View allAll Photos Tagged require
Second full day in Valencia, and a day of culture planned, or at least visits to several churches.
Which counts as culture, right?
We laid in bed to half seven, then leapt out, had showers and after dressing went down for breakfast. Breakfast was fruit, cold cuts, fresh rolls and cakes all with lashings of coffee, was good.
Traffic outside the hotel is mad in the morning, with it trying to get on the main roads alongside and over the long park, we walked over to the other side and flagged a taxi down to take us to San Nicolás de Bari, or close to it, though walking would not have taken much longer than the taxi ride. We think we got the driver to understand our required destination, and he drove off, weaving in and out of the other cars and buses.
He dropped us in a narrow alleyway lined with old shops covered in graffiti, not sure it it was art or just rundown. But with Maps on the mobile, we walked the three minutes to the church, and found out it opened at half ten. We had 90 minutes to kill.
Down the street was a coffee shop, so we had another coffee and watched the world go by from our small table on the street. We then sat on a bench nearer the church as time crept to half ten and the opening of the church.
I will be forever haunted by the homeless man who was in the doorway opposite, who had made a pair of shoes from offcuts of plastic, and who bought a coffee when he had begged enough. He had dreadlocks, and a trolley of possessions, but was young, handsome, and who knows what his story was.
I even thought about buying him some shoes and taking them there next day, but the heat of the day made me feel quite ill, so not up to the walk.
Both Jools and I have had luck, we both nearly went bankrupt and could have ended up homeless.
St Nicholas is an ancient church, but had something of a Baroque makeover in the 18th century, and the walls, ceilings and everywhere covered in paintings, frescos and statues. As a whole it is remarkable, and the work is of a very high standard indeed. As is the way here, it seems, the church was lined with side chapels with statues or triptychs.
I took lots of shots, though my vertigo was giving me grief, and I would have to sit down between taking shots up at the roof. This would come to a peak at the basilica later that morning, when snapping the inside of the dome I nearly fell over. Jools saw that I nearly came over to catch me.
Oddly, that was the last day I had vertigo, a week later after staring at choughs on the cliffs for ten minutes, I realised I wasn't getting dizzy.
So it goes, so it goes.
Or went.
A short walk away is the Cathedral, a large a sprawling complex meaning that in the search for the entrance I found another Basilica conjoined to it, so we went it and found a small square church by with the underside of the dowm gloriously painted.
We sat for a wile in the cool before moving on, but crowds at the entrance to the cathedral meant we thought we would return on Friday, early, to beat the crowds. It was half eleven, and in trying somewhere to shady to sit, I find two more churches which to visit, the second a service began at midday. We did stay for ten minutes, but left in a break in play, and went back outside.
But being after midday, it meant bars and restaurants were open, and on a side street we fond a small place that did cold beer and were happy to make us a bowl of Valencian paella, made with chicken and rabbit. Paella takes at least half an hour to make, so we sat, talked and drank cold beers untel the tin pan full of rice, herbs, vegetables and meat was brought.
Once we had eaten, it being two in the afternoon, we walked back to the hotel for a siesta. Going was hard, but we walked on the shady side of the streets, and in 20 minutes we were back in our room, but it had yet to be serviced. When the maid came at three, we went and sat in the shade in the small park in the centre of the boulevard outside the hotel, watching people and traffic coming and going.
We sat in the room, writing and listening to podcasts until it was half six, and the heat of the day had left, to walk back to the centre for arts, so we could take shots of the complex once the sun set at quarter to nine.
In fact, the hour we took to ambe there on Wednesday could be done is close to 20 minutes if you don't stop every 20 yards to take photos. Who knew?
The paths and tracks were packed with people doing exercise, taking their dogs or children out for a walk, or just out.
Like us.
Once we reached the complex, crowds had thinned as all was closed to visitors, so it was just a hardy band of photographers and tourists waiting for the sun to set. We had 90 minutes to wait, so we walked up to the far end of the site, where the zoo was, and in there is another fine building, but it could not be seen from the road or paths, but the walk did increase our step could to over 16,000!
As the sun set, lights came on, so we walked back to the taxi rank, taking dozens, if not hundreds of shots, as the light changed minute by minute, and lights came on, illuminating and highlighting the shapes of the buildings.
Half nine, it was dark, and it took ten minutes for a taxi to come by that we could flag down, he whizzed us back to the hotel, and a walk over the road to the Irish bar where most of the city were inside watching the various games ebig shown. I got us a drink and we took them to sit on the cool pavement tables, watching the traffic and beautiful people passing by. Some were on their way out to paint the town, we were pooped, so went back to the hotel.
----------------------------------------------------
The space occupied by the parish church of San Nicolás has been considered sacred practically since the Roman foundation of the city. Apparently in this area a temple was already dedicated to pagan divinities and was a burial place outside the city walls, according to Roman custom.
Historical documents state that the first building was built in the time of King James I, who donated the place to the Dominicans who accompanied him. Years later the Dominicans founded the Convent of Santo Domingo (current Captaincy General building) and the temple was directly linked to the diocese of Valencia and the secular clergy. It was erected as a parish around 1242 and is included in the first twelve Christian parishes of the city of Valencia after the restoration of the Diocese in the year 1238.
It is the Dominicans who dedicate this new Parish to San Nicolás Obispo, patron saint of the Order, since its founder, Santo Domingo de Guzmán, was writing the Constitutions of the Order of Preachers at that time in the Convent of San Nicolás de Bologna.
Later, an altar was dedicated to San Pedro Mártir in this Parish. A miracle occurred in it that saved the life of a newborn, so the devotion in Valencia for this saint grew until San Pedro Mártir ended up being co-owner of the Parish. And although the church maintains, and as such they appear on its High Altar, the ownership of San Nicolás de Bari and San Pedro Mártir, the church is popularly known as San Nicolás.
Later, in the middle of the Golden Age, San Nicolás will be linked to relevant figures of this century such as the writer Jaume Roig, administrator of the parish; and Alfonso de Borja, future Pope Calixto III. It is the century in which San Nicolás is fully transformed into a Gothic building and is enlarged towards the feet.
Centuries later, it will experience the great Baroque transformation that results in the architectural adaptation of the building and its redecoration with the excellent fresco paintings that decorate it and that we can currently appreciate in all its splendor.
In the 19th century, the environment of the parish changed substantially, since the Plaza de San Nicolás was opened within the Interior Reform carried out by the Valencia City Council. The neo-Gothic south façade that opens onto the square stands out from this period.
During the Civil War of 1936-1939, San Nicolás suffered serious damage: the chapels were destroyed and the temple looted and turned into a warehouse. After this sad episode, the Parish was declared a National Historic-Artistic Monument in 1981.
And in the 21st century the architectural and pictorial restoration of the Parish began under the patronage of the Hortensia Herrero Foundation, whose magnificent result allows us to contemplate the Parish in all its splendor.
The primitive church built after the reconquest began its transformation towards Gothic between 1419 and 1455. In this last date the temple was enlarged towards the feet, occupying the place where the parish cemetery or fossar was located . The ribbed vault was also built in the central nave.
It is a church with a single nave with six sections, side chapels between the buttresses (six on each side although two of them are occupied by the side entrance doors) and a polygonal presbytery facing east.
Between 1690 and 1693 the Gothic interior is covered with Baroque decoration in the style of the time, a reform attributed to Juan Bautista Pérez Castiel. On the architectural reform, the fresco paintings designed by Antonio Palomino and executed by his disciple Dionís Vidal in 1700, who covered the Gothic vaults, pillars and walls with scenes from the life of San Nicolás de Bari and San Pedro Mártir, together with with allegories of the Virtues in risky foreshortenings.
Free poster in German (Deutsch)
E-CONFERENCE - In 2007 Planeta.com hosts an online conference focusing on Tourism and Migration. If you have a website, help us promote our coverage by adding a link to
www.planeta.com/ecotravel/tour/migration.html
A 468x60 banner and 150x60 logo are available for download
ANNOUNCEMENT
In 2007 Planeta.com hosts an online conference focusing on Tourism and Migration which will highlight timely news and innovative work around the world.
www.planeta.com/ecotravel/tour/migration.html
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE - The Tourism and Migration E-Conference is Planeta's 18th formal e-conference. The format will differ from previous events in that dialogue will run over six months.
January/February - Dialogue among co-sponsors and those who register early.
March/April - Additional participants will be allowed entry in March and April.
May/June - Participants will conclude the dialogue by preparing recommendations and announcing individual and collaborative projects.
BACKGROUND - Tourism enterprises are increasingly considered as as providing an alternative to migration and a vehicle to alleviate poverty in developing economies by creating jobs. Likewise, tourists are staying longer in places -- blurring the distinction between tourism and migration. The Tourism and Migration E-Conference will address these issues and allow participants time to prepare recommendations and announce individual and collaborative endeavors.
REQUIREMENTS - Active participants are asked to have a professional interest in tourism or migration. You don't have to be an expert in both topics. Active participants will be required to post an introduction and to post at least two messages per month. An account on the Planeta Forum is necessary for active participation, though the posts can be read by all.
SPONSORS - Sponsorship opportunities are available.
YOUR TURN
CALL FOR PAPERS - Planeta.com is seeking ordinal essays and recommended links to resources elsewhere on the Web. If you care to contribute an article or suggest a link, consult our writers' guidelines.
www.planeta.com/ecotravel/search/guide.html
CREATE A BUZZ - If you have a website, help us promote our coverage by adding a link to
www.planeta.com/ecotravel/tour/migration.html
A 468x60 banner is available for download
www.flickr.com/photos/planeta/336671972
A 150x60 logo is also available
www.flickr.com/photos/planeta/339020899
QUESTIONS
We ask participants to reflect upon the following questions:
What is the difference between slow travel and migration?
How effective is tourism in creating jobs and providing an alternative to migration?
What role do long-term foreign residents play in educating visitors?
Are investments in tourism training and infrastructure a viable outlet for migrant remittances?
To what degree does tourism development displace local people?
REFERENCES
Tourism and Migration
www.planeta.com/ecotravel/tour/migration.html
Forum
forum.planeta.com/viewforum.php?f=60
Forum Guidelines
www.planeta.com/worldforum.html
Conferencing in the Virtual and Natural Worlds
www.planeta.com/web/conferences.html
Conference Index
33 – G Russell Pollock Residence – 2236 S Hobart Blvd – 1936
Built after the early covenants had expired, which required a first-class two-story residence, this single-story cottage was allowed in a neighborhood of station homes and mansions. Whether it was built for G Russell Pollock is unclear, but he’s listed at the property in the 1942 City Directory. Pollock was associated with the early breakaway offshoot of the Jehovah Witnesses – the Dawn Bible Students Association. During the 1960’s Pollock acted as the narrator for the “Frank and Earnest” radio program and a moderator for the television show. William H and Emily L Norment resided here in the 1950’s. Emily died in 1965 and William passed in 1977. Both are buried at nearby Angeles-Rosedale Cemetery.
West Adams Heights
“Nowadays we scarcely notice the high stone gates which mark the entrances on Hobart, Harvard, and Oxford streets, south of Washington Boulevard. For one thing, the traffic is too heavy, too swift; and then, again, the gates have been obscured by intrusions of shops and stores. At the base of the stone pillars appears the inscription “West Adams Heights.” There was a time when these entranceways were formidable and haughty, for they marked the ways to one of the first elite residential areas in Los Angeles. . . In the unplanned early-day chaos of Los Angeles, West Adams Heights was obviously something very special, an island in an ocean of bungalows—approachable, but withdrawn and reclusive—one of the few surviving examples of planned urban elegance of the turn of the century.”
- Carey McWilliams, “The Evolution of Sugar Hill,” Script, March, 1949: 30.
Today West Adams Heights is still obviously something special. The past sixty years, however, have not been kind. In 1963 the Santa Monica Freeway cut through the heart of West Adams Heights, dividing the neighborhood, obscuring its continuity. In the 1970’s the city paved over the red brick streets and removed the ornate street lighting. After the neighborhood’s zoning was changed to a higher density, overzealous developers claimed several mansions for apartment buildings. Despite these challenges, however, “The Heights,” as the area was once known, has managed to regain some of its former elegance.
The West Adams Heights tract was laid out in 1902, in what was then a wheat field on the western edge of town. Although the freeway now creates an artificial barrier, the original neighborhood boundaries were Adams Boulevard, La Salle Ave, Washington Boulevard, and Western Avenue. Costly improvements were integrated into the development, such as 75-food wide boulevards (which were some of the first contoured streets not to follow the city grid), lots elevated from the sidewalk, ornate street lighting, and large granite monuments with red-brass electroliers at the entrance to every street. These upgrades increased the lot values, which helped ensure the tract would be an enclave for the elite.
One early real estate ad characterized the neighborhood stating: “West Adams Heights needs no introduction to the public: it is already recognized as being far superior to any other tract. Its high and slightly location, its beautiful view of the city and mountains make t a property unequaled by any other in the city.”
The early residents’ were required to sign a detailed restrictive covenant. This hand-written document required property owners to build a “first-class residence,” of at least two stories, costing no less than two-thousand dollars (at a time when a respectable home could be built for a quarter of that amount, including the land), and built no less than thirty-five feet from the property’s primary boundary. Common in early twentieth century, another clause excluded residents from selling or leasing their properties to non-Caucasians.
By the mid 1930’s, however, most of the restrictions had expired. Between 1938 and 1945 many prominent African-Americans began to make “The Heights” their home. According to Carey McWilliams, West Adams Heights became known “Far and wide as the famous Sugar Hill section of Los Angeles,” and enjoyed a clear preeminence over Washington’s smart Le Droit Park, St. Louis’s Enright Street, West Philadelphia, Chicago’s Westchester, and Harlem’s fabulous Sugar Hill.
