U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Human Resource Management (OHRM) Diversity, Recruitment, and Work/Life Division (DRWD) Acting Director and 2016 Feds Feed Families Chair Sabrina Ferguson-Ward hosts the 2016 Feds Feed Families USDA Kickoff event in the Whitten Building patio, Washington, D.C. on Friday, June 17, 2016. This year’s theme is "Feds Fighting Hunger."

USDA once again will lead the 2016 Feds Feed Families (FFF) campaign with the support of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council and other agency partners. The campaign will run through August 30, 2016. Launched in 2009 as part of President Obama's United We Serve campaign, Feds Feed Families was designed to help food banks and pantries stay stocked during summer months when they traditionally see a decrease in donations and an increase in need. In Washington, D.C., the Capital Area Food Bank receives collections and distributes them through its network of more than 500 partner organizations. Through the amazing generosity of federal employees, since 2009 the food drive has collected nearly 57.2 million pounds of food for those in need. Last year alone, more than 17.9 million pounds were donated and provided to food banks and pantries. All Federal agencies, including field components, are asked to participate in the campaign. The field agencies will share their collections with their local food banks with the goal of ensuring that the FFF campaign will stretch across America and be visible and active in every state. As in every year, employees are asked to bring non-perishable food items and place them into a designated collection box located in the Federal workplace or take them directly to a local food bank. Donations of fresh food (fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts) can be made directly to a food pantry in your community - please visit www.ampleharvest.org to find one near you.

Learn more about most wanted items in area food banks from the Capital Area Food Bank . For those outside of the National Capital Area, visit www.feedingamerica.org for a list of regional food banks (non-perishable food only) or www.ampleharvest.org , for a list of local food pantries (fresh produce as well as non-perishable food) in your area to partner with and to send donations. They assist with arranging pick-up and weighing of your donations. In 2016, as part of Feds Feed Families, employees are encouraged to take advantage of gleaning (clearing fields of unused produce). Field employees can reach out to Society of St. Andrew for gleaning opportunities in their area. The Mid-Atlantic Gleaning Network (MAGNET) is another great partner at www.midatlanticgleaningnetwork.org . Volunteers can pick, sort and deliver fresh produce to food banks, churches and other partners. USDA Media by Lance Cheung.

Preah Khan (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន; "Royal Sword") is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.

HISTORY

Preah Khan was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams in 1191. Unusually the modern name, meaning "holy sword", is derived from the meaning of the original - Nagara Jayasri (holy city of victory). The site may previously have been occupied by the royal palaces of Yasovarman II and Tribhuvanadityavarman. The temple's foundation stela has provided considerable information about the history and administration of the site: the main image, of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in the form of the king's father, was dedicated in 1191 (the king's mother had earlier been commemorated in the same way at Ta Prohm). 430 other deities also had shrines on the site, each of which received an allotment of food, clothing, perfume and even mosquito nets; the temple's wealth included gold, silver, gems, 112,300 pearls and a cow with gilded horns. The institution combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were 97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers and 1000 teachers.

The temple is still largely unrestored: the initial clearing was from 1927 to 1932, and partial anastylosis was carried out in 1939. Since then free-standing statues have been removed for safe-keeping, and there has been further consolidation and restoration work. Throughout, the conservators have attempted to balance restoration and maintenance of the wild condition in which the temple was discovered: one of them, Maurice Glaize, wrote that;

The temple was previously overrun with a particularly voracious vegetation and quite ruined, presenting only chaos. Clearing works were undertaken with a constant respect for the large trees which give the composition a pleasing presentation without constituting any immediate danger. At the same time, some partial anastylosis has revived various buildings found in a sufficient state of preservation and presenting some special interest in their architecture or decoration.

Since 1991, the site has been maintained by the World Monuments Fund. It has continued the cautious approach to restoration, believing that to go further would involve too much guesswork, and prefers to respect the ruined nature of the temple. One of its former employees has said, "We're basically running a glorified maintenance program. We're not prepared to falsify history". It has therefore limited itself primarily to stabilisation work on the fourth eastern gopura, the House of Fire and the Hall of Dancers.

THE SITE

The outer wall of Preah Khan is of laterite, and bears 72 garudas holding nagas, at 50 m intervals. Surrounded by a moat, it measures 800 by 700 m and encloses an area of 56 hectares. To the east of Preah Khan is a landing stage on the edge of the Jayatataka baray, now dry, which measured 3.5 by 0.9 km. This also allowed access to the temple of Neak Pean in the centre of the baray. As usual Preah Khan is oriented toward the east, so this was the main entrance, but there are others at each of the cardinal points. Each entrance has a causeway over the moat with nāga-carrying devas and asuras similar to those at Angkor Thom; Glaize considered this an indication that the city element of Preah Khan was more significant than those of Ta Prohm or Banteay Kdei.

Halfway along the path leading to the third enclosure, on the north side, is a House of Fire (or Dharmasala) similar to Ta Prohm's. The remainder of the fourth enclosure, now forested, was originally occupied by the city; as this was built of perishable materials it has not survived. The third enclosure wall is 200 by 175 metres. In front of the third gopura is a cruciform terrace. The gopura itself is on a large scale, with three towers in the centre and two flanking pavilions. Between the southern two towers were two celebrated silk-cotton trees, of which Glaize wrote, "resting on the vault itself of the gallery, [they] frame its openings and brace the stones in substitute for pillars in a caprice of nature that is as fantastic as it is perilous." One of the trees is now dead, although the roots have been left in place. The trees may need to be removed to prevent their damaging the structure. On the far side of the temple, the third western gopura has pediments of a chess game and the Battle of Lanka, and two guardian dvarapalas to the west.

West of the third eastern gopura, on the main axis is a Hall of Dancers. The walls are decorated with apsaras; Buddha images in niches above them were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction under Jayavarman VIII. North of the Hall of Dancers is a two-storeyed structure with round columns. No other examples of this form survive at Angkor, although there are traces of similar buildings at Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei. Freeman and Jacques speculate that this may have been a granary. Occupying the rest of the third enclosure are ponds (now dry) in each corner, and satellite temples to the north, south and west. While the main temple was Buddhist, these three are dedicated to Shiva, previous kings and queens, and Vishnu respectively. They are notable chiefly for their pediments: on the northern temple, Vishnu reclining to the west and the Hindu trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma to the east; on the western temple, Krishna raising Mount Govardhana to the west.

Connecting the Hall of Dancers and the wall of the second enclosure is a courtyard containing two libraries. The second eastern gopura projects into this courtyard; it is one of the few Angkorian gopuras with significant internal decoration, with garudas on the corners of the cornices. Buddha images on the columns were changed into hermits under Jayavarman VIII.

Between the second enclosure wall (85 by 76 m) and the first enclosure wall (62 by 55 m) on the eastern side is a row of later additions which impede access and hide some of the original decoration. The first enclosure is, as Glaize said, similarly, "choked with more or less ruined buildings". The enclosure is divided into four parts by a cruciform gallery, each part almost filled by these later irregular additions. The walls of this gallery, and the interior of the central sanctuary, are covered with holes for the fixing of bronze plates which would originally have covered them and the outside of the sanctuary - 1500 tonnes was used to decorate the whole temple. At the centre of the temple, in place of the original statue of Lokesvara, is a stupa built several centuries after the temple's initial construction.

MICROBIAL DEGRADATION

Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan.

_____________________________

Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The Angkorian period began in AD 802, when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself a universal monarch and god-king, and lasted until the late 14th century, first falling under Ayutthayan suzerainty in 1351. A Khmer rebellion resulted in the 1431 sacking of Angkor by Ayutthaya, causing its population to migrate south to Longvek.

The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland to the north of the Great Lake (Tonlé Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern-day Siem Reap city, in Siem Reap Province. The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the magnificent Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together, they comprise the most significant site of Khmer architecture. Visitor numbers approach two million annually, and the entire expanse, including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom is collectively protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This popularity of the site among tourists presents multiple challenges to the preservation of the ruins.

In 2007, an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest preindustrial city in the world, with an elaborate infrastructure system connecting an urban sprawl of at least 1,000 square kilometres to the well-known temples at its core. The closest rival to Angkor, the Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, was between 100 and 150 square kilometres in total size. Although its population remains a topic of research and debate, newly identified agricultural systems in the Angkor area may have supported up to one million people.

The Angkorian period may be said to have begun shortly after 800 AD, when the Khmer King Jayavarman II announced the independence of Kambujadesa (Cambodia) from Java and established his capital of Hariharalaya (now known as Roluos) at the northern end of Tonlé Sap. Through a program of military campaigns, alliances, marriages and land grants, he achieved a unification of the country bordered by China to the north, Champa (now Central Vietnam) to the east, the ocean to the south and a place identified by a stone inscription as the land of cardamoms and mangoes to the west. In 802, Jayavarman articulated his new status by declaring himself universal monarch and, in a move that was to be imitated by his successors and that linked him to the cult of Siva, taking on the epithet of god-king (devaraja). Before Jayavarman, Cambodia had consisted of a number of politically independent principalities collectively known to the Chinese by the names Funan and Chenla.

In 889, Yasovarman ascended to the throne. A great king and an accomplished builder, he was celebrated by one inscription as "a lion-man; he tore the enemy with the claws of his grandeur; his teeth were his policies; his eyes were the Veda." Near the old capital of Hariharalaya, Yasovarman constructed a new city, called Yasodharapura. In the tradition of his predecessors, he also constructed a massive reservoir called baray. The significance of such reservoirs has been debated by modern scholars, some of whom have seen in them a means of irrigating rice fields, and others of whom have regarded them as religiously charged symbols of the great mythological oceans surrounding Mount Meru, the abode of the gods. The mountain, in turn, was represented by an elevated temple, in which the "god-king" was represented by a lingam. In accordance with this cosmic symbolism, Yasovarman built his central temple on a low hill known as Phnom Bakheng, surrounding it with a moat fed from the baray. He also built numerous other Hindu temples and ashrams, or retreats for ascetics.

Over the next 300 years, between 900 and 1200, the Khmer Empire produced some of the world's most magnificent architectural masterpieces in the area known as Angkor. Most are concentrated in an area approximately 24 km east to west and 8.0 km north to south, although the Angkor Archaeological Park, which administers the area, includes sites as far away as Kbal Spean, about 48 km to the north. Some 72 major temples or other buildings are found within this area, and the remains of several hundred additional minor temple sites are scattered throughout the landscape beyond. Because of the dispersed, low-density nature of the medieval Khmer settlement pattern, Angkor lacks a formal boundary, and its extent is therefore difficult to determine. However, a specific area of at least 1,000 qkm beyond the major temples is defined by a complex system of infrastructure, including roads and canals that indicate a high degree of connectivity and functional integration with the urban core. In terms of spatial extent (although not in terms of population), this makes it the largest urban agglomeration in human history prior to the Industrial Revolution, easily surpassing the nearest claim, that of the Mayan city of Tikal.

Preah Khan (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន; "Royal Sword") is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.

HISTORY

Preah Khan was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams in 1191. Unusually the modern name, meaning "holy sword", is derived from the meaning of the original - Nagara Jayasri (holy city of victory). The site may previously have been occupied by the royal palaces of Yasovarman II and Tribhuvanadityavarman. The temple's foundation stela has provided considerable information about the history and administration of the site: the main image, of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in the form of the king's father, was dedicated in 1191 (the king's mother had earlier been commemorated in the same way at Ta Prohm). 430 other deities also had shrines on the site, each of which received an allotment of food, clothing, perfume and even mosquito nets; the temple's wealth included gold, silver, gems, 112,300 pearls and a cow with gilded horns. The institution combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were 97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers and 1000 teachers.

The temple is still largely unrestored: the initial clearing was from 1927 to 1932, and partial anastylosis was carried out in 1939. Since then free-standing statues have been removed for safe-keeping, and there has been further consolidation and restoration work. Throughout, the conservators have attempted to balance restoration and maintenance of the wild condition in which the temple was discovered: one of them, Maurice Glaize, wrote that;

The temple was previously overrun with a particularly voracious vegetation and quite ruined, presenting only chaos. Clearing works were undertaken with a constant respect for the large trees which give the composition a pleasing presentation without constituting any immediate danger. At the same time, some partial anastylosis has revived various buildings found in a sufficient state of preservation and presenting some special interest in their architecture or decoration.

Since 1991, the site has been maintained by the World Monuments Fund. It has continued the cautious approach to restoration, believing that to go further would involve too much guesswork, and prefers to respect the ruined nature of the temple. One of its former employees has said, "We're basically running a glorified maintenance program. We're not prepared to falsify history". It has therefore limited itself primarily to stabilisation work on the fourth eastern gopura, the House of Fire and the Hall of Dancers.

THE SITE

The outer wall of Preah Khan is of laterite, and bears 72 garudas holding nagas, at 50 m intervals. Surrounded by a moat, it measures 800 by 700 m and encloses an area of 56 hectares. To the east of Preah Khan is a landing stage on the edge of the Jayatataka baray, now dry, which measured 3.5 by 0.9 km. This also allowed access to the temple of Neak Pean in the centre of the baray. As usual Preah Khan is oriented toward the east, so this was the main entrance, but there are others at each of the cardinal points. Each entrance has a causeway over the moat with nāga-carrying devas and asuras similar to those at Angkor Thom; Glaize considered this an indication that the city element of Preah Khan was more significant than those of Ta Prohm or Banteay Kdei.

Halfway along the path leading to the third enclosure, on the north side, is a House of Fire (or Dharmasala) similar to Ta Prohm's. The remainder of the fourth enclosure, now forested, was originally occupied by the city; as this was built of perishable materials it has not survived. The third enclosure wall is 200 by 175 metres. In front of the third gopura is a cruciform terrace. The gopura itself is on a large scale, with three towers in the centre and two flanking pavilions. Between the southern two towers were two celebrated silk-cotton trees, of which Glaize wrote, "resting on the vault itself of the gallery, [they] frame its openings and brace the stones in substitute for pillars in a caprice of nature that is as fantastic as it is perilous." One of the trees is now dead, although the roots have been left in place. The trees may need to be removed to prevent their damaging the structure. On the far side of the temple, the third western gopura has pediments of a chess game and the Battle of Lanka, and two guardian dvarapalas to the west.

West of the third eastern gopura, on the main axis is a Hall of Dancers. The walls are decorated with apsaras; Buddha images in niches above them were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction under Jayavarman VIII. North of the Hall of Dancers is a two-storeyed structure with round columns. No other examples of this form survive at Angkor, although there are traces of similar buildings at Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei. Freeman and Jacques speculate that this may have been a granary. Occupying the rest of the third enclosure are ponds (now dry) in each corner, and satellite temples to the north, south and west. While the main temple was Buddhist, these three are dedicated to Shiva, previous kings and queens, and Vishnu respectively. They are notable chiefly for their pediments: on the northern temple, Vishnu reclining to the west and the Hindu trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma to the east; on the western temple, Krishna raising Mount Govardhana to the west.

Connecting the Hall of Dancers and the wall of the second enclosure is a courtyard containing two libraries. The second eastern gopura projects into this courtyard; it is one of the few Angkorian gopuras with significant internal decoration, with garudas on the corners of the cornices. Buddha images on the columns were changed into hermits under Jayavarman VIII.

Between the second enclosure wall (85 by 76 m) and the first enclosure wall (62 by 55 m) on the eastern side is a row of later additions which impede access and hide some of the original decoration. The first enclosure is, as Glaize said, similarly, "choked with more or less ruined buildings". The enclosure is divided into four parts by a cruciform gallery, each part almost filled by these later irregular additions. The walls of this gallery, and the interior of the central sanctuary, are covered with holes for the fixing of bronze plates which would originally have covered them and the outside of the sanctuary - 1500 tonnes was used to decorate the whole temple. At the centre of the temple, in place of the original statue of Lokesvara, is a stupa built several centuries after the temple's initial construction.

MICROBIAL DEGRADATION

Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan.

______________________________________

The principal temple of the Angkorian region, Angkor Wat, was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II. Suryavarman ascended to the throne after prevailing in a battle with a rival prince. An inscription says that, in the course of combat, Suryavarman leapt onto his rival's war elephant and killed him, just as the mythical bird-man Garuda slays a serpent.

