Tuesday, July 8, 2014

#Parga #Epirus, #western #Greece



In
antiquity the area was inhabited the Greek tribe of the Thesprotians. The
ancient town Toryne was probably located here.[3] The village of Parga stands
from the early 13th century. It was originally built on top of the mountain
"Pezovolo". In 1360 the Pargians in order to avoid the attacks of the
Magrebins transferred the village to its present location. During that period,
with the help of the Normans who held the island of Corfu, the fortress of
Parga was built. In 1401 a treaty was signed with the Venetians, and the rule
of Ionian Islands passed to them. The Venetians respected the lifestyle of
Pargians who provided in turn, invaluable assistance to the fleet of the
Venetians. At the same time Pargians fought by the side of their compatriots to
throw off Ottoman rule. As Parga was the only free Christian village of Epirus,
it was a perfect refuge for persecuted fighters and their families. In 1797 the
area, along with the Ionian Islands and Parga, fell into the hands of the
French, and in 1800 proclaimed free city status with broad authority under the
protection of the Sublime Porte. In 1815, with the fortunes of the French
failing, the citizens of Parga revolted against French rule and sought the
protection of the British.
In 1817,
following a treaty between Britain and the Ottoman Empire, the British granted
Parga to the Ottomans. This resulted in the Good Friday of 1819 where 4,000
Pargians having with them the ashes of the bones of their ancestors, their
sacred images, flags and a handful of soil from their homeland, exiled
themselves in the British protecturate of Corfu where they settled. The former
citizens of Parga never ceased to dream of returning to a free country and to
participate actively in the struggle for liberation. But they had to wait
almost 100 years for this. Parga and the rest of Epirus was liberated from the
Ottoman rule on 1913 following the victory of Greece in the Balkan Wars.
From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

'via Blog this'



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

Eltz Castle, Moselle River, between Koblenz and Trier, Germany.


Website : www.burg-eltz.de
Eltz Castle
(German: Burg Eltz) is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle
River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the
same family that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. The
Rübenach and Rodendorf families' homes in the castle are open to the public,
while the Kempenich branch of the family uses the other third of the castle.
The Palace of Bürresheim (Schloss Bürresheim), the Castle of Eltz and the
Castle of Lissingen are the only castles on the left bank of the Rhine in
Rhineland-Palatinate which have never been destroyed.
The castle
is a so-called Ganerbenburg, or castle belonging to a community of joint heirs.
This is a castle divided into several parts, which belong to different families
or different branches of a family; this usually occurs when multiple owners of
one or more territories jointly build a castle to house themselves. Only a very
rich medieval European lord could afford to build a castle on his land; many of
them only owned one village, or even only a part of a village. This was an
insufficient base to afford a castle. Such lords lived in a knight's house,
which was a simple house, scarcely bigger than those of his tenants. In some
parts of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, inheritance law required
that the estate be divided between all successors. These successors, each of
whose individual inheritance was too small to build a castle of his own, could
build a castle together, where each owned one separate part for housing and all
of them together shared the defensive fortification. In the case of Eltz, the
family comprised three branches and the existing castle was enhanced with three
separate complexes of buildings.
The main
part of the castle consists of the family portions. At up to eight stories,
these eight towers reach heights of between 30 and 40 meters. They are
fortified with strong exterior walls; to the yard they present a partial
framework. About 100 members of the owners' families lived in the over 100
rooms of the castle.
Platteltz,
a Romanesque keep, is the oldest part of the castle. In 1472 the Rübenach
house, built in the Late Gothic style, was completed. Remarkable are the
Rübenach Lower Hall, a living room, and the Rübenach bedchamber with its
opulently decorated walls.
Between
1490 and 1540, the Rodendorf house was constructed, also in Late Gothic style.
It contains the vaulted "banner-room".
The
Kempenich houses were finished about 1530. Every room of this part of the
castle could be heated; in contrast, other castles might only have one or two
heated rooms. From 1965 to 1992, an engraving of Eltz Castle was used on the
German 500 Deutsche Mark note.