West Adams Heights, now also known as Sugar Hill, played a major role in the Civil Rights movement in Los Angeles. In 1938 Norman Houston, president of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company, and an African-American, purchased a home at 2211 South Hobart Boulevard. Legal Action from eight homeowners quickly ensued. During that period, other prominent African-Americans began to make Sugar Hill their home – including actress Hattie McDaniels, dentists John and Vada Summerville, actress Louise Beavers, band leader Johnny Otis, and performers Pearl Baily and Ethel Waters, and many more. On December 6, 1945, the “Sugar Hill Cases” were heard before Judge Thurmond Clark, in LA Superior Court. He made history by become the first judge in America to use the 14th Amendment to disallow the enforcement of covenant race restrictions. The Los Angeles Sentinel quoted Judge Clark: “This court is of the opinion that it is time that [African-Americans] are accorded, without reservations and evasions, the full rights guaranteed them under the 14th Amendment.” Gradually, over the last century people of nearly ever background have made historic West Adams their home.
The northern end of West Adams Heights is now protected as part of the Harvard Heights Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ). The Historic West Adams area of Los Angeles (which includes West Adams Heights) boasts the highest concentration of turn-of-the-century homes west of the Mississippi, as well as the highest concentration of National Historic Landmarks, National Register of Historic Places, National Historic Districts, State Historic Landmarks, Los Angeles Cultural-Historic Monuments, and Historic Preservation Overlay Zones in the city. The entirety of West Adams Heights should be nominated as a National Register Historic District, for the quality of homes, the prominence of the architects, notoriety of the people who lived in the neighborhood, and the role it played in civil rights.
Perhaps a quote adapted from a fireplace mantle in the Frederick Rindge mansion best symbolizes the optimism which exists in West Adams: “California Shall be Ours as Long as the Stars Remain.”
While the Mirage III/5 family had been extremely successful, the delta wings used in these designs required a long runway, and Mirage IIIs in combat had shown problems with stalling in high-G maneuvers. To counter these problems, the French Armee de l’Air asked Dassault to design a more conventional multirole aircraft. This became the Mirage F.2, but the F.2 proved to be too large and expensive for the AdA. Dassault had already begun design work on a smaller version as a private venture, the F.1. Despite being smaller than the Mirage III, the Mirage F.1 had longer range, better maneuverability without the stall problem, and only needed half the runway of its delta-winged cousins. The prototype took to the air in December 1966.
The AdA liked the design, but changed the requirement from a low-level strike aircraft to a multirole interceptor. This proved to be no trouble for Dassault, which simply enlarged the nose to take a multimode radar, and the first Mirage F.1C entered service in May 1973. Like most Dassault designs, the Mirage F.1’s reliability and low cost made it very attractive for export customers, and it was adopted by 13 air forces over the next decade. Also like the rest of the Mirage family, the Mirage F.1 was converted to a number of roles, acting as not only an air superiority fighter, but also for ground attack and reconnaissance.
Flying during the turbulent 1980s and 1990s in the Middle East, South America, and Africa, the Mirage F.1 was also to see a great deal of combat service. The first was Morocco, using its Mirages in attacks against Polisario Front guerillas in 1979, quickly followed by South Africa, using its Mirages quite successfully against Cuban-flown Angolan MiG-23s in border disputes; SAAF Mirage F.1s shot down at least two MiGs and proved resilient to damage, with two aircraft sustaining hits from SAMs and air-to-air missiles and still returning to base. Iraq was to employ their Mirage F.1s with some success in the Iran-Iraq War, and the type proved to be the only Iraqi fighter to be able to dogfight Iranian F-14 Tomcats with any success. Iraqi Mirages fared less well in the First Gulf War, where several were lost against US Air Force and Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 Eagles; Kuwait’s Mirage F.1s had already seen action against Iraq earlier during the Iraqi invasion that started the war, and a significant number of Iraqi Mirages ended up interned in Iran during the war, later being incorporated into the Iranian Air Force.
This was not the first time that two nations operating Mirage F.1s had the potential of fighting each other: France had already attacked Libya during the conflict in Chad in the early 1980s. The most recent combat involving Mirage F.1s was in Libya in 2011, again both France and Libya operating the type, though Libyan Mirages either remained on the ground or sought asylum in Malta. French Mirage F.1s have also seen action in Afghanistan and the Ivory Coast.
Though the Mirage F.1 is approaching 40 years in service, it remains a viable fighter, and still serves in eight air forces worldwide. France, ceding the fighter-interceptor role to the Mirage 2000, converted its Mirage F.1s to Mirage F.1CT standard, allowing the Armee de l’Air to replace the Mirage III/5s in service in the mid-1990s. With the entry of the Rafale into French service, the Mirage F.1’s days in its parent nation are numbered, and it is expected to be withdrawn within the next five years. 720 Mirage F.1s were built.
This is a Mirage F.1CE in service with the Spanish Air Force (Ejercito del Aire), serving with the 14th Wing at Albaceter air base. This aircraft carries the standard 1980s camouflage of Spanish Mirage F.1s, a desert-style scheme of brown, yellow, and dark green. It is configured for the interceptor mission, with two Matra R530 radar-guided missiles beneath the wings and two wingtip Matra R550 Magic infrared missiles. Affectionately known as Abuela (“Grandma”) in Spanish service, the last Mirage F.1 left the EdA in 2014 in favor of the Eurofighter Typhoon.
i. After dark fireflies create 'cold light' through a chemical reaction in an organ in their abdomen. Flash rates vary between species and with temperature. This behavioural phenomena is thought to have both sexual attracting and defensive functions. I was holidaying in rural Italy when lucky enough to witness a firefly display several evenings in a row. Capturing these intermittently visible moving targets in a photograph was a new challenge for me requiring experimentation principally with exposure & ISO. Location: Sibillini National Park, Le Marche, Italy. ii. Technical: Nikon D700, Sigma 12-24mm lens @ 19mm, 20sec at f/6.3, ISO 1250, table. iii. Processing: exposure, noise reduction, colour luminance
Coronavirus COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 PPE MASKS OR FACE COVERINGS REQUIRED IN PUBLIC WHEN NOT 6FT FROM OTHERS notification sign Montauk Hamlet Town of East Hampton Long Island NY USA August 2020
Montauk Hamlet Town of East Hampton Long Island NY USA
iPhone XS Max photo
August 28th 2020
Montauk is a hamlet in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island.
Montauk is a major tourist destination and has six state parks. It is particularly famous for its fishing, claiming to have more world saltwater fishing records than any other port in the world.
Montauk Point Lighthouse
The first lighthouse in New York State
Commissioned by President George Washington
Constructed 1796
A National Historic Landmark
The Montauk Point Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in New York State. The Lighthouse was authorized by the Second Congress, under President George Washington, in 1792. Construction began on June 7, 1796, and was completed on November 5, 1796. It still serves as an aid to navigation. The Montauk Point Lighthouse was designated a National Historic Landmark in recognition of the property’s national significance in the history of the United States on March 5, 2012, by the Secretary of the Interior.
Montauk Point Lighthouse. Located at the tip of eastern Long Island. Montauk lighthouse provides unforgettable 360° views of Block Island Sound, Atlantic Ocean and beyond. Whether you’re in town for a week or a day, no visit to Montauk is complete without experiencing the top of the Montauk Lighthouse.
The Montauk Music Festival (MMF) was founded in 2009 and features live waterside concerts and concerts throughout the town ( often held in the month of May the weekend before Memorial Day)
Noah Acosta (Romantic pop singer from Villahermosa Tabasco México) filmed the music video "Asi Es El Amor" / "This Is The Love" inside the Montauk Point Lighthouse and Atlantic Ocean Beach by RYANISLAND Films in 2002
Seal Hikes At Montauk Point State Park
A State Park naturalist will lead visitors on a 2-3 hour long leisurely beach walk to an area where up to four species of seals can be observed. Along the hike, see many winter birds and explore marine geology.
Montauk Point State Park parking 8am to 4pm - $8.00
Montauk Point Lighthouse admission - $10.00
Montauk Lighthouse Gift Shop - Free admission
Seal walk - $4.00
Montauk Lighthouse
2000 Montauk Highway,
Montauk, NY 11954
Kirk Park Beach Atlantic Ocean Beach $35.00 daily parking
Hither Hills State Park is a 1,755-acre (7.10 km2) state park located on the eastern end of the South Fork of Long Island near the hamlet of Montauk, New York.
Hither Hills State Park offers visitors scenic picnic areas and fireplaces, sport fishing, a two-mile sandy ocean beach, a 40-acre freshwater lake, playing fields, a playground and a 190-site campground on the ocean.
Camping rate 1 day $35.00 ($245.00 Per Week)
Hither Hills State
164 Old Montauk Highway
Montauk, NY 11954
Long Island is 118 miles
Long Island Rail Road LIRR Penn Station to Montauk approximately 3 and half hour train ride each way
$44.50 for a round trip off peak LIRR ticket from Penn Station NYC to Montauk Long Island
Montauk Lighthouse and Museum - A National Historic Landmark - Montauk Point Light - Montauk Point State Park - The Surfcasting Capital Of The World - Georges Lighthouse Cafe - Atlantic Ocean Beach - Montauk The End - MTK The End - Montauk The Beginning - MTK The Beginning - Hamlet of Montauk - Town of East Hampton - Long Island - New York State
#HamletOfMontauk
#Montauk
#MontaukNY
#MontaukNewYork
#MontaukPointLighthouse
#MontaukLighthouse
#MontaukPointLight
#MontaukLight
#Lighthouse
#MontaukMuseum
#Museum
#NationalHistoricLandmark
#MontaukPointStatePark
#NewYorkStatePark
#StatePark
#Surfcasting
GeorgesLighthouseCafe
#AtlanticOcean
Beach
#MTK
#MontaukTheEnd
#MontaukTheBeginning
#TownOfEastHampton
#EastHampton
#EastHamtonNY
#LongIsland
LINY
LongIslandNY
LongIslandNewYork
#NewYork
#2020
#SaltLife
#ThisIsMontauk
#DiscoverLongIsland
#ExploreLongIsland
USA
Schools children after studying in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Most Sri Lanka schools require the children to wear school uniforms.
CUSTOM ORDERS REQUIRE AT LEAST 14 DAYS' NOTICE
Available in your choice of colors and flavors.
email brian@retrobakerylv.com for details and pricing.
RETRO BAKERY
This image requires you to look up into the top left corner, or you'll miss it :)
Dads face can be seen there, watching over the fawns.
The second fawn is feelin' frisky, and beginning to jump up..
Early one overcast morning..
Sacher cake
180 years is the Sachertorte old. It belongs so inextricably to Vienna as St. Stephen's Cathedral and the Vienna Boys' Choir. The chocolate cake with apricot jam and chocolate icing is probably the most famous cake in the world and in Austria a national institution. The secret of its pleasant taste lies in the simplicity of its composition and the perfect proportions of its ingredients. The original recipe by the Hotel Sacher is kept like a state secret. Currently, every year are produced around 300,000 original Sacher cakes by the Hotel Sacher. And because this is partly performed by hand, for this 21 pastry chefs and 25 packers are required. According to Adam Riese, representing about 40 pies per day and confectioner. The consumption of apricot jam alone lies by 70 tons per year.
The history of the Sacher Torte began in 1832 when Prince Metternich for the wedding of a friend of his, a painter, ordered his court kitchen to create a special dessert for his celebrity guests. "But that he did not bring shame on me, tonight!" the prince is supposed to have said to his head cook. Because this one but became ill (some sources say that he had shirked his responsibility), the last person in charge remained the 16-year-old pastry apprentice Franz Sacher (1816-1907).
So Franz Sacher invented the forerunner of future Sachertorte. Both the prince and his guests were wowed by the result. As trained cook, Franz Sacher after a few years of professional experience made himself independent and worked for the time being in Bratislava and then for a time on Danube ships between Vienna and Budapest. In 1848, he returned to Vienna and opened here a deli. Soon the chocolate cake of Franz Sacher became a bestseller.
Really famous became the Sachertorte only by Sacher's son Eduard Sacher (1843-1892) who during his training at the kuk Court Sugar Bakery Demel completed the indivual preparation of the pie in the form as we known it today. The Sachertorte was initially offered as an Original Sacher-Torte at Demel and later also in the by Eduard Sacher in the year 1876 founded Hotel. Decisive for the success of the hotel was Anna Sacher (1859-1930), the widow of Eduard Sacher, an energetic woman who not only smoked cigars but also knew how to inspire Vienna's "High Society" for herself and her hotel.
After the death of Anna Sacher and the bankruptcy of the hotel in 1934, the latter was sold and Eduard's son bearer of the same forename remained only the recipe of the Original Sacher-Torte, which he transferred to the Patisserie Demel.
Sachertorte
1938 saw the first disagreement with the new owners of the hotel who introduced the street sale of Sacher-Torte and had registered the designation of "Original Sacher-Torte" as a trademark. Thereupon, flared up between the pastry shop Demel and the Hotel Sacher a dispute over the right to the name.
In the decades ongoing lawsuits, also the authenticity of the individual preparation was a central point, namely the question whether the mandatory layer of apricot jam only should be spread under the chocolate icing (standpoint of Patisserie Demel) or if there had to be a second one in the middle of the cake (point of view of Hotel Sacher), and whether margarine should be mixed.
The famous journalist and writer Friedrich Torberg, who was a regular guest both in Demel as well at the Hotel Sacher, testified in court that the Sachertorte during the lifetime of Anna Sacher certainly not had a jam layer in the middle.
The legal wrangling extended through all instances. In 1963, finally, an agreement was reached out of court, as the Supreme Court Solomon-like differentiated between "real" and "original-cake": The Sacher Torte of Hotel Sacher from then on is allowed to display a round seal with the label "Original Sacher-Torte" while Demel a triangular seal "Eduard-Sacher-Torte" shows. Both Sacher cakes differ mainly by their jam layers. The Hotel Sacher-variant has two jam layers below the chocolate coating and in the center of the pie while the Demel version has only a jam layer below the chocolate coating.
Preparation
But Viennese people can be very rebellious when the authority wants to dictate them something. They have taken sides and vote with their feet by going to "Demel". Their Sacher-Torte is already referred to as the "real Sacher-Torte" in the vernacular.