WIKIPEDIA

A U.S. Air Force MQ-1B Predator remotely piloted vehicle from the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron takes off from Balad Air Base, Iraq, June 12, 2008, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Since January 2008, more than 1,000 Predator sorties were flown out of Balad, lasting more than 20,000 hours. The MQ-1 Predator is a medium-altitude, long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft. The MQ-1's primary mission is interdiction and conducting armed reconnaissance flights against critical, perishable targets. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Julianne Showalter)

Angkor Thom (Khmer: អង្គរធំ; literally: "Great City"), located in present day Cambodia, was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by King Jayavarman VII. It covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the north.

Angkor Thom was established as the capital of Jayavarman VII's empire, and was the centre of his massive building programme. One inscription found in the city refers to Jayavarman as the groom and the city as his bride.

Angkor Thom seems not to be the first Khmer capital on the site, however. Yasodharapura, dating from three centuries earlier, was centred slightly further northwest, and Angkor Thom overlapped parts of it. The most notable earlier temples within the city are the former state temple of Baphuon, and Phimeanakas, which was incorporated into the Royal Palace. The Khmers did not draw any clear distinctions between Angkor Thom and Yashodharapura: even in the fourteenth century an inscription used the earlier name. The name of Angkor Thom - great city - was in use from the 16th century.

The last temple known to have been constructed in Angkor Thom was Mangalartha, which was dedicated in 1295. Thereafter the existing structures continued to be modified from time to time, but any new creations were in perishable materials and have not survived. In the following centuries Angkor Thom remained the capital of a kingdom in decline until it was abandoned some time prior to 1609, when an early western visitor wrote of an uninhabited city, "as fantastic as the Atlantis of Plato". It is believed to have sustained a population of 80,000–150,000 people.

STYLE

Angkor Thom is in the Bayon style. This manifests itself in the large scale of the construction, in the widespread use of laterite, in the face-towers at each of the entrances to the city and in the naga-carrying giant figures which accompany each of the towers.

THE SITE

The city lies on the west bank of the Siem Reap River, a tributary of Tonle Sap, about a quarter of a mile from the river. The south gate of Angkor Thom is 7.2 km north of Siem Reap, and 1.7 km north of the entrance to Angkor Wat. The walls, 8 m high and flanked by a moat, are each 3 km long, enclosing an area of 9 km². The walls are of laterite buttressed by earth, with a parapet on the top. There are gates at each of the cardinal points, from which roads lead to the Bayon at the centre of the city. As the Bayon itself has no wall or moat of its own, those of the city are interpreted by archaeologists as representing the mountains and oceans surrounding the Bayon's Mount Meru. Another gate - the Victory Gate - is 500 m north of the east gate; the Victory Way runs parallel to the east road to the Victory Square and the Royal Palace north of the Bayon.

The faces on the 23 m towers at the city gates, which are later additions to the main structure, take after those of the Bayon and pose the same problems of interpretation. They may represent the king himself, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, guardians of the empire's cardinal points, or some combination of these. A causeway spans the moat in front of each tower: these have a row of devas on the left and asuras on the right, each row holding a naga in the attitude of a tug-of-war. This appears to be a reference to the myth, popular in Angkor, of the Churning of the Sea of Milk. The temple-mountain of the Bayon, or perhaps the gate itself, would then be the pivot around which the churning takes place. The nagas may also represent the transition from the world of men to the world of the gods (the Bayon), or be guardian figures. The gateways themselves are 3.5 by 7 m, and would originally have been closed with wooden doors. The south gate is now by far the most often visited, as it is the main entrance to the city for tourists.

At each corner of the city is a Prasat Chrung - corner shrine - built of sandstone and dedicated to Avalokiteshvara. These are cruciform with a central tower, and orientated towards the east.

Within the city was a system of canals, through which water flowed from the northeast to the southwest. The bulk of the land enclosed by the walls would have been occupied by the secular buildings of the city, of which nothing remains. This area is now covered by forest.

Most of the great Angkor ruins have vast displays of bas-relief depicting the various gods, goddesses, and other-worldly beings from the mythological stories and epic poems of ancient Hinduism (modified by centuries of Buddhism). Mingled with these images are actual known animals, like elephants, snakes, fish, and monkeys, in addition to dragon-like creatures that look like the stylized, elongated serpents (with feet and claws) found in Chinese art.

But among the ruins of Ta Prohm, near a huge stone entrance, one can see that the “roundels on pilasters on the south side of the west entrance are unusual in design.”

What one sees are roundels depicting various common animals - pigs, monkeys, water buffaloes, roosters and snakes. There are no mythological figures among the roundels, so one can reasonably conclude that these figures depict the animals that were commonly seen by the ancient Khmer people in the twelfth century.

ANGKOR THOM IN POPULAR CULTURE

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider features several characters visiting Angkor Thom during their trip to Cambodia to recover the first piece of the Triangle of Light.

In James Rollins' SIGMA Force Book 4: The Judas Strain (2007), the characters' journey to find a cure for a plague, which requires following in the steps of Marco Polo, leads them to the Angor Thom.

In Peter Bourne's novel The Golden Pagans (c.1956), the main characters are sent to Arabia during the Crusades, captured, and forced into servitude by the Khmers. The prisoners build a portion of what becomes known as Angkor Thom.

In Patlabor the Movie 2, the opening scene appears to be based on the Angkor Thom, as said by Hayao Miyazaki in an interview with Animage magazine (October 1993).

In Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, Angkor Thom is the third city built in the Khmer Empire, after Yasodharapura and Hariharalaya.

In Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, Angkor Thom is the region where a Cambodian temple is located, housing the Ancient Mantorok.

Preah Khan (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន; "Royal Sword") is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.

HISTORY

Preah Khan was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams in 1191. Unusually the modern name, meaning "holy sword", is derived from the meaning of the original - Nagara Jayasri (holy city of victory). The site may previously have been occupied by the royal palaces of Yasovarman II and Tribhuvanadityavarman. The temple's foundation stela has provided considerable information about the history and administration of the site: the main image, of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in the form of the king's father, was dedicated in 1191 (the king's mother had earlier been commemorated in the same way at Ta Prohm). 430 other deities also had shrines on the site, each of which received an allotment of food, clothing, perfume and even mosquito nets; the temple's wealth included gold, silver, gems, 112,300 pearls and a cow with gilded horns. The institution combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were 97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers and 1000 teachers.

The temple is still largely unrestored: the initial clearing was from 1927 to 1932, and partial anastylosis was carried out in 1939. Since then free-standing statues have been removed for safe-keeping, and there has been further consolidation and restoration work. Throughout, the conservators have attempted to balance restoration and maintenance of the wild condition in which the temple was discovered: one of them, Maurice Glaize, wrote that;

The temple was previously overrun with a particularly voracious vegetation and quite ruined, presenting only chaos. Clearing works were undertaken with a constant respect for the large trees which give the composition a pleasing presentation without constituting any immediate danger. At the same time, some partial anastylosis has revived various buildings found in a sufficient state of preservation and presenting some special interest in their architecture or decoration.

Since 1991, the site has been maintained by the World Monuments Fund. It has continued the cautious approach to restoration, believing that to go further would involve too much guesswork, and prefers to respect the ruined nature of the temple. One of its former employees has said, "We're basically running a glorified maintenance program. We're not prepared to falsify history". It has therefore limited itself primarily to stabilisation work on the fourth eastern gopura, the House of Fire and the Hall of Dancers.

THE SITE

The outer wall of Preah Khan is of laterite, and bears 72 garudas holding nagas, at 50 m intervals. Surrounded by a moat, it measures 800 by 700 m and encloses an area of 56 hectares. To the east of Preah Khan is a landing stage on the edge of the Jayatataka baray, now dry, which measured 3.5 by 0.9 km. This also allowed access to the temple of Neak Pean in the centre of the baray. As usual Preah Khan is oriented toward the east, so this was the main entrance, but there are others at each of the cardinal points. Each entrance has a causeway over the moat with nāga-carrying devas and asuras similar to those at Angkor Thom; Glaize considered this an indication that the city element of Preah Khan was more significant than those of Ta Prohm or Banteay Kdei.

Halfway along the path leading to the third enclosure, on the north side, is a House of Fire (or Dharmasala) similar to Ta Prohm's. The remainder of the fourth enclosure, now forested, was originally occupied by the city; as this was built of perishable materials it has not survived. The third enclosure wall is 200 by 175 metres. In front of the third gopura is a cruciform terrace. The gopura itself is on a large scale, with three towers in the centre and two flanking pavilions. Between the southern two towers were two celebrated silk-cotton trees, of which Glaize wrote, "resting on the vault itself of the gallery, [they] frame its openings and brace the stones in substitute for pillars in a caprice of nature that is as fantastic as it is perilous." One of the trees is now dead, although the roots have been left in place. The trees may need to be removed to prevent their damaging the structure. On the far side of the temple, the third western gopura has pediments of a chess game and the Battle of Lanka, and two guardian dvarapalas to the west.

West of the third eastern gopura, on the main axis is a Hall of Dancers. The walls are decorated with apsaras; Buddha images in niches above them were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction under Jayavarman VIII. North of the Hall of Dancers is a two-storeyed structure with round columns. No other examples of this form survive at Angkor, although there are traces of similar buildings at Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei. Freeman and Jacques speculate that this may have been a granary. Occupying the rest of the third enclosure are ponds (now dry) in each corner, and satellite temples to the north, south and west. While the main temple was Buddhist, these three are dedicated to Shiva, previous kings and queens, and Vishnu respectively. They are notable chiefly for their pediments: on the northern temple, Vishnu reclining to the west and the Hindu trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma to the east; on the western temple, Krishna raising Mount Govardhana to the west.

Connecting the Hall of Dancers and the wall of the second enclosure is a courtyard containing two libraries. The second eastern gopura projects into this courtyard; it is one of the few Angkorian gopuras with significant internal decoration, with garudas on the corners of the cornices. Buddha images on the columns were changed into hermits under Jayavarman VIII.

Between the second enclosure wall (85 by 76 m) and the first enclosure wall (62 by 55 m) on the eastern side is a row of later additions which impede access and hide some of the original decoration. The first enclosure is, as Glaize said, similarly, "choked with more or less ruined buildings". The enclosure is divided into four parts by a cruciform gallery, each part almost filled by these later irregular additions. The walls of this gallery, and the interior of the central sanctuary, are covered with holes for the fixing of bronze plates which would originally have covered them and the outside of the sanctuary - 1500 tonnes was used to decorate the whole temple. At the centre of the temple, in place of the original statue of Lokesvara, is a stupa built several centuries after the temple's initial construction.

MICROBIAL DEGRADATION

Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan.

_____________________________

Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The Angkorian period began in AD 802, when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself a universal monarch and god-king, and lasted until the late 14th century, first falling under Ayutthayan suzerainty in 1351. A Khmer rebellion resulted in the 1431 sacking of Angkor by Ayutthaya, causing its population to migrate south to Longvek.

The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland to the north of the Great Lake (Tonlé Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern-day Siem Reap city, in Siem Reap Province. The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the magnificent Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together, they comprise the most significant site of Khmer architecture. Visitor numbers approach two million annually, and the entire expanse, including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom is collectively protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This popularity of the site among tourists presents multiple challenges to the preservation of the ruins.

In 2007, an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest preindustrial city in the world, with an elaborate infrastructure system connecting an urban sprawl of at least 1,000 square kilometres to the well-known temples at its core. The closest rival to Angkor, the Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, was between 100 and 150 square kilometres in total size. Although its population remains a topic of research and debate, newly identified agricultural systems in the Angkor area may have supported up to one million people.

The Angkorian period may be said to have begun shortly after 800 AD, when the Khmer King Jayavarman II announced the independence of Kambujadesa (Cambodia) from Java and established his capital of Hariharalaya (now known as Roluos) at the northern end of Tonlé Sap. Through a program of military campaigns, alliances, marriages and land grants, he achieved a unification of the country bordered by China to the north, Champa (now Central Vietnam) to the east, the ocean to the south and a place identified by a stone inscription as the land of cardamoms and mangoes to the west. In 802, Jayavarman articulated his new status by declaring himself universal monarch and, in a move that was to be imitated by his successors and that linked him to the cult of Siva, taking on the epithet of god-king (devaraja). Before Jayavarman, Cambodia had consisted of a number of politically independent principalities collectively known to the Chinese by the names Funan and Chenla.

In 889, Yasovarman ascended to the throne. A great king and an accomplished builder, he was celebrated by one inscription as "a lion-man; he tore the enemy with the claws of his grandeur; his teeth were his policies; his eyes were the Veda." Near the old capital of Hariharalaya, Yasovarman constructed a new city, called Yasodharapura. In the tradition of his predecessors, he also constructed a massive reservoir called baray. The significance of such reservoirs has been debated by modern scholars, some of whom have seen in them a means of irrigating rice fields, and others of whom have regarded them as religiously charged symbols of the great mythological oceans surrounding Mount Meru, the abode of the gods. The mountain, in turn, was represented by an elevated temple, in which the "god-king" was represented by a lingam. In accordance with this cosmic symbolism, Yasovarman built his central temple on a low hill known as Phnom Bakheng, surrounding it with a moat fed from the baray. He also built numerous other Hindu temples and ashrams, or retreats for ascetics.

Over the next 300 years, between 900 and 1200, the Khmer Empire produced some of the world's most magnificent architectural masterpieces in the area known as Angkor. Most are concentrated in an area approximately 24 km east to west and 8.0 km north to south, although the Angkor Archaeological Park, which administers the area, includes sites as far away as Kbal Spean, about 48 km to the north. Some 72 major temples or other buildings are found within this area, and the remains of several hundred additional minor temple sites are scattered throughout the landscape beyond. Because of the dispersed, low-density nature of the medieval Khmer settlement pattern, Angkor lacks a formal boundary, and its extent is therefore difficult to determine. However, a specific area of at least 1,000 qkm beyond the major temples is defined by a complex system of infrastructure, including roads and canals that indicate a high degree of connectivity and functional integration with the urban core. In terms of spatial extent (although not in terms of population), this makes it the largest urban agglomeration in human history prior to the Industrial Revolution, easily surpassing the nearest claim, that of the Mayan city of Tikal.

Preah Khan (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន; "Royal Sword") is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.

HISTORY

Preah Khan was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams in 1191. Unusually the modern name, meaning "holy sword", is derived from the meaning of the original - Nagara Jayasri (holy city of victory). The site may previously have been occupied by the royal palaces of Yasovarman II and Tribhuvanadityavarman. The temple's foundation stela has provided considerable information about the history and administration of the site: the main image, of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in the form of the king's father, was dedicated in 1191 (the king's mother had earlier been commemorated in the same way at Ta Prohm). 430 other deities also had shrines on the site, each of which received an allotment of food, clothing, perfume and even mosquito nets; the temple's wealth included gold, silver, gems, 112,300 pearls and a cow with gilded horns. The institution combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were 97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers and 1000 teachers.

The temple is still largely unrestored: the initial clearing was from 1927 to 1932, and partial anastylosis was carried out in 1939. Since then free-standing statues have been removed for safe-keeping, and there has been further consolidation and restoration work. Throughout, the conservators have attempted to balance restoration and maintenance of the wild condition in which the temple was discovered: one of them, Maurice Glaize, wrote that;

The temple was previously overrun with a particularly voracious vegetation and quite ruined, presenting only chaos. Clearing works were undertaken with a constant respect for the large trees which give the composition a pleasing presentation without constituting any immediate danger. At the same time, some partial anastylosis has revived various buildings found in a sufficient state of preservation and presenting some special interest in their architecture or decoration.

Since 1991, the site has been maintained by the World Monuments Fund. It has continued the cautious approach to restoration, believing that to go further would involve too much guesswork, and prefers to respect the ruined nature of the temple. One of its former employees has said, "We're basically running a glorified maintenance program. We're not prepared to falsify history". It has therefore limited itself primarily to stabilisation work on the fourth eastern gopura, the House of Fire and the Hall of Dancers.

THE SITE

The outer wall of Preah Khan is of laterite, and bears 72 garudas holding nagas, at 50 m intervals. Surrounded by a moat, it measures 800 by 700 m and encloses an area of 56 hectares. To the east of Preah Khan is a landing stage on the edge of the Jayatataka baray, now dry, which measured 3.5 by 0.9 km. This also allowed access to the temple of Neak Pean in the centre of the baray. As usual Preah Khan is oriented toward the east, so this was the main entrance, but there are others at each of the cardinal points. Each entrance has a causeway over the moat with nāga-carrying devas and asuras similar to those at Angkor Thom; Glaize considered this an indication that the city element of Preah Khan was more significant than those of Ta Prohm or Banteay Kdei.

