Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Caleta de Famara, Canary Islands, ESPANA

Flocking to Famara Beach

Famara είναι η κύρια οροσειρά του νησιού Λανζαρότε (Κανάρια Νησιά, Ισπανία).
Βρίσκεται στα βόρεια του νησιού, περιλαμβανομένων και των Δήμων της Teguise y Haría με μήκος 23 km. και είναι ηφαιστειακής προέλευσης.
Το υψηλότερο σημείο του ορεινού όγκου και σε ολόκληρο το νησί είναι το Peñas del Chache, με 670 m. υψόμετρο.
Στη δυτική πλευρά σχηματίζει ένα κρημνό που καταλήγει στην ακτή Famara και τον Ατλαντικό Ωκεανό.
Βορειότερα είναι το Mirador del Rio, το έργο του καλλιτέχνη Cesar Manrique, όπου μπορείτε να δείτε το νησί της La Graciosa και το Αρχιπέλαγος Chinijo.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Decay in Old Nikiti


Decay in Old Nikiti, originally uploaded by Sunsword & Moonsabre.

Nikiti (Greek: Νικήτη) is a village located 100 kilometers south-east from Thessaloniki on the Chalkidiki peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. It is the seat of the municipal unit of Sithonia.
The old part of Nikiti is located on the hilly area a few hundred meters from the sea, with a church at the highest point of the village. In 1950's the village started to expand downwards to the coast significantly. In 1970's the coastal plain was included into plans for village's development and many new buildings were built on the coastal plain.
The most important economic sector in Nikiti is tourism. Other important economic activities in Nikiti are beekeeping and olive growing.
Chalkidiki is popular summer tourist destination since late 1950's when people from Thessaloniki started spending their summer holidays at the coastal villages like Nikiti.
At the beginning tourists rented rooms in the houses of the villagers.
By the 1970s few tourists from Austria and Germany started to visit Chalkidiki more frequently. In the 1980s the big tourist boom started.[

wonderful Greece

Wave to waveKassiopi beach 2.........ON EXPLORE!Crepuscular hourEpic sunsetKassiopi beach.........ON EXPLORE!Abandoned?.........ON EXPLORE!
Old AthensThe island.........ON EXPLORE!Light bending.........ON EXPLORE!New?You shall not  passAbandoned Holy place
Passing pointStreets of OblivionSeparate reality.........ON EXPLORE!Last few rays over Kassiopi baySailing towards CorfuKouloura bay, Corfu
View on the Ionian sea. Agios Stefanos, CorfuAfionas, CorfuTurquoiseSidari, Corfu. Blue and YellowWhere are all gone?Under the flag.....

an awesome photo album, from my beloved country Greece !
by Sunsword & Moonsbre

Newport lighthouse, USA


Newport, originally uploaded by Laura Travels.

Castle Hill Lighthouse is located on Narragansett Bay in Newport, Rhode Island at the end of the historic Ocean Drive.
It is an active navigation aid for vessels entering the East Passage between Conanicut Island and Aquidneck Island. The lighthouse was completed in 1890 on property formerly belonging to the naturalist, oceanographer, and zoologist Alexander Agassiz of Harvard University. Agassiz sold the land to the United States Government for the lighthouse for $1.00.

Henry Hobson Richardson drew a sketch for a lighthouse at this location which may or may not have been the basis for the actual design.
The structure does not include the residence which was featured in Richardson's sketch. The keeper's house was built, and still stands, near Castle Hill Cove, a few hundred feet away.
Although the lighthouse is not open to the public, the shoreline and cliff face where the lighthouse sits are accessible by several footpaths from the Castle Hill Inn and the Castle Hill Cove Marina.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 as Castle Hill Lighthouse.

Black Rocks..Dunstanburgh castle.....