The individual preparation of the "Original Sacher-Torte" is held by Hotel Sacher strictly under wraps. All the hotel's pastry chefs have signed that they do not pass on the recipe and are also not entitled to use it further on if they were to leave the company once. They assume liability. The products which are used to prepare the cake are created exclusively for the Hotel Sacher. The secret of the Sachertorte is not so much stuck in the ingredients but in the chocolate glaze, consisting of three special types of chocolate which are produced by various manufacturers especially for the Hotel Sacher, the exact mixing ratio being known only by Sacher-confectioners.
The fact that this recipe for success has found imitators, was to be expected. Everywhere in the world, is a chocolate cake that has been coated with one or more layers of apricot jam and covered with chocolate, called "Sachertorte". In Austria, but the lawmakers are more accurate. The term "Original Sacher-Torte" is a registered trademark that may be used exclusively by the Vienna Hotel Sacher. The term "Sachertorte" alone, but has now become a generic term which may be used for products which are produced according to the laid down in the Austrian Food Codex specifications.
Sachertorte
180 Jahre ist die Sachertorte alt. Sie gehört so untrennbar zu Wien wie der Stephansdom und die Wiener Sängerknaben. Die Schokoladentorte mit Marillenmarmelade und Schokoladenglasur ist vermutlich die berühm-tes-te Torte der Welt und in Österreich eine nationale Institution. Das Ge-heimnis ihres Wohlgeschmacks liegt in der Einfachheit ihrer Komposition und den perfekten Verhältnissen ihrer Zu-ta-ten. Das Originalrezept wird vom Hotel Sacher streng geheim gehalten. Zurzeit werden vom Hotel Sacher jedes Jahr etwa 300.000 Original-Sachertorten hergestellt. Und weil dies teilweise in Handarbeit ge-schieht, werden dafür 21 Konditoren und 25 Verpacker benötigt. Laut Adam Riese entspricht dies etwa 40 Torten pro Tag und Konditor. Allein der Verbrauch an Marillenmarmelade liegt bei 70 Tonnen pro Jahr.
Die Geschichte der Sachertorte begann im Jahr 1832, als Fürst Metternich zur Hochzeit eines befreundeten Malers seine Hofküche beauftragte, für seine prominenten Gäste ein besonderes Dessert zu erschaffen. "Dass er mir aber keine Schand’ macht, heut Abend!" soll der Fürst zu seinem Chefkoch gesagt haben. Weil dieser aber krank wurde (manche Quellen behaupten, er habe sich vor der Verantwortung gedrückt), blieb die Aufgabe am 16-jährigen Kon-ditorlehrling Franz Sacher (1816–1907) hängen.
Foto von David Monniaux (GNU-Lizenz für freie Dokumentation)
So erfand Franz Sacher die Vorläuferin der zukünftigen Sachertorte. Sowohl der Fürst als auch seine Gäste waren vom Ergebnis hingerissen. Als aus-ge-lern-ter Koch machte sich Franz Sacher nach einigen Jahren Berufserfahrung selb-ständig und arbeitete zu-nächst in Pressburg und dann eine Zeit lang auf Do-nau-schiffen zwischen Wien und Budapest. 1848 kehrte er zurück nach Wien und eröffnete hier einen Feinkostladen. Bald wurde die Schokoladetorte des Franz Sacher ein Verkaufsschlager.
Wirklich bekannt wurde die Sachertorte erst durch Sachers Sohn Eduard Sacher (1843–1892), der während seiner Ausbildung beim k.u.k. Hof-zu-cker-bäcker Demel die Rezeptur der Torte in ihrer heute bekannten Form vollendete. Die Sachertorte wurde zunächst als Original Sacher-Torte beim Demel und erst später auch im von Eduard 1876 gegründeten Hotel Sacher angeboten. Entscheidend für den Erfolg des Hotels war Anna Sacher (1859-1930), die Witwe von Eduard Sacher, eine energische Frau, die nicht nur Zigarre rauchte, sondern auch Wiens "High Society" für sich und ihr Hotel zu begeistern wusste.
Nach dem Tod von Anna Sacher und dem Kon-kurs des Hotels im Jahr 1934, wurde letzteres verkauft und Eduards gleich-na-mi-gem Sohn blieb nur noch das Rezept der Original Sacher-Torte, das er der Konditorei Demel übertrug.
Sachertorte
Auf den Pfeil in der Mitte klicken
1938 kam es zu ersten Meinungsverschiedenheiten mit den neuen Besitzern des Hotels, die den Straßenverkauf der Sacher-Torte einführten und die Be-zeich-nung "Original Sacher-Torte" als Markenzeichen eintragen ließen. Da-rauf-hin entbrannte zwischen der Konditorei Demel und dem Hotel Sacher ein Streit um das Recht auf diesen Namen.
In den jahrzehntelang anhaltenden Prozessen ging es auch um die Echtheit der Rezeptur, nämlich darum, ob die obligatorische Schicht Marillen-Mar-me-la-de nur unter die Schokoladenglasur (Standpunkt der Konditorei Demel) ge-hö-re, oder ob es eine zweite in der Mitte der Torte (Standpunkt des Hotel Sa-cher) geben müsse, und ob Margarine beigemischt werden dürfe.
Der berühmte Journalist und Schriftsteller Friedrich Torberg, der sowohl im Demel als auch im Hotel Sacher Stammgast war, bezeugte vor Gericht, dass zu Anna Sachers Lebzeiten die Sacher-Tor-te keinesfalls eine Marme-la-den-schicht in der Mitter gehabt habe.
Die gerichtlichen Auseinandersetzungen erstreckten sich durch alle Instanzen. 1963 einigte man sich schließlich außergerichtlich, als das oberste Gericht sa-lo-monisch zwischen "echter" und "Original"-Torte differenzierte: Die Sa-cher-tor-te vom Hotel Sacher [] darf von da an ein rundes Siegel mit der Auf-schrift "Original Sacher-Torte" führen, während der Demel [] ein dreieckiges Siegel mit der Aufschrift "Eduard-Sa-cher-Torte" führt. Die beiden Sachertorten unterscheiden sich vor allem durch ihre Marmeladenschichten. Die Hotel-Sa-cher-Variante weist zwei Mar-me-la-den-schich-ten auf, unterhalb der Kuvertüre und in der Mitte der Torte, während die Demel-Version nur eine Marme-la-den-schicht unterhalb der Kuvertüre aufweist.
Zubereitung
Auf den Pfeil in der Mitte klicken
Aber die Wiener können sehr widerspenstig sein, wenn die Obrigkeit ihnen etwas vorschreiben will. Sie haben Partei ergriffen und stimmen mit den Fü-ßen ab, indem sie zum "Demel" gehen. Deren Sacher-Torte wird im Volks-mund längst als die "Echte Sacher-Torte" bezeichnet.
Die Rezeptur der "Original Sacher-Torte" wird vom Hotel Sacher streng unter Verschluss gehalten. Alle Konditoren des Hotels haben unterschrieben, dass sie das Rezept nicht weitergeben und auch nicht weiter verwenden dürfen, falls sie den Betrieb einmal verlassen sollten. Sie haften dafür. Die Produkte, die zur Herstellung der Torte verwendet werden, werden exklusiv für das Hotel Sacher erstellt. Das Geheimnis der Sachertorte soll nicht so sehr in den Zutaten stecken, sondern in der Schokoladenglasur, die aus drei besonderen Schokoladensorten bestehen, die von unterschiedlichen Herstellern extra für das Hotel Sacher produziert werden, wobei das genaue Mischverhältnis nur den Sacher-Konditoren bekannt ist.
Dass dieses Erfolgsrezept Nachahmer gefunden hat, war zu erwarten. Überall auf der Welt wird eine Schokoladetorte, die in einer oder mehre-ren Schichten mit Marillen-Mar-me-la-de bestrichen und mit Schoko-la-de über-zo-gen worden ist, "Sachertorte" genannt. In Österreich nimmt es der Gesetz-ge-ber aber ge-nau-er. Die Bezeichnung "Ori-gi-nal Sacher-Torte" ist ein ge-schütztes Marken-zei-chen, das ausschließlich vom Wiener Hotel Sacher ver-wen-det werden darf. Der Begriff "Sachertorte" allein, ist ber mittlerweile ein Gattungsbegriff ge-worden, der für Produkte verwendet werden darf, die nach den im Öster-rei-chi-schen Lebensmittelkodex festgehaltenen Angaben hergestellt werden.
Tribal Carpets of Afghanistan
To write effectively and intelligently about carpets from the tribal areas of Afghanistan and the former central Asian States of the USSR would require many years of experience and personal knowledge of these carpet making regions. Unfortunately, we don't qualify in any of these areas, but I do have a number of reference books written by experts in the field- and the following is a compilation of observations from these volumes.
This clause will only serve to help put the background of the carpet making areas in central Asia in some perspective, and to help identify some of the more recognizable afghan rug designs and characteristics of carpets from these areas. When one considers the source of carpets from Afghanistan and the Former States of the USSR one must realize that the tribal peoples of the mountains really dont comprehend or honour modern geopolitical borders. Specific tribes exist on both sides and across the modern borders as if they didnt exist. The Baluchi tribes for example, extend from Eastern Iran through Western Afghanistan and into Pakistan. Similarly, the Turkoman tribes extend all across the northern borders.
Herat, in the Western part of Afghanistan, has a history of over two thousand five hundred years and was once occupied by Alexander the Great, and subsequently invaded by Mongols led by Genghis Khan and then Tamerlan in the 13th century. Herat was considered part of the Persian Empire, and the Persian influence in carpet making in Herat is still seen.
Types Of Carpets
There are many names for the type of weavings found in Afghanistan and Central Asia. For example, in Herat and the Northern Turkmen tribes an ensi (or engsi) is a rug designed to serve as an internal tent door. This same design is called a Hatchli (or Hatchlu) in Iran, and a purdah (or purdhu) in other parts of Afghanistan - all of them referring to a door curtain or closure.
A young tribal girl who has been taught the art of carpet weaving from a young age would probably have the following carpets and weavings in her dowry:
One Main Carpet (ghali) 9ft.10in. x 7ft.
Two small rugs (dip ghali) 6ft. x 3ft.
One engsi
One decoration for over the engsi (kapunuk)
12 small personal belonging bags 2ft.x1.5ft. and 4ft.x 1.5 ft. (mafrash & torba)
two large bedding bags (chuval or Juwal) always made in pairs
three decorated tent-bands (aq yup) 50 ft long and 2 inch to 1 ft wide
Materials: The material used for making tribal rugs are basically what these nomads have at their immediate disposal: wool from their sheep which is used in the warp and weft as well as the pile. Some tribes use goat hair for overbidding the sides (selvedges) or rugs. Camel hair is especially prized for the field areas of prayer carpets. When possible the sheep are driven into streams to wash them prior to shearing. The wool is then sorted by color and quality and then combed and spun. The wool is then dyed one person can generally can generally spin one kilo per day.
Dyes: Natural dyes are still used, but since the 1950s pre-dyed wool yarn (using synthetic dyes) readily found in the towns and villages are often substituted for or combined with the natural dyes. The wild colors (some almost iridescent) often found in many Afghan carpets are surely synthetics. In natural dying, the yarn is presoaked in a fixing bath of alum, copper sulfate, ferrous sulfate, tin or urine. The yarn is then transferred to a dye bath and soaked until the desired color is obtained. The yarn is then washed and hung out to dry. Dying was usually done by the men. Natural dyes fade beautifully and often show as uneven coloring (abrash). Abrash (meaning speckled or marbled) is commonly the result of a weaver running out of wool and having to dye another lot or buying a similar color from elsewhere. Abrash in no way detracts from the value of a tribal carpet, but is a desirable characteristic of a tribal weaving. Naturally dyed wool will fade right through whereas synthetic dyes will fade only on the tips where the light hits it. A newer tribal carpet can be "mellowed" by placing it in the direct sun for several days.
Natural dyes originate from the following materials:
Reds: Madder - Root of Madder Plant - (ranges from reds to orange and purple)
Cochineal: produced from the female shield louse (Blue /red tone)
Lac Deep purple: from the excretions of a scale insect native to India Kermes. From an insect which breeds on the Kermes oak
Blues: Indigo plant (Dyers Wood)
Black: Can be achieved by using a very dark blue or by use of a bath of tannic acid, acorn cups, pomegranate skin, oak galls, and then adding to a bath iron sulphate to make the color fast. This can produce a weakness in the black wool which in carpets 50 to 100 years old can be seen as worn black areas where the remaining pile is still OK.
Yellow: Many sources including; Dyers weed; Saffron; wild chamomile; tanners sumac; buckthorn; pomegranate tree; isperek (a flowering larkspur)
Green: Obtained from walnuts and olive leaves? Or by blending blue and yellow agents
Brown: Can be natural undyed wool or by dying with fresh or dried pods of the walnut, oak guls or acorn cups.
Looms: Tribal carpets are almost always done on the horizontal or ground loom. This is due to the fact that the nomads rarely remain in one location for more than two months. The horizontal loom can be easily dismantled and packed on an animal to the new location and then staked out on the ground again. A Turkoman woman will usually take at least six months to finish a carpet 6ft.6in. by 4ft. The loom therefore can be set up and taken down four to six times before a carpet or Kelim is finished. This often results in different tensions in the warp threads and is the reason why tribal rugs often have an irregular shape. While this irregularity is part of the charm of a tribal rug, carpets which do not lie flat should be avoided
Burmese lacquerware requires time, skill, a steady hand, and an eye for design to transform simple wood or metal surfaces into richly decorated objects.
For the story and the full "process", visit my PhotoBlog: www.ursulasweeklywanders.com/travel/hands-at-work-u-ba-ny...
I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the outcast.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Allah’s peace be upon Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), the glorious Prophet of Islam, and on his Companions and his followers.
