View allAll Photos Tagged objectivity
A studio stack of 258 images
focus step 0.004mm
stackshot rail
zerene stacker
nikon D810
mitutoyo apo plan 10x/0.28 microscope objective mounted on a nikon 200mm f4 lens
The first OASIS class explorer SHIP was commissioned in the year 2077. It’s primary objective is to seek out new planets suitable for colonization. Fitted with the latest warp technology available during that period it is capable of reaching Alpha Centauri in a matter of days. It was named OASIS due to being equipped with a Hydroponics Bay, an artificial ecosystem that not only provided food and air but also R&R for the crews and offered a way to make long interstellar travel bearable.
The OASIS class was capable of performing multiple non-combat roles. The Science module can be replaced with a Cargo module and refitted into a cargo transport. Minimal combat capability is ensured with only 7 anti-fighter turrets. Further defence is enhanced by drones.
For planetary exploration the scientists can land using the surveyor which is equipped with utilities for onsite experiments.
Well, here it is, my first SHIP, my first SHIPtember and my first MOC after I moved to Billund.
This was great fun to build but also challenging as I’ve never built space before.
It’s 132 studs in length and I have no idea how many parts.
Original concept belongs to Skyrion and you can see the amazing art here
Special thanks to my friend and colleague Markus Rollbuhler AKA 'rolli for the amazing photo editing and background of the main photo.
Hope you like it!
I needed to stop lots of times on the way up never though i would make it, about an hr to the top. that is my (next Objective)
Thos that know me know the reason.
My primary objective for the return visit to Leesylvania State Park was to check on the status of the young ospreys. Like many others in the region, they are about ready to start leaving the nest, but not quite yet. This is actually a family of five, but one of the adults was away looking for breakfast. The muted sunrise cast an orange tint but provided enough light for the shot I wanted.
I've added a number of photos from Leesylvania State Park that do not show in my Photostream. You are cordially invited to see them here: www.flickr.com/gp/gary_w_house/P6c2D2
Sculpture of a polar bear standing on top of a pyramid of star constellations behind the John Diefenbaker building, previously the old Ottawa City Hall, on Sussex Drive, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Artist: Catherine Widgery, 1993
Years ago I acquired a Vivitar 3.0/200mm objective (M42 mount) 'cos I was told that the "Series 1" would be something better than the old ones. To me this objective was a total disappointment with less sharp results and evident lens errors.
Today I decided to shoot some flower photos at our neighbor's backyard. I put together NEX-6, adapter and the Vivitar.
In this crop purple fringe can be easily seen. CA seems to be much less when diaphragm is screwed a few stops smaller.
The objective of this observation is to take a look at a dome and adjacent crater also visible in Mars Orbiter Camera images. Did the mound form before the crater, or was it the other way around?
Image cutout is less than 5 km (3 mi) across and the spacecraft altitude was 299 km (186 mi). For full observation details including images with scale bars, visit the source link.
www.uahirise.org/ESP_011775_2230
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The 80th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) was constituted on 13 January 1942 and activated on February 1942. It was redesignated as the 80th Fighter Group in May 1942. During World War II, the group was the first USAAF unit to be stationed in Burma after the Allied retreat in 1942. During its two years in combat, this group, which called itself the Burma Banshees, kept the supply lines open to China while clearing the way for Allied forces and US Army units such as Merrill's Marauders to sweep Japanese forces from northern Burma.
The 80th trained for combat and served as part of the defense force for the northeastern United States from, 1942–1943. Its flying squadrons were the 88th, 89th, and 90th Pursuit (later Fighter) Squadrons, later augmented by the 459th Fighter Squadron.
The 80th sailed for India, via Brazil, the Cape of Good Hope, and Ceylon, in May 1943, commencing combat operations in the China-Burma-India theater in September 1943. The group supported Allied ground forces during the battle for northern Burma and the push southward to Rangoon, bombing and strafing troop concentrations, supply dumps, lines of communication, artillery positions, and other objectives.
Initial flying material consisted mainly of the P-40 and a few P-38 fighters. Using modified, so-called “B-40 fighter” bombers (P-40s fitted with a single 1,000-pound bomb), the 80th FG attacked Japanese-held bridges, sometimes demolishing their target with a single bomb. The 80th was assigned the defense of the Indian terminus of the Hump route, which it carried out by striking Japanese airfields and patrolling Allied air bases to safeguard them from attack. The 80th received a Distinguished Unit Citation for intercepting a formation of Japanese aircraft, preventing the destruction of a large oil refinery in Assam, India, on 27 March 1944. During this engagement, they shot down 18 enemy machines without losing any of their own.
After the capture of Myitkyina and the nearby airfield on May 17, 1944, parts of the 80th Fighter Group relocated to this location. During the heavy fighting around Kohima and Imphal, the British troops deployed there requested air support and the 80th Fighter Group was able to successfully thwart the Japanese advance. In the further course of the operations in Burma, the pilots of the 80th Fighter Group destroyed more than 200 bridges held by the Japanese and shot down around 80 Japanese planes.
Though its primary mission in Burma was the protection of the "Hump" cargo route, the group also played an important role in reopening the Ledo/Burma Road.
From mid-1944 onwards, the P-40s were supplemented and gradually replaced with the new, much more potent P-47 Thunderbolt. With their heavier machine gun armament (eight instead of six 0.5” machine guns) and a much higher ordnance load of up to 2,500 lb (1,100 kg) of bombs, unguided rockets and M10 “Bazooka” launchers, this new aircraft type proved to be very effective.
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American aerospace company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to eight tons, making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war. The Thunderbolt was effective as a short-to medium-range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat and ground attack in both the European and Pacific theaters. The P-47 was designed around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial engine, which also powered two U.S. Navy/U.S. Marine Corps fighters, the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair. The P-47 became one of the main United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of World War II and also served with other Allied air forces, including those of France, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. Mexican and Brazilian squadrons fighting alongside the USAAF also flew the P-47. The Thunderbolt’s armored cockpit was relatively roomy and comfortable. Nicknamed the "Jug" owing to its appearance if stood on its nose, the P-47 was noted for its firepower, as well as its ability to resist battle damage and remain airworthy.
From October 1944 the operations of the 80th Fighter Group in Northern Burma concentrated on the destruction of the routes of the Burma Railway. Operations with army support (operating as "cab ranks" to be called in when needed) were very successful, with attacks on enemy airfields and lines of communication, and the aircraft flew a number escort sorties. An 80th FG squadron could finally be relocated to Shingbwiyang and was thus in the immediate vicinity of Ledo Street, which was under construction. The squadron flew many sorties against advancing Japanese forces and was instrumental in the capture of Myitkyina. Napalm bombs, a new weapon and initially improvised from drop tanks with makeshift fins, were also used with devastating effect, but some of them very close to the company's own lines.
By the end of the war, the group had destroyed more than 200 bridges and killed scores of bridge repair crews. Air-to-air and air-to-ground sweeps by the group's pilots claimed 80 enemy planes destroyed in the air or on the ground. The 80th Fighter Group was withdrawn from combat in May 1945 and inactivated in November.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 36 ft 1.75 in (11.02 m)
Wingspan: 40 ft 9 5/16 in (12.429 m)
Height: 14 ft 8 1/16 in (4.472 m)
Airfoil: Seversky S-3
Empty weight: 10,000 lb (4,536 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg)
Powerplant:
1 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-59 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 2,000 hp (1,500 kW),
driving a 4-bladed Curtiss Electric C542S constant-speed propeller, 13 ft (4.0 m) diameter
Performance:
Maximum speed: 426 mph (686 km/h, 370 kn) at 30,000 ft (9,100 m)
Range: 1,030 mi (1,660 km, 900 nmi)
Service ceiling: 42,000 ft (13,000 m)
Armament:
8x 0.5” caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns (3.400 rounds)
Up to 2,500 lb (1,100 kg) of bombs, drop tanks and/or up to ten 5” (130 mm) unguided rockets
The kit and its assembly:
This is a very modest what-if model – just a fictional livery on a stock model, and part of the ongoing plan to “build down” The Stash™ of kits during the ongoing Corona lockdown. The idea behind it was spawned by a number of decals for P-40s for the 80th FG I found in my scrap box, which all carried spectacular skull markings on their noses. I wondered if and how these could be adapted to another aircraft type – and the P-47 lent itself for this project due to its sheer “canvas” size, despite having a radial engine, and being the natural successor of the P-40 in USAAF service.
From that I spun the idea further and settled for an early Razorback P-47D, in the form of the very nice Academy kit. The kit was basically built OOB, it went together nicely without major fights – a trait that I really like about most Academy kits. The only true weak spot of the P-47 is the flaps’ undersides: they are pretty thick/massive, so that there are shallow sinkholes. These are easy to fill, though, even though I ignored this flaw and rather lowered the flaps, a mod that’s pretty easy to do.