Recent evidence suggests that the site of the castle was occupied in prehistoric times: however, the principal remains date from the 14th century.[3] In 1313, Earl Thomas of Lancaster, cousin of Edward II of England, began construction of a massive fortress. By the time of his execution in 1322, the castle was substantially complete. John of Gaunt improved the castle in the late 14th century as the Duke of Lancaster.
The castle did not play a significant part in the border warfare against Scotland. In the Wars of the Roses the castle was held for the Lancastrians in 1462 and 1464. The damage done was not made good and the castle fell steadily into decay. A report in 1538 mentioned it as being a "very reuynus howsse and of smalle strength" and another source in 1550 described it as in "wonderfull great decaye". It continued to deteriorate and was robbed of stone for the building of other places in the area. The last private owner Sir Arthur Sutherland donated the castle to the Ministry of Works in 1929. The castle is now owned by the National Trust and in the care of English Heritage. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed building. It lies within the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Turner painted Dunstanburgh many times, usually rising at dawn to do so. One of his oil paintings of the subject is in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Another is in the National Gallery of Victoria.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Ο Φάρος στον Ομιλο

Ο Ναυτικός Όμιλος Θεσσαλονίκης, από το 1975 μέχρι σήμερα, διατηρεί την Ακαδημία Ιστιοπλοΐας Ανοιχτής Θάλασσας προκειμένου να προσφέρει στους ενδιαφερόμενους τη δυνατότητα να γνωρίσουν το άθλημα και να αποκτήσουν στο τέλος της εκπαίδευσης το πτυχίο (δίπλωμα) διακυβέρνησης ιστιοφόρου σκάφους.

Από την έναρξη της λειτουργίας έχουν αποφοιτήσει από τα εκπαιδευτικά προγράμματα της σχολής του Ν.Ο.Θ. περισσότεροι από 4.000 μαθητές.

Έμπειροι και ικανοί ιστιοπλόοι του ομίλου αναλαμβάνουν την εκμάθηση της θεωρίας και της πράξης καθώς και την εξοικείωση και ξενάγηση των μαθητών στα νερά και τα όμορφα νησιά του Β. Αιγαίου.

#Amorgos #Cyclades #Greece - Tracing The Big Blue

Αmorgos is most famous for spectacular views from solitary paths leading hikers along steep cliffs above the intensely blue sea (coincidentally, large parts of Luc Besson's cult movie "Le Grand Bleu" were shot here). Featured in the same movie is the glaringly white monastery Panagia Chozoviotissa which is attached to the rock some 300 meters above the ocean. Katapola is a charming seaport with just a few hundred inhabitants and Chora village, 400 meters above, is a maze of tranquil alleys with cosy taverns and a great view of the island...




"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Γαλάζια Πόρτα, Αμοργός.


Amorgos Island - 2005, originally uploaded by CarlosCoutinho.

Οι πόρτες στην ελληνική αρχιτεκτονική, ανυπέρβλητης αισθητικής, είναι σαν μια είσοδος στην ομορφιά. Ας την ανοίξουμε με τη φαντασία μας.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Old harbour reflection


Old harbour reflection, originally uploaded by Theophilos.

The lighthouse of the Venetian harbor of #Rethymno, #Greece #architecture #travel #ttot #travelling2GR #visitGReece, is the second largest remaining Egyptian lighthouse in Crete, after the lighthouse of Chania harbor. It is built on the edge of the old sea wall of Rethymnon and it can be accessed very easily.

The lighthouse we see today was built by the Egyptians during the decade of 1830, when the Turks handed Crete to the Egyptians. Possibly there was an older Venetian lighthouse at the site, just like Chania harbor.

In 1864, the lighthouse came under the supervision of the French Lighthouse Company and today it’s not working. The overall height of the lighthouse tower is 9 meters.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Greece ! Just <3 it !

Ἔτσι νὰ στέκω, θάλασσα, παντοτεινὲ ἔρωτά μου
μὲ μάτια νὰ σὲ χαίρομαι θολὰ
καὶ νά ῾ναι τὰ μελλούμενα στὴν ἅπλα σου μπροστά μου,
πίσω κι᾿ ἀλάργα βάσανα πολλά.

