched as Discovery Museum in 1993 at which time the Turbinia was moved from Exhibition Park. In 2004 the £13 million redevelopment of the museum was complete and the following year the venue attracted 450,000 visitors.
Exhibits
The museum includes Turbinia, the 104 feet 9 inches (31.93 m) ship built by Charles Algernon Parsons to test the advantages of using the steam turbine to power ships, which could go up to 34 knots (39 mph; 63 km/h). It houses the regimental museum for the Light Dragoons (and its antecedent regiments) and the Northumberland Hussars, exploring the human side of 200 years of life in the army. It is a "hands-on" museum designed to interest both children and adults. It also features examples of Joseph Swan's early lightbulbs which were invented on Tyneside.
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the River Tyne's northern bank, opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England.
Newcastle developed around a Roman settlement called Pons Aelius, the settlement became known as Monkchester before taking on the name of a castle built in 1080 by William the Conqueror's eldest son, Robert Curthose. It was one of the world's largest ship building and repair centres during the industrial revolution. Newcastle was part of the county of Northumberland until 1400, when it separated and formed a county of itself. In 1974, Newcastle became part of Tyne and Wear. Since 2018, the city council has been part of the North of Tyne Combined Authority.
The history of Newcastle upon Tyne dates back almost 2,000 years, during which it has been controlled by the Romans, the Angles and the Norsemen amongst others. Newcastle upon Tyne was originally known by its Roman name Pons Aelius. The name "Newcastle" has been used since the Norman conquest of England. Due to its prime location on the River Tyne, the town developed greatly during the Middle Ages and it was to play a major role in the Industrial Revolution, being granted city status in 1882. Today, the city is a major retail, commercial and cultural centre.
Roman settlement
The history of Newcastle dates from AD 122, when the Romans built the first bridge to cross the River Tyne at that point. The bridge was called Pons Aelius or 'Bridge of Aelius', Aelius being the family name of Roman Emperor Hadrian, who was responsible for the Roman wall built across northern England along the Tyne–Solway gap. Hadrian's Wall ran through present-day Newcastle, with stretches of wall and turrets visible along the West Road, and at a temple in Benwell. Traces of a milecastle were found on Westgate Road, midway between Clayton Street and Grainger Street, and it is likely that the course of the wall corresponded to present-day Westgate Road. The course of the wall can be traced eastwards to the Segedunum Roman fort at Wallsend, with the fort of Arbeia down-river at the mouth of the Tyne, on the south bank in what is now South Shields. The Tyne was then a wider, shallower river at this point and it is thought that the bridge was probably about 700 feet (210 m) long, made of wood and supported on stone piers. It is probable that it was sited near the current Swing Bridge, due to the fact that Roman artefacts were found there during the building of the latter bridge. Hadrian himself probably visited the site in 122. A shrine was set up on the completed bridge in 123 by the 6th Legion, with two altars to Neptune and Oceanus respectively. The two altars were subsequently found in the river and are on display in the Great North Museum in Newcastle.
The Romans built a stone-walled fort in 150 to protect the river crossing which was at the foot of the Tyne Gorge, and this took the name of the bridge so that the whole settlement was known as Pons Aelius. The fort was situated on a rocky outcrop overlooking the new bridge, on the site of the present Castle Keep. Pons Aelius is last mentioned in 400, in a Roman document listing all of the Roman military outposts. It is likely that nestling in the shadow of the fort would have been a small vicus, or village. Unfortunately, no buildings have been detected; only a few pieces of flagging. It is clear that there was a Roman cemetery near Clavering Place, behind the Central station, as a number of Roman coffins and sarcophagi have been unearthed there.
Despite the presence of the bridge, the settlement of Pons Aelius was not particularly important among the northern Roman settlements. The most important stations were those on the highway of Dere Street running from Eboracum (York) through Corstopitum (Corbridge) and to the lands north of the Wall. Corstopitum, being a major arsenal and supply centre, was much larger and more populous than Pons Aelius.
Anglo-Saxon development
The Angles arrived in the North-East of England in about 500 and may have landed on the Tyne. There is no evidence of an Anglo-Saxon settlement on or near the site of Pons Aelius during the Anglo-Saxon age. The bridge probably survived and there may well have been a small village at the northern end, but no evidence survives. At that time the region was dominated by two kingdoms, Bernicia, north of the Tees and ruled from Bamburgh, and Deira, south of the Tees and ruled from York. Bernicia and Deira combined to form the kingdom of Northanhymbra (Northumbria) early in the 7th century. There were three local kings who held the title of Bretwalda – 'Lord of Britain', Edwin of Deira (627–632), Oswald of Bernicia (633–641) and Oswy of Northumbria (641–658). The 7th century became known as the 'Golden Age of Northumbria', when the area was a beacon of culture and learning in Europe. The greatness of this period was based on its generally Christian culture and resulted in the Lindisfarne Gospels amongst other treasures. The Tyne valley was dotted with monasteries, with those at Monkwearmouth, Hexham and Jarrow being the most famous. Bede, who was based at Jarrow, wrote of a royal estate, known as Ad Murum, 'at the Wall', 12 miles (19 km) from the sea. It is thought that this estate may have been in what is now Newcastle. At some unknown time, the site of Newcastle came to be known as Monkchester. The reason for this title is unknown, as we are unaware of any specific monasteries at the site, and Bede made no reference to it. In 875 Halfdan Ragnarsson, the Danish Viking conqueror of York, led an army that attacked and pillaged various monasteries in the area, and it is thought that Monkchester was also pillaged at this time. Little more was heard of it until the coming of the Normans.
Norman period
After the arrival of William the Conqueror in England in 1066, the whole of England was quickly subjected to Norman rule. However, in Northumbria there was great resistance to the Normans, and in 1069 the newly appointed Norman Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Comines and 700 of his men were killed by the local population at Durham. The Northumbrians then marched on York, but William was able to suppress the uprising. That same year, a second uprising occurred when a Danish fleet landed in the Humber. The Northumbrians again attacked York and destroyed the garrison there. William was again able to suppress the uprising, but this time he took revenge. He laid waste to the whole of the Midlands and the land from York to the Tees. In 1080, William Walcher, the Norman bishop of Durham and his followers were brutally murdered at Gateshead. This time Odo, bishop of Bayeux, William's half brother, devastated the land between the Tees and the Tweed. This was known as the 'Harrying of the North'. This devastation is reflected in the Domesday Book. The destruction had such an effect that the North remained poor and backward at least until Tudor times and perhaps until the Industrial Revolution. Newcastle suffered in this respect with the rest of the North.
In 1080 William sent his eldest son, Robert Curthose, north to defend the kingdom against the Scots. After his campaign, he moved to Monkchester and began the building of a 'New Castle'. This was of the "motte-and-bailey" type of construction, a wooden tower on top of an earthen mound (motte), surrounded by a moat and wooden stockade (bailey). It was this castle that gave Newcastle its name. In 1095 the Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Mowbray, rose up against the king, William Rufus, and Rufus sent an army north to recapture the castle. From then on the castle became crown property and was an important base from which the king could control the northern barons. The Northumbrian earldom was abolished and a Sheriff of Northumberland was appointed to administer the region. In 1091 the parish church of St Nicholas was consecrated on the site of the present Anglican cathedral, close by the bailey of the new castle. The church is believed to have been a wooden building on stone footings.
Not a trace of the tower or mound of the motte and bailey castle remains now. Henry II replaced it with a rectangular stone keep, which was built between 1172 and 1177 at a cost of £1,444. A stone bailey, in the form of a triangle, replaced the previous wooden one. The great outer gateway to the castle, called 'the Black Gate', was built later, between 1247 and 1250, in the reign of Henry III. There were at that time no town walls and when attacked by the Scots, the townspeople had to crowd into the bailey for safety. It is probable that the new castle acted as a magnet for local merchants because of the safety it provided. This in turn would help to expand trade in the town. At this time wool, skins and lead were being exported, whilst alum, pepper and ginger were being imported from France and Flanders.
Middle Ages
Throughout the Middle Ages, Newcastle was England's northern fortress, the centre for assembled armies. The Border war against Scotland lasted intermittently for several centuries – possibly the longest border war ever waged. During the civil war between Stephen and Matilda, David 1st of Scotland and his son were granted Cumbria and Northumberland respectively, so that for a period from 1139 to 1157, Newcastle was effectively in Scottish hands. It is believed that during this period, King David may have built the church of St Andrew and the Benedictine nunnery in Newcastle. However, King Stephen's successor, Henry II was strong enough to take back the Earldom of Northumbria from Malcolm IV.
The Scots king William the Lion was imprisoned in Newcastle, in 1174, after being captured at the Battle of Alnwick. Edward I brought the Stone of Scone and William Wallace south through the town and Newcastle was successfully defended against the Scots three times during the 14th century.
Around 1200, stone-faced, clay-filled jetties were starting to project into the river, an indication that trade was increasing in Newcastle. As the Roman roads continued to deteriorate, sea travel was gaining in importance. By 1275 Newcastle was the sixth largest wool exporting port in England. The principal exports at this time were wool, timber, coal, millstones, dairy produce, fish, salt and hides. Much of the developing trade was with the Baltic countries and Germany. Most of the Newcastle merchants were situated near the river, below the Castle. The earliest known charter was dated 1175 in the reign of Henry II, giving the townspeople some control over their town. In 1216 King John granted Newcastle a mayor[8] and also allowed the formation of guilds (known as Mysteries). These were cartels formed within different trades, which restricted trade to guild members. There were initially twelve guilds. Coal was being exported from Newcastle by 1250, and by 1350 the burgesses received a royal licence to export coal. This licence to export coal was jealously guarded by the Newcastle burgesses, and they tried to prevent any one else on the Tyne from exporting coal except through Newcastle. The burgesses similarly tried to prevent fish from being sold anywhere else on the Tyne except Newcastle. This led to conflicts with Gateshead and South Shields.
In 1265, the town was granted permission to impose a 'Wall Tax' or Murage, to pay for the construction of a fortified wall to enclose the town and protect it from Scottish invaders. The town walls were not completed until early in the 14th century. They were two miles (3 km) long, 9 feet (2.7 m) thick and 25 feet (7.6 m) high. They had six main gates, as well as some smaller gates, and had 17 towers. The land within the walls was divided almost equally by the Lort Burn, which flowed southwards and joined the Tyne to the east of the Castle. The town began to expand north of the Castle and west of the Lort Burn with various markets being set up within the walls.
In 1400 Henry IV granted a new charter, creating a County corporate which separated the town, but not the Castle, from the county of Northumberland and recognised it as a "county of itself" with a right to have a sheriff of its own. The burgesses were now allowed to choose six aldermen who, with the mayor would be justices of the peace. The mayor and sheriff were allowed to hold borough courts in the Guildhall.
Religious houses
During the Middle Ages a number of religious houses were established within the walls: the first of these was the Benedictine nunnery of St Bartholomew founded in 1086 near the present-day Nun Street. Both David I of Scotland and Henry I of England were benefactors of the religious house. Nothing of the nunnery remains now.
The friary of Blackfriars, Newcastle (Dominican) was established in 1239. These were also known as the Preaching Friars or Shod Friars, because they wore sandals, as opposed to other orders. The friary was situated in the present-day Friars Street. In 1280 the order was granted royal permission to make a postern in the town walls to communicate with their gardens outside the walls. On 19 June 1334, Edward Balliol, claimant to be King of Scotland, did homage to King Edward III, on behalf of the kingdom of Scotland, in the church of the friary. Much of the original buildings of the friary still exist, mainly because, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries the friary of Blackfriars was rented out by the corporation to nine of the local trade guilds.
The friary of Whitefriars (Carmelite) was established in 1262. The order was originally housed on the Wall Knoll in Pandon, but in 1307 it took over the buildings of another order, which went out of existence, the Friars of the Sac. The land, which had originally been given by Robert the Bruce, was situated in the present-day Hanover Square, behind the Central station. Nothing of the friary remains now.
The friary of Austinfriars (Augustinian) was established in 1290. The friary was on the site where the Holy Jesus Hospital was built in 1682. The friary was traditionally the lodging place of English kings whenever they visited or passed through Newcastle. In 1503 Princess Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry VII of England, stayed two days at the friary on her way to join her new husband James IV of Scotland.
The friary of Greyfriars (Franciscans) was established in 1274. The friary was in the present-day area between Pilgrim Street, Grey Street, Market Street and High Chare. Nothing of the original buildings remains.
The friary of the Order of the Holy Trinity, also known as the Trinitarians, was established in 1360. The order devoted a third of its income to buying back captives of the Saracens, during the Crusades. Their house was on the Wall Knoll, in Pandon, to the east of the city, but within the walls. Wall Knoll had previously been occupied by the White Friars until they moved to new premises in 1307.
All of the above religious houses were closed in about 1540, when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries.
An important street running through Newcastle at the time was Pilgrim Street, running northwards inside the walls and leading to the Pilgrim Gate on the north wall. The street still exists today as arguably Newcastle's main shopping street.
Tudor period
The Scottish border wars continued for much of the 16th century, so that during that time, Newcastle was often threatened with invasion by the Scots, but also remained important as a border stronghold against them.
During the Reformation begun by Henry VIII in 1536, the five Newcastle friaries and the single nunnery were dissolved and the land was sold to the Corporation and to rich merchants. At this time there were fewer than 60 inmates of the religious houses in Newcastle. The convent of Blackfriars was leased to nine craft guilds to be used as their headquarters. This probably explains why it is the only one of the religious houses whose building survives to the present day. The priories at Tynemouth and Durham were also dissolved, thus ending the long-running rivalry between Newcastle and the church for control of trade on the Tyne. A little later, the property of the nunnery of St Bartholomew and of Grey Friars were bought by Robert Anderson, who had the buildings demolished to build his grand Newe House (also known as Anderson Place).
With the gradual decline of the Scottish border wars the town walls were allowed to decline as well as the castle. By 1547, about 10,000 people were living in Newcastle. At the beginning of the 16th century exports of wool from Newcastle were more than twice the value of exports of coal, but during the century coal exports continued to increase.
Under Edward VI, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, sponsored an act allowing Newcastle to annexe Gateshead as its suburb. The main reason for this was to allow the Newcastle Hostmen, who controlled the export of Tyne coal, to get their hands on the Gateshead coal mines, previously controlled by the Bishop of Durham. However, when Mary I came to power, Dudley met his downfall and the decision was reversed. The Reformation allowed private access to coal mines previously owned by Tynemouth and Durham priories and as a result coal exports increase dramatically, from 15,000 tons in 1500 to 35,000 tons in 1565, and to 400,000 tons in 1625.
The plague visited Newcastle four times during the 16th century, in 1579 when 2,000 people died, in 1589 when 1700 died, in 1595 and finally in 1597.
In 1600 Elizabeth I granted Newcastle a charter for an exclusive body of electors, the right to elect the mayor and burgesses. The charter also gave the Hostmen exclusive rights to load coal at any point on the Tyne. The Hostmen developed as an exclusive group within the Merchant Adventurers who had been incorporated by a charter in 1547.
Stuart period
In 1636 there was a serious outbreak of bubonic plague in Newcastle. There had been several previous outbreaks of the disease over the years, but this was the most serious. It is thought to have arrived from the Netherlands via ships that were trading between the Tyne and that country. It first appeared in the lower part of the town near the docks but gradually spread to all parts of the town. As the disease gained hold the authorities took measures to control it by boarding up any properties that contained infected persons, meaning that whole families were locked up together with the infected family members. Other infected persons were put in huts outside the town walls and left to die. Plague pits were dug next to the town's four churches and outside the town walls to receive the bodies in mass burials. Over the course of the outbreak 5,631 deaths were recorded out of an estimated population of 12,000, a death rate of 47%.