An addition is a scratched D/F loop antenna on a streamlined socket behind the cockpit, a typical feature of P-47s operated in the BMI theatre. The loop was created with thin wire, the socket is a piece of sprue, integrated into the spine with some putty. As a late-production Razorback Thunderbolt I gave the aircraft a Curtiss Electric paddle-bladed propeller, which the Academy kit offers as an optional piece.
The ordnance was also taken from the kit: a pair of Bazooka triple launchers for ground attack duties and a drop tank under the fuselage.
Painting and markings:
A simple affair: as an early P-47, I gave the aircraft the standard USAAF livery of olive drab and neutral grey. I used Tamiya XF-62, IMHO the best interpretation of the tone, and ModelMaster 1740, actually FS 36231 instead of FS 36173, but the Dark Gull Grey is a bit lighter than Neutral Grey and looks IMHO better on the 1:72 scale model. AFAIK, no P-47 carried the earlier mid-green blotches on the wings anymore. The cockpit was painted in Interior Green, while the landing gear wells became zinc chromate yellow, very traditional.
The individual aircraft markings were more spectacular and also challenging. The real eye-catcher is pair of 80th FG skulls on the cowling flanks, even though these had to be completed with paint since they come from a Hobby Boss P-40N and feature empty sections for the exhaust stubs. The empty eye sockets had to be added manually, too, and since there was now a lot of white, I added – after consulting pictures of 80th FG P-40s - thin black lines to the skull with a felt tip pen. A real improvement, and it’s even authentic!
Furthermore, I added 1st Air Commando Group markings in the form of five white diagonal stripes around the rear fuselage. This group operated in the BMI area, e.g. P-51s, B-25s and even P-47s, but the 80th FG was not part of it. Nevertheless, the stripes suit the Razorback very well, and they were created with generic 2mm decal stripes from TL Modellbau. Each stripe had to be applied and trimmed individually, not an easy task on the conical tail with its concave and convex surface. The result is not perfect, but I am fine with it, and it looks very cool.
Pictures of early USAAF P-47s in the BMI are hard to find, but what I found suggests that Allied machines wore single bands on wings and tail surfaces as additional ID markings from 1943 on, much like the P-47s over Europe. On later NMF aircraft, these were dark blue (on both USAAF and RAF aircraft), and I was lucky to have a complete set of white P-47 markings left over from an Xtradecal set for SEAC RAF Thunderbolts, which comes with pre-cut bands in white and blue, very convenient! On the downside, the white fuselage stripes dramatically revealed that the P-47’s OOB decals, esp. the Stars and Bars, lacked opacity, so that I had to add some white paint manually to hide the resulting mess.
Typical unit markings of the 89th FS are a red spinner, and since the P-47 has only a small one, I added a thin red frame around the cowling, as carried by later real-world 89th FS P-47s, which were left in bare metal, though. As a gimmick I painted the wheel hubs in red, too. As a personal marking of the pilot I christened the aircraft “The Big Fella”, taken from an Irish pre-WWII armored car, and I added some air victory markings.
As usual, the kit received a black ink washing overall and some post panel shading with Revell 42 and 46 on the upper surfaces and ModelMaster 2105 (Dark French Blue Gray) underneath for visual drama and weathering. Some light soot stains around the gun muzzled were created with graphite, oil stains under the fuselage with Tamiya “Smoke”.
While this was not a complex build and even the livery is pretty close to real world standards, I like the outcome and how the skull markings stand out on the huge P-47. The array of fuselage stripes are an interesting visual extra, even though I was afraid that they were, together with the white ID stripes on the wings, a bit too much. The red highlights are an interesting contrast, too, and IMHO the whole decoration works fine. Everything fictional, but plausible and believable.
Objective : After looking at a lot of really powerful photos taken by journalists in 2013, I was inspired to do a military themed photo. I know blood has been a lot in my photos lately and I wanted to stay away from the 'usual' this time, but it's like I always need it, somehow. I wanted the dying/dead soldier to look he was halfway doing a muslim prayer, hence the arms position.
Prep : I bought some props such as uniforms, helmet, gloves and such for the photo. This time I wanted heavy rain during the photo shoot because I felt like it will add depth and emotion in this photo.
Technicals : I had a waterproof casing for my Canon 7D (for the lens) and did an oval cardboard cutting in front of my lens to give the bokeh a very subtle 'anamorphic' look.
Location : It was a small swampy area, where my models got really muddy and wet, I actually sank into the mud until around my thighs, but it was all in good fun. (I actually wanted the model to lie down on a mud but he didn't want any to touch his face [understandable] so this all I could get)
Comment : It was a really difficult shoot to plan because we needed to wait for the rain and my models are not always available, So it took around 4 different days to get the shot that I want, mainly because of bad luck. Every time when we were about to get the shots the rain stops (it rains here everyday around December, except when I'm about to take a photo). It didn't even actually rain in this photo as well, only some light drizzle for 2-3 minutes, but right before and after the shoot it rained like hell :/ Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR MATT! Have a great one!
EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2009
Ed hunter
Ed Hunter, a rail shooter video game, was released in 1999, and is based on and accompanied by Iron Maiden's music. The game objective consists of rescuing the mascot of Iron Maiden, Eddie, from a prison while passing through game settings evocative of the albums. Music from the band completes the game's customizable soundtrack.
The game passes through various levels, starting in a street, then to a mental institution, then into hell itself, and then into other various locations. The locations are from the covers of previous Iron Maiden records.
The gameplay itself consists of shooting the appearing enemies with the mouse cursor. The game travels on "a track" and the player has no control over movement apart from occasionally choosing the route he will take through the levels. The player can select which tracks play in the background of which levels.
The package includes 3 CDs. The first CD contains 14 songs, the second CD contains 6 songs and the installation program for the game, and the third CD contains the game data. The soundtrack allegedly consists of the top 20 songs voted for by Iron Maiden fans on Maiden's official website.
The US version has a hidden bonus track of a new recording of "Wrathchild" with Bruce Dickinson on lead vocals, which subsequently received radio play. This track was not present in the initial US pressing of the game, but on runs that featured a sticker on the shrinkwrap stating that the track was included.
A sticker on the compilation album Best of the Beast originally announced the upcoming release of this game as "Melt, Eddie's own state-of-the-art 3D game".
The Ed Hunter Tour was the tour supporting the album.
Levels (background music listed in brackets)
London's East End (Killers, Iron Maiden)
The Shady Pines Asylum (Piece of Mind)
The Pits of Hell (Hallowed Be Thy Name, Number of the Beast)
The Graveyard (Live After Death)
The Pharaoh's Tomb (Powerslave)
Blade Runner (Somewhere In Time)
Futureal (The Evil That Men Do)
Finale (The Evil That Men Do)
POSTED BY THE BLACK WIDOW AT 11:45 PM NO COMMENTS:
Brave new world
Brave New World is the twelfth studio album by Iron Maiden, released on 30 May 2000 (see 2000 in music). It marked the return of longtime lead singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith to the band who left the band in 1990, replaced by Janick Gers. It was also the band's first studio recording with three guitar players, as Gers stayed with the band after Smith's return.
The album art and title song are references to the novel of the same name written by Aldous Huxley. The upper half of the album art was done by Derek Riggs, and is the last new artwork done by Riggs to be used on an Iron Maiden release.
The songs "The Wicker Man" and "Out of the Silent Planet" were both released as singles. "The Wicker Man" was released in the U.S as a promo single with extra vocals in the chorus.
"The Nomad", "Dream of Mirrors", and "The Mercenary" were originally written for Virtual XI, according to Adrian Smith in an interview. He said there was a fourth song, but he didn't know which one it was and that Steve Harris did not remember either. It is likely that this is either The Fallen Angel or The Thin Line Between Love And Hate, or an unreleased song from the sessions, as the remaining songs have all been confirmed to have been written for Brave New World. Apparently, former singer Blaze Bayley also co-wrote "Dream of Mirrors", but wasn't credited.
Brave New World Tour was the tour supporting the album.
The song "Brave New World" was covered in 2008 by Ghostlines on the tribute CD Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden released by Kerrang! magazine.
POSTED BY THE BLACK WIDOW AT 11:41 PM NO COMMENTS:
Rock in Rio
Rock In Rio is a live album recorded in Brazil by Iron Maiden in 2001. Here they faced their second largest ever crowd - 250,000 people - the first being their 1985 Rock In Rio performance to a crowd of 300,000, and with the relatively recent return of lead singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith to the band, they recorded their fifth live album.
