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PLASENCIA (Wiki): de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasencia
PLASENCIA (Tourismus): reisen-nach-spanien.com/extremadura/plasencia#9/40.0423/-...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Wharfe
The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".
The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale. The river source is at Beckermonds, Langstrothdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and flows through Kettlewell, Grassington, Bolton Abbey, Addingham, Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Wetherby and Tadcaster. It then flows into the River Ouse near Cawood. The section of the river from its source to around Addingham is known as Upper Wharfedale and has a very different character to the river downstream.
The river is approximately 97 km long before it joins the River Ouse. It is a public navigation from the weir at Tadcaster to its junction with the River Ouse near Cawood and tidal from Ulleskelf.
Course
The river source is the confluence of Oughtershaw Beck and Green Field Beck in Langstrothdale near Beckermonds. It flows east and south east taking the flows from many small streams, whose sources are the shake holes from Yockenthwaite Moor on the north bank and Horse Head Moor on the south bank. After Hubberholme, the river flows south past Buckden and Starbotton and then south east past Kettlewell before flowing south again. Near Conistone are the gentle waterfalls of Scar Lash. Near Grassington, the river turns south east over Linton Falls. South of Appletreewick, the river flows south west for a short distance until it reaches Gill Beck and returns southward. To the north of Bolton Bridge, the river narrows and goes over waterfalls in an area known as The Strid. The river winds south and south east towards Ilkley where it heads east through Otley and Collingham. It briefly flows north to Wetherby before turning south and then south east past Ulleskelf to the confluence with the River Ouse.
Water levels
Monitoring Station[1]
Station Elevation
Low water level
High water level
Record high level
Kettlewell 212 m (696 ft) 0.17 m (0.56 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 2.54 m (8.3 ft)
Grassington 171 m (561 ft) 0 m (0 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.79 m (9.2 ft)
Ilkley 78 m (256 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.88 m (12.7 ft)
Otley 56 m (184 ft) 0.36 m (1.2 ft) 1.5 m (4.9 ft) 2.46 m (8.1 ft)
Pool Bridge 46 m (151 ft) 0.09 m (0.30 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.77 m (12.4 ft)
Arthington 46 m (151 ft) 0.32 m (1.0 ft) 3.3 m (11 ft) 4.14 m (13.6 ft)
Collingham 25 m (82 ft) 0.35 m (1.1 ft) 1.59 m (5.2 ft) 4.7 m (15 ft)
Wetherby 25 m (82 ft) 0.4 m (1.3 ft) 1.8 m (5.9 ft) 3.10 m (10.2 ft)
Tadcaster 11 m (36 ft) 0.18 m (0.59 ft) 2.9 m (9.5 ft) 3.79 m (12.4 ft)
Cock Beck Sluices 6 m (20 ft) 3.44 m (11.3 ft) 7.3 m (24 ft) 9.26 m (30.4 ft)
Fleet Pumping Station 6 m (20 ft) 2 m (6.6 ft) 6.5 m (21 ft) 7.35 m (24.1 ft)
Low and High Water Levels are an average figure.
Natural history
Fauna
There are over 230 species of bird observed along the river valley including Eagle-Owl, Red Grouse, Stonechat, Whinchat, Golden Plover, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Wood Warbler, Common Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Dipper, Tawny Owl, Sparrowhawk, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and, in wetter places, Snipe and Woodcock, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Garden Warbler, and Twite.[2]
The Wharfe has populations of Signal Crayfish and the few White-clawed Crayfish remaining are at great risk.[2]
There are populations of Rabbit, Red Fox, Grey Squirrel, Otter, Water Voles and deer.[2][3][4]
Flora
Ferns found here include Wall Rue, Maidenhair Spleenwort, Brittle Bladder-fern, Hart's-tongue and Hard Shield-fern. In Upper Wharfedale the scars and screes support a range of plants including the Alpine Cinquefoil and Hoary Whitlowgrass. Also to be found are Lesser Meadow-rue, Goldenrod, Scabious and Bloody Crane's-bill with, to a lesser extent, Mountain Melick, Limestone Fern, Wood Crane's-bill and Melancholy Thistle, Green Spleenwort, Wall Lettuce and Hairy Stonecrop.[2]
Lower down the valley, species including Alpine Cinquefoil, Lily-of-the-valley, Mountain Melick and Herb Paris, blue sesleria, Common Valerian and Wild Angelica. The limestone outcrops have uncommon species including Rock Whitebeam and Solomon's Seal as well as Bird's-eye Primrose, Butterwort, Rockrose, Dropwort and Limestone Bedstraw.
The limestone pavements of the area are a habitat for several species usually confined to woodlands, such as Dog's Mercury, Wood Anemone and Ramsons. Rarer species to be found in the grikes include Baneberry and Downy Currant. Ferns in the moist grikes include Rigid Buckler-fern. Also to be found are Alternate-leaved Golden Saxifrage, Reed Canary-grass and Stone Bramble.
Some of the inaccessible cliffs are home to ledge dwelling flora including mosses and liverworts, such as Red Leskea, Sharp Rock-bristle and the very rare Zygodon gracilis. The ledges also support Woodrush, Polypody and Water Avens, Purple Saxifrage, Yellow Saxifrage, Hoary Whitlowgrass and Roseroot.
Blue Moor-grass can also be found, with Sheep's-fescue and herbs such as Thyme, Salad Burnet and Common Rock-rose. There is Wild Thyme, Common Milkwort, Fairy Flax, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Autumn Gentian, Harebell, Eyebright.
Species of tree and shrub include Ash, Downy Birch, Hazel, Hawthorn, Yew and Rowan. In the woods shrubs such as Wild Privet and Spindle can be found. More rare is Dark Red Helleborine.[2][5]
Geology
Upper Wharfedale is an area from the Lower Carboniferous era and lies north-west of Burnsall. Its main features are the Great Scar Limestone which forms a base to the overlying Yoredale Beds, a 300-metre deep strata of hard limestones, sandstones and shale. These have been slightly tilted, toward the east. To the south-east of the area are the Millstone Grit laid down in the Upper Carboniferous era, and is covered by heather moorland, hard crags and tors.[6][7]
Weathering of the Yoredale Beds has produced a stepped profile to the valley sides, consisting of a shelf of limestone, sometimes grassy but often displaying such karst features as limestone pavement, gorges and sinkholes. During the last ice age, the local ice cap at the head of the Dales fed glaciers to produce the classic U-shaped profiles seen today.[8]
Where the river valley changes course into Lower Wharfedale, the change of underlying rock can be seen in the darker stone in the field walls. The Millstone Grit outcrops at the Cow and Calf Rocks near Ilkley form a rolling dissected plateau. Due to the impermeable nature of the rock, blanket bogs and mires form, and drier areas have wet and dry heaths and acid grasslands.[9]
Coarse sandstones in the area are known as Addingham Edge and Bramhope Grits. The Otley Shell Beds become exposed at Otley Chevin. At Great Dib Wood the Otley Shell Bed is sandwiched between two Namurian sandstones.
Glacial lakes once filled Lower Wharfedale and deposited sand and gravel. These were quarried and now form the basis of the Otley Wetland Reserve, and Ben Rhydding and Knotford Nook gravel pits.[10]
Waterfalls
Linton Fall (Grid Reference: SE001633) are located just south of Grassington and can be accessed from the village down Sedber Lane. There is a footbridge straddling the falls for viewing.
The Strid (Grid Reference: SE064565) is a series of waterfalls and rapids associated with a deep underwater channel caused by the dramatic narrowing of the River Wharfe from approximately 30 ft (9 m) wide just to the north of the start of the Strid, to the width of a long stride less than 100 yd (91 m) later.[11] It is especially dangerous as both banks are undercut,[12][13] and it has been the scene of a number of fatalities including those of a honeymoon couple.[14] The Strid walk is very popular and is accessed from the car park at Bolton Abbey.[15]
History
Wharfe is a Celtic river name meaning the winding river.[16][17]
Iron Age fields and hut circles can still be seen in outline on the hills above Grassington and Kettlewell.[7] The Romans built a road through Wharfedale that went over Stake Moss into neighboring Wensleydale. The local tribe of Brigantes were subdued by the Romans in AD 74. The Romans mined lead in the hills on Greenhow Hill overlooking Appletreewick until AD 410.[7] After AD 620 the Celtic settlers were joined by Angles and increased the amount of forest clearing to establish fields for crops and animals. These were overrun by Danes initially before they too settled to farming near Burnsall and Thorpe. Vikings then settled the area in the 10th century, lending their language to some of the names of hamlets and landscape features of Upper Wharfedale, especially near the head of the valley.[7] During Anglo-Saxon times, large estates were established and the River Wharfe and its valley came under the protection of Earl Edwin of Bolton-in-Craven. After the Norman invasion, the lands were given to Robert Romilly.[7]
In medieval times low intensity methods were used to produce both crops and livestock but the great monasteries of Fountains, Rievaulx and Bolton Priory had large sheep flocks and sold their wool on the European market. In 1155, Alice de Romilly donated land for the establishment of Bolton Priory and land at Kilnsey to Fountains Abbey. The monasteries helped develop vast sheep farms and the founding of drove roads, which can still be seen and walked today. The success of the monasteries was also responsible for the growth of the market towns of Grassington and Kettlewell.[7]
When the monasteries were dissolved in 1539, and wool prices fell, many tenant farmers took to cattle and sheep rearing. However, at the end of the 17th century there was still small-scale arable production. By the early nineteenth century there was a demand for food from the growing industrial towns and farmers and many farms began to produce milk from the lower lands and use the higher fells for sheep.[18]
The river has had appearances in films. In 1992, the town of Grassington was used as a filming location for Wuthering Heights.[19] The 2003 film, Calendar Girls, was filmed at several locations in the river valley including Buckden, Burnsall, Kettlewell and Kilnsey.[20]
Economy
During the 1990s there had been an increase in the number of second home ownership, particularly in the Upper Wharfedale area. This had been partly due to subsidised Council Tax rates for a second property. The 1991 census had shown 13% of homes were classified as second properties, which had risen to 18% by late 1998.[21] The 2001 census showed that this figure had dropped to 15%[22] and further still to just 7% by 2011.[23]
The Upper Wharfedale area has been traditionally associated with farming, but there has been a change in the numbers and types of employment. Whilst there were declines in the number of people in this industry, farming accounted directly for 9.16%[24] of employment in 2001 but this had increased to 11.27% by 2011.[25]
Lead mining was once the main industry in Wharfedale. From the seventeenth century to the late nineteenth it employed hundreds of men and boys, exploiting the veins in the limestone at Greenhow, Hebden, Grassington, Linton and Conistone, Appletreewick and elsewhere. The heaps of mining waste remain, contaminated with lead, and on which little will grow. The few plants that will are known as 'lead plants' such as spring sandwort and alpine penny-cress.[26][27]
Tourism is big part of the rural economy in Wharfedale and there are many short, mid and long distance walks, with clear waymarkers. There are also other outdoor activities such as rock climbing, most notably at Kilnsey Crag, and canoeing. Other activities include cycling, mountain biking, horse riding and caving.[28] The following Long Distance Walks pass near or over the river:[29]
Dales Way (follows the river valley from Beckermonds to Ilkley)
Lady Anne's Way (enters the river valley near Hubberholme and leaves to the west of Bolton Abbey)
Inn Way to the Yorkshire Dales (part of walk from Grassington to Buckden)
The Way of the Roses (part of the cycle route from Appletreewick to Thorpe)
Lists
All lists are from the source of the river:-[30]
Tributaries
Deepdale Gill
Hagg Gill
Bowther Gill
Strans Gill
Kirk Gill
Cow Close Gill
Buckden Beck
Step Gill
Cam Gill Beck
Falcon Beard Beck
Hush Gutter
Kettlewell Beck
Black Geld
River Skirfane
How Beck
White Beck
Davy Keld
Dib Beck
Robin Hood's Beck
Captain Beck
Brow Well
Isingdale Beck
Howling Beck
Hebden Beck
Sandbed Beck
Barden Beck
The Old Gutter
Hall Wells Dike
Foul Sike
Fir Beck
Bumby Dike
Gill Beck
Hollin Beck
Posforth Gill
Cowpert Gill
Stead Dike
Pickles Beck
Raven's Gill Beck
Kex Beck
Lathehouse Beck
Wine Beck
West Hall Beck
Dean Beck
Mill Stream
West Beck
Mill Dam Beck
Boot's Beck
River Washburn
Weeton Beck
Stank Beck
Collingham Beck
Hay Dike
Cock Beck
Owl Sike
Pailbank Drain
The Fleet
Settlements
Beckermonds
Deepdale
Yockenthwaite
Hubberholme
Buckden
Starbotton
Kettlewell
Kilnsey
Conistone
Threshfield
Grassington
Linton
Hebden
Burnsall
Appletreewick
Bolton Abbey
Beamsley
Addingham
Nesfield
Ilkley
Burley in Wharfedale
Otley
Pool
Castley
Netherby
Chapel Hill
Collingham
Linton
Wetherby
Boston Spa
Thorp Arch
Newton Kyme
Tadcaster
Kirkby Wharfe
Ulleskelf
Ozendyke
Ryther
Crossings
New House Farm footbridge
Deepdale Bridge
Yockenthwaite Bridge
Hubberholme Bridge
Buckden Bridge
Starbotton footbridge
B6160 Kettlewell New Bridge
Conistone Bridge
B6265 Grassington Bridge
Tin Bridge (footbridge), Linton Falls
Linton stepping stones
Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Hebden
Burnsall Bridge
Drebley stepping stones
Barden Bridge
Barden Aqueduct and footbridge
Wooden Bridge (at Cavendish Pavilion)
Friars' Steps (stepping stones)
Waterfall Bridge (footbridge)
Bolton Bridge
A59 Bridge
Suspension Bridge (footbridge), Addingham
Old Bridge, Ilkley (footbridge)
New Bridge, Ilkley (New Brook Street)
Ilkley Susupension Bridge (footbridge)
Denton Bridge
Greenholme stepping stones
B6451 Otley Bridge
Footbridge
A658 Pool Bridge
Railway Bridge (Leeds-Harrogate railway line)
A61 Harewood Bridge
Woodhall Bridge (footbridge)
Linton Bridge, Collingham
Footbridge
A661 Wetherby Bridge
A58 bridge, Wetherby
A1(M) bridge, Wetherby
Thorp Arch Bridge, Boston Spa
Wharfe Bridge (dismantled railway)
Viaduct Walk, Tadcaster (footbridge)
A659 Tadcaster Bridge
A64 bridge (Tadcaster By-pass)
Railway Bridge (Dearne Valley Line)
East Coast Main Line Railway Bridge
In the fall, the marcescent foliage of American beech trees can radiate a golden-bronze hue when illuminated by sunlight
Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve
DeKalb County (Medlock Park), Georgia, USA.