In 1637 Charles I tried to raise money by doubling the 'voluntary' tax on coal in return for allowing the Newcastle Hostmen to regulate production and fix prices. This caused outrage amongst the London importers and the East Anglian shippers. Both groups decided to boycott Tyne coal and as a result forced Charles to reverse his decision in 1638.
In 1640 during the Second Bishops' War, the Scots successfully invaded Newcastle. The occupying army demanded £850 per day from the Corporation to billet the Scottish troops. Trade from the Tyne ground to a halt during the occupation. The Scots left in 1641 after receiving a Parliamentary pardon and a £4,000,000 loan from the town.
In 1642 the English Civil War began. King Charles realised the value of the Tyne coal trade and therefore garrisoned Newcastle. A Royalist was appointed as governor. At that time, Newcastle and King's Lynn were the only important seaports to support the crown. In 1644 Parliament blockaded the Tyne to prevent the king from receiving revenue from the Tyne coal trade. Coal exports fell from 450,000 to 3,000 tons and London suffered a hard winter without fuel. Parliament encouraged the coal trade from the Wear to try to replace that lost from Newcastle but that was not enough to make up for the lost Tyneside tonnage.
In 1644 the Scots crossed the border. Newcastle strengthened its defences in preparation. The Scottish army, with 40,000 troops, besieged Newcastle for three months until the garrison of 1,500 surrendered. During the siege, the Scots bombarded the walls with their artillery, situated in Gateshead and Castle Leazes. The Scottish commander threatened to destroy the steeple of St Nicholas's Church by gunfire if the mayor, Sir John Marley, did not surrender the town. The mayor responded by placing Scottish prisoners that they had captured in the steeple, so saving it from destruction. The town walls were finally breached by a combination of artillery and sapping. In gratitude for this defence, Charles gave Newcastle the motto 'Fortiter Defendit Triumphans' to be added to its coat of arms. The Scottish army occupied Northumberland and Durham for two years. The coal taxes had to pay for the Scottish occupation. In 1645 Charles surrendered to the Scots and was imprisoned in Newcastle for nine months. After the Civil War the coal trade on the Tyne soon picked up and exceeded its pre-war levels.
A new Guildhall was completed on the Sandhill next to the river in 1655, replacing an earlier facility damaged by fire in 1639, and became the meeting place of Newcastle Town Council. In 1681 the Hospital of the Holy Jesus was built partly on the site of the Austin Friars. The Guildhall and Holy Jesus Hospital still exist.
Charles II tried to impose a charter on Newcastle to give the king the right to appoint the mayor, sheriff, recorder and town clerk. Charles died before the charter came into effect. In 1685, James II tried to replace Corporation members with named Catholics. However, James' mandate was suspended in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution welcoming William of Orange. In 1689, after the fall of James II, the people of Newcastle tore down his bronze equestrian statue in Sandhill and tossed it into the Tyne. The bronze was later used to make bells for All Saints Church.
In 1689 the Lort Burn was covered over. At this time it was an open sewer. The channel followed by the Lort Burn became the present day Dean Street. At that time, the centre of Newcastle was still the Sandhill area, with many merchants living along the Close or on the Side. The path of the main road through Newcastle ran from the single Tyne bridge, through Sandhill to the Side, a narrow street which climbed steeply on the north-east side of the castle hill until it reached the higher ground alongside St Nicholas' Church. As Newcastle developed, the Side became lined with buildings with projecting upper stories, so that the main street through Newcastle was a narrow, congested, steep thoroughfare.
In 1701 the Keelmen's Hospital was built in the Sandgate area of the city, using funds provided by the keelmen. The building still stands today.
Eighteenth century
In the 18th century, Newcastle was the country's largest print centre after London, Oxford and Cambridge, and the Literary and Philosophical Society of 1793, with its erudite debates and large stock of books in several languages predated the London Library by half a century.
In 1715, during the Jacobite rising in favour of the Old Pretender, an army of Jacobite supporters marched on Newcastle. Many of the Northumbrian gentry joined the rebels. The citizens prepared for its arrival by arresting Jacobite supporters and accepting 700 extra recruits into the local militia. The gates of the city were closed against the rebels. This proved enough to delay an attack until reinforcements arrived forcing the rebel army to move across to the west coast. The rebels finally surrendered at Preston.
In 1745, during a second Jacobite rising in favour of the Young Pretender, a Scottish army crossed the border led by Bonnie Prince Charlie. Once again Newcastle prepared by arresting Jacobite supporters and inducting 800 volunteers into the local militia. The town walls were strengthened, most of the gates were blocked up and some 200 cannon were deployed. 20,000 regulars were billeted on the Town Moor. These preparations were enough to force the rebel army to travel south via the west coast. They were eventually defeated at Culloden in 1746.
Newcastle's actions during the 1715 rising in resisting the rebels and declaring for George I, in contrast to the rest of the region, is the most likely source of the nickname 'Geordie', applied to people from Tyneside, or more accurately Newcastle. Another theory, however, is that the name 'Geordie' came from the inventor of the Geordie lamp, George Stephenson. It was a type of safety lamp used in mining, but was not invented until 1815. Apparently the term 'German Geordie' was in common use during the 18th century.
The city's first hospital, Newcastle Infirmary opened in 1753; it was funded by public subscription. A lying-in hospital was established in Newcastle in 1760. The city's first public hospital for mentally ill patients, Wardens Close Lunatic Hospital was opened in October 1767.
In 1771 a flood swept away much of the bridge at Newcastle. The bridge had been built in 1250 and repaired after a flood in 1339. The bridge supported various houses and three towers and an old chapel. A blue stone was placed in the middle of the bridge to mark the boundary between Newcastle and the Palatinate of Durham. A temporary wooden bridge had to be built, and this remained in use until 1781, when a new stone bridge was completed. The new bridge consisted of nine arches. In 1801, because of the pressure of traffic, the bridge had to be widened.
A permanent military presence was established in the city with the completion of Fenham Barracks in 1806. The facilities at the Castle for holding assizes, which had been condemned for their inconvenience and unhealthiness, were replaced when the Moot Hall opened in August 1812.
Victorian period
Present-day Newcastle owes much of its architecture to the work of the builder Richard Grainger, aided by architects John Dobson, Thomas Oliver, John and Benjamin Green and others. In 1834 Grainger won a competition to produce a new plan for central Newcastle. He put this plan into effect using the above architects as well as architects employed in his own office. Grainger and Oliver had already built Leazes Terrace, Leazes Crescent and Leazes Place between 1829 and 1834. Grainger and Dobson had also built the Royal Arcade at the foot of Pilgrim Street between 1830 and 1832. The most ambitious project covered 12 acres 12 acres (49,000 m2) in central Newcastle, on the site of Newe House (also called Anderson Place). Grainger built three new thoroughfares, Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street with many connecting streets, as well as the Central Exchange and the Grainger Market. John Wardle and George Walker, working in Grainger's office, designed Clayton Street, Grainger Street and most of Grey Street. Dobson designed the Grainger Market and much of the east side of Grey Street. John and Benjamin Green designed the Theatre Royal at the top of Grey Street, where Grainger placed the column of Grey's Monument as a focus for the whole scheme. Grey Street is considered to be one of the finest streets in the country, with its elegant curve. Unfortunately most of old Eldon Square was demolished in the 1960s in the name of progress. The Royal Arcade met a similar fate.
In 1849 a new bridge was built across the river at Newcastle. This was the High Level Bridge, designed by Robert Stephenson, and slightly up river from the existing bridge. The bridge was designed to carry road and rail traffic across the Tyne Gorge on two decks with rail traffic on the upper deck and road traffic on the lower. The new bridge meant that traffic could pass through Newcastle without having to negotiate the steep, narrow Side, as had been necessary for centuries. The bridge was opened by Queen Victoria, who one year later opened the new Central Station, designed by John Dobson. Trains were now able to cross the river, directly into the centre of Newcastle and carry on up to Scotland. The Army Riding School was also completed in 1849.
In 1854 a large fire started on the Gateshead quayside and an explosion caused it to spread across the river to the Newcastle quayside. A huge conflagration amongst the narrow alleys, or 'chares', destroyed the homes of 800 families as well as many business premises. The narrow alleys that had been destroyed were replaced by streets containing blocks of modern offices.
In 1863 the Town Hall in St Nicholas Square replaced the Guildhall as the meeting place of Newcastle Town Council.
In 1876 the low level bridge was replaced by a new bridge known as the Swing Bridge, so called because the bridge was able to swing horizontally on a central axis and allow ships to pass on either side. This meant that for the first time sizeable ships could pass up-river beyond Newcastle. The bridge was built and paid for by William Armstrong, a local arms manufacturer, who needed to have warships access his Elswick arms factory to fit armaments to them. The Swing Bridge's rotating mechanism is adapted from the cannon mounts developed in Armstrong's arms works. In 1882 the Elswick works began to build ships as well as to arm them. The Barrack Road drill hall was completed in 1890.
Industrialisation
In the 19th century, shipbuilding and heavy engineering were central to the city's prosperity; and the city was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution. Newcastle's development as a major city owed most to its central role in the production and export of coal. The phrase "taking coals to Newcastle" was first recorded in 1538; it proverbially denotes bringing a particular commodity to a place that has more than enough of it already.
Innovation in Newcastle and surrounding areas included the following:
George Stephenson developed a miner's safety lamp at the same time that Humphry Davy developed a rival design. The lamp made possible the opening up of ever deeper mines to provide the coal that powered the industrial revolution.
George and his son Robert Stephenson were hugely influential figures in the development of the early railways. George developed Blücher, a locomotive working at Killingworth colliery in 1814, whilst Robert was instrumental in the design of Rocket, a revolutionary design that was the forerunner of modern locomotives. Both men were involved in planning and building railway lines, all over this country and abroad.
Joseph Swan demonstrated a working electric light bulb about a year before Thomas Edison did the same in the USA. This led to a dispute as to who had actually invented the light bulb. Eventually the two rivals agreed to form a mutual company between them, the Edison and Swan Electric Light Company, known as Ediswan.
Charles Algernon Parsons invented the steam turbine, for marine use and for power generation. He used Turbinia, a small, turbine-powered ship, to demonstrate the speed that a steam turbine could generate. Turbinia literally ran rings around the British Fleet at a review at Spithead in 1897.
William Armstrong invented a hydraulic crane that was installed in dockyards up and down the country. He then began to design light, accurate field guns for the British army. These were a vast improvement on the existing guns that were then in use.
The following major industries developed in Newcastle or its surrounding area:
Glassmaking
A small glass industry existed in Newcastle from the mid-15th century. In 1615 restrictions were put on the use of wood for manufacturing glass. It was found that glass could be manufactured using the local coal, and so a glassmaking industry grew up on Tyneside. Huguenot glassmakers came over from France as refugees from persecution and set up glasshouses in the Skinnerburn area of Newcastle. Eventually, glass production moved to the Ouseburn area of Newcastle. In 1684 the Dagnia family, Sephardic Jewish emigrants from Altare, arrived in Newcastle from Stourbridge and established glasshouses along the Close, to manufacture high quality flint glass. The glass manufacturers used sand ballast from the boats arriving in the river as the main raw material. The glassware was then exported in collier brigs. The period from 1730 to 1785 was the highpoint of Newcastle glass manufacture, when the local glassmakers produced the 'Newcastle Light Baluster'. The glassmaking industry still exists in the west end of the city with local Artist and Glassmaker Jane Charles carrying on over four hundred years of hot glass blowing in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Locomotive manufacture
In 1823 George Stephenson and his son Robert established the world's first locomotive factory near Forth Street in Newcastle. Here they built locomotives for the Stockton and Darlington Railway and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, as well as many others. It was here that the famous locomotive Rocket was designed and manufactured in preparation for the Rainhill Trials. Apart from building locomotives for the British market, the Newcastle works also produced locomotives for Europe and America. The Forth Street works continued to build locomotives until 1960.
Shipbuilding
In 1296 a wooden, 135 ft (41 m) long galley was constructed at the mouth of the Lort Burn in Newcastle, as part of a twenty-ship order from the king. The ship cost £205, and is the earliest record of shipbuilding in Newcastle. However the rise of the Tyne as a shipbuilding area was due to the need for collier brigs for the coal export trade. These wooden sailing ships were usually built locally, establishing local expertise in building ships. As ships changed from wood to steel, and from sail to steam, the local shipbuilding industry changed to build the new ships. Although shipbuilding was carried out up and down both sides of the river, the two main areas for building ships in Newcastle were Elswick, to the west, and Walker, to the east. By 1800 Tyneside was the third largest producer of ships in Britain. Unfortunately, after the Second World War, lack of modernisation and competition from abroad gradually caused the local industry to decline and die.
Armaments
In 1847 William Armstrong established a huge factory in Elswick, west of Newcastle. This was initially used to produce hydraulic cranes but subsequently began also to produce guns for both the army and the navy. After the Swing Bridge was built in 1876 allowing ships to pass up river, warships could have their armaments fitted alongside the Elswick works. Armstrong's company took over its industrial rival, Joseph Whitworth of Manchester in 1897.
Steam turbines
Charles Algernon Parsons invented the steam turbine and, in 1889, founded his own company C. A. Parsons and Company in Heaton, Newcastle to make steam turbines. Shortly after this, he realised that steam turbines could be used to propel ships and, in 1897, he founded a second company, Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company in Wallsend. It is there that he designed and manufactured Turbinia. Parsons turbines were initially used in warships but soon came to be used in merchant and passenger vessels, including the liner Mauretania which held the blue riband for the Atlantic crossing until 1929. Parsons' company in Heaton began to make turbo-generators for power stations and supplied power stations all over the world. The Heaton works, reduced in size, remains as part of the Siemens AG industrial giant.
Pottery
In 1762 the Maling pottery was founded in Sunderland by French Huguenots, but transferred to Newcastle in 1817. A factory was built in the Ouseburn area of the city. The factory was rebuilt twice, finally occupying a 14-acre (57,000 m2) site that was claimed to be the biggest pottery in the world and which had its own railway station. The pottery pioneered use of machines in making potteries as opposed to hand production. In the 1890s the company went up-market and employed in-house designers. The period up to the Second World War was the most profitable with a constant stream of new designs being introduced. However, after the war, production gradually declined and the company closed in 1963.
Expansion of the city
Newcastle was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835: the reformed municipal borough included the parishes of Byker, Elswick, Heaton, Jesmond, Newcastle All Saints, Newcastle St Andrew, Newcastle St John, Newcastle St Nicholas, and Westgate. The urban districts of Benwell and Fenham and Walker were added in 1904. In 1935, Newcastle gained Kenton and parts of the parishes of West Brunton, East Denton, Fawdon, Longbenton. The most recent expansion in Newcastle's boundaries took place under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, when Newcastle became a metropolitan borough, also including the urban districts of Gosforth and Newburn, and the parishes of Brunswick, Dinnington, Hazlerigg, North Gosforth and Woolsington from the Castle Ward Rural District, and the village of Westerhope.
Meanwhile Northumberland County Council was formed under the Local Government Act 1888 and benefited from a dedicated meeting place when County Hall was completed in the Castle Garth area of Newcastle in 1910. Following the Local Government Act 1972 County Hall relocated to Morpeth in April 1981.