TASAWWUF
"There is no doubt that Tasawwuf is an important branch of Islam. The word itself may have been derived form the Arabic word "Soof" (Wool) or from "Safa" (cleanliness), but its foundation lies in one’s personal sincerity in seeking Allah’s nearness and trying to live a life pleasing to Him. Study of the Quran, the Hadith, and the practical life of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) and his faithful Companions provide unmistakable support to this reality." (Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A)
SUFISM, AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ISLAM
Doubts exist not only in the minds of the Muslim faithful but also among the Ulema, notably the exoteric about Tasawwuf and its votaries. Often they lead to misunderstanding, as if Shariah and Tariqah were two separate entries, or that Tasawwuf was some obscure discipline foreign to Islam, or that it was altogether above the established laws and injunctions of our Religion. To help remove these misgivings and to reassure seekers, as well as scholars, our Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), Sheikh Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia, wrote Al-Jamal Wal Kamal, Aqaid-O-Kamalaat Ulmai-e-Deoband, Binat-e-Rasool (S.A.W), Daamad-e-Ali (R.A), Dalael-us-Salook, Ejaad-e-Mazhab Shia, Hayat-un-Nabi (S.A.W), Hayat Barzakhia, Ilm-o-Irfan, Niffaz-e-Shariat Aur Fiqah-e-Jaferia, Saif-e-Owaisi, Shikast-e-Ahdai Hussain and Tahkeek Halal Haram books.
BIOGRAPHY
Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chakrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The very year, he met Shaykh Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Shaykh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was right away established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years. In 1962 he was directed to carry out the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular enthusiasm and devotion for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss as per his/her sincerity and capacity. Shaykh Allah Yar Khan's mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and distinction.
Although Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A) have lived a major portion of his life as a scholar, with the avowed mission of illuminating the truth of Islam and the negation of fallacious sects, and this would appear quite removed from Tasawwuf, yet the only practical difference between the two, namely the use of the former as a media to expound the truth, and the latter to imbue people with positive faith. Nevertheless, people are amazed that a man, who until the other day, was known as a dialectician and a preacher of Islam, is not only talking of Mystic Path, but is also claiming spiritual bonds with the veteran Sufi Masters of the Past. This amazement is obviously out of place in the view of Quranic injunction: This is the bounty of Allah which He gives to whom He wills. (62:4)
THE PURIFICATION OF THE SOUL
The purification of the soul always formed part of the main mission of the Prophets; that is, the dissemination and propagation of the Devine Message. This responsibility later fell directly on the shoulders of the true Ulema in the Ummah of the last Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), who, as his genuine successors, have continued to shed brave light in every Dark Age of materialism and sacrilege. In the present age of ruinous confusion, the importance of this responsibility has increased manifold; of the utter neglect of Islam by Muslims has not only driven them to misery, but also grievously weakened their bonds of faith in Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). The decay in their belief and consequent perversion in their conduct has reached a stage that any attempt to pull them out of the depth of ignominy and the heedless chaos of faithlessness, attracts grave uncertainties and apprehensions rather than a encouraging will to follow the Shariah, to purify the soul and to reform within. The Quranic Verse: Layers upon layers of darkness… (24:40) provides the nearest expression of their present state.
SHARIAH & SUFISM
Any action against the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) cannot be called Sufism. Singing and dancing, and the prostration on tombs are not part of Sufism. Nor is predicting the future and predicting the outcome of cases in the courts of law, a part of Sufism. Sufis are not required to abandon their worldly possessions or live in the wilderness far from the practical world. In fact these absurdities are just its opposites. It is an established fact that Tazkiyah (soul purification) stands for that inner purity which inspires a person’s spirit to obey the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If a false claimant of Sufism teaches tricks and jugglery, ignoring religious obligations, he is an impostor. A true Sheikh will lead a believer to the august spiritual audience of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If you are fortunate enough to be blessed with the company of an accomplished spiritual guide and Sheikh of Sufism, and if you follow his instructions, you will observe a positive change in yourself, transferring you from vice to virtue.
ISLAM, AS A COMPLETE CODE OF LIFE
Islam, as a complete code of life or Deen, was perfected during the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). He was the sole teacher and his mosque was the core institution for the community. Although Islam in its entirety was practiced during that blessed era, the classification and compilation of its knowledge into distinct branches like ‘Tafsir’ (interpretation of the Quran), Hadith (traditions or sayings of the holy Prophet- SAWS), Fiqh (Islamic law), and Sufism (the soul purification) were undertaken subsequently. This Deen of Allah passed from the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) to his illustrious Companions in two ways: the outward and the inward. The former comprised the knowledge defined by speech and conduct, i.e., the Quran and Sunnah. The latter comprised the invisible blessings or the Prophetic lights transmitted by his blessed self. These blessings purified the hearts and instilled in them a passionate desire to follow Islam with utmost love, honesty and loyalty.
WHAT’S SUFISM
Sufism is the attempt to attain these Barakah (Blessings). The Companions handed down Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) teachings as well as blessings to the Taba’een. Their strong hearts were capable of infusing these blessings into the hearts of their followers. Both aspects of Islam were similarly passed on by the Taba’een to the Taba Taba’een. The compilation of knowledge and its interpretation led to the establishment of many schools of religious thought; famous four being the Hanafi, the Hanbali, the Maliki, and the Shafa'i, all named after their founders. Similarly, in order to acquire, safeguard and distribute his blessings, an organized effort was initiated by four schools of Sufism: The Naqshbandia, the Qadria, the Chishtia, and the Suharwardia. These schools were also named after their organizers and came to be known as Sufi Orders. All these Orders intend to purify the hearts of sincere Muslims with Prophetic lights. These Sufi Orders also grew into many branches with the passage of time and are known by other names as well. The holy Quran has linked success in this life and the Hereafter with Tazkiyah (soul purification). He, who purified, is successful. (87: 14) Sufi Orders of Islam are the institutions where the basics of Tazkiyah (soul purification) and its practical application are taught. They have graded programs in which every new seeker is instructed in Zikr-e Lisani (oral Zikr) and is finally taught the Zikr-e Qalbi (Remembrance in heart).
ZIKR-E QALBI
However, in the Naqshbandia Order, Zikr-e Qalbi is practiced from the very beginning. Adherence to the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) is greatly emphasized in this Order, because the seeker achieves greater and quicker progress through its blessings. The essence of Zikr is that the Qalb should sincerely accept Islamic beliefs and gain the strength to follow the Sunnah with even greater devotion. ‘If the heart is acquainted with Allah and is engaged in His Zikr; then it is filled with Barakaat-e Nabuwwat (Prophetic blessings) which infuse their purity in the mind and body. This not only helps in controlling sensual drives but also removes traces of abhorrence, voracity, envy and insecurity from human soul. The person therefore becomes an embodiment of love, both for the Divine and the corporeal. This is the meaning of a Hadith, “There is a lump of flesh in the human body; if it goes astray the entire body is misguided, and if it is reformed the entire body is reformed. Know that this lump is the Qalb”.’
PAS ANFAS
Recent History Khawajah Naqshband (d. 1389 CE) organized the Naqshbandia Order at Bukhara (Central Asia). This Order has two main branches – the Mujaddidia and the Owaisiah. The former is identified with Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi, known as Mujaddid Alif Sani (literally: reviver of the second Muslim millennium), a successor to Khawajah Baqi Billah, who introduced the Order to the Indo- Pakistan sub-continent. The Owaisiah Order employs a similar method of Zikr but acquires the Prophetic blessings in the manner of Khawajah Owais Qarni, who received this beneficence from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) without a formal physical meeting. The Zikr employed by the Naqshbandia is ‘Zikr-e Khafi Qalbi’ (remembrance of Allah’s Name within the heart) and the method is termed ‘Pas Anfas’, which (in Persian) means guarding every breath. The Chain of Transmission of these Barakah, of course, emanates from the holy Prophet- SAWS.
SPIRITUAL BAI’AT (OATH OF ALLEGIANCE
It is necessary in all Sufi Orders that the Sheikh and the seekers must be contemporaries and must physically meet each other for the transfer of these blessings. However, the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order goes beyond this requirement and Sufis of this Order receive these Barakah regardless of physical meeting with their Sheikh or even when the Sheikh is not their contemporary. Yet, it must be underscored that physical meeting with the Sheikh of this Order still holds great importance in dissemination of these Barakah. Sheikh Sirhindi writes about the Owaisiah Order in his book ‘Tazkirah’: ‘It is the most sublime, the most exalted, and the most effective…and the highest station of all others is only its stepping stone.’ By far the greatest singular distinction of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order is the honor of Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance) directly at the blessed hands of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W).
SHEIKH HAZRAT MOULANA ALLAH YAR KHAN (R.A)
The Reviver Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chikrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The same year, he met Sheikh ‘Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Sheikh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was immediately established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century CE) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years, after which he was directed to undertake the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular zeal and dedication for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss commensurate with his/her sincerity and capacity. Sheikh Allah Yar Khan’s mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and eminence. He authored eighteen books, the most distinguished being Dalael us-Sulook (Sufism - An Objective Appraisal), Hayat-e Barzakhiah (Life Beyond Life) and Israr ul- Haramain (Secrets of the two holy Mosques). He was undoubtedly one of the most distinguished Sufi saints of the Muslim Ummah and a reviver of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order. He passed away on 18 February 1984 in Islamabad at the age of eighty.
THE CHAIN OF TRANSMISSION OF NAQSHBANDIA OWAISIAH
1. Hazrat Muhammad ur-Rasool Allah (Sall Allah-o Alaihi wa Sallam), 2. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (Radhi Allah-o Unho), 3. Hazrat Imam Hassan Basri (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 4. Hazrat Daud Tai (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 5. Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 6. Hazrat Ubaid Ullah Ahrar (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 7. Hazrat Abdur Rahman Jami (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 8. Hazrat Abu Ayub Muhammad Salih (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 9. Hazrat Allah Deen Madni (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 10. Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi).
THE SPIRIT OR RUH
The spirit or Ruh of every person is a created reflection of the Divine Attributes and it originates in Alam-e Amar (Realm of Command). Its food is the Light of Allah or the Divine Refulgence, which it acquires from the Realm of Command through the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him), whose status in the spiritual world is like that of the sun in the solar system. The Quran refers to him as the ‘bright lamp’. Indeed, he is the divinely selected channel of all Barakah. All Exalted Messengers themselves receive these Barakah from him.
LATAIF
The human Ruh also possesses vital organs like the physical body; through which it acquires its knowledge, food and energy. These are called Lataif (singular Latifah: subtlety). Scholars of various Sufi Orders have associated them with specific areas of the human body. The Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order identifies these Lataif as follows. First - Qalb: This spiritual faculty is located within the physical heart. Its function is Zikr. Its strength increases one’s capacity for Allah’s Zikr. Second – Ruh: The site of this Latifah, which is a distinct faculty of the human Ruh, is on the right side of the chest at the level of Qalb. Its primary function is concentration towards Allah. Third – Sirri: This is located above the Qalb and functions to make possible Kashf. Forth – Khaffi: This is located above the Ruh and functions to perceive the omnipresence of Allah. Fifth – Akhfa: This is located in the middle of chest, at the centre of the first four Lataif and makes it possible for the Ruh to perceive the closeness of Allah, Who is closer to us than our own selves. Sixth – Nafs: This Latifah is located at the forehead and functions to purify the human soul. Seventh – Sultan al-Azkar: This Latifah is located at the top centre of the head and serves to absorb the Barakah of Allah into the entire body, so that every cell resonates with Zikr.
FIVE EXALTED MESSENGERS OF GOD
There are Five Exalted Messengers among the many known and unknown Messengers of Allah. They are Hazrat Muhammad, Hazrat Nuh (Noah), Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham), Hazrat Musa (Moses), and Hazrat Esa (Jesus), peace be upon them all. Hazrat Adam is the first Prophet of Allah and the father of mankind. Each Latifah is associated with a particular Prophet. The Barakah and lights from Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him), descend on the first Latifah Qalb; its lights are reflected from the first heaven and are yellowish. The second Latifah is associated with Hazrat Nuh and Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon them). Its lights descend from the second heaven and appear as golden red. The lights descending upon the third Latifah are from Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) and are white. One the fourth Latifah, the lights of Hazrat Esa (peace be upon him) descend from the fourth heaven and are deep blue. The fifth Latifah receives its Barakah directly from the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him). The lights associated with this Latifah are green, descend from the fifth heaven, and overwhelm all the first four Lataif. The Lights descending upon the sixth and seventh Lataif are the Divine Lights, whose color and condition cannot be determined. These are like flashes of lightening that defy comprehension. If Allah blesses a seeker with Kashf, he can observe all of this. The vision is slightly diffused in the beginning, but gradually the clarity improves.
SULOOK
Stages of the Path After all seven Lataif of a seeker have been illuminated with Divine Lights through Tawajjuh of the Sheikh and his Ruh has acquired the ability to fly, the Sheikh initiates its journey on the sublime Path of Divine nearness. The Path is known as Sulook, and its stages are not hypothetical imaginations but real and actually existing stations on the spiritual Path. These are also referred to as Meditations, because a seeker mentally meditates about a station while his/her Ruh actually ascends towards it. The first three stations that form the base of whole Sulook are described as; Ahadiyyat, a station of Absolute Unity of Divinity. It is above and beyond the seven heavens. It is so vast a station that the seven heavens and all that they encompass are lost within Ahadiyyat as a ring is lost in a vast desert. Its lights are white in color. Maiyyat station denotes Divine Company, ‘He is with you, wherever you might be.’ This station is so vast that Ahadiyyat along with the seven heavens beneath are lost within it as a ring is lost in a desert. Its lights are green in color. Aqrabiyyat station denotes Divine Nearness, ‘He is nearer to you than your life- vein.’ Again, Aqrabiyyat is vast as compared to Maiyyat in the same proportion. Its lights are golden red and are reflected from the Divine Throne. It is indeed the greatest favor of Almighty Allah that He blesses a seeker with an accomplished Sheikh, who takes him to these sublime stations. The final station that a seeker attains to during his/her lifetime becomes his/her Iliyyeen (blessed abode) in Barzakh and his/her Ruh stays at this station after death.