Ὡς νὰ μὲ πάρεις κάποτε, μαργιόλα σύ,
στοὺς κόρφους σου ἀψηλά τους ἀνθισμένους
καὶ νὰ μὲ πᾶς πολὺ μακρυὰ ἀπ᾿ τὴ μαύρη τούτη Κόλαση,
μακρυὰ πολὺ κι᾿ ἀπὸ τοὺς μαύρους κολασμένους ....

O Κώστας Βάρναλης (1884- 1974)

Edited in iPiccy photo editor

Saturday, May 18, 2013

The olive tree, @ #Pserimos Greece


Grecia- is. Pserimos: ulivo, originally uploaded by chiar@s..

The olive tree, Olea europaea, is an evergreen tree or shrub native to the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. It is short and squat, and rarely exceeds 8–15 metres (26–49 ft) in height. However, the Pisciottana, a unique variety comprising 40,000 trees found only in the area around Pisciotta in the Campania region of southern Italy often exceeds 8–15 metres (26–49 ft) with correspondingly large trunk diameters. The silvery green leaves are oblong, measuring 4–10 centimetres (1.6–3.9 in) long and 1–3 centimetres (0.39–1.2 in) wide. The trunk is typically gnarled and twisted.
The small white, feathery flowers, with ten-cleft calyx and corolla, two stamens and bifid stigma, are borne generally on the previous year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of the leaves.
The fruit is a small drupe 1–2.5 centimetres (0.39–0.98 in) long, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested in the green to purple stage. Canned black olives may contain chemicals (usually ferrous sulfate) that turn them black artificially.
Olea europaea contains a seed commonly referred to in American English as a pit or a rock, and in British English as a stone.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

#Fira and the caldera, view from #Oia, #Santorini, #Cyclades, #Aegean_sea, #Greece


Fira, originally uploaded by tasoskaimenakis.


Oia remains one of the foremost tourist attractions of the Aegean Sea. The famous Oia sunset, considered by many as one of the most beautiful in the world, keeps tourists flocking down to the castle, waiting for the moment when the sun slips down on the calm sea of the caldera. Tourists are often told that the fishing docks at Oia are the oldest continually used docks in the world, supposedly being in service for 3000 years. While an interesting bit of tourist trivia, no evidence is supplied to validate the claim.

Old Town #Chania, #Crete, #Greece


Crete, originally uploaded by RestlessFiona.


Despite being heavily bombed during World War II, Chania's Old Town is considered the most beautiful urban district on Crete, especially the crumbling Venetian harbour. The borders of the Old Town are the mostly destroyed old Venetian wall (and bulwarks) and this has been the cradle of all the civilizations which were developed in the area.
The central part of the old town is named Kasteli and has been inhabited since Neolithic times. It is located on a small hill right next to the seafront and has always been the ideal place for a settlement due to its secure position, its location next to the harbour and its proximity to the fertile valley in the south.
Nowadays it is a bit more quiet than the neighbouring areas of the west part of the district. The Splantzia quarter (next to the east part of Kasteli) is also largely untouched and very atmospheric. A plan for its future development is now under consideration.
The main square of the Old Town (next to the west end of Kasteli) is the Eleftherios Venizelos Square ("Syntrivani").
It is the heart of the touristic activities in the area. Next to this (on the west side) lies the Topanas district, which used to be the Christian part of the city during the Turkish occupation.
Its name comes from the Venetian ammunition warehouse (Top-Hane in Turkish), which was located there. The Jewish quarter ("Evraiki" or "Ovraiki") was located at the north-west of the Old Town, behind the harbour and within the borders of Topanas.
The whole Topanas area is generally very picturesque, with many narrow alleys and old charming buildings, some of which have been restored as hotels, restaurants, shops and bars. This makes it a lively and colourful place especially during the warm period (April–October). In the winter, it still remains a center of activities (especially for nightlife) but in a more quiet and atmospheric way.
Finally, a very distinctive area of the Old Town is the harbour itself and generally the seafront ("akti"). Akti Tompazi, Akti Kountouriotou and Akti Enoseos (marina) all feature several historical buildings and a thriving nightlife. The main street that combines the modern town with the old town is Halidon Str.
info via wikipedia