From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


'via Blog this'

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

Friday, May 16, 2014

"Visit Greece" featuring Alkistis Protopsalti (Greek)



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

Friday, April 25, 2014

Greek Tourism. An eternal journey!





Tourism. Greece's oldest industry... an industry of dreams. 
1914. The 1st National Tourism Organization.
Greece's fame spreads around the world!!!
10.000 tourists in 1914
17,5 million in 2014
Greece, a small piece of heaven on earth.

http://www.visitgreece.gr
Directed Script: Andonis Theocharis Kioukas 
Produced: QKas productions 
Text: Donald Morgan Nielsen
Music: ©Dimitris Papadimitriou 





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

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Locarno, Canton of Ticino, CH

There are nine Swiss heritage site of national significance in Locarno. Three of the sites are churches; the church of S. Francesco and former convent, the church of S. Maria Assunta (new church) and house of the canons and the church of S. Maria in Selva with Cemetery. The Castello Visconteo complex (part of which may have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci) is on the list. Two schools, the Ai Saleggi primary school and the Secondary School at via Dr. G. Varesi 30, as well as the Cantonal Library are also listed. The last two are the Pinacoteca comunale Casa Rusca at piazza Sant’Antonio and the Casorella at Via Bartolomeo Rusca 5 make up the rest of the list. The entire city of Locarno is listed on the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Site

Temple of Hephaistos in the Ancient Agora of Athens, Greece

The Temple of Hephaestus, also known as the Hephaisteion or earlier as the Theseion, is a well-preserved Greek temple; it remains standing largely as built. It is a Doric peripteral temple, and is located at the north-west side of the Agora of Athens, on top of the Agoraios Kolonos hill. From the 7th century until 1834, it served as the Greek Orthodox church of St. George Akamates.
Hephaestus was the patron god of metal working and craftsmanship. There were numerous potters' workshops and metal-working shops in the vicinity of the temple, as befits the temple's honoree. Archaeological evidence suggests that there was no earlier building on the site except for a small sanctuary that was burned when the Persians occupied Athens in 480 BC. The name Theseion or Temple of Theseus was attributed to the monument under the assumption it housed the remains of the Athenian hero Theseus, brought back to the city from the island of Skyros by Kimon in 475 BC, but refuted after inscriptions from within the temple associated it firmly with Hephaestus.

Construction

After the battle of Plataea, the Greeks swore never to rebuild their sanctuaries destroyed by the Persians during their invasion of Greece, but to leave them in ruins, as a perpetual reminder of the war. The Athenians directed their funds towards rebuilding their economy and strengthening their influence in the Delian League. When Pericles came to power, he envisioned a grand plan for transforming Athens into the centre of Greek power and culture. Construction started in 449 BC, and some scholars believe the building not to have been completed for some three decades, funds and workers having been redirected towards the Parthenon. The western frieze was completed between 445-440 BC, while the eastern frieze, the western pediment and several changes in the building's interior are dated by these scholars to 435-430 BC, largely on stylistic grounds. It was only during the Peace of Nicias (421-415 BC) that the roof was completed and the cult images were installed. The temple was officially inaugurated in 416-415 BC.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Fraserburgh, Scotland, GB


Storm 14-14 [Explored], originally uploaded by linlaw39.

The town has had a local lifeboat on service since 1806 which was run privately by the local Harbour Board until the first RNLI operated station opened in 1858. This was the first official RNLI station opened in Scotland. Throughout the 20th century, Fraserburgh suffered three lifeboat disasters. First, in 1918, the 'Lady Rothes' capsized while assisting H.M. Drifter Eminent. Coxswain Andrew Noble and Acting Second Coxswain Andrew Faquhar drowned. Second, on the 9th February 1953, six crew members lost their lives when the lifeboat capsized while escorting fishing vessels to the harbour. On this occasion Coxswain Andrew Ritchie, Mechanic George Duthie, Bowman Charles Tait, Assistant Mechanic James Noble and Crew Members John Crawford and John Buchan all lost their lives - the only survivor was Charles Tait. Lastly, on 21 January 1970 while on service to the Danish fishing vessel Opal, the lifeboat The Duchess of Kent capsized with the loss of five of her crew of six. Those killed were Coxswain John Stephen, Mechanic Frederick Kirkness and Crew Members William Hadden, James RS Buchan and James Buchan.[6] In 2009, a local campaign was started to raise £40,000 to erect an official monument to the 14 men who lost their lives whilst serving on the Fraserburgh Lifeboat. Coxswain Victor Sutherland announced in June 2010 that the total had been achieved. The monument was unveiled by Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun, in August 2010 .