It features many of their best known tracks, including studio-quality examples of the eponymous "Iron Maiden" and "Run to the Hills" coupled with some of their "comeback" tracks, including "The Wicker Man" and "Brave New World." Less popular songs were also performed, such as Bruce Dickinson's versions of the Blaze Bayley-era songs "Sign of the Cross" and "The Clansman".
A video version is also available on DVD
POSTED BY THE BLACK WIDOW AT 11:31 PM NO COMMENTS:
Edward the great
Edward the Great was Iron Maiden's third "best-of album" (counting their 1999 video game Ed Hunter which came with a 20 track best of CD with songs chosen by the fans), and was released on November 5, 2002 along with the massive Eddie's Archive box set, as a way to introduce new fans to Maiden. However, many older fans complained about the lack of exclusive or rare material on it. Another complaint of many was that the album lacked material from the first two Iron Maiden albums, Iron Maiden and Killers which featured Paul Di'Anno on vocals.
In 2005, a revised edition was released in Europe, Asia and South-America, with a slightly different tracklist. This "updated" version was to coincide with the release of The Essential Iron Maiden compilation that was released in North America. The revised edition features some songs from the Dance of Death album, and a different live version of "Fear of the Dark". The new version also adds the song "Brave New World" from the album of the same name. The booklet includes a new foreword by Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood, whereas the original version has a foreword by founding member Steve Harris. The album cover does not differentiate between the two other than the tracklisting - some shops still sell old stock of the original. In some cases, record distributors accidentally released the revised 2005 version CD with the old track list still on the album sleeve, although this mistake has since been corrected.
POSTED BY THE BLACK WIDOW AT 11:16 PM NO COMMENTS:
Dance of death
Dance of Death is Iron Maiden's 13th studio album, released first in Japan on September 2 and rest of the world on September 8, 2003.
This album marks the first participation in songwriting by Nicko McBrain, who co-wrote the song "New Frontier" and also is the first (and so far only) time that all members of the band get a songwriting credit. It is sometimes mistakenly said that Steve Harris performed all the keyboard parts on the album because no credit is given to usual collaborator Michael Kenney, but this is actually due to an oversight in the printing of the album booklet (no instrument credits are given to any of the full band members either). The band's usual message in every album (a variation on the line "Up the Irons!") is absent too.
Give Me Ed... 'til I'm Dead Tour & Dance of Death World Tour was the tour supporting the album. Dance of Death once again brought costumes to Maiden's stage show. During "Dance of Death," Bruce Dickinson would wear theatrical masks and a cape while moving around the stage; at the end he would dress as the Grim Reaper for the final chorus. During the song "Paschendale", Dickinson would sometimes wear a traditional British Infantryman suit as worn during World War I and act out his death onstage during the song.
The title of the album refers to the late-medieval allegory on the universality of death: no matter one's station in life, the dance of death unites all. This philosophy is more commonly known as Danse Macabre.
stronghold of the Cathars conquered by the Albigensian Crusade in 1244. The lyrics include verse As we kill them all so God will know his own, referring to a well-known quote of the papal legate before the massacre of thousands in Béziers in 1209. It also mentions "Templar believers," as it is frequent popular belief today that there was some link between Knights Templar, Cathars and Montségur.
The song "Paschendale" is about The Battle of Passchendaele in the First World War. 'Face in the Sand' features double bass drumming by Nicko McBrain, his only such performance to date.
"Journeyman" is Iron Maiden's first fully acoustic song. According to Bruce Dickinson, before playing the song on the Death on the Road live album, the song is about "the whole process of song writing and being a musician," though the lyrics seem to be more focused on appreciating life while you have it.
Other lyric themes are current events in the world ("Face in the Sand," "Age of Innocence," "New Frontier"), religion ("No More Lies", "Montségur"), and realising yourself ("Wildest Dreams," "Rainmaker," "Journeyman"). The title track features lyrics in a more classic storytelling vein, being about a man who experiences the Danse Macabre and has many similarities to both the poem Tam o' Shanter and "The Number of the Beast". The album is also notable for its heavy Celtic influences in the guitar melodies, especially the title track, "No More Lies," and "Montségur."
Cover art
The computer-generated cover art for the album was provided by David Patchett, but he asked to be removed from the credits because he was not satisfied with the result. The version used was actually a prototype provided by Patchett, but the band decided to use it in its incomplete form. Upon close inspection, one can note several of what appear to be errors; the small infant/dwarf to the right appears to be suspended in midair with his/her ankle sunk into the side of the wolf. The other small person to the left is also standing on the toes of a man, and the woman directly to the right of Eddie (center) seems to have some disfiguring on the fold of her elbow. The woman to the right of the foreground also has a long, misshapen neck.
When the cover art was first revealed on the Internet, many Iron Maiden fans believed that the band was playing a prank. It has been the cause of much controversy amongst fans and is generally quite disliked. Images of the album's cover briefly circulated as an Internet meme as it was ridiculed by many fans and casual observers alike.
POSTED BY THE BLACK WIDOW AT 3:15 PM NO COMMENTS:
Death on the road
Death on the Road is a live CD, LP, and DVD released by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden on August 30, 2005 (CD & LP version), respectively on February 6, 2006 (DVD version). It contains songs which were performed at Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany, on 24 November 2003 during the band's Dance of Death Tour (2003–2005).
During the first week after the album's release, it entered the national charts in several countries; Finland (no. 6), Sweden (no. 7), Norway (no. 12), France (no. 14), Italy (no. 17), Switzerland (no. 17), Spain (no. 18), United Kingdom (no. 22), Ireland (no. 27),the Netherlands (no. 39), India (no.29).
The DVD was released on February 6, 2006. It is a 3 DVD set, with the first DVD being the concert in 5.1 Digital audio, the second DVD being the concert in stereo, and the third DVD being special features, including the documentary listed below, and all promo videos from the Dance of Death album. Reportedly, the first DVD of the set is faulty in many cases, as two of the three guitar tracks' volume being tuned down, specificly Dave Murray's track.[citation needed]
The DVD set features a full 70-minute documentary directed by Matthew Amos charting the album's creation and the subsequent preparations for the following tour. The feature length program includes candid and personal footage of the band during the recording and writing of the album, which is the first time it's ever been filmed.
In 2005 when Edward the Great was re-released the recording of "Fear of the Dark" from this album was included.
The cover was by Melvyn Grant, and on the carriage are the words 'Edward and Son Undertakers', a reference to Eddie.
POSTED BY THE BLACK WIDOW AT 1:52 AM NO COMMENTS:
A matter of life and death
Iron Maiden. It was released on 25 August 2006 in Italy and in Finland, 28 August worldwide, and 5 September 2006 in the United States, Canada and Japan. It is the first heavy metal album to debut at #4 in India, and made it to #2 in the Indian charts. It is also one of the few rock/metal albums to go platinum in India. It is the first album in Iron Maiden's more than 30 year career to enter the U.S. Billboard charts in the top 10 and the third album where Steve Harris has had a song writing credit on every track, and has seen significant chart success in many other countries.
While the album is not a concept album, war and religion are recurring themes in the lyrics throughout the album, as well as in the album's artwork. The title "A Matter of Life and Death" is also linked with the war theme, as it titles a 1946 movie whose primary character is a WWII Royal Air Force pilot.
A Matter of Life and Death Tour was the tour supporting the album.
The band, still consisting of the same lineup as their previous two studio albums (making it the second most stable lineup; see Powerslave), started to write the songs near the end of 2005 after their hugely successful appearances in the U.S. and Europe. By the end of the year, the songs were done and they started rehearsing at Sarm West Studios in London.
At 72 minutes, A Matter of Life and Death is the band's longest album to date (exceeding 1995's The X Factor by approximately one minute) and its average song length (7:12) also makes it the longest Iron Maiden album by song average.
This is the band's fourth studio album that is not named after a specific song on the album, following Piece of Mind, The X Factor and Virtual XI.
The album cover was created by Tim Bradstreet, an American artist, currently best known for his covers on the Punisher comics.
During their North American, Japanese and European tours, they performed the entire album in full. They announced after the show at Earl's Court, London on December 23, 2006, that the album would never be played in its entirety again.
Critical response
The album was met with positive reviews. Metal Hammer rated the album 10/10 and stated that "Iron Maiden have utterly surpassed themselves", Kerrang! rated it 5/5 and said "Another [Iron] Maiden classic... Keeps what longtime fans loved about the band alive." Classic Rock also awarded it Album of the Year, and the band won an award voted by Classic Rock readers, for the album. Rolling Stone gave the album 3 stars out of 5, finding the music and lyrics "relevant." However, the magazine also claims that "the songs now march where they once galloped", implying that the band is "aging gracefully".