Halfway along the path leading to the third enclosure, on the north side, is a House of Fire (or Dharmasala) similar to Ta Prohm's. The remainder of the fourth enclosure, now forested, was originally occupied by the city; as this was built of perishable materials it has not survived. The third enclosure wall is 200 by 175 metres. In front of the third gopura is a cruciform terrace. The gopura itself is on a large scale, with three towers in the centre and two flanking pavilions. Between the southern two towers were two celebrated silk-cotton trees, of which Glaize wrote, "resting on the vault itself of the gallery, [they] frame its openings and brace the stones in substitute for pillars in a caprice of nature that is as fantastic as it is perilous." One of the trees is now dead, although the roots have been left in place. The trees may need to be removed to prevent their damaging the structure. On the far side of the temple, the third western gopura has pediments of a chess game and the Battle of Lanka, and two guardian dvarapalas to the west.

West of the third eastern gopura, on the main axis is a Hall of Dancers. The walls are decorated with apsaras; Buddha images in niches above them were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction under Jayavarman VIII. North of the Hall of Dancers is a two-storeyed structure with round columns. No other examples of this form survive at Angkor, although there are traces of similar buildings at Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei. Freeman and Jacques speculate that this may have been a granary. Occupying the rest of the third enclosure are ponds (now dry) in each corner, and satellite temples to the north, south and west. While the main temple was Buddhist, these three are dedicated to Shiva, previous kings and queens, and Vishnu respectively. They are notable chiefly for their pediments: on the northern temple, Vishnu reclining to the west and the Hindu trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma to the east; on the western temple, Krishna raising Mount Govardhana to the west.

Connecting the Hall of Dancers and the wall of the second enclosure is a courtyard containing two libraries. The second eastern gopura projects into this courtyard; it is one of the few Angkorian gopuras with significant internal decoration, with garudas on the corners of the cornices. Buddha images on the columns were changed into hermits under Jayavarman VIII.

Between the second enclosure wall (85 by 76 m) and the first enclosure wall (62 by 55 m) on the eastern side is a row of later additions which impede access and hide some of the original decoration. The first enclosure is, as Glaize said, similarly, "choked with more or less ruined buildings". The enclosure is divided into four parts by a cruciform gallery, each part almost filled by these later irregular additions. The walls of this gallery, and the interior of the central sanctuary, are covered with holes for the fixing of bronze plates which would originally have covered them and the outside of the sanctuary - 1500 tonnes was used to decorate the whole temple. At the centre of the temple, in place of the original statue of Lokesvara, is a stupa built several centuries after the temple's initial construction.

MICROBIAL DEGRADATION

Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan.

______________________________________

The principal temple of the Angkorian region, Angkor Wat, was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II. Suryavarman ascended to the throne after prevailing in a battle with a rival prince. An inscription says that, in the course of combat, Suryavarman leapt onto his rival's war elephant and killed him, just as the mythical bird-man Garuda slays a serpent.

WIKIPEDIA

Samples are placed into a nitrogen vapor container to deep freeze perishable samples during transport to the lab. For molecular analysis, the waters must be collected, filtered, processed and flash frozen within 12 minutes to preserve the genetic material within the sample.

(Left to right) Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputy Jose Ramirez and Deputy Marchi deliver a box of perishable goods from the L.A. Regional Food Bank delivery to Robert Johnson in the City of Carson, April 7th, 2020. (Photo Credit: Los Angeles County)

01.03.12

His heart beat faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to his perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning-fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby

Ice houses are buildings used to store ice throughout the year, commonly used prior to the invention of the refrigerator. Some were underground chambers, usually man-made, close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwater lakes, but many were buildings with various types of insulation.

This ice house belongs to Newton House in Dinefwr Park, Llandeilo and as well as the structure that can be seen, there is a pit below which was probably about 10 feet deep.

During the winter, ice and snow would be taken into the ice house and packed with insulation, often straw or sawdust. It would remain frozen for many months, often until the following winter, and could be used as a source of ice during summer months. The main application of the ice was the storage of perishable foods.

Dinefwr Park has 323 hectares (800 acres) to explore – from the ruined castle to bogland walk, deer park and woodlands to hay meadows and streams. In the Middle Ages Lord Rhys held court at Dinefwr and influenced decisions in Wales. The visionaries George and Cecil Rice designed the superb 18th-century landscape that you see today. Newton House is set in 1912 and gives visitors an atmospheric and hands-on experience.

(Info on the park taken from National Trust website)

02 11 2011 MaritimeNZ Photos: Graeme Brown M:027 475 8946

Over the Rena site 9.35am

Images courtesy of Maritime NZ.

Latest update from Maritime NZ

3 November 2011: 10.15am

Salvage teams are back on board Rena today, taking advantage of improved weather conditions, Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) says. The first priority is ensuring the ship is as safe as possible for salvage teams to work in.

MNZ Salvage Unit Manager Bruce Anderson said environmental officers were on board the stricken vessel and would be assessing the noxious fumes from the now rotting cargo.

Rena grounded with 121 containers holding perishable food goods, which started to decompose some time ago.

Mr Anderson said salvage teams would continue with the work begun yesterday to transfer oil and lubricants to a centralised tank, which would make it easier to pump those oils on to Awanuia, once it is back on site.

Dive teams hoped to take advantage of the milder sea state to continue assessing the damage to the hull.

“The first team went on board early this morning and today Svitzer expects to have a total of 22 people working on the site,” Mr Anderson said.

“The salvage team will continue to take advantage of the improved weather while they can.”

National Oiled Wildlife Response Team coordinator Helen McConnell said nearly all of the 406 animals in care at the wildlife centre had now been cleaned.

Many of the oiled animals collected by field staff are dehydrated or hypothermic when they are picked up, and must be stabilised before being cleaned, Ms McConnell said.

“We have to make sure they are hydrated and strong enough to withstand the cleaning process, which is quite a traumatic experience for wild animals.

“We now only have half a dozen animals that still need to go through the washing process, which is fantastic. They are all expected to be strong enough to clean over the next few days.”

“This will be a significant milestone for us as it will be the first time all birds at the centre are oil free. We can now concentrate on getting the birds back to good health.”

National On Scene Commander Alex van Wijngaarden said shoreline clean up assessment teams were on the beach at Papamoa this morning following up on reports of oil in the water yesterday.

Members of the public are encouraged to call 0800 OIL SPILL if they see oil or 0800 333 771 if they see oiled wildlife.

“It’s really important that people continue to call in with these reports. Members of the public are our eyes on the ground out there and we really appreciate the intelligence they give us,” Captain van Wijngaarden said.

Around 230 volunteers are expected to take part in ongoing clean-up efforts around the Bay of Plenty today.

(no es de mi colección)

Pisagua is a Chilean port on the Pacific Ocean, located in Huara comuna (municipality), in Tarapacá Region, northern Chile. In 2007, the new province of El Tamarugal was established and the comuna of Huara, previously within the province of Iquique, was incorporated to the newly created province.

Early history

According to Francisco Riso Patrón, and stated in Diccionario Geográfico de las Provincias de Tacna y Tarapacá, the name Pisagua has a quechua origin, meaning "place of scarce water": Pis - scarce, agua - water.

Pisagua was founded in 1611 after an edict by the Viceroy of Peru which established a base from which it could be possible to stem the illegal traffic of gold and silver flowing from the important mines of Potosí and Oruro, in the Highlands of the "Audiencia of Charcas", to the British and Dutch pirates operating in the Corregimiento de Arica. Thus, Pisagua became a minor port, subjected to the major Port of San Marcos de Arica.

This settlement, known today as 'Pisagua Viejo' (Old Pisagua) developed at the south side of the Quebrada Tiliviche, on part of an extensive ancient midden deposit. Some adobe ruins remain.

The "Nitrate boom"

It was not until 1810 when large nitrate ("salitre" or saltpeter) deposits were discovered in the Corregimiento de Tarapacá that Pisagua became an important port due to its major role in the export of this product. Tsunami forced the transfer of Pisagua to the place where it lies today, in 1836. This site is a small plain located between the peninsulas of Punta Pichalo and Punta Pisagua, about 3 km South of Pisagua Viejo.

The War of the Pacific:

On November 2, 1879 Pisagua was occupied by Chilean troops during the Guerra del Pacífico, in the "Battle of Pisagua". After the war, Pisagua went from Peruvian hands to Chilean administration.

The heydays of the town

Pisagua became an important port of the South Pacific during the nitrate boom of the 1870s. During the first years of the 20th century, Pisagua had become one of the most important ports of the whole country (after Valparaíso and Iquique), with offices from major banks, and one of the most beautiful cities on the Southern Pacific coast.

Railway history

The construction of a standard gauge railway line to connect Pisagua with the interior started in about 1865, while Pisagua was still a Peruvian possession. Work continued under Chilean administration, and by 1935 Pisagua was the northern terminus of a 400-mile (640 km) network of main and branch lines, with a connection to Iquique, the principal terminus of the line. Trains climbed from sea level at Pisagua to the interior plateau via three reversing zig-zags and a heavily graded line. Supplies for the interior towns and nitrate works were hauled up from the coast, and nitrate for export made up the return load. The principal traffic was always nitrate, after which came fuel, passengers, perishables, parcels, general merchandise, and livestock. Water for the steam locomotives and the town relied on two wells at Dolores (see map), 33 mi (53 km) from Pisagua, which today still derives its water from this source.

Decline

When the nitrate boom came to an end, the port of Pisagua could keep some degree of importance because of its new role in the fishmeal industry. However, at the end of the 1950s, Pisagua lost most of its population and economic base and went into precipitous decline and even ceased to be the third town in importance of Tarapacá province (after Arica and Iquique).

Pisagua as a prisoner site

Pisagua has often been used as a concentration camp for political prisoners. This happened during the rule of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (for male homosexuals), as well as that of Gabriel González Videla (for communists, anarchists and revolutionaries) and more recently, during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship (for left-wing militants). Many bodies have been found under the waters of the port and several graves have been discovered in Pisagua since the end of Pinochet's military regime. Pisagua is geographically isolated, with the ocean on one side and a big desert on the other.

Pisagua today

The earthworks, embankments and cuttings that carried the railway into the town are clearly visible on the bare ground. The old railway station still stands in Pisagua itself, where there are other interesting (although semi-derelict) buildings made with Oregon pine wood. Good examples are the turret of the clock, the municipal theatre, and the hospital, all dating from the nitrate period. Today, Pisagua is no longer the proud and rich port that once was but a small and isolated village with a population of just 260, included in the municipality of Huara, which has only 2,600 inhabitants itself.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pisagua es un puerto chileno sobre el Océano Pacífico, ubicado en la comuna de Huara (municipio), en la Región de Tarapacá, norte de Chile. En 2007, se estableció la nueva provincia de El Tamarugal y la comuna de Huara, anteriormente dentro de la provincia de Iquique, se incorporó a la provincia recién creada.

Historia temprana

Según Francisco Riso Patrón, y consta en el Diccionario Geográfico de las Provincias de Tacna y Tarapacá, el nombre Pisagua tiene un origen quechua, que significa "lugar de escasez de agua": Pis - escasa, agua - agua.

Pisagua fue fundada en 1611 luego de un edicto del Virrey del Perú que establecía una base desde la cual se pudiera frenar el tráfico ilegal de oro y plata provenientes de las importantes minas de Potosí y Oruro, en los Altos de la "Audiencia de Charcas”, a los piratas ingleses y holandeses que operaban en el Corregimiento de Arica. Así, Pisagua pasó a ser un puerto menor, subordinado al Puerto mayor de San Marcos de Arica.

Este asentamiento, conocido hoy como 'Pisagua Viejo', se desarrolló al costado sur de la Quebrada Tiliviche, sobre parte de un extenso depósito de basural antiguo. Quedan algunas ruinas de adobe.

El "boom del salitre"

No fue hasta 1810 cuando se descubrieron grandes depósitos de nitrato ("salitre" o salitre) en el Corregimiento de Tarapacá que Pisagua se convirtió en un puerto importante debido a su importante papel en la exportación de este producto. El tsunami obligó el traslado de Pisagua al lugar donde hoy se encuentra, en 1836. Este sitio es una pequeña planicie ubicada entre las penínsulas de Punta Pichalo y Punta Pisagua, a unos 3 km al sur de Pisagua Viejo.

La Guerra del Pacifico:

El 2 de noviembre de 1879 Pisagua fue ocupada por tropas chilenas durante la Guerra del Pacífico, en la "Batalla de Pisagua". Después de la guerra, Pisagua pasó de manos peruanas a administración chilena.

Los buenos tiempos de la ciudad

Pisagua se convirtió en un importante puerto del Pacífico Sur durante el auge salitrero de la década de 1870. Durante los primeros años del siglo XX, Pisagua se había convertido en uno de los puertos más importantes de todo el país (después de Valparaíso e Iquique), con oficinas de los principales bancos, y una de las ciudades más hermosas de la costa del Pacífico Sur.

historia ferroviaria

La construcción de una línea de ferrocarril de ancho estándar para conectar Pisagua con el interior comenzó alrededor de 1865, cuando Pisagua aún era una posesión peruana. El trabajo continuó bajo la administración chilena y, en 1935, Pisagua era el término norte de una red de 400 millas (640 km) de líneas principales y secundarias, con una conexión a Iquique, el término principal de la línea. Los trenes subieron desde el nivel del mar en Pisagua hasta la meseta interior a través de tres zig-zags inversos y una línea muy inclinada. Los suministros para las ciudades del interior y las fábricas de salitre se transportaban desde la costa, y el salitre para la exportación constituía la carga de regreso. El tráfico principal fue siempre el salitrero, seguido de combustibles, pasajeros, perecederos, encomiendas, mercancías en general y ganado. El agua para las locomotoras de vapor y el pueblo dependía de dos pozos en Dolores (ver mapa), a 53 km (33 millas) de Pisagua, que hoy en día todavía obtiene su agua de esta fuente.

Rechazar

Cuando el auge salitrero llegó a su fin, el puerto de Pisagua pudo mantener algún grado de importancia debido a su nuevo papel en la industria de la harina de pescado. Sin embargo, a fines de la década de 1950, Pisagua perdió la mayor parte de su base poblacional y económica y entró en un estrepitoso declive e incluso dejó de ser la tercera localidad en importancia de la provincia de Tarapacá (después de Arica e Iquique).

Pisagua como sitio de prisioneros

Pisagua se ha utilizado a menudo como campo de concentración para presos políticos. Esto sucedió durante el gobierno de Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (para hombres homosexuales), así como el de Gabriel González Videla (para comunistas, anarquistas y revolucionarios) y más recientemente, durante la dictadura de Augusto Pinochet (para militantes de izquierda). Se han encontrado muchos cuerpos bajo las aguas del puerto y se han descubierto varias fosas en Pisagua desde el final del régimen militar de Pinochet. Pisagua está aislada geográficamente, con el océano de un lado y un gran desierto del otro.

pisagua hoy

Los movimientos de tierra, terraplenes y desmontes que llevaron el ferrocarril a la ciudad son claramente visibles en el suelo desnudo. En el propio Pisagua aún se conserva la antigua estación de ferrocarril, donde existen otras construcciones interesantes (aunque semiabandonadas) realizadas con madera de pino oregón. Buenos ejemplos son la torre del reloj, el teatro municipal y el hospital, todos ellos de la época salitrera. Hoy, Pisagua ya no es el puerto orgulloso y rico de antes, sino un pequeño y aislado pueblo de apenas 260 habitantes, incluido en el municipio de Huara, que cuenta con apenas 2600 habitantes.Pisagua es un puerto chileno sobre el Océano Pacífico, ubicado en la comuna de Huara (municipio), en la Región de Tarapacá, norte de Chile. En 2007, se estableció la nueva provincia de El Tamarugal y la comuna de Huara, anteriormente dentro de la provincia de Iquique, se incorporó a la provincia recién creada.

Historia temprana

Según Francisco Riso Patrón, y consta en el Diccionario Geográfico de las Provincias de Tacna y Tarapacá, el nombre Pisagua tiene un origen quechua, que significa "lugar de escasez de agua": Pis - escasa, agua - agua.

Pisagua fue fundada en 1611 luego de un edicto del Virrey del Perú que establecía una base desde la cual se pudiera frenar el tráfico ilegal de oro y plata provenientes de las importantes minas de Potosí y Oruro, en los Altos de la "Audiencia de Charcas”, a los piratas ingleses y holandeses que operaban en el Corregimiento de Arica. Así, Pisagua pasó a ser un puerto menor, subordinado al Puerto mayor de San Marcos de Arica.