ZIKR
Why is Zikr Necessary for Everyone? Allah ordains every soul in the Quran to Perform Zikr. This not only means reciting the Quran and Tasbeeh but also Zikr-e Qalb. It is only through Zikr-e Qalbi that Prophetic Lights reach the depths of human soul and purify it from all vice and evil. Zikr infuses a realization of constant Divine Presence and a seeker feels great improvement in the level of sincerity and love towards Allah and the holy Prophet- SAWS. Such levels of sincerity, love and feelings of Divine Presence can never be obtained without Zikr. It would be a mistake to believe that Zikr may be a requirement only for the very pious and virtuous people. Zikr provides the Prophetic blessings which are in effect the life line of every human soul. It transforms even the most corrupted humans into virtuous souls by bringing out the best in them. The fact is that Zikr is the only way to achieve true contentment and satisfaction in life. The holy Quran has pointed to this eternal fact that it is only through Zikr Allah that hearts can find satisfaction. Such satisfaction and peace are the ultimate requirements of every person, regardless of religion, race and ethnicity. Practicing Zikr regularly removes all traces of anxiety and restlessness, and guides the human soul to eternal bliss and peace.
KHALIFA MAJAZEEN
Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), during his life time in 1974, presented a nomination list to Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), during Maraqba, of expected Khalifa Majazeen for Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia. Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) approved some names, deleted some of the names, and added down the name of Major Ghulam Muhammad as also Khalifa Majaaz of Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia (which was not previously included in the list)
The approved names at that time included:
1. Mr. Muhammad Akram Awan Sahib,
2. Mr. Sayed Bunyad Hussain Shah Sahib,
3. Mr. Major Ahsan Baig Sahib,
4. Mr. Col. Matloob Hussain Sahib,
5. Mr. Major Ghulam Muhammad Sahib of Wan Bhachran Mianwali,
6. Mr. Molvi Abdul Haq Sahib,
7. Mr. Hafiz Abdul Razzaq Sahib,
8. Mr. Hafiz Ghulam Qadri Sahib,
9. Mr. Khan Muhammad Irani Sahib,
10. Mr. Maolana Abdul Ghafoor Sahib,
11. Mr. Syed Muhammad Hassan Sahib of Zohb.
These Majazeen were authorized to; held Majalis of Zikar (Pas Anfas) in their respective areas, arrange Majalis of Zikar in neighboring areas, train them on the way of Sulook, prepare them for Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance), and present them to Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan for Spiritual Bai’at at the Hand of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), in the life of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), and were all equal in status as Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).
Presently we are following Hazrat Major ® Ghulam Muhammad Sahib, Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).
Saturday, 09 Nov 2013
GM 219 powers out of a temporary speed restriction (TSR) as it approaches Thomastown Gates with the 0700hrs InterCity service from Dublin Heuston to Cork, hauling the 4008 CAF MKIV set. The previous day, 207 had the same MKIV set on the 1400hrs InterCity service to Cork, seen here: www.flickr.com/photos/finnyus/10747135384/ at Shinanagh Gates.
Thomastown Gates (XC201) is normally closed to road traffic and only opened as required.
© Finbarr O'Neill
The British Heart Foundation hosts the 2017 Celebration of Life carol service at Middle Temple for staff, survivors and family of anyone connected to the charity. 9th December 2017
Photography by Fergus Burnett
Accreditation required with all use - 'fergusburnett.com
Copyright © 2012 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved
Part of a set of 4 based on the saying:
One for the mouse
One for the crow
One for the earth
and one to grow
meaning plant 4 seeds if you want 1 to grow. A friend complained that critters were eating the tomatoes from her garden - literally the fruits of her hard labor - and just taking a few nibbles and moving on to another. It reminded me of this saying that I remember reading in a farmer's almanac.
See the whole set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157631708466497...
2nd shift, 12/13/2024, Nashville, TN
Apple iPhone 13
iPhone 13 back dual wide camera 1.54mm f/2.4
ƒ/2.4 1.5 mm 1/30 2000
Instagram in B&W Only | wheremyrunningshoestakeme | Instagram in Color | Lens Wide-Open
Look at the left sleeve of the Saxon cadets uniform. Clearly required to grow into it.
Cadet schools were completely separate from the civilian schools. You could enter into a lower cadet school and eventually graduate from an upper cadet school. Movement between civilian schools, and cadet schools certainly happened in both directions. The lower cadet schools were entitled Voranstalt. There were eight Prussian lower cadet schools: Bensberg, Köslin (formerly) Culm, Karlsruhe, Naumburg, Oranienstadt, Plön, Postdam, and Walstadt. There was also a lower cadet school in Dresden, Saxony and one in lower Bavaria. The Prussian upper cadet school was called the Hauptkadettenanstalt (HKA) located at Gross-Lichterfelde. Prussian, Württemberg cadets aspired to attend the Prussian upper cadet school. Bavarian cadet schools stood alone and arguably were always better. The Abitur was a prerequisite for commissioning in the Bavarian army.
Cadets were an interesting lot. By 1910, two-thirds of the cadets were non-noble. The major investiture was the quasi-formal clothing ceremony. This picture of a Saxon Cadet shows how indifferent the issuers were for the size of the uniforms of the lower cadet schools. Prussian lower schools did not wear helmets, but each school had a unique uniform. If it was too large, you had no recourse in this issue uniform but to grow into it.Cadet life seemed to revolve around efforts to find food as their normal fare was inadequate.
Various Artists
Wednesday 6 - Friday 8 November, Check listing for times
Various Locations
Various Locations
Street Talks is a series of quickfire public talks, part of the Re@ct: Social Change Art Technology Symposium. Rather than your typical poster session, these talks will take place on the streets of Dundee in various locations. Free speech is essential to political and social change – these artists are quite literally taking it to the streets to share their creative practices.
Luisa Charles & Elke Reinhuber –Wednesday 6th November, 2pm, Slessor Gardens
Luisa Charles – discusses the intersections of disability and design, and how novel bespoke design practices could offer a solution to designing for all needs, where universal design could not. These design ideologies, that include co-design, individual centred design, mass customisation, and mass personalisation, are exemplified by case studies from pop culture design media, such as the Fixperts and BBC’s Big Life Fix. She analyses the social, technological, and economical shifts that are required for these practices to become mainstream, and the capability of bespoke design to cause enough disruption within the design economy to create a shift in capitalism.
Elke Reinhuber – The Urban Beautician moved recently from the speckless city state of Singapore, where she already developed her retirement plans, across the South China Sea, to protest-ridden Hong Kong. There, she observed how much effort the cleaners put up to keep these megapolises scrubbed and tidy. As they are frequently overlooked, the Urban Beautician captured some of them during their relentless daily routine. While they have adapted themselves to their particular duties, their skills are hardly ever honoured or even acknowledged. Paying homage to their Sisyphean challenge, they can be positioned now anywhere through Augmented Reality and venerated as perpetualised sculptures of our everyday heroes.The Urban Beautician tries to improve neglected details in our urban environment with interventions in public space and performances to camera. Since more than a decade she cares for things most people are oblivious to.
Ibarieze Abani and Daisy Abbott & Anders Zanichkowsky – Thursday 7th November, 1:30pm, Albert Square, by McManus Gallery Steps
Ibarieze Abani and Daisy Abbott – Transmedia storytelling uses multiple delivery channels to convey a narrative in order to provide a more immersive entertainment experience (Jenkins, 2009). Transmedia activism can be very broadly defined as using storytelling to “effect social change by engaging multiple stakeholders on multiple platforms to collaborate toward appropriate, community-led social action” (Srivastava, 2009). Activism depends on participation and collaboration within a community to avoid unsustainable or inappropriate top-down interventions. A similar concept, transmedia mobilization, uses transmedia storytelling to engage “the social base of a movement in participatory media making practices across multiple platforms” (Constanza-Chock, 2013) and also requires interaction from diverse voices from within the community.
Anders Zanichkowsky –“I Am in Your Hands: Smartphones and the erotics of the future”Social media artist and queer anarchist Anders Zanichkowsky will present excerpts and reflections from his current Grindr project, “Queen of Hearts,” as well as other recent projects reading Tarot cards on hookup apps and go-go dancing for a remote audience on Instagram. During this talk, Anders will use the same social media platforms that are the subject of his presentation, inviting you into the theory behind the work, and into the work itself. Equal parts cultural criticism, performance art, and experimental public speaking, this street talk will level the hierarchy of physical presence over virtual appearance, and scandalously suggest how thirst traps and sexting with strangers can indeed point us towards a radical future of queer intimacy and counterculture.
Mohammad Namazi & Matteo Preabianca – Friday 8th November, 1:30pm, Wellgate Centre, Victoria Road entrance
Mohammad Namazi – An Archive of Audio Disobedience, intervenes into the public realm, and collaborates with individuals, to construct a live-event. The event manifests through utilising a net-based sound archive, capable of involving participants in a collective form of sound-action, -publication, -demonstration, -performance, and -play.
The archive comprises various audio effects, sound segments, words, and computer-generated speeches – to stage a critical symphony, rooted in and derived from, socio-political concerns.
Matteo Preabianca – Mantra Marx is the eighth album for the NonMiPiaceIlCirco! Project. NonMiPiaceIlCirco! is a musical project that has been on since 2004, the year of the first album. Since then, the line-up has been in a constant change, with Matteo Preabianca the only member from the beginning. So they took The Capital from the shelf to read again. But who remembers it, especially young people? Let’s get rid of guitars and songs to give a didactic approach to the music. 25 tracks, one for each of the First Book’s 25 chapters. They use the lyrics as Hinduist mantras, where repetition is the key for a deep understanding of our life, and Marx as well. Its music, besides being lo-fi and badly made, is just an excuse. The lyrics are a summarized version of the aforementioned book, spoken by 25 different Mandarin native voices, completely unaware of the reason behind the recording. Still time to die as a Marxist(?). Developed and recorded in China.
About the Artists
Daisy Abbott is an interdisciplinary researcher and research developer based in the School of Simulation and Visualisation at The Glasgow School of Art. Daisy’s current research focusses on game-based learning, 3D visualisation, and issues surrounding digital interaction, documentation, preservation, and interpretation in the arts and humanities. She also collaborates with artists on works aiming to explore the nature of digital interactivity and digital art.
Luisa Charles is an interaction designer, multidisciplinary artist, and filmmaker. Having been exhibited in the Science Museum, Science Gallery London, London Design Festival, and various film festivals, amongst others, her work spans many themes across science and technology, social politics, and personal narratives. She specialises in installation design and physical computing, experience design, fabrication, and videography, and her work often comes under the umbrella of speculative and critical design. Her work focuses heavily on research processes, and forms itself organically through investigation and experimentation.
Ibarieze Abani is a recent Masters graduate in Serious Games and Virtual Reality at the Glasgow School of Art, where she has carried out projects about cultural heritage, gender inequality, transmedia storytelling and climate policy. She is an advocate of the capabilities of interactive digital media as a tool for opening up dialogues surrounding large scale themes such as climate justice, social justice and intersectionality. She has a keen interest in working with people using digital media to make meaningful and tangible differences on a societal scale.
Mohammad Namazi (b. 1981. Tehran) is an artist, educator and researcher based in London. Mohammad works through means of de-construction, collaboration, process, unlearning, and telematics systems within social and cultural realms. The studio operates as a research-lab for inter-disciplinary projects that can span video, sound, liveevents, graphics, photography, sculptural structures, and internet-based projects. He received his doctorate from UAL research in 2019, and currently teaches as visiting lecturer at Wimbledon, and Chelsea College of Arts. Mohammad is a member of research cluster Critical Practice.
Matteo Preabianca- Music and Languages…Music and Languages? How come? Matteo starts playing violin when he was a child, but he did not like it, especially when he tried to beat it on the table. It did not make any good sound. So, better drumming, right? Meanwhile playing and spending a lot his mum’s money to buy records he realised even speaking other languages was not so bad. Especially when he invented his own. Step by step, he turned into a music and languages teacher.
Elke Reinhuber is not your average artist, because she became a specialist on choice, decision making and counterfactual thoughts in media arts. Currently, Reinhuber teaches and researches at the School of Creative Media, CityU Hing Kong and is affiliated with the School of Art, Design and Media at NTU in Singapore. In her artistic practice, she investigates on the correlation between decisions and emotions and explores different strategies of visualisation and presentation, working with immersive environments, mixed reality, imaging technologies and performance. In addition, her alter ego, the ‘Urban Beautician’ is pursuing a life which Elke didn’t follow.
Anders Zanickowsky is an American artist and activist who uses platforms like Grindr and Instagram as actual sites for performances about desire, uncertainty, and vulnerability. He is committed to José Esteban Muñoz’s concept of queer futurity in which artists refuse the oppressive confines of the present and reach instead towards what can only be imagined. He has an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2019) and was a resident with The Arctic Circle program in Svalbard (2016). Since 2008 he has worked in movements for housing justice, prison abolition, and HIV/AIDS.
Photography Kathryn Rattray
From the August 2016 return trip to Siem Reap and the Angkor complex:
I love the Angkor complex, Siem Reap, and the Cambodian people so much that I returned again for about a week to photograph as much of the “non-major” sites as I could. Some of them are slightly far from Angkor Wat (by that, I mean to say more than 10 kilometers away), and usually require a little more money to get to. Also, some of the sites (Beng Mealea, Phnom Kulen) are not included in the Angkor ticket price and have an additional admission fee.
I don’t know if there’s a set number of how many sites belong in the Angkor complex, though I’m sure it would vary. (Do you only count the major sites like Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm? Do you add the sites that aren’t included in the standard “Angkor Pass,” but are clearly of the same era? Do you include sites that aren’t even named (as are one of the sites in this series)? All in all, I’ll put a very rough number at…50 sites in the Siem Reap area, and that includes the sites that are about 100 km away. Of those, I would say I’ve been to all but 5-10 now. All are included here with the exception, obviously, of the sites that I didn’t visit. (Off the top of my head, I can say they include Koh Ker & that respective group, which is about 120 km ENE of Siem Reap; Phnom Krom, one of the three “mountains” with temples; Ta Prohm Kel; and Mangalartha.)