Single details
The first single to be released from the album was "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg". It was released on 14 August 2006. On 10 August 2006, "Different World" was put on the official website for everyone to hear. The following day "Brighter than a Thousand Suns" was also put on the official site for public streaming.
"Different World" was the second single released from the album. It has already been receiving airplay on many rock radio stations. The song also features an animated video, similar to that of "Wildest Dreams".
DVD documentary
In addition to the standard CD release, A Matter of Life and Death was also released in a limited edition version which contains a bonus DVD. The DVD, which has a total runtime of nearly one hour, contains a half-hour documentary, plus videos and photos all shot whilst the band were making the album. The documentary "The Making of A Matter of Life and Death", directed by Matthew Amos (director of The Early Days and Death on the Road DVD documentaries), features candid video footage shot largely by Kevin Shirley himself during the recording of the album giving a behind-the-scenes look at life in the studio. The bonus DVD also features the full video promo for "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg", and a special intimate filming of the band recording "Different World" in the studio. The album is also available as a limited edition double picture disc vinyl in gatefold sleeve, and as a digital download.
Charting positions
The album went gold in Finland in its first week. This gold record became Maiden's 8th from Finland. The album sold over 220,000 copies worldwide on its first day of release and sold over 500,000 copies worldwide in 3 days. By the end of the first week of release, A Matter of Life and Death had sold over a million copies worldwide. It entered at no. 4 in the world album chart, no. 1 in ten countries, no. 4 in the UK charts, no. 2 in Canada, no. 4 in India , and for the first time entered the U.S. top 10 at no. 9 with sales of over 56,000. An update on Iron Maiden's official website states that "In just the first week the new album has shipped over a million copies worldwide and impacted on the charts pretty well everywhere in the world". In doing so it has charted in the top 20 in 34 countries worldwide.
POSTED BY THE BLACK WIDOW AT 12:40 AM NO COMMENTS:
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ED HUNTER
ED HUNTER
Disc one
1 Iron Maiden Live
2 The Trooper
3 The Number of the Beast
4 Wrathchild"
5 Futureal
6 Fear of the Dark
7 Be Quick or Be Dead
8 2 Minutes to Midnight
9 Man on the Edge
10 Aces High
11 The Evil That Men Do
12 Wasted Years
13 Powerslave
14 Hallowed Be Thy Name
15 Wrathchild
Disc two
1 Run to the Hills
2 The Clansman
3 Phantom of the Opera
4 Killers
5 Stranger in a Strange Land
6 Tailgunner"
BRAVE NEW WORLD
BRAVE NEW WORLD
1 The Wicker Man
2 Ghost of the Navigator
3 Brave New World
4 Blood Brothers
5 The Mercenary
6 Dream of Mirrors
7 The Fallen Angel
8 The Nomad
9 Out of the Silent Planet
10 The Thin Line Between Love & Hate
ROCK IN RIO
ROCK IN RIO
Disc 1
1 Intro Arthur's Farewell
2 The Wicker Man
3 Ghost of the Navigator
4 Brave New World
5 Wrathchild
6 2 Minutes to Midnight
7 Blood Brothers
8 Sign of the Cross
9 The Mercenary
10 The Trooper
Disc 2
1 Dream of Mirrors
2 The Clansman
3 The Evil That Men Do
4 Fear of the Dark
5 Iron Maiden
6 The Number of the Beast
7 Hallowed Be Thy Name
8 Sanctuary
9 Run to the Hills
EDWARD THE GREAT
EDWARD THE GREAT
1.Run to the Hills
2.The Number of the Beast
3.Flight of Icarus
4.The Trooper
5.2 Minutes to Midnight
6.Wasted Years
7.Can I Play with Madness
8.The Evil That Men Do
9.The Clairvoyant
10.Infinite Dreams
11.Holy Smoke
12.Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter
13.Man on the Edge
14.Futureal
15.The Wicker Man
16.Fear of the Dark live
DANCE OF DEATH
DANCE OF DEATH
1.Wildest Dreams
2.Rainmaker
3.No More Lies
4.Montségur
5.Dance of Death
6.Gates of Tomorrow
7.New Frontier
8.Paschendale
9.Face in the Sand
10.Age of Innocence
11.Journeyman
DEATH ON THE ROAD
DEATH ON THE ROAD
Disc one
1 Wildest Dreams
2 Wrathchild
3 Can I Play with Madness
4 The Trooper
5 Dance of Death
6 Rainmaker
7 Brave New World
8 Paschendale
9 Lord of the Flies
Disc two
1 No More Lies
2 Hallowed Be Thy Name
3 Fear of the Dark
4 Iron Maiden
5 Journeyman
6 The Number of the Beast
7 Run to the Hills
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
1.Different World
2.These Colours Don't Run
3.Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
4.The Pilgrim
5.The Longest Day
6.Out of the Shadows
7.The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
8.For the Greater Good of God
9.Lord of Light
10.The Legacy
SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME
SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME
1 Churchill's Speech
2 Aces High Live
3 2 Minutes to Midnight
4 The Trooper
5 Wasted Years
6 Children of the Damned
7 The Number of the Beast
8 Run to the Hills
9 Phantom of the Opera Live
10 The Evil That Men Do
11 Wrathchild Live
12 Can I Play With Madness
13 Powerslave
14 Hallowed Be Thy Name
15 Iron Maiden Live
FOLLOWERS
BLOG ARCHIVE
▼ 2009 (8)
▼ February (8)
Ed hunter
Brave new world
Rock in Rio
Edward the great
Dance of death
Death on the road
A matter of life and death
Somewhere Back in Time
ABOUT ME
THE BLACK WIDOW
VIEW MY COMPLETE PROFILE
Our objective is to survey faulted and layered deposits within an impact crater in Meridiani Planum. Our high resolution may help to resolve the actual structure of those deposits.
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1—is an economy car that was built by the German company Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003. It has a rear-engine design with a two-door body style and is intended for five occupants (later, Beetles were restricted to four people in some countries).
The need for a people's car (Volkswagen in German), its concept and its functional objectives were formulated by the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, who wanted a cheap, simple car to be mass-produced for his country's new road network (Reichsautobahn). Members of the National Socialist party, with an additional dues surcharge, were promised the first production, but the Spanish Civil War shifted most production resources to military vehicles to support the Nationalists under Francisco Franco.
Lead engineer Ferdinand Porsche and his team took until 1938 to finalise the design. Béla Barényi is credited with conceiving the original basic design for this car in 1925, notably by Mercedes-Benz, on their website, including his original technical drawing, five years before Porsche claimed to have done his initial version. The influence on Porsche's design of other contemporary cars, such as the Tatra V570, and the work of Josef Ganz remains a subject of dispute. The result was the first Volkswagen, and one of the first rear-engined cars since the Brass Era. With 21,529,464 produced, the Beetle is the longest-running and most-manufactured car of a single platform ever made.
Although designed in the 1930s, due to World War II, civilian Beetles only began to be produced in significant numbers by the end of the 1940s. The car was then internally designated the Volkswagen Type 1, and marketed simply as the Volkswagen. Later models were designated Volkswagen 1200, 1300, 1500, 1302, or 1303, the first three indicating engine displacement, the last two derived from the model number.
The car became widely known in its home country as the Käfer (German for "beetle", cognate with English chafer) and was later marketed under that name in Germany, and as the Volkswagen in other countries. For example, in France it was known as the Coccinelle (French for ladybug).
The original 18.6 kW (24.9 hp) Beetle was designed for a top speed around 100 km/h (62 mph), which would be a viable cruising speed on the Reichsautobahn system. As Autobahn speeds increased in the postwar years, its output was boosted to 27 kW (36 hp), then 30 kW (40 hp), the configuration that lasted through 1966 and became the "classic" Volkswagen motor. The Beetle gave rise to multiple variants: mainly the 1950 Type 2 'Bus', the 1955 Karmann Ghia, as well as the 1961 Type 3 'Ponton' and the 1968 Type 4 (411/412) family cars, ultimately forming the basis of an entirely rear-engined VW product range.
The Beetle marked a significant trend, led by Volkswagen, and then by Fiat and Renault, whereby the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout increased from 2.6 percent of continental Western Europe's car production in 1946 to 26.6 percent in 1956. In 1959 even General Motors launched an air-cooled, rear-engined car, the Chevrolet Corvair—which also shared the Beetle's flat engine and swing axle architecture.