1 December 2022.
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▶ "Fagus grandifolia —American beech or North American beech— is a deciduous forest beech tree native to eastern North America, from Ontario to northern Florida. The tree grows 50–115 feet tall (16–35 m), with smooth, silver-gray bark. The leaves are dark green, simple and sparsely-toothed. Beech buds are distinctly thin and long, resembling cigars; this characteristic makes beech trees relatively easy to identify. The fruit is a small, sharply-angled nut, borne in pairs in a soft-spined, four-lobed husk. The mast (crop of nuts) from American beech provides food for numerous species of mammals and birds."
— Wikipedia.
▶ "Handsome foliage develops a golden bronze color in the fall. American beech's graceful, spreading form is superior to other beeches and is attractive throughout the year. Winter, however, emphasizes this tree's other notable attributes - its long, thin, pointed, brown leaf buds and its smooth, thin, light gray, 'wrinkled' bark that resembles an elephant's hide. American beech bark is nearly white and is much paler than European beech. Like oak, beech often holds on to its bottom leaves throughout winter."
***************
▶ Marcescence:
“As summer yields to fall, deciduous trees throughout the mid-Atlantic states lose their leaves in an often-spectacular display of color. However, not all hardwood trees participate in this pageantry, and decide to hang onto their leaves until spring. These trees are practicing 'marcescence.' [For example], this occurs on oaks, American beech, hornbeam, Eastern hophornbeam, and witchhazels. In most deciduous trees, leaf drop occurs in autumn when cells between the twig and the end of the leaf stem create an abscission layer. The cells separate from each other, leading to the leaf falling. But in marcescence, this doesn’t occur until spring.”
— University of Maryland Extension.
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▶ Photographer's note:
Remember to switch off auto ISO when you don't need it!
***************
▶ Photo by Yours For Good Fermentables.com.
▶ For a larger image, type 'L' (without the quotation marks).
— Follow on Facebook: YoursForGoodFermentables.
— Follow on Instagram: @tcizauskas.
— Follow on Vero: @cizauskas.
▶ Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10 II.
— Lens: Olympus M.40-150mm F4.0-5.6 R.
— Edit: Photoshop Elements 15, Nik Collection.
▶ Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hain-B%C3%A4nderschnecke
Die Hain-Bänderschnecke (Cepaea nemoralis) – auch Hain-Schnirkelschnecke oder Schwarzmündige Bänderschnecke genannt – gehört zur Familie der Schnirkelschnecken (Helicidae), die zur Ordnung der Lungenschnecken (Pulmonata) gerechnet wird.
www.nabu.de/tiere-und-pflanzen/sonstige-arten/weichtiere/...
Färbung und Lebensraum bedingen sich
Wenn die Individuen einer Art ganz verschieden aussehen können, spricht die Wissenschaft von Polymorphismus. Der extreme Polymorphismus der Bänderschnecken ist schon seit Jahrhunderten Gegenstand wissenschaftlicher Forschungen. Besonders die Frage nach der genetischen Fixierung der verschiedenen Muster stand hier oft im Vordergrund. Spannend ist auch die Abhängigkeit der Farbe und Musterung vom Lebensraum. Ein wichtiger Punkt sind dabei die Prädatoren, also jene Tiere, die den Schnecken nachstellen. So ist es einleuchtend, dass in Gebüschen lebende Schnecken am besten getarnt sind, wenn sie ein kräftiges Streifenmuster aufweisen, womit sie zwischen den Schatten der Zweige optisch verschwinden. In Wäldern haben dunkle Farben Vorteile und in offenen Grasbiotopen dominieren oft helle Farben. Wer davon abweicht, kann am besten von Fressfeinden, zum Beispiel Singdrosseln, erbeutet und somit ausgelesen werden.
Lebensgrundlage für viele Tiere
Während wir uns nur an der Farbenpracht und Vielfalt der Bänderschnecken erfreuen, haben sie für eine Vielzahl von Tieren große Bedeutung. Manche Arten sind sogar zum Überleben auf Bänderschnecken, aber auch andere Schnecken-Arten, angewiesen.
Die Singdrossel als Schneckenjäger haben wir schon erwähnt. Doch auch für andere Vogelarten sind Schnecken lebenswichtige Nahrung, denn das Kalzium der Schneckenhäuser ist Baustoff für Eierschalen und Knochen. Vogelforscher haben herausgefunden, dass beim Rückgang der Schnecken auch die Qualität der Eierschale und in Folge der Bruterfolg von Singvögeln zurückging.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_of_Bowland
The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells, is an area of barren gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England. A small part lies in North Yorkshire, and much of the area was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) since 1964, and is used for grouse shooting, walking and cycling, though it is relatively unfrequented by tourists. One of the best known features of the area is Pendle Hill, which is separated from the main part of the Forest of Bowland AONB by the Ribble Valley.
13% of the AONB is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its important areas of heather moorland and blanket bog. The area is nationally and internationally important for its upland bird populations – the hen harrier is the symbol of the AONB. There are over 500 listed buildings and 18 scheduled monuments within the AONB.
The name 'forest' is used in its traditional sense of 'a royal hunting ground', and much of the land still belongs to the British Crown as part of the Duchy of Lancaster. In the past wild boar, deer, wolves, wild cats and game roamed the forest.
Heather moorland on Clougha, in the north west of the Forest of Bowland, looking towards the Yorkshire three peaks
Bowland remains as the northwestern remainder of the ancient wilderness that once stretched over a huge part of England, encompassing the Forest of Bowland, Sherwood Forest (Nottinghamshire), the New Forest (Hampshire) and Savernake Forest (Wiltshire). While the Trough of Bowland (the valley and high pass connecting the Wyre (at Marshaw) and Langden Brook and dividing the upland core of Bowland into two main blocks) represents the area, to many, on account of its popularity, it is in fact only a small part of the wider Forest of Bowland area.
The hills on the western side of the Forest of Bowland attract walkers from Lancaster and the surrounding area. Overlooking Lancaster is Clougha Pike, the western-most hill. The hills form a large horseshoe shape with its open end facing west. Clockwise from Lancaster the hills are Clougha Pike (413 m), Grit Fell (468 m), Ward's Stone (561 m), Wolfhole Crag (527 m), White Hill (544 m), Whins Brow (476 m), Totridge (496 m), Parlick (432 m), Fair Snape Fell (510 m), Bleasdale Moor (429 m), and Hawthornthwaite fell (478 m).
The area is home to the geographic centre of Great Britain which is close to the Whitendale Hanging Stones, around 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Dunsop Bridge.
The Forest of Bowland is home to an annual challenge event: The Bowland Challenge where teams of walkers navigate around a series of grid references over a ten hour period. Proceeds of the event go to support Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_Minster
The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York. It is run by a dean and chapter, under the Dean of York. The title "minster" is attributed to churches established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches, and serves now as an honorific title.[1] Services in the minster are sometimes regarded as on the High Church or Anglo-Catholic end of the Anglican continuum.[2]
The minster has a very wide Decorated Gothic nave and chapter house, a Perpendicular Gothic Quire and east end and Early English North and South transepts. The nave contains the West Window, constructed in 1338, and over the Lady Chapel in the east end is the Great East Window, (finished in 1408), the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world. In the north transept is the Five Sisters Window, each lancet being over 52 feet (16 m) high.[citation needed] The south transept contains a rose window, while the West Window contains a heart-shaped design colloquially known as 'The Heart of Yorkshire'.
History
York has had a verifiable Christian presence from the 4th century. However, there is circumstantial evidence pointing to much earlier Christian involvement. According to Bede, missionaries were sent from Rome by Eleutherius at the request of the chieftain Lucius of Britain in AD 180 to settle controverted points of differences as to Eastern and Western ceremonials which were disturbing the church. Tradition speaks of 28 British bishops, one for each of the greater British cities, over whom presided the Archbishops of London, York and Caerleon-on-Usk.
The first recorded church on the site was a wooden structure built hurriedly in 627 to provide a place to baptise Edwin, King of Northumbria. Moves toward a more substantial building began in the decade of the 630s. A stone structure was completed in 637 by Oswald and was dedicated to Saint Peter. The church soon fell into disrepair and was dilapidated by 670 when Saint Wilfrid ascended to the See of York. He repaired and renewed the structure. The attached school and library were established and by the 8th century were some of the most substantial in Northern Europe.[citation needed][3]
In 741 the church was destroyed in a fire. It was rebuilt as a more impressive structure containing thirty altars. The church and the entire area then passed through the hands of numerous invaders, and its history is obscure until the 10th century. There was a series of Benedictine archbishops, including Saint Oswald of Worcester, Wulfstan and Ealdred, who travelled to Westminster to crown William in 1066. Ealdred died in 1069 and was buried in the church.[4]
The church was damaged in 1069 during William the Conqueror's harrying of the North, but the first Norman archbishop, Thomas of Bayeux, arriving in 1070, organised repairs. The Danes destroyed the church in 1075, but it was again rebuilt from 1080. Built in the Norman style, it was 111 m (364.173 ft) long and rendered in white and red lines. The new structure was damaged by fire in 1137 but was soon repaired. The choir and crypt were remodelled in 1154, and a new chapel was built, all in the Norman style.
The Gothic style in cathedrals had arrived in the mid 12th century. Walter de Gray was made archbishop in 1215 and ordered the construction of a Gothic structure to compare to Canterbury; building began in 1220. The north and south transepts were the first new structures; completed in the 1250s, both were built in the Early English Gothic style but had markedly different wall elevations. A substantial central tower was also completed, with a wooden spire. Building continued into the 15th century.
The Chapter House was begun in the 1260s and was completed before 1296. The wide nave was constructed from the 1280s on the Norman foundations. The outer roof was completed in the 1330s, but the vaulting was not finished until 1360. Construction then moved on to the eastern arm and chapels, with the last Norman structure, the choir, being demolished in the 1390s. Work here finished around 1405. In 1407 the central tower collapsed; the piers were then reinforced, and a new tower was built from 1420. The western towers were added between 1433 and 1472. The cathedral was declared complete and consecrated in 1472.[5]
The nave of York Minster
The English Reformation led to the looting of much of the cathedral's treasures and the loss of much of the church lands. Under Elizabeth I there was a concerted effort to remove all traces of Roman Catholicism from the cathedral; there was much destruction of tombs, windows and altars. In the English Civil War the city was besieged and fell to the forces of Cromwell in 1644, but Thomas Fairfax prevented any further damage to the cathedral.
Following the easing of religious tensions there was some work to restore the cathedral. From 1730 to 1736 the whole floor of the minster was relaid in patterned marble and from 1802 there was a major restoration. However, on 2 February 1829, an arson attack by a non-conformist, Jonathan Martin,[6] inflicted heavy damage on the east arm. An accidental fire in 1840 left the nave, south west tower and south aisle roofless and blackened shells. The cathedral slumped deeply into debt and in the 1850s services were suspended. From 1858 Augustus Duncombe worked successfully to revive the cathedral.