In practical terms, I’m afraid that with the volume of shooting (about 1,500 frames in the past 7 days), photos will start to look redundant to those who don’t have the same interest in ancient/historical architecture or Angkor as I do. That being said, there are a few things besides temples here. The Old Market area (now Night Market/Pub Street) is represented – a little – and Phnom Kulen has a pretty nice waterfall which is also in this series. Also, I tried to catch a few people in here, though didn’t get as many as I would’ve liked.
I had my friend Mao (tuktuk driver) take me around for 5 of these 7 days this time around. As I mentioned last time, he may cost a little more than what you can arrange through a hotel/guesthouse, but he’s well worth the money (and, in the grand scheme of things, not too expensive; I paid less than $200 for the five days, two of which were “long” trips). He loves his country and heritage, he knows what he’s showing you, he’s flexible, he gives you enough ice water to keep you hydrated, and he’s just a good guy. (He even bought me a birthday cake for cryin’ out loud…) Anyway, I highly recommend Mao. You can find him here: www.facebook.com/mao.khvan (or on Trip Advisor: www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297390-d10726821-R... )
Now that shameless plugs and other assorted rhetoric are out of the way, it’s time to get on to the temples, ruins, and other miscellany.
Today is really the excuse that I used to come back to Siem Reap for a week. Mao was nice enough not to schedule any other customers for today since it’s my 43rd birthday, and also for Saturday. (Another reason, I think, is that I wanted to see all of the non-major sites and most everyone else is only interested in the major ones. So…thanks to Mao for giving up a few bucks from others just to make sure I got to see all that I wanted these two days.)
Mao came to pick me up around 10:00 in the morning with his wife and adorable daughter. Today, we pretty much followed the small loop tour that we did yesterday (and that most tourists do). However, we skipped every spot from yesterday (Banteay Kdei, Ta Prohm’s main temple, Ta Keo, Thommanon, Chao Say Tevoda, Bayon) and opted for the others along the same route.
The first stop of the morning was Prasat Kravan. This is a particularly interesting – and small – temple that consists mainly of one building with a central tower, but five chambers lined up in a row. Prasat Kravan was built in the early 10th century (consecrated in 921) and is built of brick. It was built during the short reign of Harshavarman I. The name is the modern name (though I don’t know the original name) and means “cardamom sanctuary,” for a tree that once stood here. From an architectural standpoint, what is most interesting – and what caught my attention – is the brick bas-reliefs here. They are the only known representation of these in Khmer art and are reason alone to visit here. The central tower has a statue of Vishnu and the northernmost has a statue of his consort, Lakshmi.
After 15-20 minutes at Prasat Kravan, Mao took me to Bat Chum, which was quite near. (It wasn’t on my list, so kudos to Mao for adding a few stops that I otherwise wouldn’t have seen; as I said, the man knows the territory, and I highly recommend him to anyone who comes here.) Bat Chum is a very, very small site (under restoration, though it looks like even the restoration has been forgotten) a few hundred meters due south of Sra Srang, and a few hundred meters east of the road from Angkor Wat to Banteay Kdei. When Bat Chum was built in 960, there were houses and a Buddhist monastery nearby, which have long since vanished. This temple was built by the lone Khmer architect whose name we know: Kavindrarimathana. He also built the palace of the East Mebon and Sra Srang. This is a temple with three brick towers. There are stone lions and interesting inscriptions here as well.
From Bat Chum, we returned to the main road, skirted along the eastern and northern sides of Banteay Kdei’s outer wall, then along the southern and western sides of Ta Prohm’s outer wall. Most people enter Ta Prohm from the western gate (as evidenced by the massive throng of tuktuks here) or the eastern gate (where you will find a slew of souvenir vendors). As far as I can tell, there is no southern gate – as I imagine you’d see it flying by on the road. (Banteay Kdei does have a northern gate, though people don’t seem to stop here.) Ta Prohm does have a rather charming and rarely visited northern gate that I was unaware of. Again…thanks, Mao. Just stop on the road at the northwest corner of Ta Prohm’s outer wall and walk east along the north wall for about five minutes to find the northern gate, surrounded by jungle.
Next up on today’s tour is a very small site that, from what I know, doesn’t even have a name. (Mao didn’t even know the name of the place, so it’s just titled ‘Unnamed Site’ here.) It’s very small, almost an afterthought, but still worth a look. It’s on the road heading due north from Ta Prohm’s west gate about 100-200 meters south of where it heads to the west to Ta Keo. It’s barely 50 meters off the road, so is very easy to visit in 10 minutes or so.
Right at the point where the road takes a 90 degree turn to head west to Ta Keo, you have the option of going straight (down a fairly bumpy dirt road) to Ta Nei. This is actually a larger temple, but unlike the others nearby, it hasn’t gone under extensive restoration yet, so it isn’t visited very often. It’s 800 meters north of Ta Keo, set back in the woods, and is 200 meters west of the Eastern Baray’s western border. It was built by Jayavarman VII in the late 12th century. The highlights of coming here are simply the setting, the pediments, and the overall lack of visitors.
After half an hour or so at Ta Nei, Mao and I hopped back in the tuktuk and returned to the main road, heading west past Ta Keo before veering north and making a very quick stop at the Hospital Chapel that is 150 meters due west of Ta Keo (slightly north). This is a very quick – 5 minute – stop that interested me simply because it was/is part of a hospital that’s close to a thousand years old now. It was built by Jayavarman VII (like so many of the Angkor sites) in the late 12th century. This sandstone monument is one of four that were on site here (and, from what I’m reading, one of 102 that were found throughout the empire). Honestly, seeing this just makes me wonder about 12th century medicine. What would a Khmer hospital at the turn of the 13th century have been like?
Moving north from the Hospital Chapel, the road takes another 90 degree turn to the west. Before entering the Victory Gate of Angkor Thom, you pass Thommanon and Chao Say Tevoda (bypassed, as already mentioned), and then Spean Thma, near a bridge that crosses the Siem Reap River. (The Siem Reap River, today, is more like a gentle stream, though it was used to transport the quarried rock from Phnom Kulen to Angkor to build these massive temples a thousand years ago.) That aside, I decided to bypass Spean Thma for now.
Once inside the Victory Gate, which I mistakenly called the East Gate in May (it is on the eastern wall), we turned south on a dirt path about 100-200 meters inside Angkor Thom and traveled south, parallel to the wall. After less than 5 minutes, you arrive at the road that runs directly east from Bayon to the East Gate, otherwise known as the Slaves’ Gate or Gate of the Dead. (From the names, obviously, if anyone who didn’t belong to the royal family saw this gate…bad news for them.) According to Mao, the slaves were marched out this gate on the way to their execution. Grim history aside, it’s a rather nice gate, well-restored, with some good angles for shooting. It’s certainly worth a visit, especially since it’s so easily accessible – and there are rarely many people around.
After this quick stop, we took the road due west to the heart of Angkor Thom – Bayon – then headed up the road towards the North Gate, where the majority of Angkor Thom sites are located (just north of Bayon). Passing by Baphuon, Phimeanakas, the Elephant Terrace, Terrace of the Leper Kings (all on the west side of the main road), and the Kleangs and Suor Prat Towers (east side of the main road, with the towers being bisected by the road heading east through the Victory Gate), we turned off just north of the Terrace of the Leper Kings to the west to see Tep Pranam – very briefly – and Preah Pilalay.
Tep Pranam is simply a statue of a giant seated sandstone Buddha, still in use for worship today, that was built around the 16th century. If this were in an out-of-the-way place, it may not be worth the time. However, it’s in the heart of Angkor Thom and it’s impossible to go to Preah Pilalay without seeing it if you come by tuktuk. (This isn’t a complaint by any means; it’s rather nice.) Preah Pilalay is in the northwest section of Angkor Thom and is fairly remote (given the amount of tourists that the other nearby sites see). Its main features are a tall chimney-like structure, a few nagas, and its setting in the forest. It was built in either the 13th or 14th century, possibly by Jayavarman VIII or, perhaps, by Jayavarman VII. It’s about 200 meters north of the royal enclosure (Phimeanakas). Some of the larger trees that used to tower over the temple have been hewn resulting in a very different feel. However, it was a pleasant side trip.
Hopping back in the tuktuk and going directly across the road, the last stop for the day inside Angkor Thom was the Preah Pithu group. This is a collection of five temples/ruins in the northeastern section of Angkor Thom that is in a delightful wooded setting. If you can see them in early morning or late afternoon, you should get some wonderful lighting. You can spend as little as 15 minutes here or as much as an hour or two. They probably weren’t designed to be one cohesive group, though it’s not possible to say with certainty. They were built in the 13th century. (Though I mention this as the last stop, I’ve also included the North Kleang and Northern Suor Prat Towers here. Though I didn’t explore those in depth, I am giving them their own set here – Kleangs and Suor Prat Towers.)
On the way out of Angkor Thom, via the South Gate, we stopped outside the moat for a few pictures. Directly south of Angkor Thom are a few temples that I wanted to see: Thma Bay Kaek, Prasat Bei, and Baksei Chamkrong.
We visited them in that order. Thma Bay Kaek is nearest the road about 50 meters southwest of the bridge over the southern moat. All that remains here are the ruins of a square brick tower. It’s probably the remains of one of many temples that were here in the Bakheng area. It was built in the 10th century by Yasovarman I.
About a five minute walk - -if that – due west of Thma Bay Kaek is Prasat Bei (“Three Towers”). Unlike Thma Bay Kaek, these towers are still standing, so obviously, slightly more photogenic. They would probably be best photographed in early morning. The trees block it from the west in late afternoon. It, too, was built by Yasovarman I in the 10th century.
The last of the three temples in this area, Baksei Chamkrong, is the most impressive of the three. It’s from the early and middle 10th century (rededicated in 948) and was built by Harshavarman. This is a pyramid temple at the foot of Phnom Bakheng. The name means “the bird with sheltering wings,” though – like most temples here – this is a modern appellation that the builders wouldn’t have recognized. This tower is a single brick tower on a pyramidal base.
Finally, to finish up the day, Mao dropped me at Phnom Bakheng. It’s about a 20 minute walk up the hill around a winding path. This is considered to be one of the best places to watch sunset over Angkor Wat because of its panoramic view from the peak of the hill. However, everyone knows this, and this is the only place all day that was too crowded for my liking. In addition to its being under restoration to the point of making it a bit of an eyesore (for the time being), it was easily my least favorite place of the entire day. After waiting in line for 20 minutes and barely moving an inch, I decided to call it a day, taking 1-2 pictures (that you see here), and heading back down the hill.
Mao had disappeared into the throngs of people eating at restaurants. Fortunately for me, he spotted me. On the way back to the guesthouse, he stopped and picked up a birthday cake which we shared with the folks who happened to be at the guesthouse. All in all, it was a wonderful birthday. Tomorrow, too, would be just me and would include the lesser-visited sites on the Grand Tour Loop, in addition to 1-2 others.
As always, I hope you enjoy this set. I appreciate you taking time to look. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message or leave it via comment.
In our avocation, there are those who require the presence of a train in the frame to take a rail photograph. This is far from true. There are times when the presence of a train is nOT necessary, and NOT desired. On this late winter afternoon near Sacramento, the universal symbol of a railroad, the crossbuck, sits silhouetted against a dramatic sunset. A train was not necessary. You don't always need a train to take a rail related photograph.
© 2013 Patrick Dirden Photography
All Rights Reserved
The gear required to make noise like "The Residents". We spent April Fools Day, in Baldymore with The Residents.
Located at a residence adjacent to Federal Hill in Baltimore. Red/Cyan 3D glasses required for viewing.
Still image of Michael Mando and Cristina Rosato in the BIFFF winner for Best Thriller (2011), Territories. In this scene, Mando is required to extract a severely infected tooth from his best friend's mouth as she can no longer tolerate the pain.
Day 2 of The Indy KA500 and After a Fantastic First Day of Racing and Celebrations now is where the Real Hard Work Begins as The Entire Field of 46 KA'S were in the Garages with Drivers Teams and Engineers at The Ready as they were about to tackle 8 Hours of the Indy Circuit.
With an 8 Hour Race anything can Happen and with such a Large Field of Cars a lot of Overtakes and Careful Navigation will be Required to Ensure Victory.
With The Start of The Race About to get underway Its Time to See Who will be able to Hold out the Longest and Take the Title of IndyKa500 Endurance Champion for 2021.
Hour 1 (11:04AM)
As The Field of 46 KA'S Completed the Formation Lap and Slowly made their way Towards the Start Finish Straight The Lights went Green and at Exactly 11:04AM the Race Had Begun.
Racing Down Towards Paddock Hill Bend it was The KA of Team (IP Racing's Adam Blair Scott Parkin Oliver Wilmot and Mark Witherington) Who took the Lead Followed Closely by Team (Octane Junkies Adam Smith Martyn Smith and Bazza Ward) in Second Place and Team (Alex Read Motorsport's Chris Reade Sam Luke's Carlito Miracco and Luke Read) in Third Place as they Thundered Up the Hill Towards The Tops of Druids and Back Down Again through Bottom Bend where Team (Ferguson Motorsport's Damon Astin Billy Ferguson Joe Ferguson and Daniel Ferguson) took the Lead from (Octane Junkies) before Flying Around The Track to Complete Lap 1 of 500.
As The Cars came Round Paddock for The Second Time The KA of (Ferguson Motorsport) Now Leads by a Heathy Margin While Further Back (IP Racing) and (Octane Junkies) Have A Fantastic Scrap over Second Place with The Two of Them Swapping The Lead Over and Over again. Car Number 55 of (Al Most Racers Alistair Hardie Alistair McDonald Lee Conway and Will Denny) was Seen Getting Air of The Inside Curb on the Exit of Paddock Hill Bend making for a Spectacular Sight.
Hour 2 (11:54AM)
Hour 2 and All 46 KA'S are Still Alive and Well with Each Driver Pushing Hard to Maintain their Advantage as the Tyres Begin to Warm Up and Start to Grip the Track More.