Este asentamiento, conocido hoy como 'Pisagua Viejo', se desarrolló al costado sur de la Quebrada Tiliviche, sobre parte de un extenso depósito de basural antiguo. Quedan algunas ruinas de adobe.

El "boom del salitre"

No fue hasta 1810 cuando se descubrieron grandes depósitos de nitrato ("salitre" o salitre) en el Corregimiento de Tarapacá que Pisagua se convirtió en un puerto importante debido a su importante papel en la exportación de este producto. El tsunami obligó el traslado de Pisagua al lugar donde hoy se encuentra, en 1836. Este sitio es una pequeña planicie ubicada entre las penínsulas de Punta Pichalo y Punta Pisagua, a unos 3 km al sur de Pisagua Viejo.

La Guerra del Pacifico:

El 2 de noviembre de 1879 Pisagua fue ocupada por tropas chilenas durante la Guerra del Pacífico, en la "Batalla de Pisagua". Después de la guerra, Pisagua pasó de manos peruanas a administración chilena.

Los buenos tiempos de la ciudad

Pisagua se convirtió en un importante puerto del Pacífico Sur durante el auge salitrero de la década de 1870. Durante los primeros años del siglo XX, Pisagua se había convertido en uno de los puertos más importantes de todo el país (después de Valparaíso e Iquique), con oficinas de los principales bancos, y una de las ciudades más hermosas de la costa del Pacífico Sur.

historia ferroviaria

La construcción de una línea de ferrocarril de ancho estándar para conectar Pisagua con el interior comenzó alrededor de 1865, cuando Pisagua aún era una posesión peruana. El trabajo continuó bajo la administración chilena y, en 1935, Pisagua era el término norte de una red de 400 millas (640 km) de líneas principales y secundarias, con una conexión a Iquique, el término principal de la línea. Los trenes subieron desde el nivel del mar en Pisagua hasta la meseta interior a través de tres zig-zags inversos y una línea muy inclinada. Los suministros para las ciudades del interior y las fábricas de salitre se transportaban desde la costa, y el salitre para la exportación constituía la carga de regreso. El tráfico principal fue siempre el salitrero, seguido de combustibles, pasajeros, perecederos, encomiendas, mercancías en general y ganado. El agua para las locomotoras de vapor y el pueblo dependía de dos pozos en Dolores (ver mapa), a 53 km (33 millas) de Pisagua, que hoy en día todavía obtiene su agua de esta fuente.

Cuando el auge salitrero llegó a su fin, el puerto de Pisagua pudo mantener algún grado de importancia debido a su nuevo papel en la industria de la harina de pescado. Sin embargo, a fines de la década de 1950, Pisagua perdió la mayor parte de su base poblacional y económica y entró en un estrepitoso declive e incluso dejó de ser la tercera localidad en importancia de la provincia de Tarapacá (después de Arica e Iquique).

Pisagua como sitio de prisioneros

Pisagua se ha utilizado a menudo como campo de concentración para presos políticos. Esto sucedió durante el gobierno de Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (para hombres homosexuales), así como el de Gabriel González Videla (para comunistas, anarquistas y revolucionarios) y más recientemente, durante la dictadura de Augusto Pinochet (para militantes de izquierda). Se han encontrado muchos cuerpos bajo las aguas del puerto y se han descubierto varias fosas en Pisagua desde el final del régimen militar de Pinochet. Pisagua está aislada geográficamente, con el océano de un lado y un gran desierto del otro.

Pisagua hoy:

Los movimientos de tierra, terraplenes y desmontes que llevaron el ferrocarril a la ciudad son claramente visibles en el suelo desnudo. En el propio Pisagua aún se conserva la antigua estación de ferrocarril, donde existen otras construcciones interesantes (aunque semiabandonadas) realizadas con madera de pino oregón. Buenos ejemplos son la torre del reloj, el teatro municipal y el hospital, todos ellos de la época salitrera. Hoy, Pisagua ya no es el puerto orgulloso y rico de antes, sino un pequeño y aislado pueblo de apenas 260 habitantes, incluido en el municipio de Huara, que cuenta con apenas 2600 habitantes.

OM

Auṃ or Oṃ, Sanskrit: ॐ) is a sacred sound and a spiritual icon in Indian religions.[1][2] It is also a mantra in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.[3][4]

Om is part of the iconography found in ancient and medieval era manuscripts, temples, monasteries and spiritual retreats in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.[5][6] The symbol has a spiritual meaning in all Indian dharmas, but the meaning and connotations of Om vary between the diverse schools within and across the various traditions.

In Hinduism, Om is one of the most important spiritual symbols (pratima).[7][8] It refers to Atman (soul, self within) andBrahman (ultimate reality, entirety of the universe, truth, divine, supreme spirit, cosmic principles, knowledge).[9][10][11] The syllable is often found at the beginning and the end of chapters in the Vedas, the Upanishads, and other Hindu texts. It is a sacred spiritual incantation made before and during the recitation of spiritual texts, during puja and private prayers, in ceremonies of rites of passages (sanskara) such as weddings, and sometimes during meditative and spiritual activities such as Yoga.

Vedic literature

The syllable "Om" is described with various meanings in the Vedas and different early Upanishads.[19] The meanings include "the sacred sound, the Yes!, the Vedas, the Udgitha (song of the universe), the infinite, the all encompassing, the whole world, the truth, the ultimate reality, the finest essence, the cause of the Universe, the essence of life, theBrahman, the Atman, the vehicle of deepest knowledge, and Self-knowledge".

Vedas

The chapters in Vedas, and numerous hymns, chants and benedictions therein use the syllable Om. The Gayatri mantra from the Rig Veda, for example, begins with Om. The mantra is extracted from the 10th verse of Hymn 62 in Book III of the Rig Veda.These recitations continue to be in use, and major incantations and ceremonial functions begin and end with Om.

ॐ भूर्भुवस्व: |

तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यम् |

भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि |

धियो यो न: प्रचोदयात् ||

Om. Earth, atmosphere, heaven.

Let us think on that desirable splendour

of Savitr, the Inspirer. May he stimulate

us to insightful thoughts.

Om is a common symbol found in the ancient texts of Hinduism, such as in the first line of Rig veda (top), as well as a icon in temples and spiritual retreats.

The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the oldest Upanishads of Hinduism. It opens with the recommendation that "let a man meditate on Om".[26] It calls the syllable Om as udgitha (उद्गीथ, song, chant), and asserts that the significance of the syllable is thus: the essence of all beings is earth, the essence of earth is water, the essence of water are the plants, the essence of plants is man, the essence of man is speech, the essence of speech is the Rig Veda, the essence of the Rig Veda is the Sama Veda, and the essence of Sama Veda is the udgitha (song, Om).[27]

Rik (ऋच्, Ṛc) is speech, states the text, and Sāman (सामन्) is breath; they are pairs, and because they have love and desire for each other, speech and breath find themselves together and mate to produce song.[26][27] The highest song is Om, asserts section 1.1 of Chandogya Upanishad. It is the symbol of awe, of reverence, of threefold knowledge because Adhvaryu invokes it, the Hotr recites it, and Udgatr sings it.[27][28]

The second volume of the first chapter continues its discussion of syllable Om, explaining its use as a struggle between Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons).[29] Max Muller states that this struggle between gods and demons is considered allegorical by ancient Indian scholars, as good and evil inclinations within man, respectively.[30] The legend in section 1.2 of Chandogya Upanishad states that gods took the Udgitha (song of Om) unto themselves, thinking, "with this [song] we shall overcome the demons".[31] The syllable Om is thus implied as that which inspires the good inclinations within each person.[30][31]

Chandogya Upanishad's exposition of syllable Om in its opening chapter combines etymological speculations, symbolism, metric structure and philosophical themes.[28][32] In the second chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad, the meaning and significance of Om evolves into a philosophical discourse, such as in section 2.10 where Om is linked to the Highest Self,[33] and section 2.23 where the text asserts Om is the essence of three forms of knowledge, Om is Brahman and "Om is all this [observed world]".[34]

Katha Upanishad

The Katha Upanishad is the legendary story of a little boy, Nachiketa – the son of sage Vajasravasa, who meetsYama – the Indian deity of death. Their conversation evolves to a discussion of the nature of man, knowledge,Atman (Soul, Self) and moksha (liberation).[35] In section 1.2, Katha Upanishad characterizes Knowledge/Wisdom as the pursuit of good, and Ignorance/Delusion as the pursuit of pleasant,[36] that the essence of Veda is make man liberated and free, look past what has happened and what has not happened, free from the past and the future, beyond good and evil, and one word for this essence is the word Om.[37]

The word which all the Vedas proclaim,

That which is expressed in every Tapas (penance, austerity, meditation),

That for which they live the life of a Brahmacharin,

Understand that word in its essence: Om! that is the word.

Yes, this syllable is Brahman,

This syllable is the highest.

He who knows that syllable,

Whatever he desires, is his.

— Katha Upanishad,

Maitri Upanishad

The Maitrayaniya Upanishad in sixth Prapathakas (lesson) discusses the meaning and significance of Om. The text asserts that Om represents Brahman-Atman. The three roots of the syllable, states the Maitri Upanishad, are A + U + M.[39] The sound is the body of Soul, and it repeatedly manifests in three: as gender-endowed body - feminine, masculine, neuter; as light-endowed body - Agni, Vayu and Aditya; as deity-endowed body - Brahma, Rudra[40] and Vishnu; as mouth-endowed body - Garhapatya, Dakshinagni and Ahavaniya;[41] as knowledge-endowed body - Rig, Saman and Yajur;[42] as world-endowed body - Bhūr, Bhuvaḥ and Svaḥ; as time-endowed body - Past, Present and Future; as heat-endowed body - Breath, Fire and Sun; as growth-endowed body - Food, Water and Moon; as thought-endowed body - intellect, mind and pysche.[39][43] Brahman exists in two forms - the material form, and the immaterial formless.[44] The material form is changing, unreal. The immaterial formless isn't changing, real. The immortal formless is truth, the truth is the Brahman, the Brahman is the light, the light is the Sun which is the syllable Om as the Self.[45][46]

The world is Om, its light is Sun, and the Sun is also the light of the syllable Om, asserts the Upanishad. Meditating on Om, is acknowledging and meditating on the Brahman-Atman (Soul, Self).[39]

Mundaka Upanishad[edit source]

The Mundaka Upanishad in the second Mundakam (part), suggests the means to knowing the Self and the Brahman to be meditation, self-reflection and introspection, that can be aided by the symbol Om.[47][48]

That which is flaming, which is subtler than the subtle,

on which the worlds are set, and their inhabitants –

That is the indestructible Brahman.[49]

It is life, it is speech, it is mind. That is the real. It is immortal.

It is a mark to be penetrated. Penetrate It, my friend.

Taking as a bow the great weapon of the Upanishad,

one should put upon it an arrow sharpened by meditation,

Stretching it with a thought directed to the essence of That,

Penetrate[50] that Imperishable as the mark, my friend.

Om is the bow, the arrow is the Soul, Brahman the mark,

By the undistracted man is It to be penetrated,

One should come to be in It,

as the arrow becomes one with the mark.

— Mundaka Upanishad, 2.2.2 - 2.2.4[51][52]

Adi Shankara, in his review of the Mundaka Upanishad, states Om as a symbolism for Atman (soul, self).[53]

Mandukya Upanishad

The Mandukya Upanishad opens by declaring, "Om!, this syllable is this whole world".[54] Thereafter it presents various explanations and theories on what it means and signifies.[55] This discussion is built on a structure of "four fourths" or "fourfold", derived from A + U + M + "silence" (or without an element).[54][55]

Aum as all states of time

In verse 1, the Upanishad states that time is threefold: the past, the present and the future, that these three are "Aum". The four fourth of time is that which transcends time, that too is "Aum" expressed.[55]

Aum as all states of Atman

In verse 2, states the Upanishad, everything is Brahman, but Brahman is Atman (the Soul, Self), and that the Atman is fourfold.[54] Johnston summarizes these four states of Self, respectively, as seeking the physical, seeking inner thought, seeking the causes and spiritual consciousness, and the fourth state is realizing oneness with the Self, the Eternal.[56]

Aum as all states of consciousness

In verses 3 to 6, the Mandukya Upanishad enumerates four states of consciousness: wakeful, dream, deep sleep and the state of ekatma (being one with Self, the oneness of Self).[55] These four are A + U + M + "without an element" respectively.[55]

Aum as all of knowledge

In verses 9 to 12, the Mandukya Upanishad enumerates fourfold etymological roots of the syllable "Aum". It states that the first element of "Aum" is A, which is from Apti (obtaining, reaching) or from Adimatva (being first).[54] The second element is U, which is from Utkarsa (exaltation) or from Ubhayatva(intermediateness).[55] The third element is M, from Miti (erecting, constructing) or from Mi Minati, or apīti (annihilation).[54] The fourth is without an element, without development, beyond the expanse of universe. In this way, states the Upanishad, the syllable Om is indeed the Atman (the self).[54][55]

Shvetashvatara Upanishad

The Shvetashvatara Upanishad, in verses 1.14 to 1.16, suggests meditating with the help of syllable Om, where one's perishable body is like one fuel-stick and the syllable Om is the second fuel-stick, which with discipline and diligent rubbing of the sticks unleashes the concealed fire of thought and awareness within. Such knowledge, asserts the Upanishad, is the goal of Upanishads.[57][58] The text asserts that Om is a tool of meditation empowering one to know the God within oneself, to realize one's Atman (Soul, Self).[59]

Epics[edit source]

The Bhagavad Gita, in the Epic Mahabharata, mentions the meaning and significance of Om in several verses. For example, Fowler notes that verse 9.17 of the Bhagavad Gita synthesizes the competing dualistic and monist streams of thought in Hinduism, by using "Om which is the symbol for the indescribable, impersonal Brahman".[60]

I am the Father of this world, Mother, Ordainer, Grandfather, the Thing to be known, the Purifier, the syllable Om, Rik, Saman and also Yajus.

— Krishna to Arjuna, Bhagavad Gita 9.17, [60]

The significance of the sacred syllable in the Hindu traditions, is similarly highlighted in various of its verses, such as verse 17.24 where the importance of Omduring prayers, charity and meditative practices is explained as follows,[61]

Therefore, uttering Om, the acts of yajna (fire ritual), dāna (charity) and tapas (austerity) as enjoined in the scriptures, are always begun by those who study the Brahman.

— Bhagavad Gita

Yoga Sutra

The aphoristic verse 1.27 of Pantanjali's Yogasutra links Om to Yoga practice, as follows,

तस्य वाचकः प्रणवः ॥२७॥

His word is Om.

— Yogasutra 1.27,

Johnston states this verse highlights the importance of Om in the meditative practice of Yoga, where it symbolizes three worlds in the Soul; the three times – past, present and future eternity, the three divine powers – creation, preservation and transformation in one Being; and three essences in one Spirit – immortality, omniscience and joy. It is, asserts Johnston, a symbol for the perfected Spiritual Man (his emphasis).

The Terrace of the Elephants (Khmer: ព្រះលានជល់ដំរី) is part of the walled city of Angkor Thom, a ruined temple complex in Cambodia. The terrace was used by Angkor's king Jayavarman VII as a platform from which to view his victorious returning army. It was attached to the palace of Phimeanakas (Khmer: ប្រាសាទភិមានអាកាស), of which only a few ruins remain. Most of the original structure was made of organic material and has long since disappeared. Most of what remains are the foundation platforms of the complex. The terrace is named for the carvings of elephants on its eastern face.

The 350m-long Terrace of Elephants was used as a giant reviewing stand for public ceremonies and served as a base for the king's grand audience hall. It has five outworks extending towards the Central Square-three in the centre and one at each end. The middle section of the retaining wall is decorated with life size garuda and lions; towards either end are the two parts of the famous parade of elephants complete with their Khmer mahouts.

Angkor Thom located in present-day Cambodia, was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer Empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by King Jayavarman VII. 170  It covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the north. The site is one of the major tourist attractions of southeast Asia.

Angkor Thom (Khmer: អង្គរធំ) is the transform name from another alternative name of Nokor Thom (Khmer: នគរធំ), which is believed to be the correct one, due to neglect of calling it in incorrect pronunciation. The word Nokor (Khmer: នគរ, Nôkô) is literally derived from Sanskrit word of Nagara (Devanāgarī: नगर), which means City, combining with Khmer word Thom (Khmer: ធំ, Thum), which means Big or Great so as to form Nokor Thom then being altered to current name of Angkor Thom.