During the 20th century there was more concerted preservation work, especially following a 1967 survey that revealed the building, in particular the central tower, was close to collapse. £2,000,000 was raised and spent by 1972 to reinforce and strengthen the building foundations and roof. During the excavations that were carried out, remains of the north corner of the Roman Principia (headquarters of the Roman fort, Eboracum) were found under the south transept. This area, as well as remains of the Norman cathedral, re-opened to the public in spring 2013 as part of the new exhibition exploring the history of the building of York Minster.[7]
On 9 July 1984, a fire believed to have been caused by a lightning strike[8] destroyed the roof in the south transept, and around £2.5 million was spent on repairs. The fire was photographed from just south of the minster in the early hours by Bettison photographers. This picture was subsequently published showing the South transept alight with a list of North Yorkshire firefighters attending. The stations attending ranged from Scarborough to Harrogate. Huge amounts of water were needed to provide jets at great height to hit the roof timbers and protect the Rose Window. Most of the water was pumped from the Ouse nearby because the water supplies around the minster were inadequate. Fire crews from the main York fire station in Clifford Street worked hard to protect the Rose Window and stop the fire spreading into the tower and organ. Many crews worked for hours and some were on high levels of the minster at the time when the South transept roof fell in. Luckily, those few firefighters inside when the roof crashed down were not directly beneath. But what they saw after the ventilation released the smoke, was a pile of timber covering the whole of the south transept floor to a height of at least six feet. When daylight came the whole scene was occupied by media. At about 8am an officer was approached by two ladies looking for information. "Have you an account for The Times"? They said. The officer replied, "Actually, I spoke to the London and New York Times at about four thirty" The ladies then announced that they were from the Church Times. Reports of the fire travelled across both hemispheres. The Restoration work was completed in 1988, and included new roof bosses to designs which had won a competition organised by BBC Television's Blue Peter programme. In 2007 renovation began on the east front, including the Great East Window, at an estimated cost of £23 million.[9][10]
In 2000, the Dean and Chapter allowed the York Mystery Plays to be performed for the first time inside the Minster, directed by Greg Doran.[11]
Architecture of the present building
York Minster is the second largest Gothic cathedral of Northern Europe and clearly charts the development of English Gothic architecture from Early English through to the Perpendicular Period. The present building was begun in about 1230 and completed in 1472. It has a cruciform plan with an octagonal chapter house attached to the north transept, a central tower and two towers at the west front. The stone used for the building is magnesian limestone, a creamy-white coloured rock that was quarried in nearby Tadcaster. The Minster is 173 yards (158 m) long[citation needed] and the central tower has a height of 230 feet (70 m) high.[citation needed] The choir has an interior height of 102 feet (31 m).[citation needed]
The north and south transepts were the first parts of the new church to be built. They have simple lancet windows, including the Five Sisters in the north transept. These are five lancets, each 52 feet (16 m) high[citation needed] and glazed with grey (grisaille) glass, rather than narrative scenes or symbolic motifs that are usually seen in medieval stained glass windows. In the south transept is a rose window whose glass dates from about 1500 and commemorates the union of the royal houses of York and Lancaster. The roofs of the transepts are of wood, that of the south transept was burnt in the fire of 1984 and was replaced in the restoration work which was completed in 1988. New designs were used for the bosses, five of which were designed by winners of a competition organised by the BBC's Blue Peter television programme.
The chapter house.
Work began on the chapter house and its vestibule that links it to the north transept after the transepts were completed. The style of the chapter house is of the early Decorated Period where geometric patterns were used in the tracery of the windows, which were wider than those of early styles. However, the work was completed before the appearance of the ogee curve, an S-shaped double curve which was extensively used at the end of this period. The windows cover almost all of the upper wall space, filling the chapter house with light. The chapter house is octagonal, as is the case in many cathedrals, but is notable in that it has no central column supporting the roof. The wooden roof, which was of an innovative design, is light enough to be able to be supported by the buttressed walls. The chapter house has many sculptured heads above the canopies, representing some of the finest Gothic sculpture in the country. There are human heads, no two alike, and some pulling faces; angels; animals and grotesques. Unique to the transepts and chapter house is the use of Purbeck marble to adorn the piers, adding to the richness of decoration.
The Kings Screen and organ.
The nave was built between 1291 and c. 1350 and is also in the decorated Gothic style. It is the widest Gothic nave in England and has a wooden roof (painted so as to appear like stone) and the aisles have vaulted stone roofs. At its west end is the Great West Window, known as the 'Heart of Yorkshire' which features flowing tracery of the later decorated gothic period.
The east end of the Minster was built between 1361 and 1405 in the Perpendicular Gothic style. Despite the change in style, noticeable in details such as the tracery and capitals, the eastern arm preserves the pattern of the nave. The east end contains a four bay choir; a second set of transepts, projecting only above half-height; and the Lady Chapel. The transepts are in line with the high altar and serve to throw light onto it. Behind the high altar is the Great East Window, the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world, which is currently undergoing a massive conservation project, due to be completed in 2015–16. Below the Great East Window currently sits the Orb, a stainless steel dome which opened at the end of October 2012, containing five of the conserved panels from the window, one of which is changed each month. The Orb enables visitors to see the work of renowned medieval artist, John Thornton, up close, revealing the remarkable detail in each panel.
The sparsely decorated Central Tower was built between 1407 and 1472 and is also in the Perpendicular style. Below this, separating the choir from the crossing and nave is the striking 15th century choir screen. It contains sculptures of the kings of England from William the Conqueror to Henry VI with stone and gilded canopies set against a red background. Above the screen is the organ, which dates from 1832. The West Towers, in contrast with the Central Tower, are heavily decorated and are topped with battlements and eight pinnacles each, again in the Perpendicular style.
English Heritage has recently made publicly available a monograph[12] on the architectural history of York Minster. The book charts the construction and development of the minster based on the architectural recording of the building from the 1970s. The full report can be downloaded from the Archaeology Data Service website.
Stained glass
York as a whole, and particularly the minster, have a long tradition of creating beautiful stained glass. Some of the stained glass in York Minster dates back to the 12th century. The Minster's records show that much of the glass (white or coloured) came from Germany.[13] Upon arrival at York, it was intricately painted, fired, then glazed together with lead strips into the windows. The 76-foot (23 m)[citation needed] tall Great East Window, created by John Thornton in the early 15th century, is the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world. Other windows in the minster include an ornate rose window and the 50-foot (15 m)[citation needed] tall Five Sisters window. Because of the extended time periods during which the glass was installed, different types of glazing and painting techniques which evolved over hundreds of years are visible in the different windows. Approximately two million individual pieces of glass make up the cathedral's 128 stained glass windows. Much of the glass was removed before and pieced back together after the First and Second World Wars, and the windows are constantly being cleaned and conserved to keep their beauty intact.
In 2008 a major conservation project of the Great East Window commenced, involving the removal, repainting and re-leading of each individual panel.[14] While the window was in storage in the minster's stonemasons' yard, a fire broke out in some adjoining offices, due to an electrical fault, on 30 December 2009.[15] The window's 311 panes, stored in a neighbouring room, were undamaged and were successfully moved to safety.[16][17] In September 2015 Phase One of the renovation project of the East Front of the Minster was completed.[18]
Towers and bells
The two west towers of the minster hold bells, clock chimes and a concert carillon. The north-west tower contains Great Peter (216 cwt or 10.8 tons) and the six clock bells (the largest weighing just over 60 cwt or 3 tons). The south-west tower holds 14 bells (tenor 59 cwt or 3 tons) hung and rung for change ringing and 22 carillon bells (tenor 23 cwt or 1.2 tons) which are played from a baton keyboard in the ringing chamber (all together 35 bells.)
The clock bells ring every quarter of an hour during the daytime and Great Peter strikes the hour. The change ringing bells are rung regularly on Sundays before church services and at other occasions, the ringers practise on Tuesday evenings. York Minster became the first cathedral in England to have a carillon of bells with the arrival of a further twenty-four small bells on 4 April 2008. These are added to the existing "Nelson Chime" which is chimed to announce Evensong around 5.00 pm each day, giving a carillon of 35 bells in total (three chromatic octaves). The new bells were cast at the Loughborough Bell Foundry of Taylors, Eayre & Smith, where all of the existing minster bells were cast. The new carillon is a gift to the minster. It will be the first new carillon in the British Isles for 40 years and first hand played carillon in an English cathedral. Before Evensong each evening, hymn tunes are played on a baton keyboard connected with the bells, but occasionally anything from Beethoven to the Beatles may be heard.[19]
Shrines
When Thomas Becket was murdered and subsequently enshrined at Canterbury, York found itself with a rival major draw for pilgrims. More specifically, pilgrims spent money and would leave gifts for the support of the cathedral. Hence Walter de Gray, supported by the King, petitioned the Pope. On 18 March 1226, Pope Honorius issued a letter to the effect that the name of William (Fitzherbert), formerly Archbishop of York, was "inscribed in the catalogue of the Saints of the Church Militant." Thus there was now St William of York (whose name is perhaps more often associated with the adjacent St William's College). York had its saint but it took until 1279, when William de Wickwane (William de Wykewayne) was elected archbishop, for the remains of the canonised William to be transferred to a shrine prepared for them behind the high altar.[20] This was placed on a platform raised upon the arches of the crypt removed to this position for that purpose. On 29 December King Edward I himself, together with the bishops who were present, carried on their shoulder the chest or feretory containing the relics to their new resting-place and Anthony Beck, consecrated the same day as Bishop of Durham, paid all the expenses.
The tomb of Walter de Gray was erected in the south transept. His remains were interred on "the vigil of Pentecost, 1255"[20] under his effigy "in full canonicals" carved in Purbeck marble under a canopy resting on ten light pillars. It was subsequently somewhat hidden behind a screen of ironwork erected by Archbishop William Markham in the early 19th century.
Organ
The choir
The fire of 1829 destroyed the organ and the basis of the present organ dates from 1832, when Elliot and Hill constructed a new instrument. This organ was reconstructed in 1859 by William Hill and Sons. The case remained intact, but the organ was mechanically new, retaining the largest pipes of the former instrument.
In 1903, J.W. Walker and Sons built a new instrument in the same case. They retained several registers from the previous instrument.
Some work was undertaken in 1918 by Harrison & Harrison when the Tuba Mirabilis was added and the Great chorus revised. The same firm rebuilt this Walker-Harrison instrument in 1931 when a new console and electro-pneumatic action were added together with four new stops. The smaller solo tubas were enclosed in the solo box. In 1960, J.W. Walker & Sons restored the actions, lowered wind pressures and introduced mutations and higher chorus work in the spirit of the neo-classical movement. They cleaned the organ in 1982.
The fire of 1984 affected the organ but not irreparably; the damage hastened the time for a major restoration, which was begun in 1991 and finished two years later by Principal Pipe Organs of York, under the direction of their founder, Geoffrey Coffin, who had at one time been assistant organist at the Minster.[21]
Organists
The organists of York Minster have had several official titles, the job description roughly equates to that of Organist and Master of the Choristers. The current Organist and Director of Music of the minster is Robert Sharpe. There is also an assistant director of music, David Pipe, and an organ scholar.
Among the notable organists of York Minster are four members of the Camidge family, who served as the cathedral's organists for over 100 years, and a number of composers including John Naylor, T. Tertius Noble, Edward Bairstow, Francis Jackson, and Philip Moore.
Dean and chapter
Dean: The Very Revd Vivienne Faull (since 1 December 2012 installation[22])
Precentor: The Revd Canon Peter Moger (since 12 September 2010 installation[23])
Pastor: The Reverend Michael Smith
Chancellor: The Reverend Canon Christopher Collingwood
Archdeacon: The Reverend Canon David Butterfield
Burials
Bosa of York, Bishop of York and Saint (died c. 705)
Eanbald I, Archbishop (780–796)
Osbald, King of Northumbria (died 799)
Ealdred (archbishop of York) (1061–1069)
Thomas of Bayeux, Archbishop (1070–1100)
Gerard, Archbishop (1100–1108)
Thomas II of York, Archbishop (1108–1114)
William of York, Archbishop (1141–1147, 1153–1154)
Henry Murdac, Archbishop (1147–1153)
Roger de Pont L'Eveque, Archbishop {1154–1181}
Walter de Gray, Archbishop (1216–1255)
Sewal de Bovil, Dean and Archbishop (1256–1258)
Godfrey Ludham, Archbishop (1258–1265)
William Langton, Archbishop (1265)
Walter Giffard, Archbishop (1266–1279)
John le Romeyn, Archbishop (1286–1296)
Henry of Newark, Archbishop (1296–1299)
William Greenfield, Archbishop (1306–1315)
Prince William of Hatfield, Infant son of Edward III (1337)
William Melton, Archbishop (1317–1340)
William Zouche, Archbishop (1342–1352)
Henry Percy, soldier (1364–1403)
Richard le Scrope, Archbishop (1398–1405)
Henry Bowet, Archbishop (1407–1423)
Thomas Savage, Archbishop (1501–1507)
Hugh Ashton, Archdeacon of York (died 1522)
John Piers, Archbishop (1589–1594)
George Meriton, Dean of York (1579–1624)
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, (1730-1782)
John Farr Abbott, barrister (1756–1794)
Astronomical clock
The astronomical clock was installed in the North Transept of York Minster in 1955. The clock is a memorial to the airmen operating from bases in Yorkshire, County Durham and Northumberland who were killed in action during the Second World War.[24]
Illuminations
In November 2002, York Minster was illuminated in colour, devised by York-born Mark Brayshaw, for the first time in its history. The occasion was televised live on the BBC1 Look North programme. Similar illuminations have been projected over the Christmas period in subsequent years.
York Minster was also artistically illuminated on 5 November 2005, celebrating the 400th anniversary of the foiling of York-born Guy Fawkes' gunpowder plot. This was done by Patrice Warrener using his unique "chromolithe" technique with which he 'paints' with light, picking out sculpted architectural details.