Over time, front-wheel drive, and frequently hatchback-bodied cars would come to dominate the European small-car market. In 1974, Volkswagen's own front-wheel drive Golf hatchback succeeded the Beetle. In 1994, Volkswagen unveiled the Concept One, a "retro"-themed concept car with a resemblance to the original Beetle, and in 1998 introduced the "New Beetle", built on the contemporary Golf platform with styling recalling the original Type 1. It remained in production through 2010, and was succeeded in 2011 by the Beetle (A5), the last variant of the Beetle, which was also more reminiscent of the original Beetle. Production ceased altogether by 2019.
In the 1999 Car of the Century competition, to determine the world's most influential car in the 20th century, the Type 1 came fourth, after the Ford Model T, the Mini, and the Citroën DS.[
Nicosia ( Greek : Λευκωσία (Lefkosia), English : Nicosia), located in the middle of the island of Cyprus , is the capital of the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus . It is the most populous city of Cyprus and the most important cultural, industrial, trade and transportation center. Nicosia is located at 35°10' north, 33°21' east.
The city is divided into two by the border called the Green Line . Although de jure the Republic of Cyprus has the administration of the entire city, de facto it only has control over South Nicosia . Northern Nicosia is under the rule of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and is considered to be under Turkish occupation by the international community. The two sectors are separated by a Buffer Zone administered by United Nations Peacekeeping Forces . With the 1960 Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, the Turkish Municipality of Nicosia was granted legal status.
Nicosia is known as "Lefkosia" (Λευκωσία) in Greek and "Nicosia" in English .
The first name of the area where the city is located was "Ledra". This name is also written as "Ledrae", "Lidir", "Ledras", "Ledron" and "Letra". Later, this city was destroyed and when it was rebuilt by Leucus, the city was named "Lefkotheon" (Λευκόθεον - city of the white gods). This name was also occasionally referred to as "Ledron". Later, the words "Kermia" and "Leucus" (Λευκούς) were used for the city. In the 7th century, Hierocles, a Byzantine geographer, mentioned the city as Lefkousia (Λευκουσία) in his book Synekdemos (Vademecum) . In the 13th century , the Patriarch of Constantinople referred to Nicosia as Kalli Nikesis (Καλλι Νίκησις - Beautiful Victory). A writer and monk, St. Neophytos referred to Nicosia as "Leucopolis" (Lefkopolis - White City) in a sermon he gave around 1176. Since the 10th century, the name "Nicosia" has become generally accepted. In the 18th century, Greek Cypriot historian Archimandrite Kyprianos stated that another name for Nicosia was "Photolampos" (Shining with Light).
There are various claims that the city is referred to as "Nicosia" and similar forms in European languages. According to one claim, the Latins replaced the first syllable of the word, "Lef", with "Ni" because they could not pronounce it. Another claim is that the name derives from the name "Kallinikesis". A writer from Sicily named Sindaco connects the name "Nicosia" to the town named "Nicosia" in Sicily and claimed that King Tancred from this town was with Richard I during the siege of Cyprus and named the city after his own town. . Another claim is that the name "Nicosia" emerged during the rebellion of the city's people against the Knights Templar in 1192. A German priest named Ludolf named the city "Nycosia" between 1341 and 1363. HAS Dearborn, in his book published in 1819, says that another name for Nicosia is "Nicotia". In 1856, William Curry stated that the Greeks called the city "Escosie" and the Western Europeans called it "Licosia".
The name of the city is mentioned in Ottoman documents as "Nicosia" or "medine-i Nicosia" . In addition, in a letter regarding the conquest of Nicosia in 1570, the name of the city is mentioned as "Nicosia". Kâtip Çelebi refers to the city as "Nicosia" (which is sometimes used today).
The first settlement in the area where Nicosia is located took place in the Neolithic Age . The date of the first settlement is approximately 3000-4000 BC. In 1050 BC or in the 7th century BC, a city called " Ledra " was founded in the region. This city had an important place among the other city kingdoms on the island. During archaeological excavations, a Greek inscription written in the 4th century BC was found indicating the existence of a temple dedicated to Aphrodite in Ledra. By around 330 BC it had shrunk to a small village. When this city was destroyed due to earthquakes , in 200 BC, Leucus, the son of Ptolemy I Soter , founded the city that is today Nicosia.
The city's importance began to increase in the late Byzantine period. In the 7th century, it became the capital of the island during the Arab raids.
It fell into the hands of Richard I in 1191 . It was the capital of the island during the period when the Knights Templar purchased and dominated the island. A rebellion broke out in the city on 11 April 1192. The knights suppressed this uprising with a massacre and then left the island.
The Lusignans purchased the island and Nicosia remained their capital. During the Lusignan period, he built many new buildings in the city. During the Venetian period, most of these were demolished and used in the construction of walls. During this period, the Lusignans also built walls around the city. These walls were in the shape of an irregular pentagon . There were no walls in the city before. King Henry I built the first walls with two towers in 1211, Peter I built a third tower, and Henry II built the first walls. Henry had the city completely surrounded by walls. The city became quite wealthy during this period. Nicosia was one of four dioceses on the island. It also became the center of an archdiocese in 1212. During this period, events were taking place between Greeks and Latins, and bloody conflicts broke out in the city in 1313 and 1360.
Nicosia has been damaged by many earthquakes throughout its history. The 1222 Cyprus earthquake was felt strongly in the city and caused great damage. In November 1330, a flood occurred in the city and three thousand people lost their lives. In addition, the city was heavily damaged by the Genoese in 1373 and the Mamluks in 1426.
On February 26, 1489, Nicosia, along with the entire island, came under the rule of the Republic of Venice . Just before the Ottoman conquest of the island, the Venetians inspected the walls and found them too weak. According to the new plans, the walls of Nicosia were reduced from eight miles to three miles. Meanwhile, all buildings outside the new walls were destroyed. According to a claim, the route of Kanlıdere was changed by the Venetians. Another claim is that the Ottomans changed the route of the stream to save the city from floods.
During the conquest of Cyprus by the Ottomans , Nicosia was the third largest settlement taken. Piyale Pasha and his army took action to take Nicosia on 22 July 1570. On July 25, Nicosia was besieged. Clashes began on July 27, as the Venetians did not accept the Ottomans' demands to surrender the castle. The fact that the walls were very strong ensured that Nicosia would not fall. At dawn on 9 September 1570, a new attack was launched and troops of more than 20 thousand people conquered Nicosia.
As part of the settlement of Turks in Cyprus during the Ottoman period, the settlement of the Turkish population in Nicosia, as well as in the entire island, started in 1572. Non-professional Greeks in the city were settled in the neighborhoods outside the city and replaced by Turks. According to a census made during this period, the city had 31 neighborhoods. In two of them ("Ermiyan" and "Karaman"), the Armenian population was in the majority.
During the Ottoman period, Nicosia first served as the capital of the State of Cyprus as the center of a district called "Mountain Kaza", and later became a sanjak . During the Ottoman period, St. Large churches such as the Sophia Cathedral were converted into mosques. Nicosia - Larnaca road was built. The gates of the city were opened at sunrise and closed at sunset. The Governor, Judge, Interpreter and Greek Archbishop resided in Nicosia. William Kimbrough Pendleton states that in 1864 most of the houses in the city were made of clay brick. As a result of a major earthquake in 1741, one minaret of the Selimiye Mosque collapsed and had to be rebuilt. There were riots in the city in 1764 and 1821.
On July 12, 1878, Nicosia, along with the rest of the island, came under British rule . British troops entered the city through the Kyrenia Gate and hoisted the first British flag on the Değirmen Bastion next to the Paphos Gate . Nicosia Municipality was established in 1882. Under British rule, Nicosia grew outside the city walls. Between 1930 and 1945, villages such as Ortaköy , Strovolos , Büyük Kaymaklı , Küçük Kaymaklı began to merge with the city, and the first settlements were made in regions such as Yenişehir . On January 1, 1944, Ayii Omoloyitadhes was included in the municipal boundaries. In order to provide access outside the city, the walls on the sides of the Paphos Gate in 1879, the Kyrenia Gate in 1931, and the Famagusta Gate in 1945 were cut. In 1905, a train station was built in Büyük Kaymaklı and train services to Nicosia started, this practice ended in 1955. In 1912, the first electricity came to the city. Also in the same year, kerosene-powered street lamps were replaced with electric ones. Under British rule, the sewer network was cleaned and the roads were repaired. On October 17, 1947, as a result of an explosion in the power plant that supplied energy to the city, the city was left without electricity for 116 days.
In 1895, Greeks attacked the Turks in the Tahtakale region of Nicosia. In 1931, Greeks rebelled against British rule and burned the government building. Founded in 1955, EOKA attacked public buildings and the radio station in the city against British rule.