KA Number 56 Team (Hard And Enthusiastic Martyn Dilworth Mark Figes and Mike Hickey) are Locked in a Tight Battle at The Top of Paddock Hill Bend with KA Number 27 Team (Semprini Racing's Jeremy Evans James Hart Phil Hart and William Puttergill) as they Fight it Out Between the Two Cars for a Position.
Further Down the Field KA Number 23 Team (Kastrol's Michael Keegan Tim Keegan and David Murfitt) is Having its Own Battle with KA Number 4 of Team (Alex Read Motorsport) as The Two Teams Have a Go at One Another Thought the Course of The Lap trying Hard to Hold onto that Position they Worked so Hard for.
Another Battle at Paddock is the KA Number 3 of Team (Wingdat Racing's Andy Chapman Jonathan Barret and Wayne Jackson) Having to Fend off The KA Number 16 of Team (M and D Racing's Alex Martin Daniel Martin Tony Perfect and Mathew Rowling) as they Also were Looking to be in an Intense Battle Thought the Lap with Many Other Teams and Drivers Now Settling into a Rhythm. at The Endo f The Second Hour The KA't Mobile Number 49 of Team (LDR Performance Tuning's David Bywater Adrian Clarke Andy Grear Hardy and Sammy Bryan) is Seen Making its way Through Paddock Hill Bend and Through the Gravel Trap but Manages to Get Out Unaided and Safely.
At 12:12PM a Huge and Very Loud Crash is Heard at The Bottom of Paddock Hill Bend and Seen Rowling Through The Gravel Trap and Ending up on its Wheels is the KA Number 3 of Team (Windgat Racing) Bringing out the First Safety Car of The Endurance Race. Lucky The Driver was Fine and After a Few Minutes Due to The Recovery Taking Place they Are Back out in the Race But with a Lot of Catching Up to do.
Hour 3 (13:08PM)
With the Safety Car Now in the Race gets Back Underway and Already each Driver was Pushing Even Harder trying to either Create a Gap or Make Up for Lost Time Due to The Safety Car Intervention.
At The Top of Paddock Hill Bend a Fierce Battle is Taking Place Between the Two Teams of KA Number 13 and KA Number 155 Team (Deranged Motorsport's Jason Pelosi Josh Larkin and Alex Kelby) and Team (JRS's Nick Walker Alex Day and William Foster) as they Duel Thought the Whole of Paddock Hill Bend Starting at The Top and Still Keeping the Fight Going Right Up towards Druids in The End Deranged Motorsport Wins Out and Takes The Position Away from JRS.
At 13:24PM The Fighting Between each Team Continues at The Top of Paddock Hill Bend which is Proving to be the Best Overtaking Area as Each Car has Only 73 Break Horse Power so Carrying as Much Speed as Possible from the Main Straight Towards Paddock is Essential for a Successful Overtake.
Team (Piston Heads Peter Dignan Oliver Lewis Benjamin Lowden and Sam Sheehan) Battles it out with Team (LDR Performance Tuning's Laurence Davey Mike Paul James Parker and Glen Copeland) as The Two Cars Do Battle for All to See with Team LDR Taking The Position Away.
At 13:39PM A Set of 4 KA's are Seen Fighting Their Way up Towards Druids with All Four Teams not Giving up the Fight as they Swap Positions Relentlessly with not One Driver Willing to Give Up his Position.
The 98 55 53 and 13 All Really Having a Good Go at One Another Thought their Fight. As The Sun Starts its Slow Dissent Down Over The Hills and Valleys that Surround The Circuit Bottom Bend was Providing Some More Opportunities for Drivers to do Battle with One Another. A Four way Fight Between KA's Number 56 51 44 and 64 was Occurring with Number 56 Holding Strong at The Front of This Fight and Leading them on Towards Clearways.
Finally at 13:48PM An Epic Battle Between KA's Number 64 and 44 was Witnessed Through Bottom Bend with The Likes of The Number 64 Bouncing a Wheel Into The Air as The Car Took the Tight Racing Line making for an Amazing Picture and a Superb bit of Car Control To Keep that KA Pointing The Right Way.
Hour 4 (14:02PM)
The Fourth Hour and Pit Stops and Driver Changes were Imminent with Many Teams Choosing to Go into The Pits to Change Both Drivers and Top Up the Fuel as Well as Change Tyres if Necessary. Every Team was Running to a Different Strategy Depending Upon the Amount of Drivers they Had with Teams of Four Drivers Taking 2 Hours in the Car Each While Teams of Three or Less would Have to Take on Longer Stints of 3 To Maybe Even 4 Hours in the Car Hoping that Having to do Fewer Driver Changes would Mean they could make Up The Difference on Track.
Back on The Track at 14:02PM More Battles were Commencing Through Pilgrims Drop With KA's Number 81 Team (GM Performance's Gary Mitchell and Ian Mitchell) Going Head to Head with KA Number 46 Team (JDC Motorsport's Stu Neal Andy Gaugler and Simon Walker Hensell) with The KA of GM Performance Narrowly Taking The Place From JDC Motorsport on the Run towards Clearways.
At 14:20PM a Fantastic Battle Between KA Number's 18 100 127 3 55 and 115 was Seen as they Powered their Way onto Clearways with 155 Leading Followed by 55 and 3 127 100 and 18 All Slowly Gaining Ground to the Two Leading KA's at The Front of This Train.
Shortly After This Train of Cars Came Through Another Train of 5 KA's was not Far Behind this Time Being Lead by Number 13 Deranged Motorsport with 131 (Team Viking's Mark Holme Harry Nunn and Nick Nunn) Then came Number 4 Alex Read Motorsport with 98 Piston Heads and 41 (Rowe Rage Motorsport's Alex Butler Greg Caswell Jason Handcock and Sam Rowe) As they All Fought Hard to Catch One Another Thought their Fight.
KA's Number 98 4 and 64 were Also Seen at 14:48PM Having a Really Good Three Way Fight with 64 and 98 Side by Side down Pilgrims Drop with The Number 4 Car Closing Fast.
At 14:54PM A Final Battle was Seen on the Run Up Towards Clearways with The KA's of Number 60 (Powerflex's David Power Paul Cowland and Dom David) Battling Hard with KA's Number 7 (G and B Finch's Joe Bragg Lee Finch Steve Finch Benjamin Smith and Arthur Thurtle) and Number 127 (Fat Boys Racing's Charlie Jackson and Matt Pinny) with The Number 7 KA Leading The Trio On Towards Clearways as The Sun Began to Set.
Hour 5 (15:25PM)
The Fith Hour and a Swarm of KA's were Seen Storming Down the Main Straight towards Paddock Hill Bend with the Number 131 Car of (Team Viking) in the Lead by Some Distance Followed by Number 64 125 18 81 and 155 as they All Made their Way Towards Paddock for another Chance at an Overtake.
Another Battle Followed Closely Behind with KA Numbers 11 18 49 and 111 All Fighting as Well in order to Maintain or Improve their Positions as The Race Went on.
At 15:28PM The Safety Car was Out again While Another KA Somewhere on Track was Being Recovered and The Leading car Number 36 IP Racing's (Adam Blair Scott Parkin Oliver Wilmot and Mark Witherington's Lead Evaporates as the Field is Once again Bunched up.
Behind Them are KA's Number 44 (Mini Challenges Max Coates Dominic Wheatley Lewis Saunders and Dan Zelos) Looking to Make a More Once the Safety Car Period Ends The 14 of (Frugal Racing) and 51 of (Barwell Autosport's Taylor Norton Kamran Tunio Ryan Brinsted and Kester Cook) Also Looking to Take the Lead of This Endurance Race.
At 15:36PM The Car that Had Caused The Safety Car was Seen Being Recovered into the Outer Garage Area where cars are Held Before the Start of Each Race. KA Number 46 (JDC Motorsport) Had Made Contact Somewhere on the Circuit and Looked to Have a Broken Front Left Steering Arm with the Wheel Being Completely Bend Backwards into The Car with the Car Heading Back to the Garage for Repairs Before Rendering The Race Quite a Few Laps Down.
15:38PM and The Two KA's of Positive Motorsport's Andrew Rogerson Samuel Rendon and Ryan Frith Battle it Out with Number 13 Deranged Motorsport Through Westfield Towards Dingle dell with The Number 13 Beautifully Sweeping Around the Outside to Take The Position Away.
Another Battle was Seen at 15:38PM with (Alex Read Motorsport) Number 4 Battling Number 64 (Auto Teach Motorsport's Reece Kellow Andrew Howell Luca Ataccini Anzanello and Megan) through Westfields Side by Side on Towards Dingle dell.
Finally at 15:57PM Another KA Had Fallen Victim to an Issue with the Number 23 Car of (PSR's Carl Beresford Russel Danzey Tom Gilbert and Jack Wood) Being Taken on the Back of the Recovery Truck to The Garages for Repairs Before Going back Out into The Race as Night Began to Fall Upon The Indy Circuit.
Hour 6 (16:15PM)
As The Light Slowly began to Fade Away from the Indy Circuit Many Drivers were Now starting to use their Headlights as The Lighting Conditions got Darker and Darker as Time went by.
At 16:15PM A Massive Group of Cars came Flying Down Through Paddock Hill Bend with KA Number 55 Al Most Racers on the Inside Line 127 Fat Boys Racing on the Middle Line and 39 Kameleon Racing's Chris Bright Richard Cox Steve Goldsmith and Leigh Youles Michael on the Outside Line as they Fought their way Through the Bend and Up Towards Druids.
At 16:21PM Piston Heads Racing KA Number 98 was Seen Leading another Group of Cars Through Paddock Hill Bend with Numbers 41 52 33 and 2 All Fighting for Places as they Came Towards Paddock Hill Bend.
16:24PM and The Paddock Hill Bend Gravel Trap Claims Another Victim This Time the Number 131 KA of Team Viking Had Ended up Taking a Trip Through it Before a Half Spin Left Him Facing the Marshalls Post Opposite before Returning to the Track after Losing a Few Places. Recovery Teams set to work Once Again with The Safety Car Being Called into Action for The Third Time.
16:40PM and at The Top of Paddock Hill Bend a Three way Fight Becomes a Two Way Fight as The Number 127 KA of Fat Boys Racing Goes for a Spin after Trying to Get a Run on the Number 19 KA of LDR Performance Tuning with The Number 14 Car of Frugal Racing Just Narrowly Missing The Spinning Car.
16:42PM and a Final Intense Battle Between the Number 44 KA and The Number 1 KA of Burton Power Racing's Andy Burton Kyle Sagar Tom Valentine and Sammy Venables as They Fight Hard to try and Take that Position away from Mini Challenge to Round off The 6th Hour.
Hour 7 (16:50PM)
The Seventh Hour and at The Bottom of Surtees a Massive Crash is Heard as The KA's of Number 42 The K Teams (Paul Simmons Edward Simmons Glen Woodbridge Damo) is Seen Running off Track with Number 13 Deranged Motorsport Onto The Grass and Number 81 GM Performance Being Spun Out Trying to Avoid The Carnage in Front. All Drivers Okay and They Get back on Track and Continue on As Day Turns into Night.
17:02PM and a Top of Druids The Ka's of Number 72 Misty Racings (Adam Bonham and Simon Bonham) are Fighting Hard to Keep their Position from the Number 49 Car of LDR Performance Tuning as well as Number 7 of G and B Finch Trying to Find a Way Through on the Outside of Druids. The 98 of Piston Heads is also Closing in by This Stage with Headlights A Blaze.
17:05PM and Coming Towards Druids is a Sea of KA's All With Headlights A Blaze as they Fight for Positions Cars Number 60 3 19 and 39 All in Different Positions and Yet Still Fighting to try and Gain an Advantage that Could Swine this Endurance Race in Any of the Teams Favours. Further Back 127 and 140 Are Doing Battle on the Run Up Towards Druids.
17:09PM Once Again Another Battle at Druids This Time its The Trio of Number 127 36 and 60 That are All Trying to Better One Another in their Attempt to Gain a Place with Number 36 IP Racing Leading The Way.
17:14PM One Final Battle is Seen Coming Up towards Druids with The Number's 18 44 55 and 2 Fighting it Out Number 2 Kastrol's Has The Lead of This Group of Cars with Blazing Bright Headlights to Aid the Drivers Around The Circuit.
17:27PM and Now Darkness was Everywhere Making Visibility Very Difficult and Yet this did not Stop the Likes of Cars Number 128 JTR's Eliot Mason Nick Tandy David Mason and James Rhodes from Battling with Car Number 16 M and D Racing's Alex Martin Daniel Martin Tony Perfect and Mathew Rowling. In a Daring Move in the Pitch Black Darkness The Two Cars Go Side by Side Trying to Gain One over The Other Before JTR's Takes The Inside Line and The Position.
17:30PM Another Daring Battle is Captured Between The Number 180 Car of (Shine Auto motive's Colin French Mathew Eldridge and Wayne Clelland) and Number 44 (Mini Challenge's Max Coates Dominic Whitely Lewis Saunders and Dan Zelos) Defending The Outside Line as Best as they Can but Ultimately Shine Automotive Makes their way Through.
17:51PM A KA is Seen Flying Down Through The Bottom of Druids and into a Cloud of Dust Caused by Another KA Going off The KA is Just Barely Visible Showing The Dangers of what can Happen at Night When Visibility Becomes Low or Obstructed. Other KA's Soon Followed Through the Dust Cloud as Well with Many Backing off Slightly In case a Car was Stuck out on The Track but Thankfully All was Good as Hour 7 Ended.
Hour 8 (17:56PM) (THE FINAL HOUR)
The FINAL Hour of The 8 Hour Indy KA 500 and With Every Driver Now Getting into a Rhythm it was Up to Each Teams Last Driver to Strap in and Go for it to the Checkered Flag. However not All had gone to Plan for every Driver as The Number 29 KA of LDR Performance Tuning Found Out Slipping into the Gravel and Costing Them a Ridge Back to the Pits for Repairs with Less than 1 Hour to go.
18:00PM and The Number 2 KA of Kastrol's was Captured Racing Through Paddock Hill Bend During The Night Pushing Incredibly Hard to Ensure a Good Top 25 Finnish in the Points with Headlights Illuminating their way Around Paddock Hill Bend as The Car Flew Through The Bend.