Mikro Kavouri, Attiki

Vouliagmeni is a beautiful and picturesque peninsula, situated on the eastern edge of Athens (just 20 Km from the center of Athens), known from the famous lake with the mineral water spa and an outstanding mild climate that makes all-year round holidays possible.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

SALERS


SALERS, originally uploaded by pik45.

Salers (French pronunciation: ​[saˈlɛʁ], Occitan: Salèrn) is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France.
It is famous for the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) cheeses Cantal and Salers. It is also famous for the Salers breed of cattle that originated in this commune.
It was pillaged by Rodrigo de Villandrando in the late 1430s, during the final phase of the Hundred Years' War.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

spring day @ #Vouliagmeni, #Attiki, #Greece

The Mikro Kavouri is connected to the mainland with a narrow, sandy isthmus commonly referred to as "Laimos" (, i.e. the "Neck"), flanked by one public beach one one side and Astir Palace beach on the other side. The Megalo Kavouri is land largely owned by the Church of Greece, which maintains an enclosed, protected pine forest and an orphanage. An air force camp is also located there. Dotted with lavish villas, the two Kavouri areas are among the most expensive pieces of housing real estate in Greece.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Crete Incredible Hospitality




"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Baku - Azerbeidzjan


Baku - Azerbeidzjan, originally uploaded by Rita Willaert.

Until 1988 Baku had very large Russian, Armenian, and Jewish populations which contributed to cultural diversity and added in various ways (music, literature, architecture and progressive outlook) to Baku's history. With the onset of the Karabakh War and the pogrom against Armenians starting in January 1990, the city's large Armenian population was expelled.
Under Communism, the Soviets took over the majority of Jewish property in Baku and Kuba. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev returned several synagogues and a Jewish college, nationalized by the Soviets, to the Jewish community. He encouraged the restoration of these buildings and was well liked by the Jews of Azerbaijan. Renovation has begun on seven of the original 11 synagogues, including the Gilah synagogue, built in 1896, and the large Kruei Synagogue.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Athinios port #Santorini #Greece


Santoryn - Athinios port.253, originally uploaded by heodes.

ATHINIOS – “OUT OF CHAOS COMES ORDER”

There you are on the ferry, steaming to the island of Santorini, and as you enter the inner ring of the old volcano of Santorini, you pass the cliff villages of Oia, and Fira, with their majestic white structures, seemly precariously perched on the cliff faces like a haphazard collection of giant white and blue LEGGO buildings placed by a giants hand.

Still not seeing your destination, you sail on past the volcano itself, and not until the ferry turns to reverse into the Athinios port do you finally see your disembarkation destination, Athinios. The Athinios port is ringed by steep multi colored shear volcanic cliffs, and the first question that pops into everyone’s mind is “how do I get up to the top?”.

As the ferry settles into her moorings and the ship stewards give the signal for the passengers to disembark, do you finally get a close up look at Athinios. Athinios maybe small in comparison to the major villages of the rest of the island, but on any given day during the season it is Santorini’s “ambassador” and as such meets, greets and delivers up and down the cliffs a hundred thousand visitors everyday.
By first impressions of Athinios, Athinios is one of chaos, as you jostle to move off the ferry, you are greeted by the hotel, pension, and room owners barking, “need a room”, followed closely by the car rental groups trying to out shout the hotel and pension group, “need a car” and mixed into this canopy of noise is the port police, blowing his whistle trying to keep order, and allow the lorries and cars that are also trying to disembark to move through the throngs of people without anyone getting their toes run over. During this you ask yourself “how do I get out of here?” and surprisingly within a matter of 30 minutes everyone has been accommodated, loaded onto buses, or rented a car and disappeared up the cliff road to the top to spend their time experiencing the island, but wait, you have missed the jewel of the island, Athinios port itself.

