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Third Lake (~10,200 ft), Temple Crag (center 12,976 ft), and Mt Gayley (13,510 ft) in the John Muir Wilderness Area. Just downstream from the Sierra's largest active glacier, Third Lake is one of the few Sierra lakes with a milky turquoise color characteristic of lakes immediately downstream of active glaciers. The glacier pulverizes rocks so fine that some of the particles don't settle to the bottom even in the still water of the lake. Many lakes in Glacier National Park have this characteristic color.
Previously converted to Black and White but I prefer the originals subtle colours. I think?
Things to do in the future. 1. Get a true wide angle lens. 2. Use a tripod.
Third Eye Blind came to play for us at Kent State University's Flashfest festival. I have to say he was amazing live. And I just love this picture!
Another composition with wire fencing, seen at The Farm at South Mountain. If you have some deja vu about this image in my stream, look at the first one of this subject I uploaded a few weeks ago, here. The difference is the macro focus in this handheld shot. Had fun getting several variations.
I've been wanting to shoot the gold buildings in Southfield for a while, and was over there for a job yesterday, so did. Just after I took this, a security guard came out of the building and told me it is illegal to take pictures of the building. I didn't even have my tripod with me!
I laughed and told him that he was wrong, and that he was welcome to call the police if he felt so inclined. Why do security guards dislike cameras so much?
I toyed with posting this in B&W, but it was the gold that brought me there, so I'm leaving it as is.
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me
One tiny pistol
One Christmas keyblad
And a Glock piece with tactical shiiiiiit
Happy Independence Day! Third of July fireworks.
Manchester, New Hampshire
July 2018
Oympus Pen E-P3
M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 R II MSC
The Postcard
A postally unused carte postale that was published by Lichtenstern & Harari. The card has an undivided back.
Qaitbay
Sultan Abu Al-Nasr Sayf ad-Din Al-Ashraf Qaitbay (Arabic: السلطان أبو النصر سيف الدين الأشرف قايتباي), otherwise known as Kait Bey was born circa 1416/1418.
He was the eighteenth Burji Mamluk Sultan of Egypt from 1468–1496 C.E. He was Circassian by birth, and was purchased by the ninth sultan Barsbay (1422 to 1438) before being freed by the eleventh Sultan Jaqmaq (1438 to 1453).
During his reign, Qaitbay stabilized the Mamluk state and economy, consolidated the northern boundaries of the Sultanate with the Ottoman Empire, engaged in trade with other countries, and emerged as a great patron of art and architecture.
In fact, although Qaitbay fought sixteen military campaigns, he is best remembered for the spectacular building projects that he sponsored, leaving his mark as an architectural patron on Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleppo, Alexandria, and every quarter of Cairo.
Qaitbay - The Early Years
Qaitbay was born in Great Circassia of the Caucasus. His skill in archery and horsemanship attracted the attention of a slave merchant who purchased him and brought him to Cairo when he was already over twenty years of age. He was quickly purchased by the reigning sultan Barsbay and became a member of the palace guard.
He was freed by Barsbay's successor, Jaqmaq, after learning that Qaitbay was a descendant of Al-Ashraf Musa Abu'l-Fath al-Muzaffar ad-Din, and appointed the third executive secretary.
Under the reigns of Sayf ad-Din Inal, Khushqadam and Yilbay, he was further promoted through the Mamluk military hierarchy, eventually becoming taqaddimat alf, commander of a thousand Mamluks.
Under the Sultan Timurbugha, Qaitbay was appointed atabak, or field marshal of the entire Mamluk army. During this period, Qaitbay amassed a considerable personal fortune which would enable him to exercise substantial acts of beneficence as sultan without draining the royal treasury.
Accession
The reign of Timurbugha lasted less than two months, as he was dethroned in a palace coup on the 30th. January 1468. Qaitbay was proposed as a compromise candidate acceptable to the various court factions.
Despite some apparent reluctance, he was enthroned on the 31st. January 1468. Qaitbay insisted that Timurbugha be granted an honorable retirement, instead of the enforced exile usually imposed on dethroned sovereigns.
He did, however, exile the leaders of the coup, and created a new ruling council composed of his own followers and veteran courtiers who had fallen into disgrace under his predecessors.
Yashbak min Mahdi was appointed dawadar, or executive secretary, and Azbak min Tutkh was named atabak; the two men would remain Qaitbay's closest advisors until the ends of their careers, despite their profound dislike for each other.
In general Qaitbay seems to have pursued a policy of appointing rivals to posts of equal authority, thus preventing any single subordinate from acquiring too much power and maintaining the ability to settle all disputes via his own autocratic authority.
Qaitbay's Early Reign
Qaitbay's first major challenge was the insurrection of Shah Suwar, leader of a small Turkmen dynasty, the Dhu'l-Qadrids, in eastern Anatolia.
A first expedition against the upstart was soundly defeated, and Suwar threatened to invade Syria. A second Mamluk army was sent in 1469 under the leadership of Azbak, but was likewise defeated.
Not until 1471 did a third expedition, this time commanded by Yashbak, succeed in routing Suwar's army. In 1473, Suwar was captured and led back to Cairo, together with his brothers; the prisoners were drawn and quartered and their remains were hung from Bab Zuwayla.
Qaitbay's reign was also marked by trade with other countries. Excavations in the late 1800's and early 1900's at over fourteen sites in the vicinity of Borama in modern-day Somalia unearthed coins derived from Qaitbay. Most of these finds were sent to the British Museum in London.