18:30PM The Safety Car was Out for The Last Time During The Race and was Captured Leading a whole Train of KA's Through Pilgrims Drop and Onto Clearways with Each Driver Poised and Ready to Get Going Once the Safety Car Had Come In.
19:07PM An Amazing Sight to Behold with Just 15 Minutes Left on the Clock a Huge Rush of KA's Flooded their way Down The Main Straight and Past The Start Finnish Straight with Headlights on Full Beam to Aid in Visibility. The Number 8 KA Leads The way in This Group of Cars with The Number 18 CHR Hoonikan Car of Stratton MacKay Dave Mayer and Paul Robson Closing in Behind.
19:09PM And The Green Flag is Dropped for The Final Time as The Safety Car Comes into the Pitlane All 44 Remaining KA's Race Towards Druids with the Field so Bunched up this is Anyone's Race to both Win or Lose at This Stage.
The Number 42 KA of The K Teams Paul Simmons Edward Simmons and Glen Woodbridge Damo takes off Leading from Number 20 A Reeve's Motorsport Aron Reeve Stuart Lane and Andy Godfrey while The Number 127 of Fat Boys Racing Chases Them Down into a Nail Biting Finnish at The Centre of The Field.
19:13PM A Group of Six KA's are Captured Having an Intense Battle with Only 5 Minutes Left to Run The Likes of KA Number 127 36 and 128 All Putting Up One Hell of a Good Fight in The Closing Stages of The Endurance Race with Some Drives Having Driven for 4 Hours Straight.
19:21PM and after 8 Hours of Continuous Racing and 5 KA's Out of The Race The Checkered Flag was Ready and Waiting as The Number 81 KA of GM Performance's Gary Mitchell and Ian Mitchell Takes the Victory at The 2021 8 Hour Indy Car 500!!!! Followed Closely by The Number 72 Car Misty Racing's Adam Bonham and Simon Bonham in Second Place with KA Number 14 Frugal Racing's Jim McDougal Callum McDougal Mike Marais and Leon Bidgeway Taking Third Place.
A Huge Congratulations to The Overall Top Three Winners and to All of the other Teams and Competitors for Showing some Incredible Racing To End of The 2021 Motorsport Season. From
Historic Formula 1 to Classic Touring Cars To The Indy KA 500 This Season Has been One of The Best to Date.
See You All Again Next Year Where We Will do it All Over Again.
Could someone out there in the Flickr verse Identify this bird for me? I got a brief chance at long range .
Thanks in advance
Copyright © 2014 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved
Caption: Once huge schools swam up and down the Hudson Hudson River. The schools were so large one could easily catch them by hand. They were initially harvested for fertilizer and later for food - and valued for their delicate flavor. They are easily caught in stationary nets and since the late 1800s they have been severely over-fished. In the late 20th century their breeding grounds, in the mouths of small rivers leading to the Hudson, have been lost and damaged by upland damming, diversion, drainage, and development affecting streams... Waterfront development, hardening of shorelines, filling in wetlands, has directly eliminated much of their spawning grounds. Since WWII bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals has rendered them unsafe to eat and pollution from human waste, lawns, agriculture, runoff, etc... have further fouled (deoxygenation and contamination) their breeding grounds. There are recovery plans in place. These seek to restore breeding areas. Stationary net fishing has been banned and chemical pollution has been decreased since 1970.
General Story Idea: These are illustrations about the water in our lives. I am attempting to create a book about the environment that is both entertaining and interesting but also scientifically factual and realistic. I am working on a story that is interesting and clever but not patronizing and "cutesie". I do not want it to be an environmental engineering textbook or a rant against modernism but a thoughtful consideration of the environment as it was, as it is, and realistic ways in which we can we could live environmentally responsible and/or the consequences if we continue on the path we are on.
My environmental philosophy and training in engineering and science show through in illustrating how important water is and how misused it has been through human history. The animals depicted in the the scenes are not there just because they are cute and adorable - they are indicators of the health of our waters. An often used complaint against environmentalism is that it is geared to save animals. While it is surely a reasonable goal to preserve the life on earth these animals are not simply cute critters, but are indicators of the health of our environment, at the top of which we sit. The environment is a very complex system that was honed by millions of years of evolution. Like keystones in an arch the members of this complex system hold it together and when one is knocked out (extinct) the system veers. Some animals go extinct and others over-proliferate. Throughout the history of the earth there have been periodic, drastic climate shifts , land movement, species invasions etc... but there has not been a disruption that has been so sustained and unrelenting such as humans have carried out over the last 2000 years.
see the entire set www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157639982848755/
Ss. Peter and Paul is a church, one of several, one of many, that have vexed me over the years, in that I had never seen inside. Even the last time we went, there was a sign outside clearly stating that the church was open, and yet it would not yield to me.
It, like many other Kentish churches, has an ancient door, and the locks and door latches are older than many other countries, so can be a little tricky. Some you have to lean into, other pull back on the handle first, whilst others require a good jiggle.
And not wanting to damage an ancient door and mechanism, I left it.
So, although not on the "hit list", I was at Bapchild a few miles away, so though I would try here.
Te church sits behind mature trees, hidden from the road, but nicely too beside the good village pub.
I sighed as I picked up the camera bag, fearing it would be closed. But not only was the sign out, but the door was wide open too.
Hasted describes many churches has having more than one chancel and/or nave. Now, most of these are side chapels and aisles, but at Lynsted, there are side chapels wide and grand enough to be called chancels.
And each has two fine memorials, probably renovated, as they figures are painted and so quite lifelike, but there has been no damage by Puritans or Roundheads, or anyone else.
-------------------------------------------
The church stands close to the road in a dark and sombre churchyard. Inside, the chancel arch is unusual in that the capitals have been cut off to facilitate the construction of the rood loft. The interesting east window of five lights has a very closely set grouping of openings under the canopy. There are two chapels - the north belonging to the Hugessons and the south to the Teynhams. They both contain excellent monuments. The most important commemorates Lord Teynham (d. 1622) and is signed by Epiphanius Evesham. It shows Lord Teynham lying on his back with his widow kneeling under an arch behind him. At the base are relief carvings of their children. The sons have just returned from hunting and the daughters are crying - two of them have little dogs. Opposite this monument is another to his father who died in 1618, altogether it forms a more ordinary composition.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Lynsted
-------------------------------------------
LINSTED.
THE next parish southward from Tenham is Linsted, which lies adjoining the high London road, at the 43d mile-stone at Green-street, the south side of which is within the bounds of it, hence the ground rises towards the south to the village, which, with the church, is situated near the centre of it. It is a situation more pleasant than it is healthy, especially in the lower part of it. The lands below the village are very fertile, much like those of Tenham described before, having several hop-grounds of a kindly growth, interspersed throughout them; but southward of the village, the land lying still higher, approaches the chalk and becomes stony and much less fertile, till it joins Doddington, its southern boundary, not far from which is Linsted-lodge, a fine old mansion of the time of king James I. situated not very pleasantly, in a low part of the park, which however has been for some years disparked, and most of it let out in farms. On the west side of it is a feat called Dadmans, formerly Dodmannys, so called from a family of that name. It was, in the reign of Henry VII. in the possession of William Apulderfield, of Faversham. The fee of it has for many years belonged to the Ropers, lords Teynham; it is occupied by the hon. Philip Roper, uncle to the present lord Teynham. A little below Dadmans is an estate, called Bumpit, belonging likewife to lord Teynham. On the opposite or north west part of the parish, close to the south side of the high London road, near Radfield, is an estate called Claxfield, which was the residence of the family of Greenstreet, who were possessed of many good estates in this part of the county, for several generations. After which it became the property of Mr. George Smith, whose daughter Jane sold it to John Sawbridge, esq. of Ollantigh, and his son Samuel-Elias Sawbridge, esq. is the present owner of it.
About half a mile from the London road, beyond Green-street, at the north-east corner of the parish, is a house called Nowdes, which was part of the possessions of the family of Greenstreet likewise, in which it continued till Peter Greenstreet, in 1703, alienated it to Mr. John Smith, gent. whose daughter having married Mr. T. Barling, gent. he resided here, and died in 1770, leaving two sons, John Smith, (to whom his grandfather, Mr. John Smith, bequeathed this seat) and Philip, of London, surgeon, and one daughter Dorothy, married to Mr. Edward Dering, of Doddington. John Smith Barling, gent. of Faversham, the son, on his father's death, took possession of this seat, in which he at times resided. He died in 1795, leaving one son and two daughters, (one of whom lately married Mr. Lushington Taylor, of Rodmersham,) and they are now jointly intitled to it.
At Greenstreet, on May 12, there is a fair annually for horses and cattle.
Bartholomew Fowle, alias Linsted, a native of this place, was the last prior of St. Mary Overie, London, being elected to that office anno 1513. He was a learned man, and wrote a book, De Ponte Londini.
About thirty years ago a large chesnut tree was felled in Lodge park, which was sawed off close to the ground: in the centre of it, where the saw crossed, was a cavity, of about two inches diameter, in which was a live toad, which filled the space entirely. The wood of the tree was, to all appearance, perfectly found all round it, without any the smallest aperture whatever. The tree itself was six feet in circumserence.
THE MANOR of the hundred of Tenham claims over this parish, subordinate to which is THE MANOR OF BADMANGORE, with THE MANORS OF LODGE and NEWNHAM united, the former of which, though it IS but little known at present, either as to its name or situation, yet in early times was eminent, by having for its proprietors successively, the Cheneys and Apulderfields, families of no small repute in this county.
¶Sir Alexander de Cheney, of Patrixborne, the seat of this family, where they had been settled for some generations, was one of those Kentish gentlemen, who attended king Edward I. in his victorious expedition into Scotland, in the 28th year of his reign, and being present at the siege of Carlaverock, in that Kingdom, was knighted by him there, with many other of the gentry of this county. His son William de Cheney died possessed of the manor of Badmangore, in the 8th year of Edward III. having married Margaret, daughter and heir of Sir Robert de Shurland, in whose right he became entitled to the seat of Shurland, with many other estates in this county. His son Sir Robert Cheney, sold it before the 27th year of that reign, to William de Apulderfield, who made it his chief residence, and kept his shrievalty here in the year above-mentioned, and in several years afterwards. He was descended from Henry de Apulderfeld, of Apulderfeld, in Cowdham, (fn. 1) who, with his son Henry, were, with other Kentish gentlemen, with Richard I. at the siege of Acon, in Palestine, where, on account of their bravery, they had granted to them an augmentation to their arms, which they and their descendants continued afterwards to bear, viz. Sable, a cross, or, voided of the field, their original arms being, Ermine, a fess vaire, or, and gules. His great-grandson Sir William de Apulderfield was a man of much note in the reigns of Henry VI. and Edward IV. He left an only daughter Elizabeth, who became his heir to this manor, among the rest of his estates, which she carried in marriage to Sir John Fineux, chief justice of the king's bench in the reigns of king Henry VII. and VIII. He died in the 17th year of the latter reign, anno 1525, (fn. 2) leaving two daughters his coheirs, Jane, married to John Roper, esq. of Eltham, and Mildred, to James Diggs, esq. of Barham.
LINSTED is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Ospringe.
¶The church, which stands on the south side of the village, is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. It is a handsome building, and consists of three isles and three chancels. The steeple, which is a spired shaft, covered with shingles, stands at the north west corner of it: in it is a ring of five bells. William Apulderfield, of Faversham, was a benefactor to it by his will anno 1487, in which he directed his wife to repair the buttresses of the wall of the church-yard, on the east side of it, and to new shingle the chapel of our Lady in the church. In the Hugessen chancel are several brass plates and monuments likewise for that family, one of them an elegant one for William-Western Hugessen, esq. obt. 1764, æt. 29, and for his widow, obt. 1774, æt. 39; against the south pillar a tablet and inscription for Rodulph Wecherlin, esq. of Championcourt, obt. 1667; in the vault underneath lies his widow, remarried to Gideon Delaune, esq. obt. 1719; a monument on the north side of the chancel for Catherine, wife of Sir Drue Drury, obt. 1601. In the Teynham chancel are monuments for John Rooper, first lord Teynham, obt. 1618, and for Christopher, lord Teynham, obt. 1622, and no others, or even gravestones for this family. In the high chancel a brass for John Aiscough, esq. justice of peace, temp. Elizabeth, obt. 1601; another for John Worley, gent. of Skuddington, in Tong, obt. 1621, and his wife; in the east window, in a pane of glass of a lozenge form, is the figure of a venerable old man bearded, clad in purple, sitting in a gilt chair, holding a book open on his right hand, from which he looks forward as speaking or exhorting.
The church of Linsted was antiently esteemed as a chapel to the church of Tenham, as appears by the black book of the archdeacon of Canterbury, and was given and appropriated, with that church and its appendages, in 1227, by archbishop Stephen Langton, to that archdeaconry. It has long been independent of the church of Tenham, and still continues appropriated to the archdeacon, who is likewise patron of it.
It is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at 8l. 3s. 11½d. and is of the yearly certified value of 70l. 12s. 4d. the yearly tenths being 16s. 4¼d. In 1640 it was valued at one hundred pounds. Communicants two hundred and thirty-five.
Dr. Samuel Parker, archdeacon of Canterbury, at the instance of archbishop Sancroft, by lease, anno 27 Charles II. reserved the additional pension of ten pounds per annum to the vicar of Linsted and his successors. It pays no procurations to the archdeacon.
Oct 21, 2012 Annual American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5 mile walk through Manhattanville College campus as well as the surrounding streets of Purchase, NY..
Clare Delongchamp, VP Eastchester TA with son Evan, 4mo..
NOTE: All photos require the written permission of copyright holder Maria R. Bastone for usage. WEB USAGE MAY REQUIRE MODEL RELEASE. NO MODEL RELEASES; NO SALES; NO TRANSFER OF RIGHTS TO THIRD PARTY NOR REPRODUCTION IN ADDITIONAL NON ORIGINAL FORMS. Client will indemnify photographer from any use of image.