Angkor Thom was established as the capital of Jayavarman VII's empire, and was the centre of his massive building program. One inscription found in the city refers to Jayavarman as the groom and the city as his bride.: 121 

Angkor Thom seems not to be the first Khmer capital on the site, however. Yasodharapura, dating from three centuries earlier, was centred slightly further northwest, and Angkor Thom overlapped parts of it. The most notable earlier temples within the city are the former state temple of Baphuon, and Phimeanakas, which was incorporated into the Royal Palace. The Khmers did not draw any clear distinctions between Angkor Thom and Yashodharapura: even in the fourteenth century an inscription used the earlier name.: 138  The name of Angkor Thom—great city—was in use from the 16th century.

The last temple known to have been constructed in Angkor Thom was Mangalartha, which was dedicated in 1295. Thereafter the existing structures continued to be modified from time to time, but any new creations were in perishable materials and have not survived.

The Ayutthaya Kingdom, led by King Borommarachathirat II, sacked Angkor Thom, forcing the Khmers under Ponhea Yat to relocate their capital southeast to Phnom Penh.: 29 

Angkor Thom was abandoned some time prior to 1609, when an early western visitor wrote of an uninhabited city, "as fantastic as the Atlantis of Plato".: 140  It is believed to have sustained a population of 80,000–150,000 people.

The Poem of Angkor Wat composed in Khmer verse in 1622 describes the beauty of Angkor Thom.

Angkor Thom is in the Bayon style. This manifests itself in the large scale of the construction, in the widespread use of laterite, in the face-towers at each of the entrances to the city and in the naga-carrying giant figures which accompany each of the towers.

The city lies on the west bank of the Siem Reap River, a tributary of Tonle Sap, about a quarter of a mile from the river. The south gate of Angkor Thom is 7.2 km north of Siem Reap, and 1.7 km north of the entrance to Angkor Wat. The walls, 8 m high and flanked by a moat, are each 3 km long, enclosing an area of 9 km². The walls are of laterite buttressed by earth, with a parapet on the top. There are gates at each of the cardinal points, from which roads lead to the Bayon at the centre of the city. As the Bayon itself has no wall or moat of its own, those of the city are interpreted by archaeologists as representing the mountains and oceans surrounding the Bayon's Mount Meru.[8]: 81  Another gate—the Victory Gate—is 500 m north of the east gate; the Victory Way runs parallel to the east road to the Victory Square and the Royal Palace north of the Bayon. It is around 30 minutes from central Siem Reap.

The faces on the 23 m towers at the city gates, which are later additions to the main structure, take after those of the Bayon and pose the same problems of interpretation. They may represent the king himself, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, guardians of the empire's cardinal points, or some combination of these. A causeway spans the moat in front of each tower: these have a row of devas on the left and asuras on the right, each row holding a naga in the attitude of a tug-of-war. This appears to be a reference to the myth, popular in Angkor, of the Churning of the Sea of Milk. The temple-mountain of the Bayon, or perhaps the gate itself,: 82  would then be the pivot around which the churning takes place. The nagas may also represent the transition from the world of men to the world of the gods (the Bayon), or be guardian figures. The gateways themselves are 3.5 by 7 m, and would originally have been closed with wooden doors.: 82  The south gate is now by far the most often visited, as it is the main entrance to the city for tourists. At each corner of the city is a Prasat Chrung—corner shrine—built of sandstone and dedicated to Avalokiteshvara. These are cruciform with a central tower, and orientated towards the east.

Within the city was a system of canals, through which water flowed from the northeast to the southwest. The bulk of the land enclosed by the walls would have been occupied by the secular buildings of the city, of which nothing remains. This area is now covered by forest.

Most of the great Angkor ruins have vast displays of bas-relief depicting the various gods, goddesses, and other-worldly beings from the mythological stories and epic poems of ancient Hinduism (modified by centuries of Buddhism). Mingled with these images are actual known animals, like elephants, snakes, fish, and monkeys, in addition to dragon-like creatures that look like the stylized, elongated serpents (with feet and claws) found in Chinese art.

But among the ruins of Ta Prohm, near a huge stone entrance, one can see that the "roundels on pilasters on the south side of the west entrance are unusual in design."

What one sees are roundels depicting various common animals—pigs, monkeys, water buffaloes, roosters and snakes. There are no mythological figures among the roundels, so one can reasonably conclude that these figures depict the animals that were commonly seen by the ancient Khmer people in the twelfth century.

Angkor was the capital city of the Khmer Empire. The city and empire flourished from approximately the 9th to the 15th centuries. The city houses the Angkor Wat, one of Cambodia's most popular tourist attractions.

The name Angkor is derived from nokor (នគរ), a Khmer word meaning "kingdom" which in turn derived from Sanskrit nagara (नगर), meaning "city". The Angkorian period began in AD 802, when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself a "universal monarch" and "god-king", and lasted until the late 14th century, first falling under Ayutthayan suzerainty in 1351. A Khmer rebellion against Siamese authority resulted in the 1431 sacking of Angkor by Ayutthaya, causing its population to migrate south to Longvek. The alternate name, Yasodharapura, was derived from the name of the foster mother of Lord Krishna in Hinduism. Hinduism was the largest religion in the ancient Khmer Empire, and many temples were constructed by Khmer kings dedicated to Hindu deities, including Angkor Wat.

The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland north of the Great Lake (Tonlé Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern-day Siem Reap city (13°24′N, 103°51′E), in Siem Reap Province. The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together, they comprise the most significant site of Khmer architecture. Visitors approach two million annually, and the entire expanse, including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom is collectively protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The popularity of the site among tourists presents multiple challenges to the preservation of the ruins.

In 2007, an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest pre-industrial city in the world by surface area, with an elaborate infrastructure system connecting an urban sprawl of at least 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi) to the well-known temples at its core. Angkor is considered to be a "hydraulic city" because it had a complicated water management network, which was used for systematically stabilizing, storing, and dispersing water throughout the area. This network is believed to have been used for irrigation in order to offset the unpredictable monsoon season and to also support the increasing population. Although the size of its population remains a topic of research and debate, newly identified agricultural systems in the Angkor area may have supported between 750,000 and one million people.

The Angkorian period may have begun shortly after 800 AD, when the Khmer King Jayavarman II announced the independence of Kambujadesa (Cambodia) from Java. According to Sdok Kok Thom inscription, circa 781 Indrapura was the first capital of Jayavarman II, located in Banteay Prei Nokor, near today's Kompong Cham. After he eventually returned to his home, the former kingdom of Chenla, he quickly built up his influence, conquered a series of competing kings, and in 790 became king of a kingdom called Kambuja by the Khmer. He then moved his court northwest to Mahendraparvata, in present day Kulen mountains, inland north from the great lake of Tonle Sap.

He also established the city of Hariharalaya (now known as Roluos) at the northern end of Tonlé Sap. Through a program of military campaigns, alliances, marriages and land grants, he achieved a unification of the country bordered by China to the north, Champa (now Central Vietnam) to the east, the ocean to the south and a place identified by a stone inscription as "the land of cardamoms and mangoes" to the west. In 802, Jayavarman articulated his new status by declaring himself "universal monarch" (chakravartin) and, in a move that was to be imitated by his successors and that linked him to the cult of Siva, taking on the epithet of "god-king" (devaraja). Before Jayavarman, Cambodia had consisted of a number of politically independent principalities collectively known to the Chinese by the names Funan and Chenla.

In 889, Yasovarman ascended to the throne. A great king and an accomplished builder, he was celebrated by one inscription as "a lion-man; he tore the enemy with the claws of his grandeur; his teeth were his policies; his eyes were the Veda." Near the old capital of Hariharalaya, Yasovarman constructed a new city, called Yasodharapura, centered on the hill and temple of Phnom Bakheng. In the tradition of his predecessors, he also constructed a massive reservoir called baray.

The significance of such reservoirs has been debated by modern scholars, some of whom have seen in them a means of irrigating rice fields, and others of whom have regarded them as religiously charged symbols of the great mythological oceans surrounding Mount Meru, the abode of the gods. The mountain, in turn, was represented by an elevated temple, in which the "god-king" was represented by a lingam. In accordance with this cosmic symbolism, Yasovarman built his central temple on a low hill known as Phnom Bakheng, surrounding it with a moat fed from the baray. He also built numerous other Hindu temples and ashrams, or retreats for ascetics.

Over the next 300 years, between 900 and 1200, the Khmer Empire produced some of the world's most magnificent architectural masterpieces in the area known as Angkor. Most are concentrated in an area approximately 15 miles (24 km) east to west and 5 miles (8.0 km) north to south, although the Angkor Archaeological Park, which administers the area, includes sites as far away as Kbal Spean, about 30 miles (48 km) to the north. Some 72 major temples or other buildings are found within this area, and the remains of several hundred additional minor temple sites are scattered throughout the landscape beyond.

Because of the low-density and dispersed nature of the medieval Khmer settlement pattern, Angkor lacks a formal boundary, and its extent is therefore difficult to determine. However, a specific area of at least 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi) beyond the major temples is defined by a complex system of infrastructure, including roads and canals that indicate a high degree of connectivity and functional integration with the urban core. In terms of spatial extent (although not in terms of population), this makes it the largest urban agglomeration in recorded history prior to the Industrial Revolution, easily surpassing the nearest claim by the Mayan city of Tikal. At its peak, the city occupied an area greater than modern Paris, and its buildings use far more stone than all of the Egyptian structures combined.

Another Scala test scan of NS #218, the hot UPS train at Fostoria, Ohio. I love the fact that there are no stack cars just lots of TTX and no coil steel cars either! It now runs Ft. Wayne to Fostoria with coil steel cars for Leipsic on the head end that are set off at Fostoria, Ohio and then head back to Leipsic on L-70. Saving one crew. Glad it's only steel coils and not perishables. Photo by Dale A. DeVene Jr.

Mount Vernon in Fairfax County, Virginia, near Alexandria, was the plantation home of George Washington, first President of the United States. The estate is situated on the banks of the Potomac River across from Prince George's County, Maryland. The Washington family had owned land in the area since the time of Washington's great-grandfather in 1674, and in 1739 embarked on an expansion of the estate that continued under George Washington, who came into possession of the estate in 1754, but did not become its sole owner until 1761.

The mansion is built of wood in a loose Palladian style, and was constructed by George Washington in stages between 1758 and 1778; it occupies the site of an earlier, smaller house built by George Washington's father Augustine, some time between 1726 and 1735. It remained Washington's country home for the rest of his life. Following his death in 1799, under the ownership of several successive generations of the family, the estate progressively declined. In 1858, the house's historical importance was recognized and it was saved from ruin by The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association; this philanthropic organization acquired it together with part of the Washington estate. Escaping the damage suffered by many plantation houses during the American Civil War, Mount Vernon was restored.

The gardens and grounds contain English boxwoods, taken from cuttings sent by Major General Henry Lee III "Light Horse Harry" (Governor of Virginia and father of Robert E. Lee), which were planted in 1786 by George Washington and now crowd the entry path. The main homestead area is skirted by a carriage road with a large bowling green in the center. To each side of the green is a garden, contained by a red brick wall. These Colonial Revival gardens grew the household's vegetables, fruit and other perishable items for consumption. The upper garden, located to the north, is bordered by the greenhouse. Ha-ha walls are used to separate the working farm from the pleasure grounds that Washington created for his family and guests. The Botanical Garden; the Museum, dedicated to the life and death of George Washington, is on the grounds and contains George Washington's survey equipment, weapons, and clothing, as well as dentures worn by the first President; ice house; overseers quarters; spinning room; salt house and gardener's house are between the garden and the house.

The lower garden, or southern garden, is skirted by the storehouse and clerk's quarters, smokehouse, wash house, laundry yard, and coach house. A paddock and stable are on the southern border of the garden. The old tomb is located along the river, and the new tomb, containing George and Martha Washington, is near the fruit garden with the slave burial ground just off this path. A Forest Trail runs along the property, and a George Washington: Pioneer Farmer site, a 4-acre (16,000 m2) working farm that includes a re-creation of Washington's 16-sided treading barn.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Vernon

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

www.annarogde.no/default.asp?cmd=60

ANNA ROGDE AF HARSTAD Anna Rogde is a flat - topped schooner with two masts.

She was launched August 20, 1868, under the name of Anna af Bergen. Rigging for fore - and aft sail was completed the following year.

The boat has a typical clipper hull and was built by Sigbjørn Birkeland from Bakke in Hordaland for a co-operative shipping company.

The freight business was expanding rapidly at the time Anna af Bergen was built. Perishable products such as fruit, tea and fish called for better ships which could get things to the markets faster. This led builders away from the prevailing rounded and flat hulls that sailed poorly in favor of more streamlined ones. This new type of schooner was also better at negotiating the skerries and islets, and it required a smaller crew than the former square-sailed boats.

The newly-developed boats thus reduced both sailing costs and sailing time.

In 1872 the Hardanger shipper Isak Rogde purchased the vessel. The following year he moved to Kjøtta near Harstad and there started a family shipping business with the Anna Rogde that spanned three generations and continued until 1972.

The ship has made several trips to Spain, Portugal, and other lands on the Atlantic coast and on the Baltic Sea. Most of its sailing, however, has been in northerly waters, as far north as Archangelsk and Murmansk.

There have also been dramatic moments, such as in 1889 when Anna Rogde was in a hurricane off the coast of Finnmark. The storm destroyed the rigging and the shipper had to order the mast cut down. But Anna Rogde made it though that time, too!

One is filled with great awe when one remembers the conditions under which sailors of tha time lived: Vessels were driven by the wind; there was no communication between the ship and land; hudrographic charts were quite inaccurate; and the network of lighthouses was not built up in the North.

The sextant was the only intrument they had.

In 1919 Anna Rogde received a one-cylinder Bolinder motor with 40 hp which functioned as makeshift when there was no wind. A wheelhouse was built; the main mast was shortened; and the foresail was fitted with a derrick.

The ship was laid up in 1972 by Per and Wilhelm Rogde, after having been used in freighting continuously since 1868.

The Anna Rogde is probably the oldest schooner in the world. She is a year older than the famous Cutty Sark.

Anna Rogde has now been returned to Harstad and is a beatiful attraction for the whole area. She has permanent anchorage at the Cultural Center wharf in Harstad.

Preah Khan (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន; "Royal Sword") is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.

HISTORY

Preah Khan was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams in 1191. Unusually the modern name, meaning "holy sword", is derived from the meaning of the original - Nagara Jayasri (holy city of victory). The site may previously have been occupied by the royal palaces of Yasovarman II and Tribhuvanadityavarman. The temple's foundation stela has provided considerable information about the history and administration of the site: the main image, of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in the form of the king's father, was dedicated in 1191 (the king's mother had earlier been commemorated in the same way at Ta Prohm). 430 other deities also had shrines on the site, each of which received an allotment of food, clothing, perfume and even mosquito nets; the temple's wealth included gold, silver, gems, 112,300 pearls and a cow with gilded horns. The institution combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were 97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers and 1000 teachers.

The temple is still largely unrestored: the initial clearing was from 1927 to 1932, and partial anastylosis was carried out in 1939. Since then free-standing statues have been removed for safe-keeping, and there has been further consolidation and restoration work. Throughout, the conservators have attempted to balance restoration and maintenance of the wild condition in which the temple was discovered: one of them, Maurice Glaize, wrote that;

The temple was previously overrun with a particularly voracious vegetation and quite ruined, presenting only chaos. Clearing works were undertaken with a constant respect for the large trees which give the composition a pleasing presentation without constituting any immediate danger. At the same time, some partial anastylosis has revived various buildings found in a sufficient state of preservation and presenting some special interest in their architecture or decoration.

Since 1991, the site has been maintained by the World Monuments Fund. It has continued the cautious approach to restoration, believing that to go further would involve too much guesswork, and prefers to respect the ruined nature of the temple. One of its former employees has said, "We're basically running a glorified maintenance program. We're not prepared to falsify history". It has therefore limited itself primarily to stabilisation work on the fourth eastern gopura, the House of Fire and the Hall of Dancers.