The Republic of Cyprus was established on 16 August 1960 . The flag of the Republic of Cyprus was hoisted in the House of Representatives at midnight that night, ending British rule on the island. In accordance with Article 173 of the 1960 constitution, a Greek (Nicosia -Greek Municipality) and a Turkish ( Nicosia Turkish Municipality ) municipality were established on the island. On the night of 20–21 December 1963, the events known as " Bloody Christmas " began. Zeki Halil and Cemaliye Emirali were killed as a result of fire opened on cars in Tahtakale district of Nicosia. Between 23-30, Küçük Kaymaklı was besieged. On the night of 23-24 January, 11 people were killed in the Kumsal region, and the family of Turkish major Nihat İlhan was killed in the incident known as the Kumsal Raid. An attack was carried out against the Turks in the Kanlıdere region. As a result of the events, the governments of Turkey , Greece and the United Kingdom met on 30 December 1963 . As a result of this meeting, the border , also known as the Green Line, was drawn, dividing the city into Turkish and Greek parts. The reason why this border is called the "Green Line" is that the pen of the United Nations official who drew the line on the map was green. The borders of the city were finalized with the Cyprus Operation carried out in 1974 by the order of Turkish Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit .
On 29 March 1968, the suburbs of Eylence , Büyük Kaymaklı, Küçük Kaymaklı, Pallouriotissa , Strovolos (partially) and Kızılay were also included in the municipal borders. Following the de facto division of the city, the area under the administration of the Republic of Cyprus continued to grow in a southerly direction. North Nicosia also continued to grow and merged with outlying villages such as Gönyeli (which has a separate municipality) and Hamitköy (which is part of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality).
Kermiya Border Gate was opened in 2003, and Lokmacı Gate was opened in 2008 .
Nicosia is located in a central point of the island of Cyprus, in the central parts of the Mesarya Plain .
Nicosia has a hot semi-arid climate according to the Köppen climate classification . The hottest months are July and August, and the coldest months are January and February. The month with the most rainfall is January. Nicosia is one of the warmest places on the island.
Nicosia is located in the center of the geological formation called Nicosia Formation. This region dates back to the Lower Pliocene period. Gray, yellow and white marl layers, sandy and yellow limestones and sparse conglomerate bands are frequently encountered. The reconnection of the Mediterranean with the Atlantic Ocean resulted in the rise of sea water and the formation of new sediments, which formed the Nicosia Formation. Underneath Nicosia is the Nicosia- Serdarlı aquifer , which has an area of 60 km² .
The riverside parts of Nicosia city, especially Kanlıdere , have a great biodiversity. [88] In a research conducted in the streams in a 12.5 km diameter area of the city, which is rich in vegetation (especially in stream beds), 185 different plant species belonging to 62 different families were identified. Among these, there are four endemic and 16 rare species. The most common tree species found on the banks of streams in the city is the eucalyptus tree (various types can be found). There is a total of 0.262 square kilometers of forest area in the Nicosia Central agricultural region of Northern Cyprus . Two kilometers outside Nicosia (in its southern part), within the boundaries of the Municipality of Eylence, is the Pedagogical Academy National Forest Park, and to the south of the city is the Athalassa National Forest Park. In Northern Nicosia, there is the Nicosia Forest Nursery, which is 0.5 hectares in size.
The habitats of animals in the stream beds in some parts of the city are in danger. The reeds along the streams host many animals, especially bird species. Many creatures such as kingfishers , water chickens , striped turtles and chameleons live on the banks of the streams . There are especially many turtles in the streams.
Nicosia is the commercial center of Cyprus. The city hosts the central banks of the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus .
The city of Nicosia is divided into two parts in terms of urbanization, these are old Nicosia (the area inside the walls) and new Nicosia (outside the walls). In Old Nicosia, the roads are narrow and there are dead ends. In New Nicosia, there is more vertical and horizontal development over a wider area. Junctions and roads are wider, parks occupy larger areas.
In Nicosia during the Ottoman period, Greeks and Turks lived mixed in some neighborhoods, and in some neighborhoods, one of them was the majority. Mosques can be found in Turkish neighborhoods and churches in Greek neighborhoods. Armenians also lived in the city. The houses of the Armenians who used to live in Köşklüçiftlik were all made of cut stone and had their own unique architecture. Bay windows are a common feature in houses in Old Nicosia . The Büyük Han is one of the most advanced architectural works on the island, and today it is a cultural center where various activities such as exhibitions, sales of antiques and traditional items, and shadow plays take place.
There are fourteen museums in the part of Nicosia south of the Green Line. The Cyprus Museum was founded in 1888 and exhibits hundreds of archaeological artifacts brought from all over the island. The house of Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios, who worked as a translator for the Divan during the Ottoman period, built in 1793, is used as an ethnography museum. In the northern part of the city, the number of museums is six. Derviş Pasha Mansion is used as an ethnography museum.
Although there are many theaters in the south of the city, the headquarters of the Cyprus Theater Association is in Nicosia. The State Theater Building, built in the 2000s, formerly hosted this institution, which suffered from inadequate facilities, and is not allowed to be used by any other theater organization. Nicosia Municipality Theatre, built in 1967, has a capacity of 1220 people. In the north, the Turkish Cypriot State Theater performs plays and organizes tours; but it does not have a hall. Also in the north is the Nicosia Municipal Theater, which was established in 1980. The Cyprus Theater Festival, jointly organized by the Nicosia Turkish Municipality and Nicosia Municipal Theatres, is a large organization attended by institutions such as Istanbul City Theatres , and all of these can be held in only two halls.
There are nineteen cinemas in the southern part of the city, six of which are owned by a company called K Cineplex, and thirteen are owned by other companies. In the north of the city, the number of cinemas is four.
Two waterways built during the Ottoman period were used in Nicosia until the mid-20th century. These waterways were Arab Ahmed and Silihtar waterways. Apart from this, water extracted from wells was also used.
Telegraph was first used in the city in 1873. In 1936, a public telephone network was established covering the entire island and Nicosia.
The migration to the city of Nicosia as a result of the Cyprus Operation in 1974 caused problems such as development, transportation, sewerage, housing shortage and lack of infrastructure in the city.
Since Nicosia is a divided city, the Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus education systems are implemented in the city. A university called Near East University in North Nicosia , Cyprus International University, Mediterranean Karpaz University, Anadolu University 's open education faculty, apart from these, colleges such as Atatürk Teachers Academy and Police School There are. In the area under the control of the Republic of Cyprus , there are universities named University of Cyprus , Open University of Cyprus , Frederick University , University of Nicosia , [132] and European University of Cyprus.
In the Nicosia District of the Republic of Cyprus, there are 42 secondary schools, 133 primary schools and three kindergartens. There are a total of 30 primary schools, kindergartens and special education centers at the primary level in the Nicosia district of Northern Cyprus .
The roads on the island were built to be centered in Nicosia and unite in Nicosia. All important roads meet in Nicosia. During the Ottoman period, only the Larnaca road was built, and the previously built roads were in ruins. Under British rule, these roads were rebuilt and a regular postal service was established between Nicosia and other cities. The first car arrived in the city in 1907. The first bus services from the city started in 1929, these services departed from the Kyrenia Gate and went to Strovolos, Aydemet and Büyük Kaymaklı. [139] Train services started between Nicosia and Famagusta on 21 October 1905 . Train services were organized from Nicosia to approximately 30 stops. Train services ended on December 31, 1951. Nicosia International Airport was opened in 1949 . This airport is in the Buffer Zone today and is not used.
Today, there is a bus service in the Republic of Cyprus controlled part of the city run by a company called Nicosia Bus Company . All buses leave from the terminal in Solomos Square and make stops every 20 to 30 minutes. There are plans to expand the bus line, increase the frequency of services and renew the bus fleet. The Department of Public Works signed an agreement to establish tram and light rail lines between Nicosia - Larnaca and Limassol . There are motorways such as A1 and A2 from the city . In addition to developing this road network, there are also projects to improve the roads within the city. Apart from this, there are also taxis . Air transportation to the city is provided by Larnaca International Airport (44 km away) and Paphos International Airport . Larnaca Airport is used more than Paphos Airport.
LETTAŞ company also has buses in North Nicosia. The first municipal bus was put into operation on the Göçmenköy-Yenişehir route on January 15, 1980, during Mustafa Akıncı 's term as mayor. Starting from 1984, this service was transformed into a public transportation network within the municipality and started to provide service, and later the same vehicles were privatized to be operated by the LETTAŞ company. There is a bus terminal in the Yenişehir area. The airport used by the northern part of the city is Ercan Airport . Transportation to the airport is provided by buses. It is also possible to reach the city by taxi and minibus .