In October 2010, York Minster's south transept was selected for "Rose", a son et lumiere created by international artists Ross Ashton and Karen Monid which lit up the entire exterior of the south transept of the minster and illuminated the Rose Window. There were also satellite illuminate events in Dean's Park.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durlston_Castle
Durlston Castle stands within Durlston Country Park, a 1.13 square-kilometre (280-acre) country park and nature reserve stretching along the coastline south of Swanage, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset.
History
John Mowlem[1] (1788-1868), a Swanage-born man, was a stonemason and builder. He was the founder of the quarrying and construction company Mowlem. He and his nephew and business partner George Burt[2] (1816-1894) wanted to give something back to their home town, which was the source of their Portland and Purbeck limestone, popular for building at the time. John Mowlem built the Mowlem Institute, a reading room and public library, in 1862. George Burt purchased an undulating tract of land covering Durlston Head during the same year. This estate, the Durlston Estate, included quarries that supplied their firm with limestone. Burt developed this estate as a tourist attraction.
Burt established the Durlston Estate upon the crest of the hill and here he built his folly Durlston Castle. The castle was designed by the Weymouth architect G.R. Crickmay (1830-1907) and built by W.M. Hardy in 1886-87 entirely of local stone. The 'castle' was never a real castle: it was purpose-built by Burt as a restaurant for the visitors to his estate.
The castle played a part in the evolution of radio and telecommunications. A team of Marconi's engineers used the roof of the castle in the 1890s for some of their early wireless experiments to transmit to the Isle of Wight.
The castle passed through the hands of many owners until in 1973 it was bought by Dorset County Council.
Description
The side wall of the castle features a sundial and two stone tablets inscribed with various statistics such as clock times and tides around the world. South of the castle is the Great Globe, built by Burt in 1887.[3] The footpaths around the Castle and Great Globe are lined with cast iron bollards that were brought from London. All around the estate there are further stone plaques carved with quotations from Shakespeare and the Bible, maps showing the English Channel and the United Kingdom, and further facts about the natural world. These surrounds were placed during the period 1887 to 1891.
Also within the Durlston Country Park and within walking distance of the Globe are Durlston Bay, the Tilly Whim Caves and the Anvil Point Lighthouse. The Park is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
Restoration
Durlston Castle and the Great Globe were both restored during 2010 and 2011 by the Council.[4][5] The castle now houses a new Visitor Centre to Durlston Country Park and National Nature Reserve, and stands as a gateway to the Jurassic Coast.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona
Arizona is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Its other neighboring states are Nevada to the northwest and California to the west. It also shares an international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest. It is the 6th-largest and the 14th-most-populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix, which is the most populous state capital in the United States.
Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912. Historically part of the territory of Alta California and Nuevo México in New Spain, it became part of independent Mexico in 1821. After being defeated in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded much of this territory to the United States in 1848, where the area became part of the territory of New Mexico. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase.
Southern Arizona is known for its desert climate, with extremely hot summers and mild winters. Northern Arizona features forests of pine, Douglas fir, and spruce trees; the Colorado Plateau; mountain ranges (such as the San Francisco Mountains); as well as large, deep canyons, with much more moderate summer temperatures and significant winter snowfalls. There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff, Sunrise, and Tucson. In addition to the internationally known Grand Canyon National Park, which is one of the world's seven natural wonders, there are several national forests, national parks, and national monuments.
Arizona is home to a diverse population. About one-quarter of the state is made up of Indian reservations that serve as the home of 27 federally recognized Native American tribes, including the Navajo Nation, the largest in the state and the country, with more than 300,000 citizens. Since the 1980s, the proportion of Hispanics has grown significantly owing to migration from Mexico and Central America. A substantial portion of the population are followers of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Arizona's population and economy have grown dramatically since the 1950s because of inward migration, and the state is now a major hub of the Sun Belt. Cities such as Phoenix and Tucson have developed large, sprawling suburban areas. Many large companies, such as PetSmart and Circle K, have headquarters in the state, and Arizona is home to major universities, including the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University. The state is known for a history of conservative politicians such as Barry Goldwater and John McCain, though it has become a swing state in recent years.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Page,_Arizona
Page is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, near the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 7,247.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe_Bend_(Arizona)
Horseshoe Bend is a horseshoe-shaped incised meander of the Colorado River located near the town of Page, Arizona, United States. It is also referred to as the "east rim of the Grand Canyon."
Horseshoe Bend is located 5 miles (8 km) downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, about 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Page.]
It is accessible via hiking a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) round trip from a parking area just off U.S. Route 89 within southwestern Page. The land south of the Bend's parking area, trail, and overlook are on the Navajo Nation territory.
Horseshoe Bend can be viewed from the steep cliff above.
The overlook is 4,200 feet (1,300 m) above sea level, and the Colorado River is at 3,200 feet (1,000 m) above sea level, making it a 1,000-foot (300 m) drop.
Source: www.nps.gov/glca/planyourvisit/horseshoe-bend.htm
A social media darling, Horseshoe Bend has become one of the most recognized and visited places in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The parking lot and trailhead is located off US Highway 89, approximately 5 miles (8 km) south of the Carl Hayden Visitor Center.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudibranch
Glossodoris atromarginata
www.nudipixel.net/photographer/david_marriott/
The Steps scuba diving site. Kurnell National Park, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Das Wettersteingebirge, kurz auch Wetterstein genannt, ist eine Gebirgsgruppe der Nördlichen Kalkalpen im südlichen Deutschland und westlichen Österreich. Anteil haben der Freistaat Bayern und das Land Tirol. Das Gebirge erreicht seinen höchsten Punkt in der Zugspitze, mit einer Höhe von 2962 m ü. NHN der höchste Berg Deutschlands. Das stark verkarstete Gebirge besteht vorwiegend aus Kalken der Trias, vor allem aus Wettersteinkalk. /
The Wetterstein mountain range, also known as the Wetterstein for short, is a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps in southern Germany and western Austria. The Free State of Bavaria and the state of Tyrol are part of it. The mountain range reaches its highest point at the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany at 2962 metres above sea level. The heavily karstified mountain range consists mainly of Triassic limestone, especially Wetterstein limestone.
Quelle: / Source:
„https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wettersteingebirge“
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Valley
Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, pronounced [tsʰépìːʔ ǹtsɪ̀skɑ̀ìː], meaning "valley of the rocks") is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, with the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The most famous butte formations are located in northeastern Arizona along the Utah–Arizona state line. The valley is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation, the Native American people within whose reservation it lies.
Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Famed director John Ford used the location for a number of his Westerns. Film critic Keith Phipps wrote that "its five square miles [13 km2] have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West".
Sourc: navajonationparks.org/navajo-tribal-parks/monument-valley/
History
Before human existence, the Park was once a lowland basin. For hundreds of millions of years, materials that eroded from the early Rock Mountains deposited layer upon layer of sediment which cemented a slow and gentle uplift, generated by ceaseless pressure from below the surface, elevating these horizontal strata quite uniformly one to three miles above sea level. What was once a basin became a plateau.
Natural forces of wind and water that eroded the land spent the last 50 million years cutting into and peeling away at the surface of the plateau. The simple wearing down of altering layers of soft and hard rock slowly revealed the natural wonders of Monument Valley today.
From the visitor center, you see the world-famous panorama of the Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte. You can also purchase guided tours from Navajo tour operators, who take you down into the valley in Jeeps for a narrated cruise through these mythical formations. Places such as Ear of the Wind and other landmarks can only be accessed via guided tours. During the summer months, the visitor center also features Haskenneini Restaurant, which specializes in both native Navajo and American cuisines, and a film/snack/souvenir shop. There are year-round restroom facilities. One mile before the center, numerous Navajo vendors sell arts, crafts, native food, and souvenirs at roadside stands.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Utah) "يوتا" "犹他州" "יוטה" "यूटा" "ユタ州" "유타" "Юта"
(Monument Valley) "وادي النصب التذكاري" "纪念碑谷" "Vallée des monuments" "מוניומנט ואלי" "स्मारक घाटी" "モニュメントバレー" "모뉴먼트 밸리" "Долина Монументов" "Valle de los Monumentos"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takht-i-Bahi
Takht-i-Bhai (also spelled Takht Bahi, Takht Bhai or Takh Bay) is a Parthian archaeological site in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It was first a Zoroastrian complex which, after the later arrival of Buddhism, was then converted into a Buddhist monastic complex. It is dated to the 1st century BCE.[1] The complex is regarded by archaeologists as being particularly representative of the architecture of Buddhist monastic centers from its era.[2] It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.
Etymology
The word Takht-i-Bahi (Urdu: تخت بھائی) may have different explanations. Local believes that site got its name from two wells on the hill or the springs nearby. In Persian, Takht means "top" or "throne" while bahi means "spring" or "water". When combined together its meaning is Spring from the Top or High Spring, and there were two springs on the top of mountains. Another meaning suggested is Throne of Origin.[3]
Location
The ruins are located about 15 kilometers from Mardan in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province.[1] A small fortified city, dating from the same era, sits nearby.[4] The ruins also sit near a modern village known by the same name.[5] It is located around 500 feet atop the small hill and around 2 km from village bazar.[3] The surrounding area is famous for sugar cane, wheat, maize, vegetable, and orchard cultivation.
Structure[edit]
There are four main areas of the Takht Bahi complex:
The Stupa Court, a cluster of stupas located in a central courtyard.[2]
The monastic chambers, consisting of individual cells arranged around a courtyard, assembly halls, and a dining area.[2]
A temple complex, consisting of stupas and similar to the Stupa Court, but of later construction.[2]
The Tantric monastic complex, which consists of small, dark cells with low openings, which may have been used for certain forms of Tantric meditation.[2]
Additional structures on the site may have served as residences or meeting halls, or filled secular purposes.[5] All of the buildings on the site are constructed from local stone, and are mortared with lime and mud.[
History
Archaeologists have divided the history of the complex into four periods, beginning in the 1st Century BCE.[5]
The monastic complex was likely founded in the early 1st Century BCE.[4] It is proven by an inscriptions found bearing the name of Gondophares (20-46 CE).[3] After Gondophares, the place fell under control of Kujula Kadphises,[3] the first Kushan king. This first era continued until the 2nd Century CE, and is associated with the another Kushan king Kanishka, as well as early Parthian and later Kushan kings.[5] The second construction period, which included the creation of the Stupa Court and assembly hall, took place during the 3rd and 4th Centuries CE. A third construction period, associated with the later Kushan dynasty and the Kidara Kushana rulers, occurred during the 4th and 5th centuries. The final construction period, which saw the creation of the so-called Tantric complex, took place in the 6th and 7th Centuries CE, and was overseen by invading Hun rulers.
Despite numerous invasions into the area, Takht-i-Bahi's hilltop location seems to have protected it from destruction, unlike many comparable early Buddhist monastic complexes.[4] The complex was occupied continuously until Late Antiquity (7th century CE),[3] when charitable funding for the site ended.[2]
The first modern historical reference to these ruins was made in 1836 by the French Officer, the Buddhist remains are in a village named Mazdoorabad.[5] Explorations and excavations on this site began in 1864.[5] A significant number of objects from the site can be found in the British Museum.[6] The site underwent a major restoration in the 1920s.[2]
Biserica Sf. Nicolae [Creţulescu], Bucuresti
Kretzulescu church, Bucharest
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kretzulescu_Church
www.monumenteromania.ro/index.php/monumente/detalii/en/Kr...
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_Valley
Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, pronounced [tsʰépìːʔ ǹtsɪ̀skɑ̀ìː], meaning "valley of the rocks") is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, with the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. The most famous butte formations are located in northeastern Arizona along the Utah–Arizona state line. The valley is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation, the Native American people within whose reservation it lies.
Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Famed director John Ford used the location for a number of his Westerns. Film critic Keith Phipps wrote that "its five square miles [13 km2] have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West".
Sourc: navajonationparks.org/navajo-tribal-parks/monument-valley/
History
Before human existence, the Park was once a lowland basin. For hundreds of millions of years, materials that eroded from the early Rock Mountains deposited layer upon layer of sediment which cemented a slow and gentle uplift, generated by ceaseless pressure from below the surface, elevating these horizontal strata quite uniformly one to three miles above sea level. What was once a basin became a plateau.
Natural forces of wind and water that eroded the land spent the last 50 million years cutting into and peeling away at the surface of the plateau. The simple wearing down of altering layers of soft and hard rock slowly revealed the natural wonders of Monument Valley today.
From the visitor center, you see the world-famous panorama of the Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte. You can also purchase guided tours from Navajo tour operators, who take you down into the valley in Jeeps for a narrated cruise through these mythical formations. Places such as Ear of the Wind and other landmarks can only be accessed via guided tours. During the summer months, the visitor center also features Haskenneini Restaurant, which specializes in both native Navajo and American cuisines, and a film/snack/souvenir shop. There are year-round restroom facilities. One mile before the center, numerous Navajo vendors sell arts, crafts, native food, and souvenirs at roadside stands.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Utah) "يوتا" "犹他州" "יוטה" "यूटा" "ユタ州" "유타" "Юта"
(Monument Valley) "وادي النصب التذكاري" "纪念碑谷" "Vallée des monuments" "מוניומנט ואלי" "स्मारक घाटी" "モニュメントバレー" "모뉴먼트 밸리" "Долина Монументов" "Valle de los Monumentos"
St Bees is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Copeland district of Cumbria on the Irish Sea coast just south of St. Bees Head, the most westerly point of Northern England.