THE SITE

The outer wall of Preah Khan is of laterite, and bears 72 garudas holding nagas, at 50 m intervals. Surrounded by a moat, it measures 800 by 700 m and encloses an area of 56 hectares. To the east of Preah Khan is a landing stage on the edge of the Jayatataka baray, now dry, which measured 3.5 by 0.9 km. This also allowed access to the temple of Neak Pean in the centre of the baray. As usual Preah Khan is oriented toward the east, so this was the main entrance, but there are others at each of the cardinal points. Each entrance has a causeway over the moat with nāga-carrying devas and asuras similar to those at Angkor Thom; Glaize considered this an indication that the city element of Preah Khan was more significant than those of Ta Prohm or Banteay Kdei.

Halfway along the path leading to the third enclosure, on the north side, is a House of Fire (or Dharmasala) similar to Ta Prohm's. The remainder of the fourth enclosure, now forested, was originally occupied by the city; as this was built of perishable materials it has not survived. The third enclosure wall is 200 by 175 metres. In front of the third gopura is a cruciform terrace. The gopura itself is on a large scale, with three towers in the centre and two flanking pavilions. Between the southern two towers were two celebrated silk-cotton trees, of which Glaize wrote, "resting on the vault itself of the gallery, [they] frame its openings and brace the stones in substitute for pillars in a caprice of nature that is as fantastic as it is perilous." One of the trees is now dead, although the roots have been left in place. The trees may need to be removed to prevent their damaging the structure. On the far side of the temple, the third western gopura has pediments of a chess game and the Battle of Lanka, and two guardian dvarapalas to the west.

West of the third eastern gopura, on the main axis is a Hall of Dancers. The walls are decorated with apsaras; Buddha images in niches above them were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction under Jayavarman VIII. North of the Hall of Dancers is a two-storeyed structure with round columns. No other examples of this form survive at Angkor, although there are traces of similar buildings at Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei. Freeman and Jacques speculate that this may have been a granary. Occupying the rest of the third enclosure are ponds (now dry) in each corner, and satellite temples to the north, south and west. While the main temple was Buddhist, these three are dedicated to Shiva, previous kings and queens, and Vishnu respectively. They are notable chiefly for their pediments: on the northern temple, Vishnu reclining to the west and the Hindu trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma to the east; on the western temple, Krishna raising Mount Govardhana to the west.

Connecting the Hall of Dancers and the wall of the second enclosure is a courtyard containing two libraries. The second eastern gopura projects into this courtyard; it is one of the few Angkorian gopuras with significant internal decoration, with garudas on the corners of the cornices. Buddha images on the columns were changed into hermits under Jayavarman VIII.

Between the second enclosure wall (85 by 76 m) and the first enclosure wall (62 by 55 m) on the eastern side is a row of later additions which impede access and hide some of the original decoration. The first enclosure is, as Glaize said, similarly, "choked with more or less ruined buildings". The enclosure is divided into four parts by a cruciform gallery, each part almost filled by these later irregular additions. The walls of this gallery, and the interior of the central sanctuary, are covered with holes for the fixing of bronze plates which would originally have covered them and the outside of the sanctuary - 1500 tonnes was used to decorate the whole temple. At the centre of the temple, in place of the original statue of Lokesvara, is a stupa built several centuries after the temple's initial construction.

MICROBIAL DEGRADATION

Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan.

_____________________________

Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The Angkorian period began in AD 802, when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself a universal monarch and god-king, and lasted until the late 14th century, first falling under Ayutthayan suzerainty in 1351. A Khmer rebellion resulted in the 1431 sacking of Angkor by Ayutthaya, causing its population to migrate south to Longvek.

The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland to the north of the Great Lake (Tonlé Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern-day Siem Reap city, in Siem Reap Province. The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the magnificent Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together, they comprise the most significant site of Khmer architecture. Visitor numbers approach two million annually, and the entire expanse, including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom is collectively protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This popularity of the site among tourists presents multiple challenges to the preservation of the ruins.

In 2007, an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest preindustrial city in the world, with an elaborate infrastructure system connecting an urban sprawl of at least 1,000 square kilometres to the well-known temples at its core. The closest rival to Angkor, the Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, was between 100 and 150 square kilometres in total size. Although its population remains a topic of research and debate, newly identified agricultural systems in the Angkor area may have supported up to one million people.

The Angkorian period may be said to have begun shortly after 800 AD, when the Khmer King Jayavarman II announced the independence of Kambujadesa (Cambodia) from Java and established his capital of Hariharalaya (now known as Roluos) at the northern end of Tonlé Sap. Through a program of military campaigns, alliances, marriages and land grants, he achieved a unification of the country bordered by China to the north, Champa (now Central Vietnam) to the east, the ocean to the south and a place identified by a stone inscription as the land of cardamoms and mangoes to the west. In 802, Jayavarman articulated his new status by declaring himself universal monarch and, in a move that was to be imitated by his successors and that linked him to the cult of Siva, taking on the epithet of god-king (devaraja). Before Jayavarman, Cambodia had consisted of a number of politically independent principalities collectively known to the Chinese by the names Funan and Chenla.

In 889, Yasovarman ascended to the throne. A great king and an accomplished builder, he was celebrated by one inscription as "a lion-man; he tore the enemy with the claws of his grandeur; his teeth were his policies; his eyes were the Veda." Near the old capital of Hariharalaya, Yasovarman constructed a new city, called Yasodharapura. In the tradition of his predecessors, he also constructed a massive reservoir called baray. The significance of such reservoirs has been debated by modern scholars, some of whom have seen in them a means of irrigating rice fields, and others of whom have regarded them as religiously charged symbols of the great mythological oceans surrounding Mount Meru, the abode of the gods. The mountain, in turn, was represented by an elevated temple, in which the "god-king" was represented by a lingam. In accordance with this cosmic symbolism, Yasovarman built his central temple on a low hill known as Phnom Bakheng, surrounding it with a moat fed from the baray. He also built numerous other Hindu temples and ashrams, or retreats for ascetics.

Over the next 300 years, between 900 and 1200, the Khmer Empire produced some of the world's most magnificent architectural masterpieces in the area known as Angkor. Most are concentrated in an area approximately 24 km east to west and 8.0 km north to south, although the Angkor Archaeological Park, which administers the area, includes sites as far away as Kbal Spean, about 48 km to the north. Some 72 major temples or other buildings are found within this area, and the remains of several hundred additional minor temple sites are scattered throughout the landscape beyond. Because of the dispersed, low-density nature of the medieval Khmer settlement pattern, Angkor lacks a formal boundary, and its extent is therefore difficult to determine. However, a specific area of at least 1,000 qkm beyond the major temples is defined by a complex system of infrastructure, including roads and canals that indicate a high degree of connectivity and functional integration with the urban core. In terms of spatial extent (although not in terms of population), this makes it the largest urban agglomeration in human history prior to the Industrial Revolution, easily surpassing the nearest claim, that of the Mayan city of Tikal.

Preah Khan (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន; "Royal Sword") is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.

HISTORY

Preah Khan was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams in 1191. Unusually the modern name, meaning "holy sword", is derived from the meaning of the original - Nagara Jayasri (holy city of victory). The site may previously have been occupied by the royal palaces of Yasovarman II and Tribhuvanadityavarman. The temple's foundation stela has provided considerable information about the history and administration of the site: the main image, of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in the form of the king's father, was dedicated in 1191 (the king's mother had earlier been commemorated in the same way at Ta Prohm). 430 other deities also had shrines on the site, each of which received an allotment of food, clothing, perfume and even mosquito nets; the temple's wealth included gold, silver, gems, 112,300 pearls and a cow with gilded horns. The institution combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were 97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers and 1000 teachers.

The temple is still largely unrestored: the initial clearing was from 1927 to 1932, and partial anastylosis was carried out in 1939. Since then free-standing statues have been removed for safe-keeping, and there has been further consolidation and restoration work. Throughout, the conservators have attempted to balance restoration and maintenance of the wild condition in which the temple was discovered: one of them, Maurice Glaize, wrote that;

The temple was previously overrun with a particularly voracious vegetation and quite ruined, presenting only chaos. Clearing works were undertaken with a constant respect for the large trees which give the composition a pleasing presentation without constituting any immediate danger. At the same time, some partial anastylosis has revived various buildings found in a sufficient state of preservation and presenting some special interest in their architecture or decoration.

Since 1991, the site has been maintained by the World Monuments Fund. It has continued the cautious approach to restoration, believing that to go further would involve too much guesswork, and prefers to respect the ruined nature of the temple. One of its former employees has said, "We're basically running a glorified maintenance program. We're not prepared to falsify history". It has therefore limited itself primarily to stabilisation work on the fourth eastern gopura, the House of Fire and the Hall of Dancers.

THE SITE

The outer wall of Preah Khan is of laterite, and bears 72 garudas holding nagas, at 50 m intervals. Surrounded by a moat, it measures 800 by 700 m and encloses an area of 56 hectares. To the east of Preah Khan is a landing stage on the edge of the Jayatataka baray, now dry, which measured 3.5 by 0.9 km. This also allowed access to the temple of Neak Pean in the centre of the baray. As usual Preah Khan is oriented toward the east, so this was the main entrance, but there are others at each of the cardinal points. Each entrance has a causeway over the moat with nāga-carrying devas and asuras similar to those at Angkor Thom; Glaize considered this an indication that the city element of Preah Khan was more significant than those of Ta Prohm or Banteay Kdei.

Halfway along the path leading to the third enclosure, on the north side, is a House of Fire (or Dharmasala) similar to Ta Prohm's. The remainder of the fourth enclosure, now forested, was originally occupied by the city; as this was built of perishable materials it has not survived. The third enclosure wall is 200 by 175 metres. In front of the third gopura is a cruciform terrace. The gopura itself is on a large scale, with three towers in the centre and two flanking pavilions. Between the southern two towers were two celebrated silk-cotton trees, of which Glaize wrote, "resting on the vault itself of the gallery, [they] frame its openings and brace the stones in substitute for pillars in a caprice of nature that is as fantastic as it is perilous." One of the trees is now dead, although the roots have been left in place. The trees may need to be removed to prevent their damaging the structure. On the far side of the temple, the third western gopura has pediments of a chess game and the Battle of Lanka, and two guardian dvarapalas to the west.

West of the third eastern gopura, on the main axis is a Hall of Dancers. The walls are decorated with apsaras; Buddha images in niches above them were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction under Jayavarman VIII. North of the Hall of Dancers is a two-storeyed structure with round columns. No other examples of this form survive at Angkor, although there are traces of similar buildings at Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei. Freeman and Jacques speculate that this may have been a granary. Occupying the rest of the third enclosure are ponds (now dry) in each corner, and satellite temples to the north, south and west. While the main temple was Buddhist, these three are dedicated to Shiva, previous kings and queens, and Vishnu respectively. They are notable chiefly for their pediments: on the northern temple, Vishnu reclining to the west and the Hindu trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma to the east; on the western temple, Krishna raising Mount Govardhana to the west.

Connecting the Hall of Dancers and the wall of the second enclosure is a courtyard containing two libraries. The second eastern gopura projects into this courtyard; it is one of the few Angkorian gopuras with significant internal decoration, with garudas on the corners of the cornices. Buddha images on the columns were changed into hermits under Jayavarman VIII.

Between the second enclosure wall (85 by 76 m) and the first enclosure wall (62 by 55 m) on the eastern side is a row of later additions which impede access and hide some of the original decoration. The first enclosure is, as Glaize said, similarly, "choked with more or less ruined buildings". The enclosure is divided into four parts by a cruciform gallery, each part almost filled by these later irregular additions. The walls of this gallery, and the interior of the central sanctuary, are covered with holes for the fixing of bronze plates which would originally have covered them and the outside of the sanctuary - 1500 tonnes was used to decorate the whole temple. At the centre of the temple, in place of the original statue of Lokesvara, is a stupa built several centuries after the temple's initial construction.

MICROBIAL DEGRADATION

Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan.

______________________________________

The principal temple of the Angkorian region, Angkor Wat, was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II. Suryavarman ascended to the throne after prevailing in a battle with a rival prince. An inscription says that, in the course of combat, Suryavarman leapt onto his rival's war elephant and killed him, just as the mythical bird-man Garuda slays a serpent.

WIKIPEDIA

By this time I thought I'd had enough of the Spice bazaar. I had to make a small cash withdrawal as well, which I did from and ATM just outside. Here I am, exiting the Spice Bazaar (the exit is at the far end). Almost all the Turkish Delight stores from here on tried to get me into their store to make a purchase. One of them even pointed to my camera and asked 'tourist'? Yes, bloody obvious isn't it. with a huge Nikon D7000 straddling my neck? I took this liberty only because I was inside the bazaar. Outside, the dSLR is consigned to a nondescript cloth sling bag and stays there until something comes up that needs to be photographed. (Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 2014)

No. 6 of 9 - Sweden

ex LSWR M7 class tank engine 30053 running on the South Devon branch in February 2014 on an early morning perishable goods service

Bartender: "Sorry, Mac. We don't serve poultry here."

Chicken: "That's okay. I just want a drink."

decluttr'd <---

"You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." - 1 Peter 1:18-19.

1 July is the feast of the Precious Blood of Christ, and this window is in St Dominic's priory church in London.

Darling, you're a Genius!!!

-Story and photo by Jen Rovanpera, Archaeologist for the BLM Applegate Field Office

The BLM Applegate Field Office just completed stabilizing and preserving a 1930s root cellar on the historic Bitner Ranch located in Washoe County, Nevada. The root cellar was built in the 1930s to store food and other perishables. It consists of a large cavity (cellar) built into the side of a hill just east of the ranch house. Juniper poles were laid across the top of the cavity, the covered with hay from the nearby meadow. Dirt was then piled onto the roof into order to insulate it further. A small wooden structure with steps leads down into the cellar. Once inside, the maximum height of the cellar is about 6 feet. Shelving units were built along three of the walls.

Little is known about the beginnings of Bitner Ranch. A structure in Badger Meadows appears on a survey map as early as 1873/1874; however the land was not patented from the state of Nevada until 1900. Based on the style of barbed wire, some of the older corrals and fences were probably built sometime between 1874 and 1892. The ranch hosts a ranch house, a black smith shop with a bunk house for workers, a milk barn, a root cellar, an outhouse, corrals, and a small animal pen. Most of the remaining structures on the property were built in the 1920s, except for the root cellar which was built in the 1930s and the milk barn which might be one of the oldest standing structures on the ranch.

The Bureau of Land Management acquired the Bitner Ranch in 1995. Bitner Ranch is an excellent example of a high desert, homestead era ranch and one of the few remaining ranches to be managed by the Bureau of Land Management in northwestern Nevada. The goal is to preserve the historic ranch, continue research, and establish an interpretive center about the history and wildlife of the meadow.

The preservation project included removing the dirt that had caved into the cellar through the collapsed roof, stabilizing the wooden structure, and rebuilding the steps into the cellar. The project was completed in two weeks by Jed Mauldin, Dane Mauldin, and Kody Smith of S.T. Rhoades Construction, Inc.

After photo: Interior

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Human Resource Management (OHRM) Diversity, Recruitment, and Work/Life Division (DRWD) Acting Director and 2016 Feds Feed Families Chair Sabrina Ferguson-Ward (green outfit) hosts the 2016 Feds Feed Families USDA Kickoff event in the Whitten Building patio, Washington, D.C. on Friday, June 17, 2016. This year’s theme is "Feds Fighting Hunger."

USDA once again will lead the 2016 Feds Feed Families (FFF) campaign with the support of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council and other agency partners. The campaign will run through August 30, 2016. Launched in 2009 as part of President Obama's United We Serve campaign, Feds Feed Families was designed to help food banks and pantries stay stocked during summer months when they traditionally see a decrease in donations and an increase in need. In Washington, D.C., the Capital Area Food Bank receives collections and distributes them through its network of more than 500 partner organizations. Through the amazing generosity of federal employees, since 2009 the food drive has collected nearly 57.2 million pounds of food for those in need. Last year alone, more than 17.9 million pounds were donated and provided to food banks and pantries. All Federal agencies, including field components, are asked to participate in the campaign. The field agencies will share their collections with their local food banks with the goal of ensuring that the FFF campaign will stretch across America and be visible and active in every state. As in every year, employees are asked to bring non-perishable food items and place them into a designated collection box located in the Federal workplace or take them directly to a local food bank. Donations of fresh food (fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts) can be made directly to a food pantry in your community - please visit www.ampleharvest.org to find one near you.