Twentieth century
In 1925 work began on a new high-level road bridge to span the Tyne Gorge between Newcastle and Gateshead. The capacity of the existing High-Level Bridge and Swing Bridge were being strained to the limit, and an additional bridge had been discussed for a long time. The contract was awarded to the Dorman Long Company and the bridge was finally opened by King George V in 1928. The road deck was 84 feet (26 m) above the river and was supported by a 531 feet (162 m) steel arch. The new Tyne Bridge quickly became a symbol for Newcastle and Tyneside, and remains so today.
During the Second World War, Newcastle was largely spared the horrors inflicted upon other British cities bombed during the Blitz. Although the armaments factories and shipyards along the River Tyne were targeted by the Luftwaffe, they largely escaped unscathed. Manors goods yard and railway terminal, to the east of the city centre, and the suburbs of Jesmond and Heaton suffered bombing during 1941. There were 141 deaths and 587 injuries, a relatively small figure compared to the casualties in other industrial centres of Britain.
In 1963 the city gained its own university, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, by act of parliament. A School of Medicine and Surgery had been established in Newcastle in 1834. This eventually developed into a college of medicine attached to Durham University. A college of physical science was also founded and became Armstrong College in 1904. In 1934 the two colleges merged to become King's College, Durham. This remained as part of Durham University until the new university was created in 1963. In 1992 the city gained its second university when Newcastle Polytechnic was granted university status as Northumbria University.
Newcastle City Council moved to the new Newcastle Civic Centre in 1968.
As heavy industries declined in the second half of the 20th century, large sections of the city centre were demolished along with many areas of slum housing. The leading political figure in the city during the 1960s was T. Dan Smith who oversaw a massive building programme of highrise housing estates and authorised the demolition of a quarter of the Georgian Grainger Town to make way for Eldon Square Shopping Centre. Smith's control in Newcastle collapsed when it was exposed that he had used public contracts to advantage himself and his business associates and for a time Newcastle became a byword for civic corruption as depicted in the films Get Carter and Stormy Monday and in the television series Our Friends in the North. However, much of the historic Grainger Town area survived and was, for the most part, fully restored in the late 1990s. Northumberland Street, initially the A1, was gradually closed to traffic from the 1970s and completely pedestrianised by 1998.
In 1978 a new rapid transport system, the Metro, was built, linking the Tyneside area. The system opened in August 1980. A new bridge was built to carry the Metro across the river between Gateshead and Newcastle. This was the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, commonly known as the Metro Bridge. Eventually the Metro system was extended to reach Newcastle Airport in 1991, and in 2002 the Metro system was extended to the nearby city of Sunderland.
As the 20th century progressed, trade on the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides gradually declined, until by the 1980s both sides of the river were looking rather derelict. Shipping company offices had closed along with offices of firms related to shipping. There were also derelict warehouses lining the riverbank. Local government produced a master plan to re-develop the Newcastle quayside and this was begun in the 1990s. New offices, restaurants, bars and residential accommodation were built and the area has changed in the space of a few years into a vibrant area, partially returning the focus of Newcastle to the riverside, where it was in medieval times.
The Gateshead Millennium Bridge, a foot and cycle bridge, 26 feet (7.9 m) wide and 413 feet (126 m) long, was completed in 2001. The road deck is in the form of a curve and is supported by a steel arch. To allow ships to pass, the whole structure, both arch and road-deck, rotates on huge bearings at either end so that the road deck is lifted. The bridge can be said to open and shut like a human eye. It is an important addition to the re-developed quayside area, providing a vital link between the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides.
Recent developments
Today the city is a vibrant centre for office and retail employment, but just a short distance away there are impoverished inner-city housing estates, in areas originally built to provide affordable housing for employees of the shipyards and other heavy industries that lined the River Tyne. In the 2010s Newcastle City Council began implementing plans to regenerate these depressed areas, such as those along the Ouseburn Valley.
National Museum of the US Air Force
The Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) is the United States' only current operational land-based strategic nuclear missile. It is one leg of the nuclear deterrent "triad" that also includes USAF bombers and U.S. Navy submarine-launched missiles. U.S. nuclear forces are on alert at all times, ensuring a swift response in the event of a nuclear attack.
Serving Since 1970
Minuteman III became operational in 1970, and is the most modern missile in the Minuteman family. The Minuteman series was the first in the U.S. ICBM arsenal to use solid fuel. This important feature allows the missile to be stored for long periods in its silo, requiring much less maintenance and fewer technicians than older liquid-fueled missiles like Titan and Atlas. It can also be launched almost instantly. Minuteman III was the world's first missile to carry more than one warhead, using a "Multiple Independently-targetable Re-entry Vehicle" (MIRV) system. Though Minuteman III can carry three warheads, each missile has been limited to one by international treaty since 2005.
The Minuteman system was designed in the 1950s. Minuteman I, the first of the family, became operational in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Later, the retirement of the U.S. Air Force's Minuteman II missiles in 1995 and Peacekeeper missiles in 2005 left Minuteman III as the only American land-based ICBM. Today, Minuteman III missiles are located in widely-separated, hardened underground silos at three bases -- F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., Malmstrom AFB, Mont., and Minot AFB, N.D.
Over the years, new technology has increased Minuteman III's reliability, accuracy and ability to survive nuclear attack. Advanced guidance systems, new solid rocket fuel, and improved electrical power are the most recent updates. The Air Force has also upgraded launch facilities and installed better communications gear with new command and control consoles. These improvements enable Minuteman III to serve well into the 21st century.
The Missile Crew
Two officers make up a Minuteman III launch crew. These highly-trained USAF teams are on alert at all times in deeply-buried underground launch facilities. Each team controls 10 widely-dispersed missiles. Missile squadrons consist of 50 missiles. Minuteman III crews can launch missiles only on authenticated orders from the President of the United States using complex, secure codes and procedures. A modern system of high- and low-frequency satellite, radio and land lines ensures secure, reliable communication for sending and receiving orders. Airborne command and control aircraft can also launch the missiles remotely if ground command is destroyed.
Launching a Minuteman III takes about 60 seconds. When a launch crew receives a valid "emergency action message," they take specific and well-practiced steps to make sure their actions are correct. If necessary, top-secret codes are sent to the missiles to enable them to launch at predetermined targets. Next, the crewmen simultaneously turn keys that give the missile a final readiness check and open huge silo doors at ground level. Finally, electric cables automatically disconnect to free the missile, the first stage ignites, and Minuteman III is on its way.
Reaching the Target
Minuteman III is a three-stage missile that can reach targets more than 6,000 miles away. As each stage burns out, it drops away and the next stage ignites. In flight, a sophisticated guidance system keeps Minuteman III on course by slightly adjusting rocket nozzles. At the proper time -- about three minutes after launch -- small rockets slow the third stage. The post-boost vehicle (or "warhead bus") carrying the nuclear payload then maneuvers to a pre-determined release point. With precise timing, it releases the warhead or "re-entry vehicle." Helped by penetration aids that disguise it on enemy radar, the warhead follows a ballistic trajectory to its target.
TECHNICAL NOTES:
Propulsion: Three-stage solid fuel rocket motors; post-boost stage for positioning re-entry vehicle is liquid-fueled
Weight: 76,000 lbs.
Range: 6,000+ miles
Maximum speed: Approx. 15,000 mph
Armament: One, two or three MK-12 or MK-12A warheads in the megaton range
History of the Vienna Philharmonic
The orchestra of the Vienna Philharmonic was founded on March 28, 1842. It was founded by the German composer Otto Nicolai, whose creations include the opera "The Merry Wives of Windsor". Nearly a century later, the club was dissolved in December 1938 during the Nazi period by the law on the "transfer and incorporation of clubs, organizations and associations" for the time being and the assets fell to the State Theater and the Stage Academy of the City of Vienna. This was, however, a few days later at the urging of the conductor and musicologist Dr. Heinz Drewes largely reversed. Dr. Drewes was the leader of the "entire German musical life" and so he used his influence on the Reich propaganda minister Goebbels. Ultimately, Goebbels decreed in June 1939 that the Vienna Philharmonic as an association should retain their most extensive independence on the condition that the club is subject to his supervision and that the articles of association regarding the National Socialist principles is changed. Thus, the club's assets were released again.
In 1939, the idea of the New Year's Concert, at which time only the music of Johann Strauss was played, was born. This concert series of the New Year's Concert has become one of the cultural highlights of the year and is always broadcast live on television. The magnificent pictures from Vienna are accompanied, among other things, by fantastic flowers and dance performances by the Wiener Ballett. With the end of the Second World War, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra once again became completely independent and the orchestra played two major concert evenings right after the liberation of Vienna in April 1945. A special focus is still the position of the conductor at the Vienna Philharmonic. Because until 1933, the orchestra was directed by a single conductor every season. From 1933 there were only guest conductors. Great merits in the early years had especially the conductors Arturo Toscanini from 1933 to 1937 and intermittently from 1933 to 1954 Wilhelm Furtwängler. Herbert von Karajan, Karl Böhm, Paul Hindemith and Daniel Barenboim are among the famous guest conductors. Also as a guest conductor conducted from 1966, the later honorary member Leonard Bernstein repeatedly the orchestra. One of Leonard Bernstein's most outstanding works in collaboration with the Vienna Philharmonic is, for example, the adaptation of the works of Gustav Mahler, who himself had directed the orchestra from 1898 to 1901 for three years as a subscription conductor to the Vienna Philharmonic.
Vienna Philharmonic coins
Appropriately to the Vienna Philharmonic, the Austrian Mint, which mints all coins in Austria, has been issuing a bullion every year since 1989, which after the orchestra precisely is called the Vienna Philharmonic. At first, the coins were pure gold. Since 2008 there is also an annual silver version. Their value does not correspond to the nominal value, but the Vienna Philharmonic is a bullion coin whose value depends on the current precious metal value. The motif of the Vienna Philharmonic is always the same. The front of the Vienna Philharmonic Münze designed by Thomas Pesendorfer shows some of the classical orchestral instruments such as bassoon, horn, harp and four violins, as well as a cello in the middle. The reverse shows the organ, which is located in the Golden Hall of the Wiener Musikverein. Only the respective year is changed. The coin is now available in four sizes. As a special coinage, a 1000-ounce coin, the so-called "Big Phil", was released in 2004 on the occasion of the 15th anniversary, and another coin in 2009 for the 20th anniversary. Both are traded as collectors' items because of the limited edition and are therefore more expensive than the actual precious metal value.
Geschichte der Wiener Philharmoniker
Das Orchester der Wiener Philharmoniker wurde am 28. März 1842 gegründet. Ins Leben gerufen hatte es der deutsche Komponist Otto Nicolai, aus dessen Feder unter anderem die Oper "Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor" stammt. Knapp ein Jahrhundert später wurde der Verein im Dezember 1938 in der NS-Zeit durch das Gesetz zur "Überleitung und Eingliederung von Vereinen, Organisationen und Verbänden" vorerst aufgelöst und das Vermögen fiel dem Staatstheater und der Bühnenakademie der Stadt Wien zu. Dies wurde jedoch wenige Tage später auf Drängen des Dirigenten und Musikwissenschaftlers Dr. Heinz Drewes größtenteils wieder rückgängig gemacht. Dr. Drewes war der Leiter des "gesamten deutschen Musiklebens" und so nutzte er seinen Einfluss auf den Reichspropagandaminister Goebbels. Letztlich verfügte Goebbels im Juni 1939, dass die Wiener Philharmoniker als Verein ihre weitestgehende Selbständigkeit behalten sollten unter der Bedingung, dass der Verein seiner Aufsicht unterstellt wird dass die Vereinssatzung hinsichtlich der nationalsozialistischen Grundsätze geändert wird. Damit wurde auch das Vereinsvermögen wieder frei gegeben.
Im Jahr 1939 entstand zugleich die Idee des Neujahrskonzerts, bei dem damals ausschließlich die Musik von Johann Strauss gespielt wurde. Diese Konzertreihe des Neujahrskonzerts ist inzwischen einer der kulturellen Höhepunkte des Jahres und wird immer live im Fernsehen übertragen. Die prächtigen Bilder aus Wien werden unter anderem untermalt durch phantastische Blumen und Tanzeinlagen des Wiener Balletts. Mit dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs wurde der Verein der Wiener Philharmoniker wieder komplett unabhängig und das Orchester spielte gleich nach der Befreiung von Wien im April 1945 zwei große Konzertabende. Ein ganz besonderer Augenmerk gilt noch der Stelle des Dirigenten bei den Wiener Philharmonikern. Denn bis zum Jahr 1933 wurde das Orchester jede Saison von einem einzigen Dirigenten geleitet. Ab 1933 gab es nur noch Gastdirigenten. Große Verdienste hatten in den Anfangsjahren vor allem die Dirigenten Arturo Toscanini von 1933 bis 1937 und mit Unterbrechungen von 1933 bis 1954 Wilhelm Furtwängler. Zu den berühmten Gastdirigenten zählen unter anderem Herbert von Karajan, Karl Böhm, Paul Hindemith oder Daniel Barenboim. Ebenfalls als Gastdirigent leitete ab 1966 das spätere Ehrenmitglied Leonard Bernstein mehrfach das Orchester. Zu den herausragendsten Werken von Leonard Bernstein in Zusammenarbeit mit den Wiener Philharmonikern zählt beispielsweise die Bearbeitung der Werke von Gustav Mahler, der von 1898 bis 1901 selbst drei Jahre lang als Abonnementdirigent der Wiener Philharmoniker das Orchester geleitet hatte.
Wiener Philharmoniker Münzen
Passend zu den Wiener Philharmonikern gibt die Münze Österreich, die alle Münzen in Österreich prägt, seit dem Jahr 1989 jedes Jahr eine Anlagemünze heraus, die nach dem Orchester eben der Wiener Philharmoniker genannt wird. Zunächst waren die Münzen aus reinem Gold. Seit 2008 gibt es auch eine jährliche Silberversion. Ihr Wert entspricht nicht dem reinen Nennwert, sondern der Wiener Philharmoniker ist eine Bullionmünze, deren Wert sich nach dem aktuellen Edelmetallwert richtet. Das Motiv des Wiener Philharmoniker ist immer gleich. Die Vorderseite der von Thomas Pesendorfer gestalteten Wiener Philharmoniker Münze zeigt einige der klassischen Orchesterinstrumente wie Fagott, Horn, Harfe und dazu vier Geigen sowie in der Mitte ein Cello. Die Rückseite zeigt die Orgel, die sich im Goldenen Saal vom Wiener Musikverein befindet. Geändert wird nur das jeweilige Prägejahr. Die Münze gibt es inzwischen in vier Größen zu kaufen. Als Sonderprägungen erschien 2004 zum 15-jährigen Jubiläum eine 1000-Unzen-Münze, der sogenannte "Big Phil", und 2009 zum 20-jährigen Jubiläum eine weitere Münze. Beide werden wegen der limitierten Auflage als Sammlerobjekte gehandelt und sind daher teurer als der eigentliche Edelmetallwert.
www.geschichte-oesterreich.com/musik/wiener_philharmonike...
This photo includes Krysten Ritter and her sister.
Peabody's "Marvel's Jessica Jones" Night was held on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at the New York Institute of Technology's auditorium as part of Peabody Week 2016. It included a Q&A led by NPR's Eric Deggans with Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg and actors Carrie-Anne Moss and Krysten Ritter.
(Photo/Jana Lynn French/ Peabody, jjlynnf@gmail.com in New York City, New York on Wednesday, May 18, 2016)
Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. The municipality was incorporated on 12 June 1903. Across the Niagara River is Niagara Falls, New York.
The Niagara River flows over Niagara Falls at this location, creating a natural spectacle which attracts millions of tourists each year.