In the parish is St Bees Head which is the only Heritage Coast between Wales and Scotland which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is the spectacular location of the largest seabird colony in north-west England. St Bees Lighthouse stands on the North Head.
St Bees is a popular holiday destination due the coastline and proximity to the Lake District, and in the village there is St Bees Priory, and the St Bees School site (the school is temporarily closed). The Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk starts from the north end of St Bees Bay which is within easy walking distance of the main village centre.
Early history
Evidence of Mesolithic and Bronze Age habitation has been found in St Bees,[2] but nothing of the Roman occupation. The name St Bees is a corruption of the Norse name for the village, which is given in the earliest charter of the Priory as "Kyrkeby becok", which can be translated as the "Church town of Bega",[3] relating to the local Saint Bega.[4] She was said to be an Irish princess who fled across the Irish Sea to St Bees to avoid an enforced marriage. Carved stones at the priory show that Irish-Norse Vikings settled here in the 10th century.
The Normans did not reach Cumbria until 1092, and when they took over the local lordships, William Meschin, Lord of Egremont, used the existing religious site[5] to found a Benedictine priory for a prior and six monks sometime between 1120 and 1135. The priory was subordinate to the great Benedictine monastery of St Mary at York. The magnificent Norman doorway of the priory dates from just after this time; probably about 1150.
The priory had a great influence on the area. The monks worked the land, fished, and extended the priory buildings. The ecclesiastical parish of St Bees was large and stretched to Ennerdale, Loweswater, Wasdale and Eskdale. The coffin routes from these outlying areas to the mother church in St Bees can still be followed in places.
The priory was closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries on the orders of Henry VIII in 1539. The nave and transepts of the monastic church have continued in use as the parish church to the present day, but much of the extensive monastic buildings were plundered or fell into decay.
Remarkably, the small West Cumbrian village of St Bees produced two of the archbishops of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I: Edmund Grindal; Archbishop of Canterbury and Edwin Sandys; Archbishop of York.[6]
In about 1519 Edmund Grindal was born in Cross Hill House, St Bees, which still exists, and is marked with a plaque.[7] He was probably educated at the priory across the valley. A devout Protestant, he made his mark in the reign of Edward VI, but had to flee to Strasbourg when the Catholic Mary I ascended the throne. On Mary's death the country once again became Protestant, and Grindal became Bishop of London, Archbishop of York and then Archbishop of Canterbury. His undoing was opposing Queen Elizabeth I on liberal religious meetings and he was suspended. He died in 1583 still in disgrace, but, virtually on his death bed, he founded St Bees School which existed until July 2015, when it closed. The present primary school in the village was established in the 1870s.
Growth of the village
The site of the priory is on an area of firm ground higher than the peat beds that fill the valley, and it is logical that the original settlement would grow up there. However the area was constricted, and as the village expanded it grew on up the opposite side of the valley. The oldest existing house dates from the early 16th century and the present Main Street was created from a string of farms and farmworkers' dwellings.
The 19th century saw the start of great changes. In 1816 St Bees Theological College was founded, and was the first theological college for the training of Church of England clergy outside Oxford and Cambridge. To house the college, the monastic chancel of the Priory was re-roofed and served as the main lecture room, and additional lecture rooms were built in the 1860s. At one time the college had 100 students, and over 2,600 clergy were trained before it closed in 1895.[8]
St. Bees School started its era of expansion with the building of the quadrangle in 1846 using compensation from the rich mine-owning Lowther family, who had illegally obtained the lucrative mineral rights for Whitehaven from the school in 1742 at a derisory sum.[9] This was the first step in St. Bees School's rise from a local institution to becoming one of the new "public schools" on the fashionable model of Dr Arnold's Rugby School. By 1916 numbers had reached 350, many new buildings had been erected, and the school had become known nationally.
Perhaps some of the greatest changes were after 1849 when the Furness Railway reached the village. St Bees attracted the professional classes which commuted to Whitehaven or Workington. This led to the building of many of the larger houses and Lonsdale Terrace. The railway brought tourists, and as early as 1851 the Lord Mayor of London stayed at the Seacote Hotel. This long history of attracting tourists for "bucket and spade" holidays has continued to this day.
The railway made possible the export of St Bees sandstone. Huge amounts of stone were quarried, much of it for building the boom town of Barrow-in-Furness. This industry died out in the 1970s, but has since been revived, and there are now two working quarries in the parish.
Agriculture was originally the mainstay of the village economy. Gradually, during the 19th century, service employment for the school and lodgings for the college gave additional income, and with the advent of commuters, the village's social mix was becoming more middle class. Tourism and quarries also provided employment, and many village men found work in the iron ore mines at Cleator. Thus the 19th century saw the change from a rural backwater based on agriculture, to the more diversified role of a dormitory village for professional and industrial worker alike, and its growth into a minor academic centre.
The start of the 20th century saw yet another decline in agriculture, and this has continued to today, when there are only a few farms left. Industrial decline also hit West Cumbria as a whole, particularly after the boom years of both world wars. However, following the Second World War, two major industries were established which have had a profound effect on the community.[10] The former Marchon Chemical Company at Whitehaven, and UKAEA/BNFL at Sellafield both soaked up village labour released by the declining heavy iron and mining industries, and brought a large influx of the technical and scientific university-educated middle class into the village; rather like the first arrival of the professional classes a century earlier. There is now an extensive science park – Westlakes, on the northern fringe of the parish, at which the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has its national headquarters.
The last two decades have seen a significant revival in tourism, boosted by the Coast to Coast walk and increasing recognition of the unique landscape of the St Bees Heritage Coast.
In 2014, it was rated one of the most attractive postcode areas to live in England.[11]
St Bees Man
In 1981 an archaeological excavation at the priory revealed a vault with a lead coffin containing an astonishingly well preserved body – now known as the St Bees Man. He has been identified as Anthony de Lucy,[12] a knight, who died in 1368 in the Teutonic Crusades in Lithuania. Although the body was over six hundred years old, his nails, skin and stomach contents were found to be in near-perfect condition.[13] After his death the vault was enlarged to take the body of his sister, Maud de Lucy, who died in 1398. The effigies which are probably of both Maud and Anthony can be seen in the extensive history display which includes the shroud in which he was wrapped.
Transport links
The village has a railway station in the village centre which is served by St Bees railway station on the Cumbrian Coast Line, with trains from Barrow-in-Furness, Lancaster, Preston and Carlisle. There are currently (2015) 22 stopping passenger trains a day. There is no Sunday service.
The village is on the B5345 from Whitehaven to Iron Bridge junction near Beckermet.
Sport and recreation
The village has a football team which competes in the Cumbria County league. The most successful player to come through its ranks was Zac Starkie who joined Gretna FC as a youth player and went on to play for Zimbabwe Under 21's football team as he was eligible through his grandmother's origin.[citation needed]
There are facilities for rugby, football and cricket at the Adams recreation ground adjacent to the Seacote beach. This playing field was created in memory of Baron Adams of Ennerdale. The sports facilities of St Bees School are also available, which include a sports hall, squash, tennis and fives courts, and an indoor swimming pool.
Coast-based recreational activities at St Bees are: windsurfing, kite-surfing, rock climbing, bouldering, swimming, jet-skiing, water-skiing, canoeing and para-gliding. These are undertaken on St Bees Head and off the large sandy surf beach.
For downloadable walking guides, see [1] The circular walk to St Bees Head and Birkhams quarry featured in the May 2012 booklet of the best coastal walks in UK published by the Daily Telegraph newspaper; it being one of only two walks covered in the north west of England.
Wainwright Coast to Coast walk
St Bees is the start of the Wainwright Coast to Coast walk, which was devised by Alfred Wainwright in 1973. It is an 192-mile (309 km)[14] unofficial and mostly unsignposted long-distance footpath in Northern England. Devised by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through three contrasting National Parks: the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park.
Wainwright recommended that walkers dip their booted feet in the Irish Sea at St Bees and, at the end of the walk, in the North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay. At St Bees the start is marked by the "Wainwright Wall" which explains the walk and its history. A new interpretation board and the steel banner were installed in summer 2013 by St Bees Parish Council and the Wainwright Society.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axolotl:
The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a paedomorphic salamander closely related to the tiger salamander. It is unusual among amphibians in that it reaches adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. Instead of taking to the land, adults remain aquatic and gilled. The species was originally found in several lakes underlying what is now Mexico City, such as Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco. These lakes were drained by Spanish settlers after the conquest of the Aztec Empire, leading to the destruction of much of the axolotl's natural habitat.
A sexually mature adult axolotl, at age 18–27 months, ranges in length from 15 to 45 cm (6 to 18 in), although a size close to 23 cm (9 in) is most common and greater than 30 cm (12 in) is rare. Axolotls possess features typical of salamander larvae, including external gills and a caudal fin extending from behind the head to the vent. External gills are usually lost when salamander species mature into adulthood, although the axolotl maintains this feature.[15] This is due to their neoteny evolution, where axolotls are much more aquatic than other salamander species.
Their heads are wide, and their eyes are lidless. Their limbs are underdeveloped and possess long, thin digits. Males are identified by their swollen cloacae lined with papillae, while females are noticeable for their wider bodies full of eggs. Three pairs of external gill stalks (rami) originate behind their heads and are used to move oxygenated water. The external gill rami are lined with filaments (fimbriae) to increase surface area for gas exchange. Four-gill slits lined with gill rakers are hidden underneath the external gills, which prevent food from entering and allow particles to filter through.
Axolotls have barely visible vestigial teeth, which develop during metamorphosis. The primary method of feeding is by suction, during which their rakers interlock to close the gill slits. External gills are used for respiration, although buccal pumping (gulping air from the surface) may also be used to provide oxygen to their lungs.[15] Buccal pumping can occur in a two-stroke manner that pumps air from the mouth to the lungs, and with four-stroke that reverses this pathway with compression forces.
Axolotls exhibit diverse color variations driven by mutations in their pigmentation genes. These genes play a crucial role in determining the coloration of these unique creatures.
Wiki - The Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama are one of Japan's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The site is located in the Shogawa river valley stretching across the border of Gifu and Toyama Prefectures in central Japan. Shirakawa-gō (白川郷, "White River Old-District") is located in the village of Shirakawa in Gifu Prefecture.
These villages are well known for their houses constructed in the architectural style known as gasshō-zukuri (合掌造り). The Gasshō-zukuri, "prayer-hands construction" style is characterized by a thatched and steeply slanting roof resembling two hands joined in prayer. The design is exceptionally strong and, in combination with the unique properties of the thatching, allow the houses to withstand and shed the weight of the region's heavy snowfalls in winter.
The houses are large, with three to four stories encompassed between the low eaves, and historically intended to house large extended families and a highly efficient space for a variety of industries. The densely forested mountains of the region still occupy 96% of all land in the area, and prior to the introduction of heavy earth-moving machinery, the narrow bands of flat lands running the length of the river valley limited the area available for agriculture and homestead development. The upper storeys of the gasshō houses were usually set aside for sericulture, while the areas below the first (ground) floor were often used for the production of nitre, one of the raw materials needed for the production of gunpowder.
All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce, copy, edit, publish, transmit or upload material in my gallery without my permission.
Wiki: The creator of the cartoon character Wiley Coyote, Chuck Jones, based the character on Mark Twain's book Roughing It, in which Twain described the coyote as "a long, slim, sick and sorry-looking skeleton" that is "a living, breathing allegory of Want. He is always hungry."
Kavala (Greek: Καβάλα) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos. Kavala is located on the Egnatia motorway and is a one and a half-hour drive to Thessaloniki (160 kilometres (99 miles) west) and a forty-minute drive to Drama (37 km (23 miles) north) and Xanthi (56 km (35 miles) east). Its nickname is The cyan city (Η γαλάζια πόλη).
History
Antiquity
The city was founded at about the end of the 7th century BC by settlers from Thassos, who called it Neapolis (Νεάπολις; "new city" in Greek). It was one of the colonies that the Thassians founded along the coastline in order to take advantage of the rich gold and silver mines of the territory, especially those located in the nearby Pangaion mountain (which were eventually exploited by Phillip the Second of Macedonia).
The worship of "Parthenos", a female deity of Greek–Ionian origin, is archaeologically attested in the archaic period. At the end of the 6th century BC Neapolis claimed its independence from Thassos and cut its own silver coins with the head of Gorgo (γοργὀνειο) on the one side. At the beginning of the 5th century BC a large Ionic temple made from thassian marble replaced the archaic one. Parts of it can now be seen in the archaeological museum of Kavala.
In 411 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, Neapolis was besieged by the allied armies of the Spartans and the Thassians but remained faithful to Athens. Two Athenian honorary decrees in 410 and 407 BC rewarded Neapolis for its loyalty.