Learn more about most wanted items in area food banks from the Capital Area Food Bank . For those outside of the National Capital Area, visit www.feedingamerica.org for a list of regional food banks (non-perishable food only) or www.ampleharvest.org , for a list of local food pantries (fresh produce as well as non-perishable food) in your area to partner with and to send donations. They assist with arranging pick-up and weighing of your donations. In 2016, as part of Feds Feed Families, employees are encouraged to take advantage of gleaning (clearing fields of unused produce). Field employees can reach out to Society of St. Andrew for gleaning opportunities in their area. The Mid-Atlantic Gleaning Network (MAGNET) is another great partner at www.midatlanticgleaningnetwork.org . Volunteers can pick, sort and deliver fresh produce to food banks, churches and other partners. USDA Media by Lance Cheung.

Photo by Joseph Evangelista/Courtesy of Cape May MAC

CAPE MAY (Nov. 8, 2021) — Christmas arrives in Victorian Cape May with great fanfare during Holiday Preview Weekend in Cape May, Nov. 19-21, presented by Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture).

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

Santa Claus, himself, flips the switch and illuminates the huge evergreen Christmas tree on the grounds of the historic 1879 Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St. during the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, Saturday, Nov. 20, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Visitors of all ages are invited to this annual tradition outdoors on the grounds of the estate, a thrilling start to the holiday season, presented by Cape May MAC and sponsored by Sturdy Savings Bank. Visitors are invited to bring canned goods and non-perishable food items for collection during the evening to donate to the Cape May Community Food Bank, which helps feed needy families in the community, and stop by the Toys for Tots table to help support this worthy cause. Returning this year is the Atlantic Brass Band performing holiday favorites. The 35-piece Atlantic Brass Band, based at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., is an award-winning, authentic British-style brass band of international acclaim. They have entertained countless audiences since 1984. The band won the 2017 U.S. Open competition and is a three-time champion in the North American Brass Band Association competition. A longtime Cape May favorite, the band is comprised of professional musicians, professors, educators and community members. The concert begins at 5 p.m. Santa will hit the switch on the huge Christmas tree on the estate at 7 p.m. from the outdoor stage and Mrs. Claus will read “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

The 1879 Physick House Museum is authentically decorated for a Victorian Christmas during the holiday season and visitors on Saturday, Nov. 20 can step inside the museum for a self-guided Physick Estate Christmas Tour, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The wonders of the season are on display in An Old-fashioned Christmas Exhibit in the Carroll Gallery at the Physick Estate’s Carriage House. Stand beneath the boughs of a giant Christmas tree! This exhibit features holiday traditions through the years that bring to life a child’s Christmas fantasy, complete with a Dept. 56 Dickens Village, model trains, vintage Christmas family photos, toys and much more. Admission is free.

Food Events

It’s easy to have fun with friends during Brunch & Bingo at the Beach and enjoy time away from the holiday to-do list. Play a little bingo, enjoy a fashion show by Lace Silhouettes/Cotton Company and compete for some great prizes at Aleathea’s Restaurant, the Inn of Cape May, 7 Ocean St., all while enjoying a delicious brunch on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 9:30 a.m.

Vintage Restaurant, on the grounds of the Emlen Physick Estate, offers an eclectic menu for brunch and dinner. capemaymac.org/eat-drink/vintage/. Call 609–224–6064 for reservations and takeout orders or visit OpenTable.com. www.opentable.com/. To view the menu, visit capemaymac.org/eat-drink/vintage/. Vintage is dog- friendly, has plenty of outside seating and take-out is available. Parking is free. Vintage is open Fridays-Sundays for dinner, Saturday, Sundays for brunch (except Dec. 24, 25). Reservations are highly recommended.

Cape May Lighthouse

Climb the 199 steps of the 1859 Cape May Lighthouse to the watch gallery for a panoramic view of the Jersey Cape and Atlantic Ocean. For those who choose not to climb, the Oil House contains a fully-accessible Visitors' Orientation Center and a Museum Shop stocked with maritime accessories and lighthouse memorabilia. Open Friday, Nov. 19-Sunday, Nov. 21, noon to 4 p.m.

Follow the light of the full moon on a rare nighttime climb up the 199 cast iron spiral staircase steps to the top of the Cape May Lighthouse. Lighthouse Full Moon Climb Friday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. You’ll experience a nighttime view nearly 156 feet above the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Interpretive panels located at landings along the way tell stories of Lighthouse Keepers, the surrounding area and how the lighthouse functioned historically. The 1859 Cape May Lighthouse is a state historic site and the third beacon on this site. Still an active aid to navigation, it was restored and is maintained by Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture). Since it opened to the public in 1988, more than 2.5 million visitors have climbed to the top, but far fewer have climbed at nighttime.

Trolley Tours

Listen to dramatic tales of Christmas woe featuring Victorian ghosts, told by a member of the East Lynne Theater Company, on this ride along the historic streets of Cape May. You’ll be happy you live now, not then, on the Ghosts of Christmas Past Trolley Rides, Friday, Nov. 19 and Saturday, Nov. 20 evenings of Holiday Preview Weekend.

The best way to see Cape May’s Christmas lights is on board a heated trolley during Holiday Lights Trolley Rides. Ride through Cape May’s Historic District and see cheerfully decorated inns and homes as guides talk about Victorian Christmas traditions and play Christmas music. Rides last about 30 minutes and depart from the Washington Street Mall Trolley stop, at Ocean Street, the evening of Saturday, Nov. 20 during Holiday Preview Weekend.

Museum Shops

Work on your holiday gift-giving list during Holiday Preview Weekend at Cape May MAC’s two museum shops: the Carriage House Museum Shop at the Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St., and the Cape May Lighthouse Museum Shop, at the Cape May Lighthouse, 215 Lighthouse Ave. Cape May MAC’s Museum Shops are fully accessible and open for extended hours throughout the holiday season and offer museum quality gift ideas for the holidays, including jewelry, teapots, books, and more at the Carriage House Museum Shop. There are selections for youngsters as well, including children’s books, toys, dolls, puzzles and games. You can also delight the lighthouse lover on your holiday list with a gift from the Cape May Lighthouse Museum Shop. Here you’ll find Cape May Diamond jewelry, toys, books, and clothing for fans of the lighthouse. Parking is free at both locations. Proceeds from both of Cape May’s museum shops benefit Cape May MAC’s historic preservation efforts.

Masks or facial coverings are required on all trolley and indoor tours; limits on admissions will be managed to comply with COVID-19 restrictions and CDC guidelines.

Schedules are subject to change. Please visit our website

at capemaymac.org for the most current schedule.

Twelve Misericordia students and three chaperones worked as street ambassadors and provided meals at the City Mission of Schenectady, a city where the poverty rate is nearly ten percent higher than the state average. Accompanied by chaperones Sean Farry, campus minister, Joseph Cirpriani, professor of physical therapy, and Adam Grzech, graduate student, the group helped City Mission serve 600 meals and provide shelter to more than 100 men, women and children each day. They painted and organized the City Mission Thrift Store and assisted with Weekend Blessings, a food distribution program that provides more than 800 backpacks a week filled with non-perishable food items for low-income children to take home for their weekend meals.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Human Resource Management (OHRM) Diversity, Recruitment, and Work/Life Division (DRWD) Acting Director and 2016 Feds Feed Families Chair Sabrina Ferguson-Ward hosts the 2016 Feds Feed Families USDA Kickoff event in the Whitten Building patio, Washington, D.C. on Friday, June 17, 2016. This year’s theme is "Feds Fighting Hunger."

USDA once again will lead the 2016 Feds Feed Families (FFF) campaign with the support of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council and other agency partners. The campaign will run through August 30, 2016. Launched in 2009 as part of President Obama's United We Serve campaign, Feds Feed Families was designed to help food banks and pantries stay stocked during summer months when they traditionally see a decrease in donations and an increase in need. In Washington, D.C., the Capital Area Food Bank receives collections and distributes them through its network of more than 500 partner organizations. Through the amazing generosity of federal employees, since 2009 the food drive has collected nearly 57.2 million pounds of food for those in need. Last year alone, more than 17.9 million pounds were donated and provided to food banks and pantries. All Federal agencies, including field components, are asked to participate in the campaign. The field agencies will share their collections with their local food banks with the goal of ensuring that the FFF campaign will stretch across America and be visible and active in every state. As in every year, employees are asked to bring non-perishable food items and place them into a designated collection box located in the Federal workplace or take them directly to a local food bank. Donations of fresh food (fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts) can be made directly to a food pantry in your community - please visit www.ampleharvest.org to find one near you.

Learn more about most wanted items in area food banks from the Capital Area Food Bank . For those outside of the National Capital Area, visit www.feedingamerica.org for a list of regional food banks (non-perishable food only) or www.ampleharvest.org , for a list of local food pantries (fresh produce as well as non-perishable food) in your area to partner with and to send donations. They assist with arranging pick-up and weighing of your donations. In 2016, as part of Feds Feed Families, employees are encouraged to take advantage of gleaning (clearing fields of unused produce). Field employees can reach out to Society of St. Andrew for gleaning opportunities in their area. The Mid-Atlantic Gleaning Network (MAGNET) is another great partner at www.midatlanticgleaningnetwork.org . Volunteers can pick, sort and deliver fresh produce to food banks, churches and other partners. USDA Media by Lance Cheung.

Time to use up lots of leftovers and perishables about to—well, perish. And still I forgot to use up the Swiss chard--there is always tomorrow.

Descent of the Ganges is a monument at Mamallapuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Measuring 29×13 m, it is a giant open-air rock relief carved on two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the bas-relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site. The relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture at its best not seen anywhere in India. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

GEOGRAPHY

The Arjuna bas-relief is in the centre of Mahabalipuram, facing the sea at a short distance from the shores of the Coramandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal where the Shore Temple is situated. It is accessible from Chennai city over a 58 km paved road to its west and 32 km from Chengalpet.

HISTORY

The relief was created to celebrate the victory of Hinduism over Buddhism. The place, now known as Mahabalipuram, was earlier known by the epithet given to the king Narasimhavarman I (630–668 AD) of the Pallava Dynasty (who ruled from 4th to 9th centuries) as Mamallan, the "great wrestler" or "great warrior". His father was king Mahendravarman I who converted from Jainism to Hinduism. The architectural creations at Mamallapuram, mostly attributed to Mamalla in the 7th century, adopted stone as the medium for sculpting in situ rock faces, which till then was done with some perishable material like wood or loose stones. It is part of 16 World Heritage Cultural Sites in India, and as a protected monument, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle is entrusted with its upkeep in all aspects. The open air bas-reliefs (including the Descent of the Ganges (Mahabalipuram) are one of the four categories under which UNESCO identified the site as a World Heritage Site and inscribed it in 1984 under the title Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. This bas-relief in rock is reported as a "sublime" early sculpture of the 7th century; even in the subsequent dynasty of the Chola's adopted the shrine-sculpting technique in the temples they built in the late 9th century. This architectural legacy of the Pallava dynasty is continued by the descendants of sculptors of that period, who are now integrated into the present town’s culture.The unique bas-relief faces east. It was created with great skill and imagination on two large boulders of pink granite in the open air giving the whole a natural effect. The boulders measure 15 by 30 metres . Many of the figures carved are in life size. The natural cleft, a very large perpendicular fissure, is skilfully sculptured. It is in between the two boulders and is integral to the mythical narratives carved on the entire relief. A water tank was once located at the top of the rock to release water denoting the Ganges River. It cascaded over the cleft and the relief to give the impression of the Ganga descending from the head tied matts of Shiva. This scene was created during festive occasions and the presence of a brick masonry cistern at the top of the cleft to release water attests to its location at site. The bas-relief is an ensemble of over a hundred figures (146 is also mentioned) of gods, people, half-humans and animals and is best explained by an expert at site.

ARCHITECTURE

The sculptures carved in the natural fissure that divides the cliff not only depict a cosmic event of Ganges descending to earth (a popular narration and depiction in the iconography of Shiva) at the command of Shiva but also shows the event being watched by scores of gods, goddesses, mythical figurines of Kinnara, Gandharva, Apsara, Gana, Nagas, and also wild and domestic animals, all admiringly looking up at the scene. This relief is often given the hyperbole adjectives as "world renowned" and “unique artistic achievement”. The total number of carvings are probably about 146. The carvings of elephants on the open air bas-relief is almost of life size and is reported as the best animal carving in India. Another humorous scene is the carvings of monkeys copying the yogic scenes of the sages. Shiva is shown next to the Kinnaras who are depicted in large numbers in the upper portion of the bas-relief; they are anthropomorphic forms of half human half bird, a popular Indian art form in ancient times representing the Indic ethos of the world as one creation. The male Kinnara is holding a musical instrument (type unknown) while the female Kinnara is holding a cymbal. Shiva is carved in front of the river (to the right of the cleft) in a standing posture with Bhagiratha, the sage, standing on one leg offering him prayers to check the force of the Ganga as she descends to earth. Shiva is also shown with a weapon which is interpreted as Pashupati, which he gave to Arjuna. The ganas shown in the carvings represent the people who have spent their entire lives in dedication to Shiva, and are blessed with the boon to remain close to Shiva for all time to come. Carvings of the divine nagas shown swimming in the river, as Ganga descends from the heavens, are also in anthropomorphic form of a serpent and human, which has been a traditional style from ancient times in Indic art. They are believed to denote fertility and protective forces of nature. They are seen not only in the middle of the panel facing the cleft, which represents the river, but also at the top of the panel at the entry of water over the channel, marking the prevalence of naga worship in Hindu religious beliefs.It is also said that the bas-relief in one unity is the early Indic artist's concept of "sublime continuity in all living things." The elephants shown in reliefs are unique in the fact that the detailing includes the baby elephants behind the life size elephants. Another interesting depiction is of a deer scratching its nose. The elephants represent a herd moving towards the river to drink water. The male elephant carving precedes that of its female partner. Three baby elephants with the male elephant and two babies with the female elephant are also carved in the panel.

Sun, on the left and Moon on the right side are also depicted on top part of the panel. A kim-purusha, meaning dwarf with elongated ears and wearing a cap on his head and beating a drum is also seen in the panel.

In the upper part of the panel, Himalayas are shown which corroborates the theory of the panel representing the descent of the Ganges. Wild lions are also shown with large mane and also rams which are interpreted as representing the Himalayan habitat. On the left side of the upper panel, carvings of divinities and celestial couples moving towards the river are seen. A few animals, lions and monkeys are also carved in this part. Two pairs of kinnaras and three pairs of celestial couples are shown flying in the air approaching the river (cleft). Hunters and hunting scenes are part of this part of the panel; a hunter with a bow, two hunters hiding under trees to hunt, a lion about to attack two hunters are some of the parts of forest scenes carved on the panel. Another scene below is of few monkeys, and carving of a lion in his den with few deer in front of it. Carvings of hunters carrying a pitcher and another carrying the hunted animals are also seen.

Another prominent scene is that of a temple to the right of the cleft at the lower end of the panel. This temple is simple and small and has Vishnu as the deity carved within it. The temple roof is patterned on the style of Draupadi Ratha with a square curvilinear dome type of tower. However, the top is flat and is fitted with a stupi, with a kudu in the centre. Corners are decorated with flower designs. The cornices are also seen with kudus carved with human faces inside. In the floor above the cornice, lion motifs are carved. A square supports the domed roof. A sage is seen sitting in front of the temple giving sermons to his students. In the seat below this scene, a lion in his den and below this a pair of deer are carved. A tortoise is shown next to the temple indicative of water in the near vicinity.

INTERPRETATIONS

In one interpretation, a figure in the bas-relief, who is standing on one leg, is said to be Arjuna performing an austerity Tapas to receive a boon from Shiva as an aid in fighting the Mahabharata war. The story of the penance is narrated in the epic Mahabharata under the subtitle the Kiratarjuniya. The boon, which Arjuna is said to have received, was called Pasupata, Shiva's most powerful weapon. According to the myth narrated on this event, asuras (demons) sent a boar to kill Arjuna. Then Shiva appeared on the scene to protect Arjuna assuming the form of kirata (hunter). Both Arjuna and Shiva shot arrows at the boar and the boar was killed; both claimed credit for killing it and a fight ensued between the two in which Shiva won. He then revealed his true self to Arjuna and blessed him and gave him the weapon for which Arjuna is shown performing the penance.