This area, which stretches along the Niagara Parkway and tourist promenade, is particularly concentrated at the brink of the falls. Apart from the river's natural attractions, it includes observation towers, high-rise hotels, souvenir shops, museums, indoor water parks, casinos and theatres, mostly with colourful neon billboards and advertisements, and sufficient parking to accommodate visitors. Farther to the north or south, golf courses are operated alongside historic sites from the War of 1812.
This area was long part of the Iroquois Confederacy territory: five powerful First Nations mostly along the southern edge of the Great Lakes. The Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca were based largely in present-day New York, ranging from east near the Hudson River, to western areas of Seneca Lake and along Ontario and other Great Lakes.
The Niagara Falls area has had some European settlement since the 17th century. Louis Hennepin, a French priest and missionary, is regarded as the first European to visit the area in the 1670s. French colonists settled mostly in Lower Canada, beginning near the Atlantic, and in Quebec and Montreal. Increased settlement in this area took place during and after the American Revolutionary War, when the British Crown made land grants to Loyalists to help them resettle in Upper Canada and provide some compensation for their losses after the United States became independent. Loyalist Robert Land received 200 acres (81 ha) and was one of the first people of European descent to settle in the Niagara Region. He moved to nearby Hamilton three years later due to the relentless noise of the falls.
Tourism started in the early 19th century and has been a vital part of the local economy since that time. The falls became known as a natural wonder, in part to their being featured in paintings by prominent American artists of the 19th century such as Albert Bierstadt. Such works were reproduced as lithographs, becoming widely distributed. In addition, Niagara Falls markets itself as a honeymoon destination; it is the self-proclaimed "honeymoon capital of the world."
With a plentiful and inexpensive source of hydroelectric power from the waterfalls, many electro-chemical and electro-metallurgical industries located there in the early to mid-20th century.
Industry began moving out of the city in the 1970s and 80s because of economic recession and increasing global competition in the manufacturing sector. Tourism increasingly became the city's most important revenue source. Generally speaking, Niagara Falls, Ontario is a more popular destination than Niagara Falls, New York, in part due to the better view of the falls from the Canadian side of the river. In the 20th century, there was a favourable exchange rate when comparing Canadian and U.S. currencies, and Ontario had a greater focus on tourism. Also, Ontario's legal drinking age of 19, in comparison to a legal drinking age of 21 in the U.S., attracts potential alcohol consumers from across the border.
The Ontario government introduced legal gambling to the local economy in the mid-1990s. Casino Niagara precipitated an economic boom in the late 1990s as numerous luxury hotels and tourist attractions were built, and a second casino, Niagara Fallsview, opened in 2004. Both attracted American tourists due in part to the comparatively less expensive Canadian dollar, and despite the opening of the Seneca Niagara Casino on the American side. When the Canadian and US currencies moved closer to parity in the 2000s, Niagara Falls, Ontario continued to be a popular destination for Americans. Its tourist areas had many attractions and a vibrancy, while Niagara Falls, New York languished in a prolonged economic downturn.
In 2004, several tourist establishments in Niagara Falls began adding a three percent marketing fee to bills. The collected money is untraceable, and there are no controls over how each establishment spends it. The Ontario government—concerned tourists could be misled into believing the fees were endorsed by the government—warned hotels and restaurants in 2008 not to claim the fee if it was not being remitted to a legitimate non-profit agency that promotes tourism. The practise continues, and takes in an estimated $15 million per-year from tourists unaware the fee is voluntary and can be removed from their bill.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls,_Ontario
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...
Work includes cleaning, waxing, repairing and conserving the existing bronze, and providing new bronze castings of missing or broken items. Initial stone work will include the cleaning and removal of patina bronze deposits from seven marble monument pedestals.
Full details at www.aoc.gov/grant.
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I bought a cheeseburger at a local MC Donalds restaurant. I was curious, if it molds in a wet climate (like in my plastic box), because I read some articles from other people who tried to get their burger molding. They wrote stuff like "Cheeseburger don't mold, they include to many unhealthy substances!", but their burger looked just dry and mold doesn't grow in dry media. MC Donalds burger are able to mold, as my experiment shows now.
Day 1 - the fresh burger
Singapore’s Land Transport Authority has announ¬ced plans to expand the island’s metro network from the current 178 km to about 360 km by 2030, putting 80% of households within a 10 min walk of a station. The Land Transport Masterplan 2013 includes the construction of two new lines and extension of another three.
The first new line, due to open by 2025, is the 20 km Jurong Region Line. Starting in Choa Chu Kang, it will serve new developments in Tengah, with branches terminating at Jurong West, West Coast and Jurong Industrial estate.
The other new line is the 50 km Cross Island Line, intended to relieve the existing East-West Line when it opens in 2030. This will run from Jurong Industrial Estate to Changi, connecting with all the other major lines.
The Circle Line will be completed by 2025, with the final stage of construction connecting HarbourFront to Marina Bay. Also by 2025, the Downtown Line will be extended from Expo to meet the Eastern Region Line.
By 2030 the North East Line will be extended north by one station to Punggol North. This section will be built in tandem with urban developments in Punggol Downtown. A study is also underway for a new station on the North-South Line between Yishun and Sembawang.
In the meantime to promote modal shift on the LTA,passengers exiting 18 central metro stations before 07.45 get the rail section of their journey free of charge under a initial one-year trial, since extended to two years. The Land Transport Authority launched the scheme in June, 2013. Passengers exiting between 07.45 and 08.00 are given a discount of up to S$0•50. To qualify for free travel, the journey must not begin at any of the designated stations. The government-funded trial aims to encourage commuters to travel before the busiest times, helping to reduce overcrowding. It is a widening of an existing SMRT Early Travel Discount scheme which offers discounts for travel to 14 stations before 07.45. Off-peak users can also accumulate points for rewards under the 'Incentives for Singapore's Commuters' scheme. LTA and AECOM are also working to assist employers in the development of flexible working arrangements such as staggered hours, the introduction of IT facilities for remote working and the provision of showers and lockers to encourage 'active travel'
Land Transport Authority is to extend its free pre-peak metro travel scheme by one year to June 23 2015. Passengers who end their journey at 18 central metro stations before 07.45 on weekdays get free travel, while those exiting between 07.45 and 08.00 get a discount.
About 7% of commuters have shifted their travel out of the morning peak since the introduction of free travel in last June. This has resulted in a more even distribution of ridership, with the ratio of peak (08.00–09.00) to pre-peak (07.00–8.00) travel falling from 2•7 to 2•1.
An LTA survey found most commuters who changed times did so because of the free travel. Two out of three of those who had not shifted said this was because they do not have flexible work arrangements, and so LTA is to intensify efforts to encourage organisations to implement flexible working arrangements.
The Lidl Run Kildare Events 2013 were held at the Curragh Racecourse, Newbridge, Co. Kildare, Ireland on Sunday 12th May 2013. There were three events: a 10KM, a half marathon, and a full marathon. This is a selection of photographs which includes all events. The photographs are taken from the start and finish of the marathon, the finish of the 10KM, and the finish of the half marathon. Due to the large numbers participating we did not manage to photograph everyone - which was not helped by the weather. Congratulations to Jo Cawley and her RunKildare crew for another great event. The weather didn't dampen the spirits of the many happy participants.
Electronic timing was provided by Red Tag Timing [www.redtagtiming.com/]
Overall Race Summary
Participants: There were approximately 3,000 participants over the 3 race events - there were runners, joggers, and walkers participating.
Weather: A cold breezy morning with heavy rain at the start. The weather dried up for the 10KM and the Half Marathon races
Course: This is an undulating course with some good flat stretches on the Curragh.
Viewing this on a smartphone device?
If you are viewing this Flickr set on a smartphone and you want to see the larger version(s) of this photograph then: scroll down to the bottom of this description under the photograph and click the "View info about this photo..." link. You will be brought to a new page and you should click the link "View All Sizes".
Some Useful Links
GPS Garmin Trace of the Kildare Marathon Route: connect.garmin.com/activity/175709313
Homepage of the Lidl Run Kildare Event: www.kildaremarathon.ie/index.html
Facebook Group page of the Lidl Run Kildare Event: www.facebook.com/RunKildare
Boards.ie Athletics Discussion Board pages about the race series: www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056815306
Our photographs from Run Kildare 2012: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157629707887620/
Our photographs from Run Kildare 2011: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157626725200956/
A small selection of photographs from Run Kildare 2010: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157623899845567/ (first event)
Can I use the photograph with the watermark?
Yes! Absolutely - you can post this photograph to your social networks, blogs, micro-blogging, etc.
How can I get a full resolution, no watermark, copy of these photographs?
All of the photographs here on this Flickr set have a visible watermark embedded in them. All of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available, free, at no cost, at full resolution WITHOUT watermark. We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. We do not know of any other photographers who operate such a policy. Our only "cost" is our request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, etc or (2) other websites, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us. This also extends the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.
Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.
In summary please remember - all we ask is for you to link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. Taking the photographs and preparing them for online posting does take a significant effort. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc.
If you would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?
Some people offer payment for our photographs. We do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would pay for their purchase from other photographic providers we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.
I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?
As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:
►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera
►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set
►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone
►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!
You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.
Don't like your photograph here?
That's OK! We understand!
If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.
I want to tell people about these great photographs!
Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets
Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than their lizard ancestors, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their heads (cranial kinesis). To accommodate their narrow bodies, snakes' paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side, and most have only one functional lung. Some species retain a pelvic girdle with a pair of vestigial claws on either side of the cloaca. Lizards have independently evolved elongate bodies without limbs or with greatly reduced limbs at least twenty-five times via convergent evolution, leading to many lineages of legless lizards. These resemble snakes, but several common groups of legless lizards have eyelids and external ears, which snakes lack, although this rule is not universal (see Amphisbaenia, Dibamidae, and Pygopodidae).
Living snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica, and on most smaller land masses; exceptions include some large islands, such as Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, the Hawaiian archipelago, and the islands of New Zealand, as well as many small islands of the Atlantic and central Pacific oceans. Additionally, sea snakes are widespread throughout the Indian and Pacific oceans. Around thirty families are currently recognized, comprising about 520 genera and about 3,900 species. They range in size from the tiny, 10.4 cm-long (4.1 in) Barbados threadsnake to the reticulated python of 6.95 meters (22.8 ft) in length. The fossil species Titanoboa cerrejonensis was 12.8 meters (42 ft) long. Snakes are thought to have evolved from either burrowing or aquatic lizards, perhaps during the Jurassic period, with the earliest known fossils dating to between 143 and 167 Ma ago. The diversity of modern snakes appeared during the Paleocene epoch (c. 66 to 56 Ma ago, after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event). The oldest preserved descriptions of snakes can be found in the Brooklyn Papyrus.
Most species of snake are nonvenomous and those that have venom use it primarily to kill and subdue prey rather than for self-defense. Some possess venom that is potent enough to cause painful injury or death to humans. Nonvenomous snakes either swallow prey alive or kill by constriction.
Etymology
The English word snake comes from Old English snaca, itself from Proto-Germanic *snak-an- (cf. Germanic Schnake 'ring snake', Swedish snok 'grass snake'), from Proto-Indo-European root *(s)nēg-o- 'to crawl to creep', which also gave sneak as well as Sanskrit nāgá 'snake'. The word ousted adder, as adder went on to narrow in meaning, though in Old English næddre was the general word for snake. The other term, serpent, is from French, ultimately from Indo-European *serp- 'to creep', which also gave Ancient Greek ἕρπω (hérpō) 'I crawl' and Sanskrit sarpá ‘snake’.
The fossil record of snakes is relatively poor because snake skeletons are typically small and fragile making fossilization uncommon. Fossils readily identifiable as snakes (though often retaining hind limbs) first appear in the fossil record during the Cretaceous period. The earliest known true snake fossils (members of the crown group Serpentes) come from the marine simoliophiids, the oldest of which is the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian age) Haasiophis terrasanctus from the West Bank, dated to between 112 and 94 million years old.
Based on comparative anatomy, there is consensus that snakes descended from lizards. Pythons and boas—primitive groups among modern snakes—have vestigial hind limbs: tiny, clawed digits known as anal spurs, which are used to grasp during mating The families Leptotyphlopidae and Typhlopidae also possess remnants of the pelvic girdle, appearing as horny projections when visible.
Front limbs are nonexistent in all known snakes. This is caused by the evolution of their Hox genes, controlling limb morphogenesis. The axial skeleton of the snakes' common ancestor, like most other tetrapods, had regional specializations consisting of cervical (neck), thoracic (chest), lumbar (lower back), sacral (pelvic), and caudal (tail) vertebrae. Early in snake evolution, the Hox gene expression in the axial skeleton responsible for the development of the thorax became dominant. As a result, the vertebrae anterior to the hindlimb buds (when present) all have the same thoracic-like identity (except from the atlas, axis, and 1–3 neck vertebrae). In other words, most of a snake's skeleton is an extremely extended thorax. Ribs are found exclusively on the thoracic vertebrae. Neck, lumbar and pelvic vertebrae are very reduced in number (only 2–10 lumbar and pelvic vertebrae are present), while only a short tail remains of the caudal vertebrae. However, the tail is still long enough to be of important use in many species, and is modified in some aquatic and tree-dwelling species.
Many modern snake groups originated during the Paleocene, alongside the adaptive radiation of mammals following the extinction of (non-avian) dinosaurs. The expansion of grasslands in North America also led to an explosive radiation among snakes. Previously, snakes were a minor component of the North American fauna, but during the Miocene, the number of species and their prevalence increased dramatically with the first appearances of vipers and elapids in North America and the significant diversification of Colubridae (including the origin of many modern genera such as Nerodia, Lampropeltis, Pituophis, and Pantherophis).
Fossils
There is fossil evidence to suggest that snakes may have evolved from burrowing lizards, during the Cretaceous Period. An early fossil snake relative, Najash rionegrina, was a two-legged burrowing animal with a sacrum, and was fully terrestrial. One extant analog of these putative ancestors is the earless monitor Lanthanotus of Borneo (though it also is semiaquatic). Subterranean species evolved bodies streamlined for burrowing, and eventually lost their limbs. According to this hypothesis, features such as the transparent, fused eyelids (brille) and loss of external ears evolved to cope with fossorial difficulties, such as scratched corneas and dirt in the ears. Some primitive snakes are known to have possessed hindlimbs, but their pelvic bones lacked a direct connection to the vertebrae. These include fossil species like Haasiophis, Pachyrhachis and Eupodophis, which are slightly older than Najash.
This hypothesis was strengthened in 2015 by the discovery of a 113-million-year-old fossil of a four-legged snake in Brazil that has been named Tetrapodophis amplectus. It has many snake-like features, is adapted for burrowing and its stomach indicates that it was preying on other animals. It is currently uncertain if Tetrapodophis is a snake or another species, in the squamate order, as a snake-like body has independently evolved at least 26 times. Tetrapodophis does not have distinctive snake features in its spine and skull. A study in 2021 places the animal in a group of extinct marine lizards from the Cretaceous period known as dolichosaurs and not directly related to snakes.
An alternative hypothesis, based on morphology, suggests the ancestors of snakes were related to mosasaurs—extinct aquatic reptiles from the Cretaceous—forming the clade Pythonomorpha. According to this hypothesis, the fused, transparent eyelids of snakes are thought to have evolved to combat marine conditions (corneal water loss through osmosis), and the external ears were lost through disuse in an aquatic environment. This ultimately led to an animal similar to today's sea snakes. In the Late Cretaceous, snakes recolonized land, and continued to diversify into today's snakes. Fossilized snake remains are known from early Late Cretaceous marine sediments, which is consistent with this hypothesis; particularly so, as they are older than the terrestrial Najash rionegrina. Similar skull structure, reduced or absent limbs, and other anatomical features found in both mosasaurs and snakes lead to a positive cladistical correlation, although some of these features are shared with varanids.