It is only when you are all finished seeing and doing your holiday routine on the rest of the island is it that you return to Athinios port to catch your ferry back to the mainland. Then and only then does one take the time to find out about the hidden jewel, with its authentic and quaint restaurants, little alleyways that lead to hidden shops selling local wines and other unique bric bac, along with taking the time to stop and chat with some of the local colorful people who inhabit the port and call it their home.

From one end of the port of Athinios to the other, the holidayer, can relax under the cool shade of an umbrella of a restaurant, find a quite little alley with it’s benches in the shade of an adjoining building and relax, play a game with the children, or just plain have a wee nap. It is only now that one can see all the local color of the people and businesses that inhabit the port, and really take the time to see why Athinios is the “Lady Ambassador” of Santorini – the hidden jewel of Santorini.

Blaven, Skye


Blaven, Skye, originally uploaded by bingleyman2.
Blà Bheinn (also known as Blaven), is a mountain on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is usually regarded as an outlier to the Black Cuillin. It is mainly composed of gabbro, a rock with excellent grip for mountaineers and scramblers. The name "Blà Bheinn" is thought to mean "blue mountain", from a combination of Norse and Gaelic. Whereas blå in Modern Norwegian means "blue", the Old Norse word blá could, however, also refer to the colours blue-black and black.
The normal route of ascent for walkers is from the east. A path leaves the B8083 on the shores of Loch Slapin about 4 km after the village of Torrin. The path follows a burn, the Allt na Dunachie, into the corrie of Coire Uaigneich. From here a short steep route along the ridge leads to the summit. A small amount of scrambling is needed to reach the true top of the mountain.
Alternative routes follow the south ridge, or come from the north having traversed the Clach Glas ridge which links to the Red Cuillin peaks.
The view from the summit is dominated by the Black Cuillin.
Blaven stands in the Strathaird Estate, owned and managed since 1994 by the John Muir Trust.

Ice Diamonds on the Black Beach in Iceland

In 1991, the American journal Islands Magazine counted this beach as one of the ten most beautiful beaches on Earth. Its stretch of black basalt sand is one of the wettest places in Iceland. The cliffs west of the beach are home to many seabirds, most notably puffins which burrow into the shallow soils during the nesting season. Offshore lie fingers of basalt rock (stacks) remnants of a once more extensive cliffline Reynisfjall now battered by the sea. There is no landmass between here and Antarctica and the Atlantic rollers can attack with full force. Folklore tells us that they are former trolls who tried to drag their boats out to sea only to be caught by the rising dawn. The sea around them is rather wild and stormy, so travelers will not be surprised to discover a monument to the memory of drowned seamen on the beach.
The village was affected by volcanic ash during the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull.

Statue of Decebalus | The Tallest Rock Sculpture in Europe

The Statue of Dacian king Decebalus is a 40-m high statue that is the tallest rock sculpture in Europe. It is located on the Danube's rocky bank, near the city of Orşova, Romania. It was commissioned by Romanian businessman and historian Iosif Constantin Drăgan and it took 10 years, from 1994 to 2004, for twelve sculptors to finish it. The final cost was over one million dollars.
Under the face of Decebalus there is a Latin inscription which reads "DECEBALUS REX—DRAGAN FECIT" ("King Decebal—Made by Drăgan").
On the Serbian side facing Romania, there is an ancient memorial plaque (Tabula Traiana) commemorating the victories of the Roman Empire over the Dacian kingdom in 105.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Veroia old city!