Neapolis was a town of Macedonia, located 14 km (9 mi) from the harbor of Philippi. Neapolis was a member of the Athenian League; a pillar found in Athens mentions the contribution of Neapolis to the alliance.
Roman Era
The military Roman road Via Egnatia passed through the city helped commerce to flourish. It became a Roman civitas in 168 BC, and was a base for Brutus and Cassius in 42 BC, before their defeat in the Battle of Philippi. (Appian, B.C. iv. 106; Dion Cass. xlvii. 35.). The Apostle Paul landed at Kavala on his first voyage to Europe (Acts, xvi. 11).
Byzantine Era
In the 6th century, Byzantine emperor Justinian I fortified the city in an effort to protect it from barbaric raids. In later Byzantine times the city was called Christoupolis (Χριστούπολις, "city of Christ") and belonged to the theme of Macedonia. The first mention of the new name is recorded in a taktikon of the early 9th century. The city is also mentioned in the "Life of St. Gregory of Dekapolis". In the 8th and 9th century, Bulgarian attacks forced the Byzantines to reorganize the defense of the area, giving great care to Christoupolis with fortifications and a notable garrison. In 926 the Byzantine general (strategos) Basil Klaudon reconstructed the fallen walls of the city, ("τα πριν φθαρέντα και πεπτωκότα τείχη") according to an inscription that is now in the archaeological museum of Kavala. Due to the location of Christoupolis, the city experienced an economic resurgence, securing the contact between Constantinople and Thessaloniki. During the Norman raid of Macedonia in 1185, the city was captured and burned. In 1302, the Catalans failed to capture the city. In order to prevent them from coming back, the Byzantine emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos built a new long defensive wall ("το παρά την Χριστούπολιν τείχισμα"). In the 13th century the Byzantine Greek historian George Akropolites writes that the city and the area around the city is highly populated with Bulgarians and this makes it more difficult to keep the city as a part of Bizantium.[2] In 1357 it is mentioned that the Byzantine officers and brothers Alexios and John controlled the city and its territory. Recent excavations have revealed the ruins of an early Byzantine basilica under an old Ottoman mosque in the old part of the city (Panagia peninsula). This Christian temple was used until the late Byzantine era, as the also recently revealed small cemetery around it shows. The Ottoman Turks first captured the city in 1387 and completely destroyed it in 1391, as a Mount Athos chronicle testifies.
Ottoman Era
Kavala was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1387 to 1912. In the middle of the 16th century, Ibrahim Pasha, Grand Vizier of Suleiman the Magnificent, contributed to the prosperity and growth of Kavala by the construction of an aqueduct.[3] The Ottomans also extended the Byzantine fortress on the hill of Panagia. Both landmarks are among the most recognizable symbols of the city today.
Mehmet Ali, the founder of a dynasty that ruled Egypt, was born in Kavala in 1769. His house has been preserved as a museum.
Modern Kavala
Kavala was briefly occupied by the Bulgarians during the first Balkan War in 1912, but was finally captured by Greece in 1913 during a successful landing operation by the Greek Navy that was commanded by the famous admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis. During World War I Kavala suffered from the Bulgarian military occupation with many victims among its Greek population.[citation needed] After the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, the city entered a new era of prosperity because of the labour offered by the thousands of refugees that moved to the area from Asia Minor. The development was both industrial and agricultural. Kavala became greatly involved in the processing and trading of tobacco. Many buildings related to the storage and processing of tobacco from that era are preserved in the city.
During World War II and after the fall of Athens, the Nazis awarded Kavala to their Bulgarian allies in 1941, causing the city to suffer once again, but finally was liberated in 1944.
In the late 1950s Kavala expanded towards the sea by reclaiming land from the area west of the port.
In 1967, King Constantine II left Athens for Kavala in an unsuccessful attempt to launch a counter-coup against the military junta.
Etymology
In antiquity the name of the city was Neapolis. During the Middle Ages it was Christoupolis. The etymology of the modern name of the city is disputed. There are some explanations, either from the Italian cavallo (=horse), or from the Hebrew Kabbalah due to the large Jewish population of the city.
Climate
Kavala has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification "Cfa") that borders on an semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification "BSk" or "BSh" depending on the system used) with annual average precipitation of 460 mm (18.1 in). Snowfalls are sporadic, but happen more or less every year. The humidity is always very high
The absolute maximum temperature ever recorded was 38.0 °C (100 °F), while the absolute minimum ever recorded was −5.8 °C (22 °F).
Education/Research
The Technological Educational Institute (panoramic view).TEI of Kavala: The Technological Educational Institute of Kavala (Greek: ΤΕΙ Καβάλας) is a public institute providing education at university level in the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. The main campus of the institute located in St. Lukas, Kavala and is approximately 132,000 m2 with buildings covering an area of 36,000 m2.The campus is home for 2 faculties (Faculty of Engineering Sciences and Faculty of Business and Economics) with totally 9 departments.
Fisheries Research Institute:[5] Fisheries Research Institute (F.R.I) is one of the five specialized research institutes of N.AG.RE.F, being responsible to conduct research and to promote technological development in the fishery sector. The Institute is located 17 km (11 mi) away from Kavala, in Nea Peramos, at the centre of a marine area with rich fishery grounds and high biodiversity in the surrounding lagoons, lakes and rivers.
Institute of Mohamed Ali for the Research of the Eastern Tradition (I.M.A.R.E.T.):[6] I.M.A.R.E.T. is a registered NGO with the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was established several months ago by concerned citizens in Kavala, Greece. Its aims include the study of the Egyptian influence in Greece and vice versa. The intra-cultural exchange and dialogue, as well as the promotion of art as a means of intra-cultural understanding. The first major co-operation partner is Cultnat of Bibliotheca Alaxandrina with the aim of documenting and digitizing the architectural heritage of the Mohamed Ali era in Egypt and Greece. Most important event that take place every year at the institute is the International Roman Law Moot Court Competition.
Historical & Literary Archives of Kavala:[7] It is purely a non-profiteering, public utility foundation. The foundation of the Historical & Literary Archives of Kavala is not subsidized by the Greek State, neither by any other enterprise of the private sector. Its operational cost is covered only by its founders and by infrequent aids of the local self-government.
Egnatia Aviation:[8] It is a private training college for pilots that started training in Greece in July 2006. The facilities of Egnatia Aviation mostly located in the former passenger’s terminal of the Kavala International Airport "Alexander the Great".
Culture
Festivals and events
Kavala hosts a wide array of cultural events, which mostly take place during the summer months. The top festival is the Festival of Philippi,[9] which lasts from July to September and includes theatrical performances and music concerts. Since 1957, it has been the city's most important cultural event and one of the most important of Greece.
Cosmopolis is an International Festival held in the Old Town of Kavala that offers an acquaintance with cultures around the world through dancing and musical groups, traditional national cuisines, cinema, and exhibits at the kiosks of the participant countries.
Giannis Papaioannou’s Festival includes concerts and music seminars.[10]
Ilios ke Petra (Sun and Stone)(July): a Festival held in “Akontisma” of Nea Karvali. The event is of folkloric character, with the participation of traditional dancing groups from all over the world.
Wood Water Wild Festival:[11] Wood Water Wild is an outdoor activities festival, inspired by nature. It includes live bands & DJ sets, body&mind activities, a book fair, outdoor theatre, ecology, camping, and debates.
Kavala AirSea Show:[12] An annual air show, which takes place during the last days of June
Besides, various cultural events are held in all municipalities of Kavala during the summer months.
Cuisine
Fish and sea food, as well as the products of the local livestock breeding and agricultural sectors are the prevailing elements of Kavala courses. In Kavala, the traditional local recipes have been influenced by the cuisine of the refugees from Pontos, Asia Minor and Kappadokia. Fresh fish and sea food, salted food, mackerel "gouna" (sun dried mackerel on the grill), sardine pantremeni, mussels with rice, herring saganaki, anchovies wrapped in grape leaves, Stuffed eggplant: these are some very renowned recipes in Kavala and the coastal settlements of the region. The grapes, wine and tsipouro produced in the area, as well as the kourabiedes (sugar-coated almond biscuits) from Nea Karvali are particularly famous.
Municipality
The municipality of Kavala was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 2 former municipalities, that became municipal units:[13]
Municipal units (former municipalities):
Kavala
Filippoi
Municipal unit
Kavala 58,790
Filippoi 11,711
The population of the new municipality is 70,501 and the area is 350,61 km2. The seat of the municipality is in Kavala. Some of the most important communities inside new municipality are:
Population
Kavala 56,371
Krinides 3,365
Amigdaleonas 2,724
Nea Karvali 2,225
Zygos 2,057
Subdivisions
Kavala is built amphitheatrically, with most residents enjoying superb views of the coast and sea. Some of the regions inside Kavala are:
Agia Varvara Agios Athanasios Agios Ioannis Agios Loukas Chilia
Dexameni Kalamitsa Kentro Neapolis Panagia
Perigiali Potamoudia Profitis Ilias Timios Stavros Vyronas
Province
The province of Kavala (Greek: Επαρχία Καβάλας) was one of the provinces of the Kavala Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipality Kavala, and part of the municipal unit Eleftheroupoli.[14] It was abolished in 2006.
Transport
Highway Network
European route E90 runs through the city and connects Kavala with the other cities. The Egnatia Motorway (A2) lies north of the city. One can enter the city from one of two Junctions; 'Kavala West' and 'Kavala East'.Kavala has regular connection with Interregional Bus Lines (KTEL) from and to Thessaloniki and Athens.
Airport
The Kavala International Airport "Alexander the Great" (27 km (17 mi) from Kavala) is connected with Athens by regularly scheduled flights and with many European cities by scheduled and charter flights.
Port
Kavala is connected with all the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea with frequent itineraries of various ferry lines.
Bus
The city is connected with all of the large Greek cities such as Thessaloniki and Athens. All of the local villages are also connected via bus lines. The cost of tickets is very cheap. There is also a shuttle bus in Kavala with these lines : 1. Vironas - Kallithea 2. Dexameni 3. Cemetery 4. Kipoupoli - Technological Institute 5. Agios Loukas 6. Profitis Ilias 7. Stadium 8. Kalamitsa - Batis ( only in summer ) 9. Agios Konstantinos 10. Neapoli 11. Hospital - Perigiali
Sports
Kavala F.C.: AO Kavala (Greek: Athlitikos Omilos Kavala, Αθλητικός Όμιλος Καβάλα), the Athletic Club Kavala, is a professional association football club based in the city of Kavala, Greece.The club plays in the Municipal Kavala Stadium "Anthi Karagianni".[15]
Kavala B.C.: Enosi Kalathosfairisis Kavalas (Greek: Ένωση Καλαθοσφαίρισης Καβάλας - Basketball Union of Kavala) is a Greek professional basketball club that is located in Kavala, Greece. The club is also known as E.K. Kavalas. The club's full Greek name is Ένωση Καλαθοσφαίρισης Καβάλας. Which means, Kavala Basketball Union or Kavala Basketball Association in English. The club competes in the Greek League.
Kavala '86: A women football club, founded in 1986, with panhellenic titles in Greek women football.
Kavala Chess Club:[16] Chess is very popular in Kavala and the local chess club ranks top in Greece, enjoying plenty of success both domestically and internationally. The highlight has to be the club's annual International Open, that takes place every August in Kavala and attracts the biggest names in chess from all over the globe
Nautical Club of Kavala (1945, Ναυτικός Ομιλος Καβάλας, ΝΟΚ). Sports of sea (swimming, yachting,water-polo,diving e.t.c.)
Kavala Titans (2009, Τιτάνες Καβάλας). Rugby Union
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Kavala is twinned with:
Bulgaria Gabrovo, Bulgaria (1975)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Gradiška, Bosnia and Herzegovina (1994)
Germany Nuremberg, Germany (1998)
Partnerships
Morocco Agadir, Morocco (2001)
Armenia Martuni, Armenia (2001)
Turkey Tekirdağ, Turkey (2003)
Bulgaria Gotse Delchev, Bulgaria (2003)
Serbia Vranje, Serbia (2009)
Postage stamps
Austria opened a post office in Kavala before 1864.[18] Between 1893 and 1903, the French post office in the city issued its own postage stamps; at first stamps of France overprinted with "Cavalle" and a value in piasters, then in 1902 the French designs inscribed "CAVALLE".
Historical population
1961 44,517 44,978 -
1971 46,234 46,887 -
1981 56,375 56,705 -
1991 56,571 58,025 -
2001 58,663 63,293 -
2011 54,027 58,790 70,501
Notable figures
Muhammad Ali Pasha of Kavala, the Albanian Wali (governor) of Egypt between 1805–1848 and founder of the modern state of Egypt
Theodore Kavalliotis, Greek Orthodox priest, teacher and a figure of the Greek Enlightenment
Vassilis Vassilikos, Greek writer and diplomat
George Georgiadis, Greek footballer
Giorgos Heimonas (1938–2000), writer and translator
Nikos Karageorgiou, (born December 9, 1962) Manager of Greek football team Ergotelis, based in Heraklion, Crete
Anthi Karagianni, silver medalist in the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games; the city's Municipal stadium is named after her
Vasilis Karas, Greek singer
Nikos Kourkoulis, Greek singer
Mitsos Partsalidis, first elected "red" (communist) mere in modern Greek history, back in 1.4.1934
Antigone Valakou, actress
Despina Vandi, a Top Greek singer
Thanasis Euthimiadis, a Greek actor
Anna Verouli, 1982 Gold Medalist, European Championship, javelin thrower
Zisis Vryzas (born November 9, 1973), former footballer, currently vicepresident of PAOK FC
Theodoros Zagorakis (born October 27, 1971), former footballer, captain of national team of Greece-European champion 2004, currently president of PAOK FC
Anna Gerasimou, a Greek tennis player
Kleon Krantonellis, Αrchitect
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malam_Jabba#
Malam Jabba (also Maalam Jabba, Urdu: مالم جبہ) is a Hill Station in the Karakoram mountain range nearly 40 km from Saidu Sharif in Swat Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is 314 km from Islamabad and 51 km from Saidu Sharif Airport.