Genetic studies in recent years have indicated snakes are not as closely related to monitor lizards as was once believed—and therefore not to mosasaurs, the proposed ancestor in the aquatic scenario of their evolution. However, more evidence links mosasaurs to snakes than to varanids. Fragmented remains found from the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous indicate deeper fossil records for these groups, which may potentially refute either hypothesis.
Genetic basis of snake evolution
Main article: Limb development
Both fossils and phylogenetic studies demonstrate that snakes evolved from lizards, hence the question became which genetic changes led to limb loss in the snake ancestor. Limb loss is actually very common in extant reptiles and has happened dozens of times within skinks, anguids, and other lizards.
In 2016, two studies reported that limb loss in snakes is associated with DNA mutations in the Zone of Polarizing Activity Regulatory Sequence (ZRS), a regulatory region of the sonic hedgehog gene which is critically required for limb development. More advanced snakes have no remnants of limbs, but basal snakes such as pythons and boas do have traces of highly reduced, vestigial hind limbs. Python embryos even have fully developed hind limb buds, but their later development is stopped by the DNA mutations in the ZRS.
Distribution
There are about 3,900 species of snakes, ranging as far northward as the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and southward through Australia. Snakes can be found on every continent except Antarctica, as well as in the sea, and as high as 16,000 feet (4,900 m) in the Himalayan Mountains of Asia. There are numerous islands from which snakes are absent, such as Ireland, Iceland, and New Zealand (although New Zealand's northern waters are infrequently visited by the yellow-bellied sea snake and the banded sea krait).
Taxonomy
All modern snakes are grouped within the suborder Serpentes in Linnean taxonomy, part of the order Squamata, though their precise placement within squamates remains controversial.
The two infraorders of Serpentes are Alethinophidia and Scolecophidia. This separation is based on morphological characteristics and mitochondrial DNA sequence similarity. Alethinophidia is sometimes split into Henophidia and Caenophidia, with the latter consisting of "colubroid" snakes (colubrids, vipers, elapids, hydrophiids, and atractaspids) and acrochordids, while the other alethinophidian families comprise Henophidia. While not extant today, the Madtsoiidae, a family of giant, primitive, python-like snakes, was around until 50,000 years ago in Australia, represented by genera such as Wonambi.
There are numerous debates in the systematics within the group. For instance, many sources classify Boidae and Pythonidae as one family, while some keep the Elapidae and Hydrophiidae (sea snakes) separate for practical reasons despite their extremely close relation.
Recent molecular studies support the monophyly of the clades of modern snakes, scolecophidians, typhlopids + anomalepidids, alethinophidians, core alethinophidians, uropeltids (Cylindrophis, Anomochilus, uropeltines), macrostomatans, booids, boids, pythonids and caenophidians.
Legless lizards
Main article: Legless lizard
While snakes are limbless reptiles, evolved from (and grouped with) lizards, there are many other species of lizards that have lost their limbs independently but which superficially look similar to snakes. These include the slowworm and glass snake.
Other serpentine tetrapods that are unrelated to snakes include caecilians (amphibians), amphisbaenians (near-lizard squamates), and the extinct aistopods (amphibians).
Biology
The now extinct Titanoboa cerrejonensis was 12.8 m (42 ft) in length. By comparison, the largest extant snakes are the reticulated python, measuring about 6.95 m (22.8 ft) long, and the green anaconda, which measures about 5.21 m (17.1 ft) long and is considered the heaviest snake on Earth at 97.5 kg (215 lb).
At the other end of the scale, the smallest extant snake is Leptotyphlops carlae, with a length of about 10.4 cm (4.1 in). Most snakes are fairly small animals, approximately 1 m (3.3 ft) in length.
Perception
Pit vipers, pythons, and some boas have infrared-sensitive receptors in deep grooves on the snout, allowing them to "see" the radiated heat of warm-blooded prey. In pit vipers, the grooves are located between the nostril and the eye in a large "pit" on each side of the head. Other infrared-sensitive snakes have multiple, smaller labial pits lining the upper lip, just below the nostrils.
A snake tracks its prey using smell, collecting airborne particles with its forked tongue, then passing them to the vomeronasal organ or Jacobson's organ in the mouth for examination. The fork in the tongue provides a sort of directional sense of smell and taste simultaneously. The snake's tongue is constantly in motion, sampling particles from the air, ground, and water, analyzing the chemicals found, and determining the presence of prey or predators in the local environment. In water-dwelling snakes, such as the anaconda, the tongue functions efficiently underwater.
The underside of a snake is very sensitive to vibration, allowing the snake to detect approaching animals by sensing faint vibrations in the ground. Despite the lack of outer ears, they are also able to detect airborne sounds.
Snake vision varies greatly between species. Some have keen eyesight and others are only able to distinguish light from dark, but the important trend is that a snake's visual perception is adequate enough to track movements. Generally, vision is best in tree-dwelling snakes and weakest in burrowing snakes. Some have binocular vision, where both eyes are capable of focusing on the same point, an example of this being the Asian vine snake. Most snakes focus by moving the lens back and forth in relation to the retina. Diurnal snakes have round pupils and many nocturnal snakes have slit pupils. Most species possess three visual pigments and are probably able to see two primary colors in daylight. The annulated sea snake and the genus Helicops appears to have regained much of their color vision as an adaption to the marine environment they live in. It has been concluded that the last common ancestors of all snakes had UV-sensitive vision, but most snakes that depend on their eyesight to hunt in daylight have evolved lenses that act like sunglasses for filtering out the UV-light, which probably also sharpens their vision by improving the contrast.
Skin
The skin of a snake is covered in scales. Contrary to the popular notion of snakes being slimy (because of possible confusion of snakes with worms), snakeskin has a smooth, dry texture. Most snakes use specialized belly scales to travel, allowing them to grip surfaces. The body scales may be smooth, keeled, or granular. The eyelids of a snake are transparent "spectacle" scales, also known as brille, which remain permanently closed.
The shedding of scales is called ecdysis (or in normal usage, molting or sloughing). Snakes shed the complete outer layer of skin in one piece. Snake scales are not discrete, but extensions of the epidermis—hence they are not shed separately but as a complete outer layer during each molt, akin to a sock being turned inside out.
Snakes have a wide diversity of skin coloration patterns which are often related to behavior, such as the tendency to have to flee from predators. Snakes that are at a high risk of predation tend to be plain, or have longitudinal stripes, providing few reference points to predators, thus allowing the snake to escape without being noticed. Plain snakes usually adopt active hunting strategies, as their pattern allows them to send little information to prey about motion. Blotched snakes usually use ambush-based strategies, likely because it helps them blend into an environment with irregularly shaped objects, like sticks or rocks. Spotted patterning can similarly help snakes to blend into their environment.
The shape and number of scales on the head, back, and belly are often characteristic and used for taxonomic purposes. Scales are named mainly according to their positions on the body. In "advanced" (Caenophidian) snakes, the broad belly scales and rows of dorsal scales correspond to the vertebrae, allowing these to be counted without the need for dissection.
Molting
Molting (or "ecdysis") serves a number of purposes. It allows old, worn skin to be replaced and it can remove parasites such as mites and ticks that live in the skin. It has also been observed in snakes that molting can be synced to mating cycles. Shedding skin can release pheromones and revitalize color and patterns of the skin to increase attraction of mates. Renewal of the skin by molting supposedly allows growth in some animals such as insects, but this has been disputed in the case of snakes.
Molting occurs periodically throughout the life of a snake. Before each molt, the snake stops eating and often hides or moves to a safe place. Just before shedding, the skin becomes dull and dry looking and the snake's eyes turn cloudy or blue-colored. The inner surface of the old skin liquefies, causing it to separate from the new skin beneath it. After a few days, the eyes become clear and the snake "crawls" out of its old skin, which splits close to the snake's mouth. The snake rubs its body against rough surfaces to aid in the shedding of its old skin. In many cases, the cast skin peels backward over the body from head to tail in one piece, like pulling a sock off inside-out, revealing a new, larger, brighter layer of skin which has formed underneath.
A young snake that is still growing may shed its skin up to four times a year, but an older snake may shed only once or twice a year. The discarded skin carries a perfect imprint of the scale pattern, so it is usually possible to identify the snake from the cast skin if it is reasonably intact. This periodic renewal has led to the snake being a symbol of healing and medicine, as pictured in the Rod of Asclepius.
Scale counts can sometimes be used to identify the sex of a snake when the species is not distinctly sexually dimorphic. A probe is fully inserted into the cloaca, marked at the point where it stops, then removed and measured against the subcaudal scales. The scalation count determines whether the snake is a male or female, as the hemipenes of a male will probe to a different depth (usually longer) than the cloaca of a female.
Skeleton
The skeletons of snakes are radically different from those of most other reptiles (as compared with the turtle here, for example), consisting almost entirely of an extended ribcage.
The skeleton of most snakes consists solely of the skull, hyoid, vertebral column, and ribs, though henophidian snakes retain vestiges of the pelvis and rear limbs.
The skull consists of a solid and complete neurocranium, to which many of the other bones are only loosely attached, particularly the highly mobile jaw bones, which facilitate manipulation and ingestion of large prey items. The left and right sides of the lower jaw are joined only by a flexible ligament at the anterior tips, allowing them to separate widely, and the posterior end of the lower jaw bones articulate with a quadrate bone, allowing further mobility. The mandible and quadrate bones can pick up ground-borne vibrations; because the sides of the lower jaw can move independently of one another, a snake resting its jaw on a surface has sensitive stereo auditory perception, used for detecting the position of prey. The jaw–quadrate–stapes pathway is capable of detecting vibrations on the angstrom scale, despite the absence of an outer ear and the lack of an impedance matching mechanism—provided by the ossicles in other vertebrates—for receiving vibrations from the air.
The hyoid is a small bone located posterior and ventral to the skull, in the 'neck' region, which serves as an attachment for the muscles of the snake's tongue, as it does in all other tetrapods.
The vertebral column consists of between 200 and 400 vertebrae, or sometimes more. The body vertebrae each have two ribs articulating with them. The tail vertebrae are comparatively few in number (often less than 20% of the total) and lack ribs. The vertebrae have projections that allow for strong muscle attachment, enabling locomotion without limbs.
Caudal autotomy (self-amputation of the tail), a feature found in some lizards, is absent in most snakes. In the rare cases where it does exist in snakes, caudal autotomy is intervertebral (meaning the separation of adjacent vertebrae), unlike that in lizards, which is intravertebral, i.e. the break happens along a predefined fracture plane present on a vertebra.
In some snakes, most notably boas and pythons, there are vestiges of the hindlimbs in the form of a pair of pelvic spurs. These small, claw-like protrusions on each side of the cloaca are the external portion of the vestigial hindlimb skeleton, which includes the remains of an ilium and femur.
Snakes are polyphyodonts with teeth that are continuously replaced
Snakes and other non-archosaur (crocodilians, dinosaurs + birds and allies) reptiles have a three-chambered heart that controls the circulatory system via the left and right atrium, and one ventricle. Internally, the ventricle is divided into three interconnected cavities: the cavum arteriosum, the cavum pulmonale, and the cavum venosum. The cavum venosum receives deoxygenated blood from the right atrium and the cavum arteriosum receives oxygenated blood from the left atrium. Located beneath the cavum venosum is the cavum pulmonale, which pumps blood to the pulmonary trunk.
The snake's heart is encased in a sac, called the pericardium, located at the bifurcation of the bronchi. The heart is able to move around, owing to the lack of a diaphragm; this adjustment protects the heart from potential damage when large ingested prey is passed through the esophagus. The spleen is attached to the gall bladder and pancreas and filters the blood. The thymus, located in fatty tissue above the heart, is responsible for the generation of immune cells in the blood. The cardiovascular system of snakes is unique for the presence of a renal portal system in which the blood from the snake's tail passes through the kidneys before returning to the heart.
The vestigial left lung is often small or sometimes even absent, as snakes' tubular bodies require all of their organs to be long and thin.[71] In the majority of species, only one lung is functional. This lung contains a vascularized anterior portion and a posterior portion that does not function in gas exchange. This 'saccular lung' is used for hydrostatic purposes to adjust buoyancy in some aquatic snakes and its function remains unknown in terrestrial species. Many organs that are paired, such as kidneys or reproductive organs, are staggered within the body, one located ahead of the other.
Snakes have no lymph nodes.
Venom
Cobras, vipers, and closely related species use venom to immobilize, injure, or kill their prey. The venom is modified saliva, delivered through fangs. The fangs of 'advanced' venomous snakes like viperids and elapids are hollow, allowing venom to be injected more effectively, and the fangs of rear-fanged snakes such as the boomslang simply have a groove on the posterior edge to channel venom into the wound. Snake venoms are often prey-specific, and their role in self-defense is secondary.
Venom, like all salivary secretions, is a predigestant that initiates the breakdown of food into soluble compounds, facilitating proper digestion. Even nonvenomous snakebites (like any animal bite) cause tissue damage.
Certain birds, mammals, and other snakes (such as kingsnakes) that prey on venomous snakes have developed resistance and even immunity to certain venoms.Venomous snakes include three families of snakes, and do not constitute a formal taxonomic classification group.
The colloquial term "poisonous snake" is generally an incorrect label for snakes. A poison is inhaled or ingested, whereas venom produced by snakes is injected into its victim via fangs. There are, however, two exceptions: Rhabdophis sequesters toxins from the toads it eats, then secretes them from nuchal glands to ward off predators; and a small unusual population of garter snakes in the US state of Oregon retains enough toxins in their livers from ingested newts to be effectively poisonous to small local predators (such as crows and foxes).
Snake venoms are complex mixtures of proteins, and are stored in venom glands at the back of the head. In all venomous snakes, these glands open through ducts into grooved or hollow teeth in the upper jaw. The proteins can potentially be a mix of neurotoxins (which attack the nervous system), hemotoxins (which attack the circulatory system), cytotoxins (which attack the cells directly), bungarotoxins (related to neurotoxins, but also directly affect muscle tissue), and many other toxins that affect the body in different ways. Almost all snake venom contains hyaluronidase, an enzyme that ensures rapid diffusion of the venom.
Venomous snakes that use hemotoxins usually have fangs in the front of their mouths, making it easier for them to inject the venom into their victims. Some snakes that use neurotoxins (such as the mangrove snake) have fangs in the back of their mouths, with the fangs curled backwards. This makes it difficult both for the snake to use its venom and for scientists to milk them. Elapids, however, such as cobras and kraits are proteroglyphous—they possess hollow fangs that cannot be erected toward the front of their mouths, and cannot "stab" like a viper. They must actually bite the victim.
It has been suggested that all snakes may be venomous to a certain degree, with harmless snakes having weak venom and no fangs. According to this theory, most snakes that are labelled "nonvenomous" would be considered harmless because they either lack a venom delivery method or are incapable of delivering enough to endanger a human. The theory postulates that snakes may have evolved from a common lizard ancestor that was venomous, and also that venomous lizards like the gila monster, beaded lizard, monitor lizards, and the now-extinct mosasaurs, may have derived from this same common ancestor. They share this "venom clade" with various other saurian species.
Venomous snakes are classified in two taxonomic families:
Elapids – cobras including king cobras, kraits, mambas, Australian copperheads, sea snakes, and coral snakes.