The bas-relief is carved on two large boulders with a cleft. Above the cleft was a collecting pool, and at one time, water may have flowed along the cleft. Figures in the cleft in the rock are covered with nagas (serpent deities), in anjali posture. The river is said to represent Ganga or the River Ganges emerging from Shiva's head. This provides the basis for an alternative interpretation of the mural. Rather than Arjuna, the figure performing austerities is said to be Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha is said to have performed austerities so that Ganga might descend to earth and wash over the ashes of his relatives, releasing them from their sins. To break Ganga's fall from heaven to earth, she falls onto Shiva's hair, and is divided into many streams by his tresses; this miraculous event is shown in the form of sculptures on the boulders being watched by the animals and human beings.

Another interpretation for the yogi doing penance on one leg is that it is a depiction of Bhagiratha doing severe penance to bring down Ganges to earth to usher prosperity and happiness to the people. The nagas carved in the cleft represent fecundity and wealth. Shiva and other gods are shown blessing the saint. The scene is further accentuated with carvings of kings, sages, artists and animals.

One more interpretation of the myth seen in another part of the panel is that of a cat standing on one leg (apparently as an austerity), and perhaps an iconic figure in the bas-relief. It is interpreted as relating to the Panchatantra story of an ascetic. It denotes the hare luring a bird to come close so that she could she catch and devour it. The artist has brought out the expression on cat’s face, its motives clearly.

WIKIPEDIA

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Family Fun Night.

Games, BMX bike show, & PIZZA!

Admission was 2 canned goods or non-perishables, which went to the 2nd Harvest Food Bank.

The idea to build the Horlicks building in Slough occurred in 1906, when James Horlick bought a green field site from Eton College.

The building was not operational until 1908. The entire project cost £28,800 and by 1969, the extended factory produced 30 million pounds of powder a year.

Horlicks Malted Milk originated in the United States. In 1873 James and William Horlick took a trip from the Forest of Dean to Chicago and started to manufacture a patented malt drink made especially for infants. In 1883 the famous drink was born.

In 1890 Horlicks began being marketed in Britain.

In 1935 a factory was built in Australia and in 1960 a factory was built in the Indian Punjab to make Horlicks from buffalo milk.

Despite its origins as a health food for infants and invalids, Horlicks found several unexpected markets. Explorers appreciated its lightweight, non-perishable, high-calorie qualities and began taking malted milk on treks worldwide.

William Horlick became a patron of Antarctic exploration, and in return, Admiral Richard E. Byrd named a mountain range in Antarctica after his sponsor.

The ship on the left is MacBrayne's MV Lochdunvegan (1950-73) which for most of her career served as the Glasgow to Stornoway cargo ship with only few deviations.

This recalls that, until the 1960s, nearly all of the Western Isles were served by two types of ship - the mail steamer sailing from the nearest railhead for the conveyance of passengers and light and perishable goods and the cargo ship sailing from Glasgow for the conveyance of heavier and non-perishable goods. In the case of Lewis, the mail steamer was the MV Loch Seaforth sailing from Mallaig and Kyle of Lochalsh.

This pattern altered gradually from the 1960s. First, the mail steamers were gradually replaced by car ferries (in some cases no longer saling from railheads but from "roadheads" like Uig and Ullapool). Then, in the 70s, with the development of ro-ro ferries, heavier goods began to go by road on lorries travelling on the same ships as the passengers and cars. The cargo ships to Glasgow were redundant and the last one (MV Lochcarron) sailed in 1976.

Stornoway has seen a slight move back to previous ways in recent years, however, with the introduction of a separate ship for commercial vehicles. But it is still a ro-ro sailing to Ullapool, not to Glasgow.

UP GTEL-8500 18 (34069-34070 8/60) @Illinois Railway Museum, Union IL 7-4-2010.

Union Pacific, which had a high ratio of perishable traffic consisting not only of California fruits and vegetables but livestock and meat products and was faced with challenging grades like the Wasatch range leaving the Salt Lake basin and the Continental divide needed not just tractive effort but horsepower-lots of it. This showed itself in its propensity to cram as much hp as possible into one locomotive and manifested itself in steam in the 4-12-2's, the Challengers and the Big Boys and in diesel in its double-engine C-855's, U-50's, DD-35's and Centennials but the epitome of horsepower in a non-electric locomotive were these locomotives: 8500 hp gas-turbine-electrics that were upped to a whopping 10,000 hp by the railroad.

The three sections of the locomotive were integrated and served seperate functions. The "A" unit contained the controls and a 1,000 hp Cooper-Bessemer diesel for starting the turbine and moving the locomotive around in the terminal, what appears to be the "B" unit contained the turbine itself and the main generator and the third "unit" was an insulated tender to hold the turbine's Bunker C residual furnace oil (also used by oil-burning steamers) which had to be heated in order to flow.

I would have loved to have been able to see and hear this baby climbing the Wasatch with a string of PFE reefers.

Alabama Advertising Photographer

1 Peter 1

17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the ...

briandumas.photography/2015/10/23/alabama-advertising-pho...

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Amy Densmore, left, and Senior Aiman Benjamin Reedy, both from the 169th Maintenance Squadron Aerospace Ground Equipment section, load donated food items collected from their unit. The 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina Air National Guard, S.C. collected 471 pounds of dontated non-perishable food items for delivery to a local food bank in Columbia, South Carolina, Nov. 20, 2020. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Edward Snyder, 169th Fighter Wing Public Affairs)

I just learned that one of my good friends on Flickr, Madeleine, originally from Romania, and I have this in common: Zabar's in New York; that is to say we had Zabar's in common until Matt and I turned vegan (and cheap).

Over the years, this insulated bag and others like it delivered us their fantastic Matzo Ball soup and other perishable savories. We haven't been in or ordered from there in over 3 years (shipping is ridiculously expensive) but if you like a good Jewish deli and a Rugelach that will bring tears to your eyes, check it out. They're on Broadway in the upper west side and they even have a cafe (which is so-so when you consider everything else over there).

Check it out: www.zabars.com/

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Human Resource Management (OHRM) Diversity, Recruitment, and Work/Life Division (DRWD) Acting Director and 2016 Feds Feed Families Chair Sabrina Ferguson-Ward hosts the 2016 Feds Feed Families USDA Kickoff event in the Whitten Building patio, Washington, D.C. on Friday, June 17, 2016. This year’s theme is "Feds Fighting Hunger."

USDA once again will lead the 2016 Feds Feed Families (FFF) campaign with the support of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council and other agency partners. The campaign will run through August 30, 2016. Launched in 2009 as part of President Obama's United We Serve campaign, Feds Feed Families was designed to help food banks and pantries stay stocked during summer months when they traditionally see a decrease in donations and an increase in need. In Washington, D.C., the Capital Area Food Bank receives collections and distributes them through its network of more than 500 partner organizations. Through the amazing generosity of federal employees, since 2009 the food drive has collected nearly 57.2 million pounds of food for those in need. Last year alone, more than 17.9 million pounds were donated and provided to food banks and pantries. All Federal agencies, including field components, are asked to participate in the campaign. The field agencies will share their collections with their local food banks with the goal of ensuring that the FFF campaign will stretch across America and be visible and active in every state. As in every year, employees are asked to bring non-perishable food items and place them into a designated collection box located in the Federal workplace or take them directly to a local food bank. Donations of fresh food (fruit, vegetables, herbs, nuts) can be made directly to a food pantry in your community - please visit www.ampleharvest.org to find one near you.

Learn more about most wanted items in area food banks from the Capital Area Food Bank . For those outside of the National Capital Area, visit www.feedingamerica.org for a list of regional food banks (non-perishable food only) or www.ampleharvest.org , for a list of local food pantries (fresh produce as well as non-perishable food) in your area to partner with and to send donations. They assist with arranging pick-up and weighing of your donations. In 2016, as part of Feds Feed Families, employees are encouraged to take advantage of gleaning (clearing fields of unused produce). Field employees can reach out to Society of St. Andrew for gleaning opportunities in their area. The Mid-Atlantic Gleaning Network (MAGNET) is another great partner at www.midatlanticgleaningnetwork.org . Volunteers can pick, sort and deliver fresh produce to food banks, churches and other partners. USDA Media by Lance Cheung.

Descent of the Ganges is a monument at Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Measuring 29 m × 13 m, it is a giant open-air relief carved of two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the bas-relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site. The bas-relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture at its best not seen anywhere in India. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

GEOGRAPHY

The Arjuna bas-relief is in the centre of Mahabalipuram, facing the sea at a short distance from the shores of the Coramandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal where the Shore Temple is situated. It is accessible from Chennai city over a 58 km paved road to its west and 32 km from Chengalpet.

HISTORY

The Mamallapuram art, as it is known among archaeologists, is a creation on the occasion of a celebration of the victory of Hinduism over Buddhism. The place, now known as Mahabalipuram, was earlier known by the epithet given to the king Narasimhavarman I (630–668 AD) of the Pallava Dynasty (who ruled from 4th to 9th centuries),) as Mamallan, the "great wrestler" or "great warrior". His father was king Mahendravarman I who converted from Jainism to Hinduism. The architectural creations at Mamallapuram, mostly attributed to Mamalla in the 7th century, adopted stone as the medium for sculpting in situ rock faces, which till then was done with some perishable material like wood or loose stones. It is part of 16 World Heritage Cultural Sites in India, and as a protected monument, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle is entrusted with its upkeep in all aspects. The open air bas-reliefs (including the Descent of the Ganges (Mahabalipuram) are one of the four categories under which UNESCO identified the site as a World Heritage Site and inscribed it in 1984 under the title Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. This bas-relief in rock is reported as a "sublime" early sculpture of the 7th century; even in the subsequent dynasty of the Chola's adopted the shrine-sculpting technique in the temples they built in the late 9th century. This architectural legacy of the Pallava dynasty is continued by the descendants of sculptors of that period, who are now integrated into the present town’s culture.

LAYOUT

The unique bas-relief faces east. It was created with great skill and imagination on two large boulders of pink granite in the open air giving the whole a natural effect. The boulders measure 15 by 30 metres. Many of the figures carved are in life size. The natural cleft, a very large perpendicular fissure, is skilfully sculptured. It is in between the two boulders and is integral to the mythical narratives carved on the entire relief. A water tank was once located at the top of the rock to release water denoting the Ganges River. It cascaded over the cleft and the relief to give the impression of the Ganga descending from the head tied matts of Shiva. This scene was created during festive occasions and the presence of a brick masonry cistern at the top of the cleft to release water attests to its location at site. The bas-relief is an ensemble of over a hundred figures (146 is also mentioned) of gods, people, half-humans and animals and is best explained by an expert at site.

ARCHITECTURE

The sculptures carved in the natural fissure that divides the cliff not only depict a cosmic event of Ganges descending to earth (a popular narration and depiction in the iconography of Shiva) at the command of Shiva but also shows the event being watched by scores of gods, goddesses, mythical figurines of Kinnara, Gandharva, Apsara, Gana, Nagas, and also wild and domestic animals, all admiringly looking up at the scene. This relief is often given the hyperbole adjectives as "world renowned" and “unique artistic achievement”. The total number of carvings are probably about 146. The carvings of elephants on the open air bas-relief is almost of life size and is reported as the best animal carving in India. Another humorous scene is the carvings of monkeys copying the yogic scenes of the sages. Shiva is shown next to the Kinnaras who are depicted in large numbers in the upper portion of the bas-relief; they are anthropomorphic forms of half human half bird, a popular Indian art form in ancient times representing the Indic ethos of the world as one creation. The male Kinnara is holding a musical instrument (type unknown) while the female Kinnara is holding a cymbal. Shiva is carved in front of the river (to the right of the cleft) in a standing posture with Bhagiratha, the sage, standing on one leg offering him prayers to check the force of the Ganga as she descends to earth. Shiva is also shown with a weapon which is interpreted as Pashupati, which he gave to Arjuna. The ganas shown in the carvings represent the people who have spent their entire lives in dedication to Shiva, and are blessed with the boon to remain close to Shiva for all time to come. Carvings of the divine nagas shown swimming in the river, as Ganga descends from the heavens, are also in anthropomorphic form of a serpent and human, which has been a traditional style from ancient times in Indic art. They are believed to denote fertility and protective forces of nature. They are seen not only in the middle of the panel facing the cleft, which represents the river, but also at the top of the panel at the entry of water over the channel, marking the prevalence of naga worship in Hindu religious beliefs.

Detailing of sculptures showing the Vishni temple to the right of the cleft

It is also said that the bas-relief in one unity is the early Indic artist's concept of "sublime continuity in all living things." The elephants shown in reliefs are unique in the fact that the detailing includes the baby elephants behind the life size elephants. Another interesting depiction is of a deer scratching its nose. The elephants represent a herd moving towards the river to drink water. The male elephant carving precedes that of its female partner. Three baby elephants with the male elephant and two babies with the female elephant are also carved in the panel.

Sun, on the left and Moon on the right side are also depicted on top part of the panel. A kim-purusha, meaning dwarf with elongated ears and wearing a cap on his head and beating a drum is also seen in the panel.

In the upper part of the panel, Himalayas are shown which corroborates the theory of the panel representing the descent of the Ganges. Wild lions are also shown with large mane and also rams which are interpreted as representing the Himalayan habitat. On the left side of the upper panel, carvings of divinities and celestial couples moving towards the river are seen. A few animals, lions and monkeys are also carved in this part. Two pairs of kinnaras and three pairs of celestial couples are shown flying in the air approaching the river (cleft). Hunters and hunting scenes are part of this part of the panel; a hunter with a bow, two hunters hiding under trees to hunt, a lion about to attack two hunters are some of the parts of forest scenes carved on the panel. Another scene below is of few monkeys, and carving of a lion in his den with few deer in front of it. Carvings of hunters carrying a pitcher and another carrying the hunted animals are also seen.

Another prominent scene is that of a temple to the right of the cleft at the lower end of the panel. This temple is simple and small and has Vishnu as the deity carved within it. The temple roof is patterned on the style of Draupadi Ratha with a square curvilinear dome type of tower. However, the top is flat and is fitted with a stupi, with a kudu in the centre. Corners are decorated with flower designs. The cornices are also seen with kudus carved with human faces inside. In the floor above the cornice, lion motifs are carved. A square supports the domed roof. A sage is seen sitting in front of the temple giving sermons to his students. In the seat below this scene, a lion in his den and below this a pair of deer are carved. A tortoise is shown next to the temple indicative of water in the near vicinity.

INTERPRETATIONS

In one interpretation, a figure in the bas-relief, who is standing on one leg, is said to be Arjuna performing an austerity Tapas to receive a boon from Shiva as an aid in fighting the Mahabharata war. The story of the penance is narrated in the epic Mahabharata under the subtitle the Kiratarjuniya. The boon, which Arjuna is said to have received, was called Pasupata, Shiva's most powerful weapon. According to the myth narrated on this event, asuras (demons) sent a boar to kill Arjuna. Then Shiva appeared on the scene to protect Arjuna assuming the form of kirata (hunter). Both Arjuna and Shiva shot arrows at the boar and the boar was killed; both claimed credit for killing it and a fight ensued between the two in which Shiva won. He then revealed his true self to Arjuna and blessed him and gave him the weapon for which Arjuna is shown performing the penance.

The bas-relief is carved on two large boulders with a cleft. Above the cleft was a collecting pool, and at one time, water may have flowed along the cleft. Figures in the cleft in the rock are covered with nagas (serpent deities), in anjali posture. The river is said to represent Ganga or the River Ganges emerging from Shiva's head. This provides the basis for an alternative interpretation of the mural. Rather than Arjuna, the figure performing austerities is said to be Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha is said to have performed austerities so that Ganga might descend to earth and wash over the ashes of his relatives, releasing them from their sins. To break Ganga's fall from heaven to earth, she falls onto Shiva's hair, and is divided into many streams by his tresses; this miraculous event is shown in the form of sculptures on the boulders being watched by the animals and human beings.

Another interpretation for the yogi doing penance on one leg is that it is a depiction of Bhagiratha doing severe penance to bring down Ganges to earth to usher prosperity and happiness to the people. The nagas carved in the cleft represent fecundity and wealth. Shiva and other gods are shown blessing the saint. The scene is further accentuated with carvings of kings, sages, artists and animals.

One more interpretation of the myth seen in another part of the panel is that of a cat standing on one leg (apparently as an austerity), and perhaps an iconic figure in the bas-relief. It is interpreted as relating to the Panchatantra story of an ascetic. It denotes the hare luring a bird to come close so that she could she catch and devour it. The artist has brought out the expression on cat’s face, its motives clearly.

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