Nicosia Municipality is a sister city with the following cities:
Germany Schwerin , Germany (1974)
Greece Athens , Greece (1988)
Ukraine Odessa , Ukraine (1996)
Iranian Shiraz , Iran (1999)
Romania Bucharest , Romania (2004)
Chinese Shanghai , China (2004)
The city has also collaborated with the following cities:
Russia Moscow , Russia (1997, 2002, 2003-2004, 2006-2008)
Italy Nicosia , Italy (2000-2002)
Chinese Qingdao , China (2001)
Greece Athens , Greece (2001, 2003)
Finland Helsinki , Finland (2003)
Syria Damascus , Syria (2003)
Croatia Zagreb , Croatia (2004)
Malta Valletta , Malta (2007)
Sister cities of Nicosia Turkish Municipality
Türkiye Izmir , Turkey (2019)
Türkiye Ankara , Turkey (1988)
Türkiye Bursa , Turkey
North Macedonia Kumanovo , North Macedonia (2007)
Gagauzia Comrat , Gagauzia
Türkiye Gaziantep Turkey
Türkiye Istanbul 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.
A while ago, my brother and I decided that we wanted to play some Mobile Frame Zero. First, we had to build, though.
So we did.
I have here a gazebo, a planetarium / research area, and a bunker. With plants to match!
:D
Il 2011 è l' anno degli obiettivi. Obiettivi che più mi prefisso di raggiungere più mi fanno paura. Domani vorrei raggiungere il primo; ho lottato tanto, lo sto facendo tutt' ora e lo farò anche domani, ma ne varrà la pena?
Aggiornamento del 17/01 Ne è valsa eccome sta pena!XD
Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore. Developed by Las Vegas Sands (LVS), it is billed as the world's most expensive stand-alone casino property at US$ 5.7 billion, including the cost of the prime land.
Marina Bay Sands is situated on 15.5 hectares of land with the gross floor area of 581,000 square metres. The iconic design has transformed Singapore's skyline and tourism landscape since it opened on 27 April, 2010. The property has a hotel, convention and exhibition facilities, theatres, entertainment venues, retailers, and restaurants.
Marina Bay Sands was one of two winning proposals for Singapore's first integrated resorts, the other being the Resorts World Sentosa, which incorporates Universal Studios Theme Park. The two resorts aimed to meet Singapore's economic and tourism objectives, and have 30-year casino licenses, exclusively for the first ten years.
Bidders were assessed based on four criteria:
tourism appeal and contribution
architectural concept and design
development investment
strength of the consortium and partners
On 27 May, 2006, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) was declared as the winner to develop the Marina Bay site in the prime new business district of Marina South. LVS highlighted its forte in Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions (MICE). LVS's founder Sheldon Adelson is a pioneer in Las Vegas and the key to his early business success.[3] In the Design Evaluation portion of the tender, a panel of local and international architects commended Sands' design as superior to other bids in terms of pedestrian circulation and layout, and it also fit in with the Marina Bay landscape best. They liked that the hotel towers were set back from the waterfront to open up expansive views of the city and the entire Marina Bay, making the skyline for Singapore's downtown more attractive and distinctive.Construction of the property commenced in early 2007 and was expected to be completed by 2009.
Singapore Tourism Board highlighted Sands' line-up of six celebrity chefs, such as Tetsuya Wakuda, Wolfgang Puck, Daniel Boulud and Mario Batali.
LVS submitted its winning bid on its own. Its original partner City Developments Limited (CDL), with a proposed 15% equity stake, pulled out of the partnership in the second phase of the tender process. CDL's CEO, Kwek Leng Beng said his company's pullout was a combination of factors – such as difficulties in getting numerous companies he owns to comply in time, as well as reluctance of some parties to disclose certain private information in probity checks required by the Singapore government. However, Kwek was retained as an advisor for Sands' bid.
Las Vegas Sands initially committed to invest S$3.85 billion in the project, not including the fixed S$1.2 billion cost of the 6,000,000 square feet (560,000 m2) site itself. With the escalating costs of materials, such as sand and steel, and labour shortages owing to other major infrastructure and property development in the country, Sheldon Adelson placed the total cost of the development at S$8 billion as of July 2009.
Las Vegas Sands declared the undertaking as "one of the world's most challenging construction projects and certainly the most expensive stand-alone integrated resort property ever built". It expects the casino to generate at least $1 billion in annual profit. Two months after the initial phased opening, the casino attracts around 25,000 visitors daily, about a third being Singaporeans and permanent residents who pay a $100 daily entry levy or $2,000 for annual unlimited access. Half a million gamblers passed through the casino in June 2010. In the third quarter of 2012, the revenues of the Marina Bay Sands fell almost 28 per cent from a year earlier.
For the economy, Marina Bay Sands is projected to stimulate an addition of $2.7 billion or 0.8% to Singapore's Gross Domestic Product by 2015, employing 10,000 people directly and 20,000 jobs being created in other industries.
Moshe Safdie was approached to lead the design on this massive project. Taking inspiration from the form of card decks, led to the unique design of the three hotel towers. Other key structures of the property include the 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) ArtScience Museum, The Shoppes, Expo and Convention center and the casino. During the resort's planning and construction phases, feng shui consultants, the late Master Chong Swan Lek and Master Louisa Ong-Lee were consulted in regards to divination.
The engineering for the project was headed by Arup and Parsons Brinkerhoff (MEP/ELV). Arup had originally worked on prestigious projects such as the Beijing National Aquatics Centre and the Sydney Opera House. In spite of their experience in constructing challenging designs, the Marina Bay Sands project was described as the 'most difficult to carry out in the whole world' due to the amount of integration of the varied and advanced technologies needed to complete the project.
The extensive background music system was installed by Singapore based contractor Electronics & Engineering Pte Ltd
The Marina Bay Sands hotel has three 55-story towers with 2,561 luxury rooms and suites, which is capped by the Sands SkyPark, which offers 360-degree views of Singapore's skyline. The SkyPark is home to restaurants, gardens, a 150-metre vanishing edge and the world's largest public cantilever housing an observation deck. This architectural marvel stands at the height of 200 metres and boasts 12,400 square metres of space. Dining options at the Skypark include local celebrity chef restaurant, Sky on 57 (by Justin Quek), restaurant and nightclub KU DÉ TA, and executive club lounge The Club at Marina Bay Sands.
To help the Skypark withstand the natural motion of the towers caused by wind, engineers designed and constructed four movement joints beneath the main pools, each possessing a unique range of motion. The total range of motion is 500 millimetres (19.68 inches). In addition to wind, the hotel towers are also subject to settlement in the earth over time, hence custom jack legs were built and installed to allow for future adjustment at more than 500 points beneath the pool system. This jacking system is important primarily to ensure the infinity edge of the pool continues to function properly.[citation needed]
Connected to the hotel towers are the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands Casino and The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.
The Sands Expo and Convention Centre has more than 120,000 square metres or 1.3 million square feet of meeting space, making it one of the largest and most flexible locations in Asia. It is also the biggest MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conference and Exhibitions) facility in Singapore, and the ballroom is the largest in Southeast Asia, capable of hosting up to 11,000 delegates. The Sands Expo and Convention Centre has five floors of exhibition and convention space, with up to 2,000 exhibition booths and 250 meeting rooms. It has hosted events ranging from banquets, theater-style conventions, to exhibitions and roadshows.
Located near the Sands Expo and Convention Centre is the Marina Bay Sands Casino. Spanning 15,000 square metres over four levels of gaming, the casino features over 600 gaming tables and 1,500 slot machines along with two noodle bars, The Nest and Tong Dim, and local Chinese eatery, Fatt Choi Express.
Another attraction found at Marina Bay Sands is The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. With close to 800,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands is Singapore's first large-scale luxury shopping mall in the Central Business District with boutiques such as Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Cartier and Prada. Other luxury stores include Salon by Surrender, Gucci, Hermès, Emporio Armani, Chopard, REDValentino, Dior, Dunhill, Vertu, Miu Miu, Saint Laurent Paris, Salvatore Ferragamo, Montblanc, Blancpain, and an Hermès Watch Boutique. Also housed within the Shoppes are the five of the six Celebrity Chef Restaurants – Cut (by Wolfgang Puck), Waku Ghin (by Tetsuya Wakuda), Pizzeria and Osteria Mozza (by Mario Batali), Guy Savoy (by Guy Savoy), and DB Bistro Moderne (by Daniel Boulud).
Other attractions within The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands include a canal which runs through the length of the Shoppes, in the same style as the Venetian in Las Vegas, two Crystal Pavilions, one housing renowned nightclubs – Avalon and Pangaea and the other the world's largest Louis Vuitton boutique. An indoor skating rink (synthetic ice) measuring 6,500 square feet (600 m2) as well as the MasterCard Theatres, compromising of the Sands Theatre and Grand Theatre which seat 1,680 people and 2,155 people respectively can also be found at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.