Viperids – vipers, rattlesnakes, copperheads/cottonmouths, and bushmasters.
There is a third family containing the opistoglyphous (rear-fanged) snakes (as well as the majority of other snake species):
Colubrids – boomslangs, tree snakes, vine snakes, cat snakes, although not all colubrids are venomous.
Reproduction
Although a wide range of reproductive modes are used by snakes, all employ internal fertilization. This is accomplished by means of paired, forked hemipenes, which are stored, inverted, in the male's tail. The hemipenes are often grooved, hooked, or spined—designed to grip the walls of the female's cloaca. The clitoris of the female snake consists of two structures located between the cloaca and the scent glands.
Most species of snakes lay eggs which they abandon shortly after laying. However, a few species (such as the king cobra) construct nests and stay in the vicinity of the hatchlings after incubation. Most pythons coil around their egg-clutches and remain with them until they hatch. A female python will not leave the eggs, except to occasionally bask in the sun or drink water. She will even "shiver" to generate heat to incubate the eggs.
Some species of snake are ovoviviparous and retain the eggs within their bodies until they are almost ready to hatch. Several species of snake, such as the boa constrictor and green anaconda, are fully viviparous, nourishing their young through a placenta as well as a yolk sac; this is highly unusual among reptiles, and normally found in requiem sharks or placental mammals. Retention of eggs and live birth are most often associated with colder environments.
Sexual selection in snakes is demonstrated by the 3,000 species that each use different tactics in acquiring mates. Ritual combat between males for the females they want to mate with includes topping, a behavior exhibited by most viperids in which one male will twist around the vertically elevated fore body of its opponent and force it downward. It is common for neck-biting to occur while the snakes are entwined.
Facultative parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis is a natural form of reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization. Agkistrodon contortrix (copperhead) and Agkistrodon piscivorus (cottonmouth) can reproduce by facultative parthenogenesis, meaning that they are capable of switching from a sexual mode of reproduction to an asexual mode. The most likely type of parthenogenesis to occur is automixis with terminal fusion, a process in which two terminal products from the same meiosis fuse to form a diploid zygote. This process leads to genome-wide homozygosity, expression of deleterious recessive alleles, and often to developmental abnormalities. Both captive-born and wild-born copperheads and cottonmouths appear to be capable of this form of parthenogenesis.
Reproduction in squamate reptiles is almost exclusively sexual. Males ordinarily have a ZZ pair of sex-determining chromosomes, and females a ZW pair. However, the Colombian Rainbow boa (Epicrates maurus) can also reproduce by facultative parthenogenesis, resulting in production of WW female progeny. The WW females are likely produced by terminal automixis.
Embryonic Development
Snake embryonic development initially follows similar steps as any vertebrate embryo. The snake embryo begins as a zygote, undergoes rapid cell division, forms a germinal disc, also called a blastodisc, then undergoes gastrulation, neurulation, and organogenesis. Cell division and proliferation continues until an early snake embryo develops and the typical body shape of a snake can be observed. Multiple features differentiate the embryologic development of snakes from other vertebrates, two significant factors being the elongation of the body and the lack of limb development.
The elongation in snake body is accompanied by a significant increase in vertebra count (mice have 60 vertebrae, whereas snakes may have over 300). This increase in vertebrae is due to an increase in somites during embryogenesis, leading to an increased number of vertebrae which develop. Somites are formed at the presomitic mesoderm due to a set of oscillatory genes that direct the somitogenesis clock. The snake somitogenesis clock operates at a frequency 4 times that of a mouse (after correction for developmental time), creating more somites, and therefore creating more vertebrae. This difference in clock speed is believed to be caused by differences in Lunatic fringe gene expression, a gene involved in the somitogenesis clock.
There is ample literature focusing on the limb development/lack of development in snake embryos and the gene expression associated with the different stages. In basal snakes, such as the python, embryos in early development exhibit a hind limb bud that develops with some cartilage and a cartilaginous pelvic element, however this degenerates before hatching. This presence of vestigial development suggests that some snakes are still undergoing hind limb reduction before they are eliminated. There is no evidence in basal snakes of forelimb rudiments and no examples of snake forelimb bud initiation in embryo, so little is known regarding the loss of this trait. Recent studies suggests that hind limb reduction could be due to mutations in enhancers for the SSH gene, however other studies suggested that mutations within the Hox Genes or their enhancers could contribute to snake limblessness. Since multiple studies have found evidence suggesting different genes played a role in the loss of limbs in snakes, it is likely that multiple gene mutations had an additive effect leading to limb loss in snakes.
Behavior
Snake coiled on a stick in Oklahoma. It was brumating in a large pile of wood chips, found by this landscaper after he bulldozed the pile in late autumn 2018.
In regions where winters are too cold for snakes to tolerate while remaining active, local species will enter a period of brumation. Unlike hibernation, in which the dormant mammals are actually asleep, brumating reptiles are awake but inactive. Individual snakes may brumate in burrows, under rock piles, or inside fallen trees, or large numbers of snakes may clump together in hibernacula.
Feeding and diet
All snakes are strictly carnivorous, preying on small animals including lizards, frogs, other snakes, small mammals, birds, eggs, fish, snails, worms, and insects. Snakes cannot bite or tear their food to pieces so must swallow their prey whole. The eating habits of a snake are largely influenced by body size; smaller snakes eat smaller prey. Juvenile pythons might start out feeding on lizards or mice and graduate to small deer or antelope as an adult, for example.
The snake's jaw is a complex structure. Contrary to the popular belief that snakes can dislocate their jaws, they have an extremely flexible lower jaw, the two halves of which are not rigidly attached, and numerous other joints in the skull, which allow the snake to open its mouth wide enough to swallow prey whole, even if it is larger in diameter than the snake itself. For example, the African egg-eating snake has flexible jaws adapted for eating eggs much larger than the diameter of its head. This snake has no teeth, but does have bony protrusions on the inside edge of its spine, which it uses to break the shell when eating eggs.
The majority of snakes eat a variety of prey animals, but there is some specialization in certain species. King cobras and the Australian bandy-bandy consume other snakes. Species of the family Pareidae have more teeth on the right side of their mouths than on the left, as they mostly prey on snails and the shells usually spiral clockwise.
Some snakes have a venomous bite, which they use to kill their prey before eating it. Other snakes kill their prey by constriction, while some swallow their prey when it is still alive.
After eating, snakes become dormant to allow the process of digestion to take place; this is an intense activity, especially after consumption of large prey. In species that feed only sporadically, the entire intestine enters a reduced state between meals to conserve energy. The digestive system is then 'up-regulated' to full capacity within 48 hours of prey consumption. Being ectothermic ("cold-blooded"), the surrounding temperature plays an important role in the digestion process. The ideal temperature for snakes to digest food is 30 °C (86 °F). There is a huge amount of metabolic energy involved in a snake's digestion, for example the surface body temperature of the South American rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus) increases by as much as 1.2 °C (2.2 °F) during the digestive process. If a snake is disturbed after having eaten recently, it will often regurgitate its prey to be able to escape the perceived threat. When undisturbed, the digestive process is highly efficient; the snake's digestive enzymes dissolve and absorb everything but the prey's hair (or feathers) and claws, which are excreted along with waste.
Hooding and spitting
Hooding (expansion of the neck area) is a visual deterrent, mostly seen in cobras (elapids), and is primarily controlled by rib muscles.[98] Hooding can be accompanied by spitting venom towards the threatening object,[99] and producing a specialized sound; hissing. Studies on captive cobras showed that 13 to 22% of the body length is raised during hooding.
Locomotion
The lack of limbs does not impede the movement of snakes. They have developed several different modes of locomotion to deal with particular environments. Unlike the gaits of limbed animals, which form a continuum, each mode of snake locomotion is discrete and distinct from the others; transitions between modes are abrupt.
Lateral undulation
Lateral undulation is the sole mode of aquatic locomotion, and the most common mode of terrestrial locomotion In this mode, the body of the snake alternately flexes to the left and right, resulting in a series of rearward-moving "waves". While this movement appears rapid, snakes have rarely been documented moving faster than two body-lengths per second, often much less. This mode of movement has the same net cost of transport (calories burned per meter moved) as running in lizards of the same mass.
Terrestrial lateral undulation is the most common mode of terrestrial locomotion for most snake species. In this mode, the posteriorly moving waves push against contact points in the environment, such as rocks, twigs, irregularities in the soil, etc. Each of these environmental objects, in turn, generates a reaction force directed forward and towards the midline of the snake, resulting in forward thrust while the lateral components cancel out. The speed of this movement depends upon the density of push-points in the environment, with a medium density of about 8[clarification needed] along the snake's length being ideal. The wave speed is precisely the same as the snake speed, and as a result, every point on the snake's body follows the path of the point ahead of it, allowing snakes to move through very dense vegetation and small openings.
When swimming, the waves become larger as they move down the snake's body, and the wave travels backwards faster than the snake moves forwards. Thrust is generated by pushing their body against the water, resulting in the observed slip. In spite of overall similarities, studies show that the pattern of muscle activation is different in aquatic versus terrestrial lateral undulation, which justifies calling them separate modes. All snakes can laterally undulate forward (with backward-moving waves), but only sea snakes have been observed reversing the motion (moving backwards with forward-moving waves).
Sidewinding
Most often employed by colubroid snakes (colubrids, elapids, and vipers) when the snake must move in an environment that lacks irregularities to push against (rendering lateral undulation impossible), such as a slick mud flat, or a sand dune, sidewinding is a modified form of lateral undulation in which all of the body segments oriented in one direction remain in contact with the ground, while the other segments are lifted up, resulting in a peculiar "rolling" motion. This mode of locomotion overcomes the slippery nature of sand or mud by pushing off with only static portions on the body, thereby minimizing slipping. The static nature of the contact points can be shown from the tracks of a sidewinding snake, which show each belly scale imprint, without any smearing. This mode of locomotion has very low caloric cost, less than 1⁄3 of the cost for a lizard to move the same distance. Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that sidewinding is associated with the sand being hot.
Concertina
When push-points are absent, but there is not enough space to use sidewinding because of lateral constraints, such as in tunnels, snakes rely on concertina locomotion. In this mode, the snake braces the posterior portion of its body against the tunnel wall while the front of the snake extends and straightens. The front portion then flexes and forms an anchor point, and the posterior is straightened and pulled forwards. This mode of locomotion is slow and very demanding, up to seven times the cost of laterally undulating over the same distance. This high cost is due to the repeated stops and starts of portions of the body as well as the necessity of using active muscular effort to brace against the tunnel walls.
Arboreal
The movement of snakes in arboreal habitats has only recently been studied. While on tree branches, snakes use several modes of locomotion depending on species and bark texture. In general, snakes will use a modified form of concertina locomotion on smooth branches, but will laterally undulate if contact points are available. Snakes move faster on small branches and when contact points are present, in contrast to limbed animals, which do better on large branches with little 'clutter'.
Gliding snakes (Chrysopelea) of Southeast Asia launch themselves from branch tips, spreading their ribs and laterally undulating as they glide between trees. These snakes can perform a controlled glide for hundreds of feet depending upon launch altitude and can even turn in midair.
Rectilinear
The slowest mode of snake locomotion is rectilinear locomotion, which is also the only one where the snake does not need to bend its body laterally, though it may do so when turning. In this mode, the belly scales are lifted and pulled forward before being placed down and the body pulled over them. Waves of movement and stasis pass posteriorly, resulting in a series of ripples in the skin. The ribs of the snake do not move in this mode of locomotion and this method is most often used by large pythons, boas, and vipers when stalking prey across open ground as the snake's movements are subtle and harder to detect by their prey in this manner.
Interactions with humans
Snakes do not ordinarily prey on humans. Unless startled or injured, most snakes prefer to avoid contact and will not attack humans. With the exception of large constrictors, nonvenomous snakes are not a threat to humans. The bite of a nonvenomous snake is usually harmless; their teeth are not adapted for tearing or inflicting a deep puncture wound, but rather grabbing and holding. Although the possibility of infection and tissue damage is present in the bite of a nonvenomous snake, venomous snakes present far greater hazard to humans. The World Health Organization (WHO) lists snakebite under the "other neglected conditions" category.
Documented deaths resulting from snake bites are uncommon. Nonfatal bites from venomous snakes may result in the need for amputation of a limb or part thereof. Of the roughly 725 species of venomous snakes worldwide, only 250 are able to kill a human with one bite. Australia averages only one fatal snake bite per year. In India, 250,000 snakebites are recorded in a single year, with as many as 50,000 recorded initial deaths. The WHO estimates that on the order of 100,000 people die each year as a result of snake bites, and around three times as many amputations and other permanent disabilities are caused by snakebites annually.
The treatment for a snakebite is as variable as the bite itself. The most common and effective method is through antivenom (or antivenin), a serum made from the venom of the snake. Some antivenom is species-specific (monovalent) while some is made for use with multiple species in mind (polyvalent). In the United States for example, all species of venomous snakes are pit vipers, with the exception of the coral snake. To produce antivenom, a mixture of the venoms of the different species of rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouths is injected into the body of a horse in ever-increasing dosages until the horse is immunized. Blood is then extracted from the immunized horse. The serum is separated and further purified and freeze-dried. It is reconstituted with sterile water and becomes antivenom. For this reason, people who are allergic to horses are more likely to have an allergic reaction to antivenom. Antivenom for the more dangerous species (such as mambas, taipans, and cobras) is made in a similar manner in South Africa, Australia , and India, although these antivenoms are species-specific.
Snake charmers
In some parts of the world, especially in India, snake charming is a roadside show performed by a charmer. In such a show, the snake charmer carries a basket containing a snake that he seemingly charms by playing tunes with his flutelike musical instrument, to which the snake responds. The snake is in fact responding to the movement of the flute, not the sound it makes, as snakes lack external ears (though they do have internal ears).
The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 in India technically prohibits snake charming on the grounds of reducing animal cruelty. Other types of snake charmers use a snake and mongoose show, where the two animals have a mock fight; however, this is not very common, as the animals may be seriously injured or killed. Snake charming as a profession is dying out in India because of competition from modern forms of entertainment and environment laws proscribing the practice. Many Indians have never seen snake charming and it is becoming a folktale of the past.
Trapping
The Irulas tribe of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in India have been hunter-gatherers in the hot, dry plains forests, and have practiced the art of snake catching for generations. They have a vast knowledge of snakes in the field. They generally catch the snakes with the help of a simple stick. Earlier, the Irulas caught thousands of snakes for the snake-skin industry. After the complete ban of the snake-skin industry in India and protection of all snakes under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, they formed the Irula Snake Catcher's Cooperative and switched to catching snakes for removal of venom, releasing them in the wild after four extractions. The venom so collected is used for producing life-saving antivenom, biomedical research and for other medicinal products. The Irulas are also known to eat some of the snakes they catch and are very useful in rat extermination in the villages.
Despite the existence of snake charmers, there have also been professional snake catchers or wranglers. Modern-day snake trapping involves a herpetologist using a long stick with a V-shaped end. Some television show hosts, like Bill Haast, Austin Stevens, Steve Irwin, and Jeff Corwin, prefer to catch them using bare hands.
Consumption
Although snakes are not commonly thought of as food, their consumption is acceptable in some cultures and may even be considered a delicacy. Snake soup is popular in Cantonese cuisine, consumed by locals in the autumn to warm their bodies. Western cultures document the consumption of snakes only under extreme circumstances of hunger, with the exception of cooked rattlesnake meat, which is commonly consumed in Texas and parts of the Midwestern United States.