Malam Jabba is home to the only ski resort in Pakistan.[1] The area also contains two Buddhist stupas and six monasteries that are scattered around the resort. The presence of the monuments at such a height indicates that the area has been inhabited for over 2000 years.
Two trekking trails are located near the Malam Jabba resort. The first passes through the Ghorband Valley and Shangla Top and starts about 18 km from the resort. The other trail passes through the Sabonev Valley and is about 17 km from the resort.
Malam Jabba ski resort
The Malam Jabba Ski Resort, owned by the Pakistani Tourism Development Corporation, had a ski slope of about 800 m with the highest point of the slope 2804 m (9200 ft) above sea level. Malam Jabba Ski Resort was the joint effort of the Pakistan government with its Austrian counterpart. The resort was equipped with modern facilities including roller/ice-skating rinks, chair lifts, skiing platforms, telephones and snow clearing equipment.[citation needed]
In late June 2008, the Malam Jabba Ski Resort was set on fire and destroyed after being closed for more than a year. Residents said a large portion of the resort had been reduced to ashes and the militants also damaged chairlifts and a tower belonging to the meteorological department. The Pakistani government had long since lost control over the administration and security of the valley and had abandoned the resort, laying off its employees there. This was due to the war in the Swat valley between government security forces and Taliban militias (who were likely relocating from nearby FATA and Afghanistan).[2] The Pakistani government accepted a Taliban truce in the Swat valley.[3] The Taliban started infiltrating armed members into the adjoining state of Buner and openly invited Osama bin Laden. In May 2009 however the army started an offensive against the Taliban and retook the town.[4] The ski hill at the resort has now been rebuilt and is fully operational.[5] The ski track has undergone reconstruction and rehabilitation.The hotel is still awaiting reconstruction.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters).
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. The surrounding area is contained within the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of the preservation of the Grand Canyon area and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.
Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon.
For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_National_Park
Grand Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres (1,901.972 sq mi; 4,926.08 km2) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than 4.7 million recreational visitors in 2023. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.
Source: www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
Entirely within the state of Arizona, the park encompasses 278 miles (447 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Located on the ancestral homelands of 11 present day Tribal Communities, Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—a mile deep canyon unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors from both north and south rims.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Grand Canyon) "جراند كانيون" "大峡谷" "גרנד קניון" "ग्रांड कैन्यन" "グランドキャニオン" "그랜드 캐니언" "Гранд-Каньон" "Gran Cañón"
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruppaner_Brauerei
1795 gründete der Pfalzvogt Nikolaus Matt die Brauerei unter dem Namen „Bierbrauerei zur Sonne“.
Die Ruppaner Brauerei in der vierten Generation als unabhängige mittelständische Privatbrauerei.
Bio-Schimmele – naturtrübes Pilsener Bier
Spezial Export
Edel-Pils
Hefe Weizen – naturtrübes Weißbier
Hefe Weizen Dunkel – dunkles Weißbier
Kristall Weizen – klares Weißbier
Das Logo setzt sich zusammen aus:
dem Schriftzug „Ruppaner“, der in einer gebrochenen Schrift gesetzt ist
dem Konstanzer Wappen
dem Gründungsjahr
dem Schriftzug „Konstanzer Brautradition“
der Silhouette der Stadt Konstanz
www.ruppaner-bodensee.de/aktuelles/
Hecker Dunkel – naturtrübes Dunkelbier
Lago Lemon – Biermischgetränk mit Limonengeschmack
Bock Hell – helles Starkbier
Lager Hell – helles Lager-Bier
Bodensee Radler – Biermischgetränk mit Zitronenlimonade
BIO Märzen (seit 2013)
Weihnachtsbier - Sonderabfüllung zu Weihnachten
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters).
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. The surrounding area is contained within the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of the preservation of the Grand Canyon area and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.
Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon.
For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_National_Park
Grand Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres (1,901.972 sq mi; 4,926.08 km2) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than 4.7 million recreational visitors in 2023. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.
Source: www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
Entirely within the state of Arizona, the park encompasses 278 miles (447 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Located on the ancestral homelands of 11 present day Tribal Communities, Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—a mile deep canyon unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors from both north and south rims.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Grand Canyon) "جراند كانيون" "大峡谷" "גרנד קניון" "ग्रांड कैन्यन" "グランドキャニオン" "그랜드 캐니언" "Гранд-Каньон" "Gran Cañón"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sefton_Park
Sefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name within the Liverpool City Council Ward of Mossley Hill, and roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park. Neighbouring districts include modern-day Toxteth, Aigburth, Mossley Hill, and St Michael's Hamlet.
The park is 235 acres (0.95 km2) in area[1] and has been designated a Grade II* Historic Park by English Heritage[citation needed] making it one of three such parks in the city, along with the nearby Princes Park and St James Cemetery.
History
The site of the park was once within the boundaries of the 2,300-acre (9.3 km2) Royal Deer Park of Toxteth which became "disparked" in 1591. The land eventually came under the control of the Earl of Sefton.
As Toxteth rapidly grew, the green fields and woodland of Toxteth Park grew into narrow streets and courts packed tiny uninhabitable houses where the air was stagnant, there was little or no sanitation and running water consisted of one tap in the middle of the court. At the same time there was demand for large aristocratic mansions in the South of Liverpool. In 1862 the Borough Council Engineer recommended a site for this development. An Act of Parliament[which?] in 1864 permitted corporations to borrow sums of money up to half a million pounds to be repaid over thirty years. This allowed steps to be taken towards the purchase of land for Sefton Park. In 1867 the Council purchased 375 acres (1.52 km2) of land for the development of the park for £250,000 from the Earl of Sefton.
Even though it was recognised by politicians that clean, fresh open spaces were now regarded as necessity there was an outcry from the public that £250,000 was extravagant and wasteful. As with neighbouring Princes Park plots of land on the perimeter were sold for housing which helped in the funding of the layout of the park.
Soon after, a European competition was launched to design a grand park. 29 entries were received and the competition was won by a French landscape architect Édouard André with work on the design also undertaken by Liverpool architect Lewis Hornblower. The park was opened on 20 May 1872 by Prince Arthur who dedicated it "for the health and enjoyment of the townspeople".
The Park design is based on circular, oval and marginal footpaths, framing the green spaces, with two natural watercourses flowing into the 7-acre (0.028 km2) man-made lake. Hornblower’s designs for the park lodges and entrances were elaborate structures, and included follies[specify], shelters and boathouses. The parkland itself included a deer park and the strong water theme was reflected by the presence of pools, waterfalls and stepping stones. The Park, its exclusive villas and ornamentation reflected the grandeur of the City during its mid Victorian period when Liverpool was the second city of the Empire.
The perimeter road's outer edge is lined with Victorian buildings constructed to around 1890, and Edwardian houses. Additional development of the park continued with the construction of the iron bridge in 1873.
The park had a gallops[specify] which led to it being nicknamed "the Hyde Park of the North" but was always referred to by locals as "The Jockey Sands".[citation needed]
A major park improvement programme was undertaken in 1983 prior to International Garden Festival.
Sporting uses
Sefton Park Cricket Club moved their ground to the park in 1876 and WG Grace was amongst the three Gloucestershire players who made up a "South of England" team who won there in 1877. The park also has tennis courts, a bowling green, a popular jogging circuit and local league football is a regular weekend fixture. It is also used every November to hold the European Cross Country Championships trial races for the British team.
Entertainment uses
The park has also been a site for Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's summer pops season, Africa Oyé and the Moscow State Circus. Bands have also played at the park in the 80s such as Echo and the Bunneymen.
Restoration
In 2005 the park received provisional approval for a major £5 million Heritage Lottery funded renovation project which involves the refurbishment and improvement of many of the park's features. The work began in June 2007 was expected to be completed in summer 2009. This work was very controversial with some regular users of the park as it included destroying trees and breeding sites of birds.[2] The work led to the formation of the "Friends of Sefton Park" campaigns.
Notable features of the park
Palm House
This is a Grade II* three-tier dome conservatory palm house designed and built by MacKenzie and Moncur of Edinburgh which opened in 1896. Liverpool millionaire Henry Yates Thompson (the great nephew of the founder of Princes Park) gifted £10,000 to the city to fund the construction. It was designed in the tradition of Joseph Paxton's glass houses and was stocked originally with a rich collection of exotic plants.
During the Liverpool Blitz of May 1941 a bomb fell nearby and shattered the glass. It was reglazed in 1950 at a cost of £6,163 with costs covered by War Restoration funds. A period of decline and deterioration culminated in its closure in the 1980s on grounds of safety.
In June 1992, a public meeting was held highlighting the dereliction and calling for restoration. A petition was presented to the City Council by what had become the "Save the Palm House" campaign. A public fund raising campaign was established, with a "sponsor a pane" programme generating over £35,000. This led directly to the conversion of Save the Palm House into a registered charity (Friends of Sefton Park Palm House). The Palm House was partially repaired and reopened in 1993. It was fully restored at a cost of £3.5 million with Heritage Lottery and European funding and reopened in September 2001. It is now both a popular visitor attraction offering free and paid-for public entertainment and is venue for hire.
The eight ‘corners’ of the Palm House are marked by statues by the French sculptor Leon-Joseph Chavalliaud. These include explorers Captain Cook, Christopher Columbus, navigators Gerardus Mercator and Henry the Navigator, botanists and explorers Charles Darwin, Carl Linnaeus and John Parkinson and landscape architect Andre le Notre. Inside the Palm House are two sculptures by Benjamin Edward Spence "Highland Mary" and "The Angel's Whisper".
The grounds of the Palm House feature a statue of Peter Pan which was one of the last works by the British sculptor Sir George Frampton. This is Grade II listed and is a replica of a similar statue given as a gift for the visiting public to Kensington Gardens by author J.M. Barrie. The statue was donated to the park by George Audley in 1928 and was unveiled in the presence of Barrie. It originally sat in Sefton Park but was damaged in the 1990s. It was restored at Liverpool's Conservation Centre, and returned to the more secure location of the Palm House's grounds in December 2005.
Shaftesbury Memorial and Eros Fountain
This is Grade II listed and situated in the centre of the Park next to the cafe and former site of the aviary. The fountain, made from bronze and aluminium, was unveiled in 1932 and is a replica of a memorial to Lord Shaftesbury created by Sir Alfred Gilbert in London's Piccadilly Circus. It was restored in 2008 with a new aluminium Eros statue replacing the original which now resides in Liverpool's Conservation Centre.
Grotto
An artificial cave also known as Old Nick's Caves. This was built around 1870 by French rockwork specialist M. Combaz. It includes a waterfall which flows into a mirror pond.
Other statues and facilities
The park features a Gothic drinking fountain and several prominent statues including a memorial to William Rathbone V by Sir Thomas Brock unveiled in 1887, and an obelisk, the Samuel Smith memorial located by the principal entrance to the Park. There is a bandstand, popular since the Victorian era, which is said[by whom?] to be the inspiration for The Beatles' song Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. An iron bridge was opened in 1873 which spans the Fairy Glen. There is a cafe in the centre of the park called the Aviary Cafe and a pirate themed children's play area opened in 2009.
Former features of the park
Aviary
An aviary was introduced to the park in 1901 and was home to many exotic birds. After falling into disuse in the 1990s, the old cages were removed during the restoration project and replaced with a new curved viewing point overlooking new outside planting.
The Concert
The park also boasted a small open-air theatre – "The Concert" – near the café which featured singers, magicians and talent contests to entertain local children during the summer holidays. This was removed in the 1970s.
Boating lake
The lake was a popular venue for boating until the 1970s, with a jetty and boat hire facilities. The lake was totally emptied in 2007 for the extensive renovation work and all of the fish (which included specimen weights of carp, tench, roach, pike and golden orf)[citation needed] were caught with large nets and sent to various locations across the UK. Following its restoration, the lake was refilled in 2010. Turtles have also been spotted in the lake.
Others
There was a small pirate ship located in one of the lakes until the early 1990s when it was removed due to falling into disrepair.
Wiki enjoys the little seasonal stream nearby. It runs between our house and our friend and neighbor's house part of the year when we have rain.
A five-exposure shot taken in the the Reales Alcázares de Sevilla. Processed in Lightroom and HDR Efex Pro 2. Wiki info: "The Reales Alcázares de Sevilla is a royal palace in Seville, Spain, originally developed by Moorish Muslim kings. The palace is renowned as one of the most beautiful in Spain, being regarded as one of the most outstanding examples of mudéjar architecture found on the Iberian Peninsula."