Untitled, originally uploaded by Georgios Karamanis.

Museums in Veria include the Archaeological Museum of Veroia, the Byzantine Museum of Veroia, a museum of modern Greek history and a laographical museum. There are also 48 Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches, four Ottoman mosques, and a 19th century Jewish synagogue in the protected Jewish neighbourhood.
The Archaeological Site of Aegae / Aigai (Greek Αἰγαί; modern name Vergina), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies 12 km (7 mi) south-east of the city centre of Veria.
Every summer (August 15 to September 15) the "Imathiotika" festivities take place with a rich cultural program deriving mainly from Veria's tradition. The site of Elia offers great natural beauty and with an amazing view of the Imathia plain. Neighboring Seli is a well-known ski resort and a few kilometers outside the city is the Aliakmonas river dam.

Small stony bridge ...

This simple but rather unusual scenery can be found about 8 km away from Xanthi, on the road that directly connects Drama to Xanthi ... The sky was rather clear but extremely interesting as the setting sun's rays were piercing the not heavy late afternoon overcast ... The green uniform that Nature wears during this late spring period is amazing, the small creek keeps carrying fresh mountain water and the stony bridge stands still and proud above it ...

I will try with my next dozen shots or so to present to you scenes of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace's landscape .... To make you see this extremely elegant land through my eyes ...

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Taverna


Taverna, originally uploaded by Kalabird.

Taverna and Cafe, of course!

The Milky Way over Greece, Aristarchos Telescope

The Milky Way over Aristarchos Telescope at the top of Chelmos Mountain in Achaia, Kalavryta, Greece, at an altitude of 2340m/7677ft. I took this shot in a moonless night (new moon) on July 18th, 2012, at midnight. The location has been measured as one of the darkest areas both in Greece and in Europe.

Karpathos Island Greece


Karpathos Island Greece, originally uploaded by Constadinos.

The island is located about 47 kilometers southwest of Rhodes, in the part of the Mediterranean which is called, after it, the Carpathian Sea (Latin: Carpathium Mare). The Sea of Crete, a sub-basin of the Mediterranean Sea, has its eastern limit defined by the island of Karpathos.
Karpathos' highest point is Mt. Lastos, at 1,215 metres (3,986 ft). Karpathos comprises 10 villages. All villages preserve intensively the traditional style of the island. In the southeast of the island you can find Pigadia (official name Karpathos), capital and main port of the island. The capital is surrounded by the villages of Menetes, Arkasa, Aperi, Volada, Othos, and Pyles. In the North one can find Mesochori, Spoa and Olymbos the last village in the North of the island, of great folkloric and architectural interest. There are two ports in the island; one is in the town of Karpathos and the other in the north of the island next to Olympos named Diafani.
The island Saria was united with Karpathos in the ancient times with an isthmus, but an earthquake divided them. Saria preserves many important antiquites, but they haven't been studied enough.

Heraion of Perachora Greece


Greece-046, originally uploaded by Pinox67.

The Heraion of Perachora (Greek: Ηραίο Περαχώρας) was a sanctuary of the goddess Hera situated in a small cove of the Corinthian gulf at the end of the Perachora peninsula. In addition to a temple of Hera of unusual construction and antiquity, the remains of a number of other structures have also been found, including a L-shaped stoa, a large cistern, dining rooms, and a second potential temple. The Sanctuary of Hera at Perchora is located 14.2 km NNW of Corinth, and 75.9 km W of Athens. Although there is debate between Argos, Megara and Corinth, the sanctuary was probably under the control of Corinth, as it faced the harbors of that powerful city across the Corinthian gulf. Cult activity at the site continued from perhaps the 9th century BCE to 146 BCE, when the Roman general Mummius sacked Corinth during the war with the Achaean League. In the Roman period, domestic structures were built on the site, indicating that the area was no longer a sanctuary. This site is significant for the study of the origins of Greek temple architecture and rural cults.

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