In Asian countries such as China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia, drinking the blood of a snake—particularly the cobra—is believed to increase sexual virility. When possible, the blood is drained while the cobra is still alive, and it is usually mixed with some form of liquor to improve the taste.
The use of snakes in alcohol is accepted in some Asian countries. In such cases, one or more snakes are left to steep in a jar or container of liquor, as this is claimed to make the liquor stronger (as well as more expensive). One example of this is the Habu snake, which is sometimes placed in the Okinawan liqueur Habushu (ハブ酒), also known as "Habu Sake".
Snake wine (蛇酒) is an alcoholic beverage produced by infusing whole snakes in rice wine or grain alcohol. First recorded as being consumed in China during the Western Zhou dynasty, this drink is considered an important curative and is believed to reinvigorate a person according to traditional Chinese medicine
Pets
In the Western world, some snakes are kept as pets, especially docile species such as the ball python and corn snake. To meet the demand, a captive breeding industry has developed. Snakes bred in captivity are considered preferable to specimens caught in the wild and tend to make better pets. Compared with more traditional types of companion animal, snakes can be very low-maintenance pets; they require minimal space, as most common species do not exceed 5 feet (1.5 m) in length, and can be fed relatively infrequently—usually once every five to 14 days. Certain snakes have a lifespan of more than 40 years if given proper care.
Symbolism
In ancient Mesopotamia, Nirah, the messenger god of Ištaran, was represented as a serpent on kudurrus, or boundary stones. Representations of two intertwined serpents are common in Sumerian art and Neo-Sumerian artwork and still appear sporadically on cylinder seals and amulets until as late as the thirteenth century BC. The horned viper (Cerastes cerastes) appears in Kassite and Neo-Assyrian kudurrus and is invoked in Assyrian texts as a magical protective entity. A dragon-like creature with horns, the body and neck of a snake, the forelegs of a lion, and the hind-legs of a bird appears in Mesopotamian art from the Akkadian Period until the Hellenistic Period (323 BC–31 BC). This creature, known in Akkadian as the mušḫuššu, meaning "furious serpent", was used as a symbol for particular deities and also as a general protective emblem. It seems to have originally been the attendant of the Underworld god Ninazu, but later became the attendant to the Hurrian storm-god Tishpak, as well as, later, Ninazu's son Ningishzida, the Babylonian national god Marduk, the scribal god Nabu, and the Assyrian national god Ashur.
In Egyptian history, the snake occupies a primary role with the Nile cobra adorning the crown of the pharaoh in ancient times. It was worshipped as one of the gods and was also used for sinister purposes: murder of an adversary and ritual suicide (Cleopatra). The ouroboros was a well-known ancient Egyptian symbol of a serpent swallowing its own tail. The precursor to the ouroboros was the "Many-Faced", a serpent with five heads, who, according to the Amduat, the oldest surviving Book of the Afterlife, was said to coil around the corpse of the sun god Ra protectively. The earliest surviving depiction of a "true" ouroboros comes from the gilded shrines in the tomb of Tutankhamun. In the early centuries AD, the ouroboros was adopted as a symbol by Gnostic Christians and chapter 136 of the Pistis Sophia, an early Gnostic text, describes "a great dragon whose tail is in its mouth". In medieval alchemy, the ouroboros became a typical western dragon with wings, legs, and a tail.
In the Bible, King Nahash of Ammon, whose name means "Snake", is depicted very negatively, as a particularly cruel and despicable enemy of the ancient Hebrews.
The ancient Greeks used the Gorgoneion, a depiction of a hideous face with serpents for hair, as an apotropaic symbol to ward off evil. In a Greek myth described by Pseudo-Apollodorus in his Bibliotheca, Medusa was a Gorgon with serpents for hair whose gaze turned all those who looked at her to stone and was slain by the hero Perseus. In the Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphoses, Medusa is said to have once been a beautiful priestess of Athena, whom Athena turned into a serpent-haired monster after she was raped by the god Poseidon in Athena's temple. In another myth referenced by the Boeotian poet Hesiod and described in detail by Pseudo-Apollodorus, the hero Heracles is said to have slain the Lernaean Hydra, a multiple-headed serpent which dwelt in the swamps of Lerna.
The legendary account of the foundation of Thebes mentioned a monster snake guarding the spring from which the new settlement was to draw its water. In fighting and killing the snake, the companions of the founder Cadmus all perished – leading to the term "Cadmean victory" (i.e. a victory involving one's own ruin).
Three medical symbols involving snakes that are still used today are Bowl of Hygieia, symbolizing pharmacy, and the Caduceus and Rod of Asclepius, which are symbols denoting medicine in general.
One of the etymologies proposed for the common female first name Linda is that it might derive from Old German Lindi or Linda, meaning a serpent.
India is often called the land of snakes and is steeped in tradition regarding snakes. Snakes are worshipped as gods even today with many women pouring milk on snake pits (despite snakes' aversion for milk). The cobra is seen on the neck of Shiva and Vishnu is depicted often as sleeping on a seven-headed snake or within the coils of a serpent. There are also several temples in India solely for cobras sometimes called Nagraj (King of Snakes) and it is believed that snakes are symbols of fertility. There is a Hindu festival called Nag Panchami each year on which day snakes are venerated and prayed to. See also Nāga.
In India there is another mythology about snakes. Commonly known in Hindi as "Ichchhadhari" snakes. Such snakes can take the form of any living creature, but prefer human form. These mythical snakes possess a valuable gem called "Mani", which is more brilliant than diamond. There are many stories in India about greedy people trying to possess this gem and ending up getting killed.
The snake is one of the 12 celestial animals of Chinese zodiac, in the Chinese calendar.
Many ancient Peruvian cultures worshipped nature. They emphasized animals and often depicted snakes in their art.
Religion
Snakes are used in Hinduism as a part of ritual worship. In the annual Nag Panchami festival, participants worship either live cobras or images of Nāgas. Lord Shiva is depicted in most images with a snake coiled around his neck. Puranic literature includes various stories associated with snakes, for example Shesha is said to hold all the planets of the Universe on his hoods and to constantly sing the glories of Vishnu from all his mouths. Other notable snakes in Hinduism are Vasuki, Takshaka, Karkotaka, and Pingala. The term Nāga is used to refer to entities that take the form of large snakes in Hinduism and Buddhism.
Snakes have been widely revered in many cultures, such as in ancient Greece where the serpent was seen as a healer.[148] Asclepius carried a serpent wound around his wand, a symbol seen today on many ambulances. In Judaism, the snake of brass is also a symbol of healing, of one's life being saved from imminent death.
In religious terms, the snake and jaguar were arguably the most important animals in ancient Mesoamerica. "In states of ecstasy, lords dance a serpent dance; great descending snakes adorn and support buildings from Chichen Itza to Tenochtitlan, and the Nahuatl word coatl meaning serpent or twin, forms part of primary deities such as Mixcoatl, Quetzalcoatl, and Coatlicue." In the Maya and Aztec calendars, the fifth day of the week was known as Snake Day.
In some parts of Christianity, the redemptive work of Jesus Christ is compared to saving one's life through beholding the Nehushtan (serpent of brass). Snake handlers use snakes as an integral part of church worship, to demonstrate their faith in divine protection. However, more commonly in Christianity, the serpent has been depicted as a representative of evil and sly plotting, as seen in the description in Genesis of a snake tempting Eve in the Garden of Eden. Saint Patrick is purported to have expelled all snakes from Ireland while converting the country to Christianity in the 5th century, thus explaining the absence of snakes there.
In Christianity and Judaism, the snake makes its infamous appearance in the first book of the Bible when a serpent appears before Adam and Eve and tempts them with the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. The snake returns in the Book of Exodus when Moses turns his staff into a snake as a sign of God's power, and later when he makes the Nehushtan, a bronze snake on a pole that when looked at cured the people of bites from the snakes that plagued them in the desert. The serpent makes its final appearance symbolizing Satan in the Book of Revelation: "And he laid hold on the dragon the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years."
In Neo-Paganism and Wicca, the snake is seen as a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. Additionally, snakes are sometimes associated with Hecate, the Greek goddess of witchcraft.
Medicine
Several compounds from snake venoms are being researched as potential treatments or preventatives for pain, cancers, arthritis, stroke, heart disease, hemophilia, and hypertension, and to control bleeding (e.g. during surgery).
BLACK KITE :
The Black Kite (Milvus migrans) is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. Unlike others of the group, they are opportunistic hunters and are more likely to scavenge. They spend a lot of time soaring and gliding in thermals in search of food. Their angled wing and distinctive forked tail make them easy to identify. This kite is widely distributed through the temperate and tropical parts of Eurasia and parts of Australasia and Oceania, with the temperate region populations tending to be migratory. Several subspecies are recognized and formerly had their own English names. The European populations are small, but the South Asian population is very large.
Description
The Black Kite can be distinguished from the Red Kite by its slightly smaller size, less forked tail, visible in flight and generally dark plumage without any rufous. The sexes are alike. The upper plumage is brown but the head and neck tend to be paler. The patch behind the eye appears darker. The outer flight feathers are black and the feathers have dark cross bars and are mottled at the base. The lower parts of the body are pale brown, becoming lighter towards the chin. The body feathers have dark shafts giving it a streaked appearance. The cere and gape are yellow but the bill is black (unlike in the Yellow-billed Kite). The legs are yellow and the claws are black. They have a distinctive shrill whistle followed by a rapid whinnying call.
Distribution
The species is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. The temperate populations of this kite tend to be migratory while the tropical ones are resident. European and central Asian birds (subspecies M. m. milvus and Black-eared Kite M. m. lineatus, respectively) are migratory, moving to the tropics in winter, but races in warmer regions such as the Indian M. m. govinda(Pariah Kite), or the Australasian M. m. affinis (Fork-tailed Kite), are resident. In some areas such as in the United Kingdom, the Black Kite occurs only as a wanderer on migration. These birds are usually of the nominate race, but in November 2006 a juvenile of the eastern lineatus, not previously recorded in western Europe, was found in Lincolnshire.
The species is not found in the Indonesian archipelago between the South East Asian mainland and the Wallace Line. Vagrants, most likely of the Black-eared Kite, on occasion range far into the Pacific, out to the Hawaiian islands.
In India, the population of M. m. govinda is particularly large especially in areas of high human population. Here the birds avoid heavily forested regions. A survey in 1967 in the 150 square kilometres of the city of New Delhi produced an estimate of about 2200 pairs or roughly 15 per square kilometer.
Food and Foraging
Black Kites are most often seen gliding and soaring on thermals as they search for food. The flight is buoyant and the bird glides with ease, changing directions easily. They will swoop down with their legs lowered to snatch small live prey, fish, household refuse and carrion, for which behaviour they are known in British military slang as the shite-hawk. They are opportunist hunters and have been known to take birds, bats and rodents.[ They are attracted to smoke and fires, where they seek escaping prey. This behaviour has led to Australian native beliefs that kites spread fires by picking up burning twigs and dropping them on dry grass. The Indian populations are well adapted to living in cities and are found in densely populated areas. Large numbers may be seen soaring in thermals over cities. In some places they will readily swoop and snatch food held by humans. Black Kites in Spain prey on nestling waterfowl especially during summer to feed their young. Predation of nests of other pairs of Black Kites has also been noted. Kites have also been seen to tear and carry away the nests of Baya Weavers in an attempt to obtain eggs or chicks.
Flocking and roosting
In winter, kites form large communal roosts. Flocks may fly about before settling at the roost. When migrating, the Black Kite has a greater propensity to form large flocks than other migratory raptors, particularly prior to making a crossing across water. In India, the subspecies govindashows large seasonal fluctuations with the highest numbers seen from July to October, after the Monsoons, and it has been suggested that they make local movements in response to high rainfall.
Breeding
The breeding season of Black Kites in India begins in winter, the young birds fledging before the monsoons. The nest is a rough platform of twigs and rags placed in a tree. Nest sites may be reused in subsequent years. European birds breed in summer. Birds in the Italian Alps tended to build their nest close to water in steep cliffs or tall trees. Nest orientation may be related to wind and rainfall. The nests may sometimes be decorated with bright materials such as white plastic and a study in Spain suggests that they may have a role in signalling to keep away other kites. After pairing, the male frequently copulates with the female. Unguarded females may be approached by other males, and extra pair copulations are frequent. Males returning from a foraging trip will frequently copulate on return, as this increases the chances of his sperm fertilizing the eggs rather than a different male. Both the male and female take part in nest building, incubation and care of chicks. The typical clutch size is 2 or sometimes 3 eggs. The incubation period varies from 30–34 days. Chicks of the Indian population stayed at the nest for nearly two months. Chicks hatched later in European populations appeared to fledge faster. The care of young by the parents also rapidly decreased with the need for adults to migrate. Siblings show aggression to each other and often the weaker chick may be killed, but parent birds were found to preferentially feed the smaller chicks in experimentally altered nests. Newly hatched young have down (prepennae) which are sepia on the back and black around the eye and buff on the head, neck and underparts. This is replaced by brownish gray second down (preplumulae). After 9 to 12 days the second down appears on the whole body except the top of the head. Body feathers begin to appear after 18 to 22 days. The feathers on the head become noticeable from the 24th to 29th day. The nestlings initially feed on food fallen at the bottom of the nest and begin to tear flesh after 33–39 days. They are able to stand on their legs after 17–19 days and begin flapping their wings after 27–31 days. After 50 days they begin to move to branches next to the nest. Birds are able to breed after their second year. Parent birds guard their nest and will dive aggressively at intruders. Humans who intrude the nest appear to be recognized by birds and singled out for dive attacks.
Mortality factors
Black-eared Kites in Japan were found to accumulate nearly 70% of mercury accumulated from polluted food in the feathers, thus excreting it in the moult process. Black Kites often perch on electric wires and are frequent victims of electrocution. Their habit of swooping to pick up dead rodents or other roadkill leads to collisions with vehicles. Instances of mass poisoning as a result of feeding on poisoned voles in agricultural fields have been noted. They are also a major nuisance at some airports, where their size makes them a significant birdstrike hazard.
Like most bird species, they have parasites, several species of endoparasitic trematodes are known and some Digenea species that are transmitted via fishes.
Birds with abnormal development of a secondary upper mandible have been recorded in govindaand lineatus.
PHOTOGRAPHY : KAUSHIK SINGHA ROY
This memorial
of his untimely fate
has been erected by the
Vicar and two friends
who accompanied him
in a visit to Paris
as a tribute of respect to that
Brave and Generous Nation
Once our foes but now our
allies and brethren
Ainsi Soit il
A.D
1857
Napoleonic Conflict
In the late 1700s Dereham church's bell tower was used as a prison for French prisoners of war being transferred from Great Yarmouth to Norman Cross under the charge of the East Norfolk Militia. On 6 October 1799 a French officer, Jean de Narde, managed to escape from the tower and, being unable to escape from the church yard due to guards being present, hid in a tree. The Frenchman was spotted and shot when he refused to come down and surrender. Jean is buried in the church yard, and his grave is marked by a memorial stone erected in 1858, which includes the following statement: "Once our foes but now our allies and brethren."
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dereham
Source: eastscapes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/once-our-foe-grave-of-j...