Airborne from runway 07R at Brussels. "We fly you to the home of the Belgian Red Devils" livery. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium_national_football_team
On 28 October 2022 this aircraft was flown Brussels-St. Athan for parting-out and scrapping.
Una aldaba es una pieza articulada de metal situada en las puertas exteriores de las casas y que sirve para llamar a sus ocupantes por medio de golpes en la puerta
A door knocker is an item of door furniture that allows people outside a house to alert those inside to their presence. A door knocker has a part fixed to the door, and a part (usually metal) which is attached to the door by a hinge, and may be lifted and used to strike a plate fitted to the door, or the door itself, making a noise. The struck plate, if present, would be supplied and fitted with the knocker. Door knockers are often ornate, but may be no more than a simple fitting with a metal bob, or ring.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet or 1,857 meters).
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon National Park, the Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Navajo Nation. The surrounding area is contained within the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of the preservation of the Grand Canyon area and visited it on numerous occasions to hunt and enjoy the scenery.
Nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While some aspects about the history of incision of the canyon are debated by geologists, several recent studies support the hypothesis that the Colorado River established its course through the area about 5 to 6 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River has driven the down-cutting of the tributaries and retreat of the cliffs, simultaneously deepening and widening the canyon.
For thousands of years, the area has been continuously inhabited by Native Americans, who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves. The Pueblo people considered the Grand Canyon a holy site, and made pilgrimages to it. The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in 1540.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_National_Park
Grand Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Arizona, the 15th site to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres (1,901.972 sq mi; 4,926.08 km2) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than 4.7 million recreational visitors in 2023. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.
Source: www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
Entirely within the state of Arizona, the park encompasses 278 miles (447 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. Located on the ancestral homelands of 11 present day Tribal Communities, Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—a mile deep canyon unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors from both north and south rims.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "米国" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis" "ארצות הברית" "संयुक्त राज्य" "США"
(Arizona) "أريزونا" "亚利桑那州" "אריזונה" "एरिजोना" "アリゾナ州" "애리조나" "Аризона"
(Grand Canyon) "جراند كانيون" "大峡谷" "גרנד קניון" "ग्रांड कैन्यन" "グランドキャニオン" "그랜드 캐니언" "Гранд-Каньон" "Gran Cañón"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_wheatear
The red-tailed wheatear (Oenanthe chrysopygia), also known as the rusty-tailed wheatear, Persian wheatear or Afghan wheatear, is a small passerine bird breeding in mountainous areas of south-west and central Asia. It belongs to the wheatear genus Oenanthe which was formerly placed in the thrush family Turdidae but is now in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The red-tailed wheatear used to be considered a subspecies of the Kurdish wheatear (O. xanthoprymna) but is now often regarded as a separate species.
Description
It is 14.5 cm long with a wingspan of 26–27 cm and a weight of about 20-27 g.[2] The plumage is fairly drab, mainly grey-brown above and greyish-white below. It has a faint pale stripe over the eye, a rufous tinge to the ear-coverts and silvery-white underwing-coverts.[3] The rump and bases of the outer tail-feathers are reddish while the rest of the tail is black forming a T-shaped pattern.[4] There is little difference between males and females but the male has black between the eye and bill.[5]
The female Kurdistan wheatear can be very similar but usually has white bases to the outer tail-feathers. Adult males and some females of the Kurdistan wheatear are quite different with a black face and throat and greyer upperparts.
The song is a simple repeated whistle. The bird has several clicking, rasping and whistling calls.[2]
Taxonomy
The species was described in 1863 by the Italian zoologist Filippo de Filippi who named it Dromolaea chrysopgyia. It was later treated as a subspecies of the Kurdish wheatear (O. xanthoprymna) after birds with an appearance intermediate between the two ("O. x. cummingi") were found, suggesting that they could interbreed. However, these hybrid birds may in fact be first-winter Kurdish wheatears.[6]
Red-tailed wheatears in the eastern part of the range are slightly paler and are sometimes regarded as a separate subspecies, O. c. kingi.
Distribution and habitat
Its breeding range extends from north-east Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan eastwards through Iran to Afghanistan, southern Tajikistan and western Pakistan. It migrates south to winter in the Arabian Peninsula, Eritrea, southern parts of Iraq and Iran, Pakistan and north-west India. It has occurred as a vagrant in Israel, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Nepal.
It breeds in mountainous areas from 1,200—4,000 m above sea-level. It nests on steep, barren, rocky ground with little vegetation. It winters at lower levels occurring on rocky hills, steppe, scrubland and semi-desert.
Behaviour
It usually forages on bare ground, feeding mainly on insects such as ants, beetles and caterpillars. It will pick food from vegetation, dig with its bill for beetle larvae and launch attacks from an exposed perch on a rock or stone.[2]
It breeds from late March or April to June, raising two broods. The nest is a cup of grass and other plant material built in a hole in rocks, stones or a wall. Four to six eggs are laid and are incubated for 13 days. The eggs are pale bluish-white, sometimes with reddish-brown spots.[
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sefton_Park
Sefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name within the Liverpool City Council Ward of Mossley Hill, and roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park. Neighbouring districts include modern-day Toxteth, Aigburth, Mossley Hill, and St Michael's Hamlet.
The park is 235 acres (0.95 km2) in area[1] and has been designated a Grade II* Historic Park by English Heritage[citation needed] making it one of three such parks in the city, along with the nearby Princes Park and St James Cemetery.
History
The site of the park was once within the boundaries of the 2,300-acre (9.3 km2) Royal Deer Park of Toxteth which became "disparked" in 1591. The land eventually came under the control of the Earl of Sefton.
As Toxteth rapidly grew, the green fields and woodland of Toxteth Park grew into narrow streets and courts packed tiny uninhabitable houses where the air was stagnant, there was little or no sanitation and running water consisted of one tap in the middle of the court. At the same time there was demand for large aristocratic mansions in the South of Liverpool. In 1862 the Borough Council Engineer recommended a site for this development. An Act of Parliament[which?] in 1864 permitted corporations to borrow sums of money up to half a million pounds to be repaid over thirty years. This allowed steps to be taken towards the purchase of land for Sefton Park. In 1867 the Council purchased 375 acres (1.52 km2) of land for the development of the park for £250,000 from the Earl of Sefton.
Even though it was recognised by politicians that clean, fresh open spaces were now regarded as necessity there was an outcry from the public that £250,000 was extravagant and wasteful. As with neighbouring Princes Park plots of land on the perimeter were sold for housing which helped in the funding of the layout of the park.
Soon after, a European competition was launched to design a grand park. 29 entries were received and the competition was won by a French landscape architect Édouard André with work on the design also undertaken by Liverpool architect Lewis Hornblower. The park was opened on 20 May 1872 by Prince Arthur who dedicated it "for the health and enjoyment of the townspeople".
The Park design is based on circular, oval and marginal footpaths, framing the green spaces, with two natural watercourses flowing into the 7-acre (0.028 km2) man-made lake. Hornblower’s designs for the park lodges and entrances were elaborate structures, and included follies[specify], shelters and boathouses. The parkland itself included a deer park and the strong water theme was reflected by the presence of pools, waterfalls and stepping stones. The Park, its exclusive villas and ornamentation reflected the grandeur of the City during its mid Victorian period when Liverpool was the second city of the Empire.
The perimeter road's outer edge is lined with Victorian buildings constructed to around 1890, and Edwardian houses. Additional development of the park continued with the construction of the iron bridge in 1873.
The park had a gallops[specify] which led to it being nicknamed "the Hyde Park of the North" but was always referred to by locals as "The Jockey Sands".[citation needed]
A major park improvement programme was undertaken in 1983 prior to International Garden Festival.
Sporting uses
Sefton Park Cricket Club moved their ground to the park in 1876 and WG Grace was amongst the three Gloucestershire players who made up a "South of England" team who won there in 1877. The park also has tennis courts, a bowling green, a popular jogging circuit and local league football is a regular weekend fixture. It is also used every November to hold the European Cross Country Championships trial races for the British team.
Entertainment uses
The park has also been a site for Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's summer pops season, Africa Oyé and the Moscow State Circus. Bands have also played at the park in the 80s such as Echo and the Bunneymen.
Restoration
In 2005 the park received provisional approval for a major £5 million Heritage Lottery funded renovation project which involves the refurbishment and improvement of many of the park's features. The work began in June 2007 was expected to be completed in summer 2009. This work was very controversial with some regular users of the park as it included destroying trees and breeding sites of birds.[2] The work led to the formation of the "Friends of Sefton Park" campaigns.
Notable features of the park
Palm House
This is a Grade II* three-tier dome conservatory palm house designed and built by MacKenzie and Moncur of Edinburgh which opened in 1896. Liverpool millionaire Henry Yates Thompson (the great nephew of the founder of Princes Park) gifted £10,000 to the city to fund the construction. It was designed in the tradition of Joseph Paxton's glass houses and was stocked originally with a rich collection of exotic plants.
During the Liverpool Blitz of May 1941 a bomb fell nearby and shattered the glass. It was reglazed in 1950 at a cost of £6,163 with costs covered by War Restoration funds. A period of decline and deterioration culminated in its closure in the 1980s on grounds of safety.
In June 1992, a public meeting was held highlighting the dereliction and calling for restoration. A petition was presented to the City Council by what had become the "Save the Palm House" campaign. A public fund raising campaign was established, with a "sponsor a pane" programme generating over £35,000. This led directly to the conversion of Save the Palm House into a registered charity (Friends of Sefton Park Palm House). The Palm House was partially repaired and reopened in 1993. It was fully restored at a cost of £3.5 million with Heritage Lottery and European funding and reopened in September 2001. It is now both a popular visitor attraction offering free and paid-for public entertainment and is venue for hire.
The eight ‘corners’ of the Palm House are marked by statues by the French sculptor Leon-Joseph Chavalliaud. These include explorers Captain Cook, Christopher Columbus, navigators Gerardus Mercator and Henry the Navigator, botanists and explorers Charles Darwin, Carl Linnaeus and John Parkinson and landscape architect Andre le Notre. Inside the Palm House are two sculptures by Benjamin Edward Spence "Highland Mary" and "The Angel's Whisper".
The grounds of the Palm House feature a statue of Peter Pan which was one of the last works by the British sculptor Sir George Frampton. This is Grade II listed and is a replica of a similar statue given as a gift for the visiting public to Kensington Gardens by author J.M. Barrie. The statue was donated to the park by George Audley in 1928 and was unveiled in the presence of Barrie. It originally sat in Sefton Park but was damaged in the 1990s. It was restored at Liverpool's Conservation Centre, and returned to the more secure location of the Palm House's grounds in December 2005.
Shaftesbury Memorial and Eros Fountain
This is Grade II listed and situated in the centre of the Park next to the cafe and former site of the aviary. The fountain, made from bronze and aluminium, was unveiled in 1932 and is a replica of a memorial to Lord Shaftesbury created by Sir Alfred Gilbert in London's Piccadilly Circus. It was restored in 2008 with a new aluminium Eros statue replacing the original which now resides in Liverpool's Conservation Centre.
Grotto
An artificial cave also known as Old Nick's Caves. This was built around 1870 by French rockwork specialist M. Combaz. It includes a waterfall which flows into a mirror pond.
Other statues and facilities
The park features a Gothic drinking fountain and several prominent statues including a memorial to William Rathbone V by Sir Thomas Brock unveiled in 1887, and an obelisk, the Samuel Smith memorial located by the principal entrance to the Park. There is a bandstand, popular since the Victorian era, which is said[by whom?] to be the inspiration for The Beatles' song Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. An iron bridge was opened in 1873 which spans the Fairy Glen. There is a cafe in the centre of the park called the Aviary Cafe and a pirate themed children's play area opened in 2009.
Former features of the park
Aviary
An aviary was introduced to the park in 1901 and was home to many exotic birds. After falling into disuse in the 1990s, the old cages were removed during the restoration project and replaced with a new curved viewing point overlooking new outside planting.
The Concert
The park also boasted a small open-air theatre – "The Concert" – near the café which featured singers, magicians and talent contests to entertain local children during the summer holidays. This was removed in the 1970s.
Boating lake
The lake was a popular venue for boating until the 1970s, with a jetty and boat hire facilities. The lake was totally emptied in 2007 for the extensive renovation work and all of the fish (which included specimen weights of carp, tench, roach, pike and golden orf)[citation needed] were caught with large nets and sent to various locations across the UK. Following its restoration, the lake was refilled in 2010. Turtles have also been spotted in the lake.
Others
There was a small pirate ship located in one of the lakes until the early 1990s when it was removed due to falling into disrepair.
D7K_4917: Exposure at 0519. Sunrise at 0521. We are looking ENE across the Canada-U.S.A. border to the San Juan Islands.
For weeks, there had been a persistent pattern of dawn clouds blocking the sun on the eastern horizon. This morning was cloudier than most, but with a thinning where the sun was to rise.
The view from the monopteros of the English Garden.
A vista a partir do monóptero do Jardim Inglês.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesper_sparrow
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Greater London Council housing scheme, designed late-1960s by Alison and Peter Smithson - demolition began in 2017
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