The MasterCard Theatres has played host to many international acts and plays since its opening, with Broadway smash musicals like The Lion King, Wicked, Annie, and The Phantom of the Opera. Other acts such as Cirque Éloize and A. R. Rahman's Jai Ho, located in the latter during their world tours.
Visitors to the Event Plaza at The Shoppes can enjoy the nightly Wonder Full show, a 13-minute light and water show featuring lasers, lights, water movements and graphics, set against the backdrop of Marina Bay Sands.
Marina Bay Sands is also home to the ArtScience Museum, With a form reminiscent of the lotus, the ArtScience Museum has been called "The Welcoming Hand of Singapore". It features an adjustable roof waterfall which uses rainwater collected when the roof is sealed in the day.
The resort also features an Art Path designed by Moshe Safdie, incorporating 11 installations by five artists including Zheng Chongbin, Antony Gormley, and Sol LeWitt. The 11 art installations were commissioned to integrate seamlessly with Moshe Safdie's iconic architecture. These art installations form the largest art commissions ever completed as part of an integrated architectual proccess
Since I use two different lighting system for high magnification studio photography, was curious about the difference of the effects.
Well, I chose a tiny leaf miner jewel beetle from my collection and did two stacking sequence. One lit with a Speedlite 580EXII flash through a plactic diffuser around the subject, and another with 2 IKEA table LED lamps through the same diffuser. Find the picture of the setup below!
Shots were taken with a Mitutoyo BD Plan 10x microscope objective on a Apo-Gerogon 9/150 enlarger lens at 9,2x magnification. 105 exposures in each stacks. Shutter speed with flash: 1/100 sec. (live view mode), with LEDs: 1/3 sec. (live view, silent shooting mode).
I found no remarkable difference in the light effects. Perhaps when the flashlight is coming frontwise of the beetle looks more natural than the two separated light reflection. Another strange thing appears: the different color of the LED lamps. I have 4 Jansjö lamps and none of them has the same colors.
Then I looked at the stacks at the original resolution and surprised of the difference. I do not know why, the LED lit version has slightly finer and perhaps sharper details. Check out the comparison below side-by-side!
I picked up a new microscope objective to play with. Its an Olympus M SPLAN 10X 0.30 f=180 infinity corrected objective. Its was designed for use with metallurgical microscopes and does not require a cover glass. Being infinity corrected it does requires a tube lens, rather than just being mounted on a bellows. I've been unable to find out much info on the web about this objective, but I think it dates from mid-80's, but not sure.
The FOV of this single image of a microchip is 2.4mm. It seems to be resolving detail very well, especially considering I did no focus stacking. There is a fair amount of CA present, but I can live with that.
I was getting ready to mow my lawn and as usual, walked around looking for interesting subjects to shoot before the mower chewed everything to bits. There were a number of soon-to-be-obliterated Asiatic Day Flowers scattered around so I picked one, figuring I could get some close-up pix of the anthers. I had rigged my D40 with a new supplementary lens and wanted to see if it was worth using with my macro bracket.
The flower was held in my left hand, which was braced against the macro bracket. Focusing was done simply by moving the flower toward or away from the lens and shooting when it passed through the focus "sweet spot". While getting pix of another part of the flower, I noticed something red streak across the field of view. It was a tiny mite, and by moving the flower I was able to follow it as it raced around, finally settling on the anthers. It spent some time behaving much like a bee, slurping up something it found on them. This thing was extremely active, only remaining still for a split second... not much time to center it in the viewfinder and float around looking for the point of sharpest focus. So... I just fired away, figuring that maybe several images might be OK. After 15 minutes of cursing at the wind, cursing at the mite... who kept running around, and cursing at my cramping arm holding the camera, I came away with three images that are "OK" but not great.
The lens is a Nikon industrial 20x Objective that I think was part of a huge tool maker or measuring microscope. The lens is about 4" long and has unusual mongrel threads that fit none of my regular adapters. It and three other objectives (10, 50, 100x) came as part of a lens "turret" that looked very much like a traditional multi-objective microscope rotating turret, but made of heavy steel. Because of its huge size... about 14" across, it weighed around 25 pounds. With all the objectives in place it resembled half of a WW1 floating mine. The lens was mounted on the outboard end of a short bellows from a Spiratone Bello-Dupliscope slide copier after first removing the slide holder. Then the unit was mounted on the D40 using a modified screw mount to Nikon F adapter. The lens has no aperture control, so you just shoot and regulate exposure via ISO and flash power adjustment. It's impossible to see anything in the viewfinder because of the very small (unknown) aperture, so a small LED flashlight is mounted on the bellows and pre-aimed to light up whatever enters the zone of sharpest focus. Depth of Field is VERY thin... somewhere around .25mm. The pop-up flash on the D40 is dead, so lighting was provided by a Nikon SB-20 flash, set at 1/16th power. The D40 shutter will flash-synch to 1/4000 second when using an external flash, so I used 1/2000 and 1/16 power to minimize the effect of camera and subject motion. Here's a photo of the set-up:
www.flickr.com/photos/61377404@N08/15461786609/in/album-7...
DSC-3860
Objective for today's macro shoot is to capture mainly spiders, most other bugs were ignored. :)
This fella was the most finicky spider I've encountered.
Equipment: Canon 40D + Speedlite EX 430II + Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di
© Copyright Aaron Moraes. 2009. Some Rights Reserved
focus stack of 137 frames taken using a Stackshot rail and combined in Zerene Stacker. Nikon D810 with a nikon plan 10x/0.25 microscope objective mounted on an old nikon 200mm f4 acting as a tube lens
101 Oil Studies, No. 48
Objective: Work on values, and fabric creases in my favorite shirt.
Painted in 7 sessions: 25 November to 14 Decemer 2024
Pigments (all Winsor & Newton Artists' oil colour unless otherwise noted): Yellow ochre, Winsor yellow, cobalt blue, terra rosa, ivory black, warm grey (Rembrandt), permalba white. Mediums: Gamsol.
Centurion OP DLX oil primed linen, 22.9 x 30.5 cm (9x12 inches)
I'm continuing to put aside green pigments in favor of mixing my greens, in this case from Windor yellow (Winsor & Newton's hanza formulation) and Colbalt blue. To avoid too cool a green, I brushed in terra rosa.
His Holiness Younus AlGohar explains the main reason one practises a religion and why pure spirituality is what we need today.
Main points:
- The knowledge that comes from God is true knowledge, but when knowledge about God is coming through a religion, it is censored. Different religions were all sent by God, but they have different perspectives of God.
- Christianity’s image of God is painted with the colour of love. They don’t talk about hellfire, they talk about hop. They say that if you believe in Lord Jesus, all your sins are gone. Muslims on the other hand are scared of God. A Muslim doesn’t talk about God’s love. Either he talks about torment of the grave, burning in hell or virgins of paradise.
- True knowledge about God will come from somebody who has seen God, who is is able to talk with God. God speaks to him and he speaks to God. Then in that friendship, God will reveal the ultimate truth upon him.
- Does God love everybody? If he loved everyone, then why are some people suffering so much in this world? If God loved everybody, they would be good. God’s love would change a human being; one who God loves cannot remain to have hatred. God created human beings for different purposes. Some of the human beings are destined to burn in hellfire and this is because God wants it that way.
- Since spirituality became absent in these religions, they became a problem. If you have God’s love, you are better than those who have a religion but still they don’t love God. The problem with religions is that anyone can join them, regardless of whether they are hell-bound, heaven-bound or predestined loving souls. When bad people joined religion, issues arose within the religion.
Read the transcript by clicking the link below:
www.theawaitedone.com/articles/2016/06/25/primary-objecti...
Neue Sachlichkeit or New Objectivity was a German art movement that relied on stark realism to criticise Weimar Republic society. It was short-lived from 1919 to 1933 when Hitler declared it "degenerate art".
However in its short lifespan, it produced some of the greatest German artists of the 20th century including the two I have pictured here. At left is a self portrait by the painter George Grosz, whilst at the right is a self portrait by painter Otto Dix.
Amongst some of the other great artists were Max Beerbaum, Christian Schad, Rudolf Schlichter and Hanna Nagel.
This book by Sergiusz Michalski is one of my most frequently read books. I grew to love this period of German art history when I was studying art at the University of Guelph. The university brought in an Otto Dix exhibition and I was mesmerised. I can't remember the number of times I went to see that show and just sat and stared at the pictures. Needless to say I did write an essay on Dix for one of my art history courses, yet regrettably I no longer have that essay.
We're Here looks at Pink Pink Pink today and I chose this pink covered book from my library.