The East North Militia have one “battle honour” to its “credit” Whilst escorting French prisoners of war from Yarmouth to Norman Cross, The Militia locked up their prisoners for the night in the bell tower of Dereham church – for safe keeping. In spite of this, an officer by the name of Jean De Narde, the 28 year son of a notary from St. Malo, managed to escape from the church. Finding that the Militia had set piquets around the perimeter of the Church he climbed an oak hoping that his absence would go unnoticed and that the party would leave without him thus allowing him to make good his escape. Unfortunately for De Narde, the Militia, realizing that they were missing a prisoner conducted a search of the locality and the Frenchman was spotted on account of him leaving his legs dangling from the tree. The Sergeant was told to get the Frenchman down. The prisoner was called on to surrender. Whether De Narde did not understand English that was yelled at him or perhaps he did not even realise that he had been discovered, De Narde kept to his tree. The Sergeant thereupon shot the Frenchman from the tree, killing him instantly. The local population were apparently ashamed by this action and thought this deed to be one of unnecessary cruelty, according to the Parish Priest, the Reverend Benjamin John Armstrong . Eventually a monument was raised to the unfortunate De Narde and the family in St Malo informed of his fate.
Source: eastnorfolkmilitia.webs.com/themilitia.htm
Jean de Narde was a French prisoner of war who had been landed at Yarmouth, and was on his way to Norman Cross prison in 1799. His party was lodged in the Bell Tower of East Dereham church overnight, and he attempted to escape by climbing down the wall but was shot by one of the guards. He was buried in the cemetery and later in the 19th century a headstone was placed above his grave. There is a plaque on the tower wall that relates this story. A contemporary account of prisoners marching through the area records the frequent passage of such prisoners, with East Dereham being one of the halts for the night:
Columns of prisoners often 1,000 strong were marched from Yarmouth to Norwich and lodged in the castle. From Yarmouth they were marched to Lynn halting at Costessey, East Dereham and thence to Lynn. Here the captives were lodged temporarily in an old warehouse on the north side of the King Staith.
The Norman Cross brochure has this text on the front of its folder:
In 1797 the Transport Board of the Admiralty decided that a new prison establishment was required in the east of England, to house the many thousands of French and Dutch prisoners of war arriving in this country. The site had to be inland to hinder escape attempts although within easy access of the coast so that captives could be landed at Kings Lynn and Yarmouth and conveyed to the depot at minimal cost; in a fertile area where the local produce could supply the depot; and on a site that possessed a good water supply. Norman Cross possessed all these attributes and was on the Great North Road so that troops, prisoners and supplies could be conveyed along this route easily. Construction work began in December 1796 and by the following April the prison was ready for the reception of prisoners.
The depot was in use from 1797 to 1814 and housed not only French but Dutch, German, Italian and Polish POWs. These men were captured at the naval battles of Camperduin and Trafalgar and during the Peninsular War. Prisoners also came from enemy privateers and merchant vessels, the capture of the French colonies in the West Indies and from battles such as Maida in 1806 in Italy and the Walcheren campaign of 1809.
Source: www.napoleonicwarsforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2167
The " Bell Tower" (to adopt loyally the indigenous name) stands, not on the church, like most of its contemporaries, but beside it. It was also used as a lock-up or temporary prison in the days when French captives were marched from Yarmouth to Norman Cross, and passed a night at Norwich and Dereham on their way.
One October evening in 1799, a batch of these poor fellows were lodged in the hospitable precincts of this Bell Tower. A prisoner of war by the name of Jean de la Narde, twenty-eight years of age, the son of a notary of St. Malo, thought he would try to escape during the night. He was discovered, however, by the sentry, pursued by the guard just as he had succeeded in climbing into a large tree, and was there shot dead. A neat stone was erected over his remains by the kind-hearted vicar and renewed by the Rev. B. J. Armstrong in 1856.
Page 29 “Life, writings and correspondence of George Borrow (1803-1881) based on official and other authentic sources”
Source: archive.org/stream/lifewritingsandc01knapuoft/lifewriting...
Passages from the diary of the Rev. Benjamin John Armstrong M.A. (Cantab) Vicar of Dereham. 1850 – 88
Feb. 17 1858. Today another cross was set up in the churchyard, the inscription under which will speak for itself. 'In memory of Jean de Narde, son of a Notary Public of St. Malo. A French prisoner of war, who, having escaped from the Bell tower of this church, was pursued and shot by a soldier. October 6th, 1799, aged 28 years.
Source: www.coxresearcher.com/history/norfolkdiary.htm
Source: godsacre.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/jean-de-narde-norfolk-dia...
6. (March 1858)*—“Within the last few days a stone has been placed in the churchyard at East Dereham, in memory of Jean de Narde, a French prisoner of war, who, in the year 1796 while en route from Yarmouth to Norman Cross prison, was lodged in the lower chamber of the bell tower of the church, and escaped therefrom. He was pursued by the guard, and, after some search, was espied in a tree on the Scarning Road, and when summoned by a soldier to descend and surrender he did not comply. His non-compliance forfeited his life, for he was shot off it like a crow. The stone was erected by the vicar and two other gentlemen.”
From Norfolk Annals, A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the ineteenth Century, Vol 2 by Charles Mackie.
Source: www.hellenicaworld.com/UK/Literature/CharlesMackie/en/Nor...
(I’m leaning towards discounting this version – not only is the year wrong but it’s the only version that implies he managed to get further than the churchyard).
So lots of slight variations on the circumstances of Jeans’ death throughout all those. I believe this headstone was a replacement for one put in place contemporaneously by the then incumbent Vicar.
Participants include partners, rural communities, and remote Maine island communities will discuss their challenges, successes, and needs with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett (not seen) moderates a broadband roundtable and luncheon: “How Broadband Transforms Rural and Island Communities,” about broadband, both connectivity in general and also how USDA Rural Development’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants have helped people and school children on island communities connect. Officials will also discuss how broadband can help drive their island economies, Isleford (Little Cranberry Island) Maine, on July 10, 2018. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
The kit includes:
-Hassleblad 501CM body (black)
-Waist Level Finder
-Eye Level Prism PM5 (non-metered, with flash cold shoe - so you can go strobist crazy with flash sync at all speeds)
-2 x A12 backs (one black and one chrome)
-21mm Extension Tube (great for ultra CU portraits or macro stuff)
-Hasselblad bubble level (very useful on a tripod)
-Hasselblad strap
-B60-77mm Filter adapter (use your 77mm filters on both lenses)
-80/2.8 Carl Zeiss Planar CF version, T* coated (with hood)
-150/4 Carl Zeiss Sonnar CF version, T* coated (with hood)
-Polaroid Back with:
1 x 10 pack of Polaroid 664 (ISO 100 BW)
2 x 10 pack of Polaroid 665 (ISO 80 BW)
1 x 10 pack of Polaroid 689 (ISO 100 Colour)
Contact me if you're interested.
ZURB Wired 2015: Meet Downtown Streets Team, Downtown Streets Team is celebrating 10 years of helping the homeless transform their lives through their unique work and community beautification programs, in addition to providing assistance with housing, medical care and education. We’re going to help them by creating a brand new marketing campaign that includes a new responsive website, trifold brochure, postcard sized pamphlets for handing out on the streets, posters and some t-shirt designs.
The ZURB Wired 24-hour marathon is where our team and the team from one lucky local nonprofit get together to do something great in 24 hours. We spend the day helping the nonprofit solve a big challenge; whether it be marketing for an upcoming event, or completely overhauling their brand; and we get it all done in 24 hours.
ZURB is a close-knit team of product designers that help companies design better. www.zurb.com
Playing with colour pop after a visit to Willen Lake at the weekend. Just loved the randomness of the shot - Willen Lake is usually such a lovely clean place but I manage to find the only part that looks a little like a dumping ground for old junk!!!
Also it always strikes me as odd that whenever you see an icecream van its usually the adults that are queuing and the kids that are getting dragged past (though that might have something to do with the prices - £2.00 for a 99!!!!)
DSC_0747 - Finished
U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Collin Mansanas, from the Hawaii Air National Guard 154th Maintenance Group, inspects Airmen as they transport a simulated casualty during a Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) exercise at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Feb. 5, 2015. The exercise is part of the Commanders Inspection Program (CCIP) which includes objectives that evaluate Self Aid Buddy Care capabilities in a CBRN working environment. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by A1C Robert Cabuco)
Includes All Appliances, Dishwasher, Full Size Washer/Dryer, Mobile Kitchen Island/Cart, Dining Area
Members of the Albanian Officer Candidate Class 001 stand in formation waiting for New Jersey Army National Guard Officer Candidate School cadre to arrive at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., May 29, 2014. Less than an hour earlier, the class transitioned from Phase One to Phase Two of the New Jersey Army National Guard OCS program with the awarding of the infantry blue ascot with the OCS roadwheel logo. Phase Two is an intense period that hones the Intermediate Officer Candidates’ skills learned during Phase One. Candidates will be evaluated on both their leadership abilities and their ability to work as part of a team. Albania is the first State Partnership Program country to send its officer candidates to the United States to attend an Officer Candidate School program. The 12-week NJARNG OCS program is modelled after the active-duty program at Fort Benning, Ga., and includes classroom instruction, physical and leadership training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/Released)
27/02/16 #1153. A productive afternoon removing the non-functional heater from the Alfa. The blower fan motor is definitely knackered - seen here - so I will have to get a new one. The heater matrix wasn't even connected to engine's coolant system - so no chance of it working. I will need to check the heater matrix and work out how the missing hoses should be connected. The whole thing was covered in South African sandy dirt
Fragments #34 for the Treasure Hunt
A blog post that includes these photos lives here: likeafishinwater.com/2016/04/29/pilgrimage-to-uji-for-hib...
My company: www.thirdplacemedia.com - Research, content development and communications strategy focused on transit, walkability, placemaking and environment issues
My blog: likeafishinwater.com
New York City's longest running weekly psytrance event is back at Sullivan Room for yet another action-packed evening.
lineup for the night will include:
SKOOCHA (UKSL / Parabola Records)
Skoocha is one of the may aliases of French/Spanish Musician & Producer Benoit Munoz. He discovered Trance in 1995 while visiting friends in Amsterdam when somebody gave him the first Dragonfly compilation. From there there was no turning back and he knew music would be his life. Now a busy music producer and musician in NY since 2003. Skoocha still finds time to craft Trance tracks that will blend the emotions of the oldschool goatrance that started all this with the power of the actual production and the Funk of NY ! Over the years he has worked released tracks with Manmademan (UKSL / Flying Rhino) Biotonic (Solstice ) Earworm (3d Vision) Mesmerizer (MindControl). His music has been played extensively over the world by dj's like Domino and the mighty Juno Reactor. His long awaited 1st album that will contain many unreleased tracks as well as remixes of the old ones is due this winter on Parabola Records (Germany). It will be the 2nd release of this new label after the Talamasca Vs XSI Album.
Expect a set that combines old and new tracks as well as some new collaborations.
Also, we'll be celebrating Skoocha's birthday!
CTRL + ALT + DEL (Nexus Media, US/India)
LUIS CAMPOS (Dreamcatcher/Reality Engine, US/Brazil)
Deco by the Dreamcatchers AND Neuronymphonic
**August 20, 10pm - 4am **
@ Sullivan Room, New York City www.sullivanroom.com
218 Sullivan St (between Bleecker and West 3rd St, 2 blocks east of 6th Ave)
General Admission: $10.00
RSVP to psycheground@yahoo.com for $5.00 reduced list
21+ with ID
Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, or V trains to "W 4 St - Wash Sq"
Map to Sullivan Room:
The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
The Kerala Backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways, and sometimes compared to the American Bayou. In the midst of this landscape there are a number of towns and cities, which serve as the starting and end points of backwater cruises. National Waterway No. 3 from Kollam to Kottapuram, covers a distance of 205 km and runs almost parallel to the coast line of southern Kerala facilitating both cargo movement and backwater tourism.
The backwaters have a unique ecosystem - freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea. In certain areas, such as the Vembanad Kayal, where a barrage has been built near Kumarakom, salt water from the sea is prevented from entering the deep inside, keeping the fresh water intact. Such fresh water is extensively used for irrigation purposes.
Many unique species of aquatic life including crabs, frogs and mudskippers, water birds such as terns, kingfishers, darters and cormorants, and animals such as otters and turtles live in and alongside the backwaters. Palm trees, pandanus shrubs, various leafy plants and bushes grow alongside the backwaters, providing a green hue to the surrounding landscape.
Vembanad Kayal is the largest of the lakes, covering an area of 200 km², and bordered by Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kottayam, and Ernakulam districts. The port of Kochi (Cochin) is located at the lake's outlet to the Arabian Sea. Alleppey, "Venice of the East", has a large network of canals that meander through the town. Vembanad is India’s longest lake.
HOUSE BOATS
The kettuvallams (Kerala houseboats) in the backwaters are one of the prominent tourist attractions in Kerala. More than 2000 kettuvallams ply the backwaters, 120 of them in Alappuzha. Kerala government has classified the tourist houseboats as Platinum, Gold and silver.
The kettuvallams were traditionally used as grain barges, to transport the rice harvested in the fertile fields alongside the backwaters. Thatched roof covers over wooden hulls, 30 m in length, provided protection from the elements. At some point in time the boats were used as living quarters by the royalty. Converted to accommodate tourists, the houseboats have become floating cottages having a sleeping area, with western-style toilets, a dining area and a sit out on the deck. Most tourists spend the night on a house boat. Food is cooked on board by the accompanying staff – mostly having a flavour of Kerala. The houseboats are of various patterns and can be hired as per the size of the family or visiting group. The living-dining room is usually open on at least three sides providing a grand view of the surroundings, including other boats, throughout the day when it is on the move. It is brought to a standstill at times of taking food and at night. After sunset, the boat crew provide burning coils to drive away mosquitoes. Ketuvallams are motorised but generally proceed at a slow speed for smooth travel. All ketuvallams have a generator and most bedrooms are air-conditioned. At times, as per demand of customers, electricity is switched off and lanterns are provided to create a rural setting.
While many ketuvalloms take tourists from a particular point and bring them back to around the same point next morning there are some specific cruises mostly in the Alappuzha area, such as the one night cruise from Alappuzha to Thotapally via Punnamada Lake two nights cruise from Alappuzha to Alumkavadi,[8] one night cruise from Alappuzha to Kidangara, and one night cruise from Alappuzha to Mankotta. There are numerous such cruises.
Beypore, located 10 km south of Kozhikode at the mouth of the Chaliyar River, is a famous fishing harbour, port and boat building centre. Beypore has a 1,500 year-tradition of boatbuilding. The skill of the local shipwrights and boat builders are widely sought after. There is a houseboat-building yard at Alumkadavu, in Ashtamudi Kayal near Kollam.
FERRY SERVICES
Regular ferry services connect most locations on both banks of the backwaters. The Kerala State Water Transport Department operates ferries for passengers as well as tourists. It is the cheapest mode of transport through the backwaters.
ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE
Connected by artificial canals, the backwaters form an economical means of transport, and a large local trade is carried on by inland navigation. Fishing, along with fish curing is an important industry.
Kerala backwaters have been used for centuries by the local people for transportation, fishing and agriculture. It has supported the efforts of the local people to earn a livelihood. In more recent times, agricultural efforts have been strengthened with reclamation of some backwater lands for rice growing, particularly in the Kuttanad area. Boat making has been a traditional craft, so has been the coir industry.
Kuttanad is crisscrossed with waterways that run alongside extensive paddy fields, as well as fields of cassava, banana and yam. A unique feature of Kuttanad is that many of these fields are below sea level and are surrounded by earthen embankments. The crops are grown on the low-lying ground and irrigated with fresh water from canal and waterways connected to Vembanad lake. The area is similar to the dikes of the Netherlands where land has been reclaimed from the sea and crops are grown.
WIKIPEDIA