Consolidation of Power
Following the defeat of Suwar, Qaitbay set about purging his court of opposing factions and installing his own Mamluks in all positions of power. He frequently went on excursions, ostentatiously leaving the Citadel with limited guards to display his trust in his subordinates and the populace.
He traveled throughout his reign, visiting Alexandria, Damascus, and Aleppo, among other cities, and personally inspecting his many building projects.
In 1472 he performed the Hajj to Mecca. He was struck by the poverty of the citizens of Medina, and devoted a substantial portion of his private fortune to the alleviation of their plight. Through such measures Qaitbay gained a reputation for piety, charity, and royal self-confidence.
The Ottoman-Mamluk War
In 1480 Yashbak led an army against the Aq Qoyunlu dynasty in Mesopotamia, but was soundly defeated while attacking Urfa, taken prisoner, and executed. These events foreshadowed a longer military engagement with the far more powerful Ottoman Empire in Anatolia.
In 1485 Ottoman armies began to campaign on the Mamluk frontier, and an expedition was dispatched from Cairo to confront them. These Mamluk troops won a surprising victory in 1486 near Adana.
A temporary truce ensued, but in 1487 the Ottomans reoccupied Adana, only to be defeated once more by a massive Mamluk army. As Turkish expansion in the western Mediterranean represented an increased threat to the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand II of Aragon made a temporary alliance with the Mamluks against the Ottomans from 1488 until 1491, shipping wheat and offering a fleet of 50 caravels to oppose the Ottomans.
In 1491 a final truce was signed that would last through the remaining reigns of Qaitbay and the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II. Qaitbay's ability to enforce a peace with the greatest military power in the Muslim world further enhanced his prestige at home and abroad.
Qaitbay's Final Years
The end of Qaitbay's reign was marred by increasing unrest among his troops and a decline in his personal health, including a riding accident that left him comatose for days.
Many of his most trusted officials died, and were replaced by far less scrupulous upstarts; a long period of palace intrigue ensued.
In 1492 the plague returned to Cairo, and claimed 200,000 lives. Qaitbay's health became markedly poor in 1494, and his court, now lacking a figure of central authority, was weakened by infighting, factionalism, and purges.
Qaitbay died on the 8th. August 1496 aged 77 - 80, and was interred in the spectacular mausoleum attached to his mosque in Cairo's Northern Cemetery which he had built during his lifetime.
He was succeeded by his son, an-Nasir Muhammad.
Qaitbay's Legacy
Qaitbay's reign was the happy culmination of the Burji Mamluk dynasty. It was a period of political stability, military success, and prosperity, and Qaitbay's contemporaries admired him as a defender of traditional Mamluk values.
At the same time, he could be criticized for his failure to innovate in the face of new challenges.
Following Qaitbay's death, the Mamluk state descended into a prolonged succession crisis lasting for five years until the accession of Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri.
Architectural Patronage
Today Qaitbay is best known for his wide-ranging architectural patronage. At least 230 monuments, either surviving or mentioned in contemporary sources, are associated with his reign.
In Egypt, Qaitbay's buildings are found throughout Cairo, as well as in Alexandria and Rosetta; in Syria he sponsored projects in Aleppo and Damascus; in addition, he was responsible for the construction of madrasas and fountains in Jerusalem and Gaza, which still stand – most notably the Fountain of Qayt Bay and al-Ashrafiyya Madrasa.
On the Arabian peninsula, Qaitbay sponsored the restoration of mosques and the construction of madrasas, fountains and hostels in Mecca and Medina.
After a serious fire struck the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina in 1481, the building, including the Tomb of the Prophet, was extensively renewed through Qaitbay's patronage.
One of Qaitbay's largest building projects in Cairo was his funerary complex in the Northern Cemetery, which included his mausoleum, a mosque/madrasa, a maq'ad (reception hall), and various auxiliary structures and functions attached to it. It is considered a masterpiece of late Mamluk architecture, and is featured today on Egypt's 1 pound note.
His other contributions in Cairo include a Wikala at Bab al-Nasr, a Wikala-Sabil-Kuttab near al-Azhar Mosque, a Sabil-Kuttab on Saliba street, a madrasa-mosque at Qal'at al-Kabsh, a mosque on Rhoda Island, and a palace that is now incorporated into the Bayt Al-Razzaz palace.
Other amirs and patrons also built notable projects under his reign, such as the Mosque of Amir Qijmas al-Ishaqi, which feature the same refined architectural style of his time.
In Alexandria he notably built a fortress on the site of the ruined Pharos, now known as the Citadel of Qaitbay.
Third Eye... A kid coloured and decorated like goddess Kali on the occasion on Mahashivarathri also known as Mayana Kollai in Krishnagiri District of Tamilnadu , after visiting various temples they visit burial grounds and perform rituals.
This floor includes offices for the head of the precinct and the chief of detectives, desks for investigators, coffee and water machines, filing cabinets, evidence lock-up elevator bank and a small firing range
The picnic table is in the right and bottom third of the photo, but the photo could have been better if I had balanced it out with something else interesting on the left.
Krepcik posted a great Shiva article at my blog with a cool animation (sw)
www.stuartwildeblog.com/khris-krepcik/2009/6/13/christ-sh...
Happy Independence Day! Third of July fireworks.
Manchester, New Hampshire
July 2018
Oympus Pen E-P3
M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 R II MSC
Koovagam, The small hamlet of Koovagam is present in the Vizhuppuram district of Tamil Nadu, making it virtually a ‘nothing’. However, once a year this tiny village turns into the biggest camp for transgenders from all over the country. They gather in flocks to take part in the rituals of the festival which lasts for 18 days, culminating on chitra pournami