Grand Haven Lighthouse, Michigan, USA

A set of range lights built in 1905 to mark the entrance to the Grand River at Grand Haven, Michigan. The lights are set on a concrete breakwater extending into Lake Michigan on the south side of the river mouth. Because of the early importance of the Grand Haven harbor, a lighthouse was built here as early as 1839 Inner - A red, conical steel plate 51-foot tower fabricated by the American Bridge Company in 1905. The original Sixth Order Lens was given to the City and replaced by a plastic lens. The original Sixth Order lens was given to the City of Grand Haven when a plastic lens was installed.

Pierhead (outer) - is the original fog signal building built in 1875 which was moved to end of breakwater in 1905 after the pier had been extended several times. The red, wood frame structure was sheathed in corrugated iron in 1922.

The story-and-a-half building once housed the boilers to run the fog signal. It has a unique, massive concrete V-shaped front facing Lake Michigan, that is designed to protect the building from the fury of lake storms. This concrete gives the building the appearance of a ship's bow. The octagonal lantern is fitted with a plastic lens.

An elevated catwalk connects the two lights, but now stops short of running all the way to the beach. When the lights were manned by keepers, the catwalk was used to move from the shore in heavy weather.

The concrete breakwater is nice place to walk and fish, except when Lake Michigan is blowing. The buildings are not open to the public on these active aids to navigation. The U.S. Coast Guard Station-Grand Haven is responsible for maintaining this light and 15 lighthouses on the West Michigan lakeshore.

The lights are located at the end of South Harbor Drive in Grand Haven.

© Copyright 2010 John McCormick , All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Street at #Preveza, #Epirus #Greece


Greece - Street at Preveza, originally uploaded by massonth.

Today Preveza is a commercial harbour and tourist hub, with a marina, 4 Museums, two cinemas, an open theatre, a music Hall (OASIS), many clubs, taverns and cafes, benefiting from its proximity to the nearby Aktion National Airport and the nearby island of Lefkada, a major tourist destination. There are in the city University of Financial (TEI) and Commercial Navy Academy. The Aktio-Preveza Immersed Tunnel, opened on 2002, is an important work of infrastructure for what has traditionally been a remote and underdeveloped region, and links Preveza to Actium (Greek: Άκτιο, Aktio) on the southern shore of the Ambracian Gulf, greatly shortening the distance of the trip to Lefkada.

Greece Parga


Greece Parga, originally uploaded by massonth.

Parga and the surrounding areas have many restaurants and seaside taverns serving fresh fish and unique local recipes. The character of the city is lively and modern but also with intense elements of the past. Place for daily meetings is the main road in front of the port, where every evening you can enjoy the sunset, while the sun disappears in the Ionian Sea, between the Castle and the Island of Virgin Mary. The entertainment in Parga begins early in the morning and never stops. With idyllic walks and tours, with small stoned paths and traditional good food. Even when the daylight doesn’t reflect in the Ionian sea, Parga has many surprises for you and as long as the night is coming around the city reveals to you picturesque taverns by the sea or inside the small paths, tranquil and lounge places for your drink, but also and vigorous and entertaining rhythms for those who seek this kind of entertainment. In Parga and the wider region you could enjoy many sports, marine and other, since there are facilities for diving, water skiing, fishing, wind – surfing, hiking, bird watching, rafting, mountain biking, paragliding and horse riding.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Καρναβάλι Σοχού

Καρναβάλι Σοχού

Colours of #Kozani, #Macedonia #Greece


Colours of Kozani, originally uploaded by Faddoush.

From our last trip to Kozani (city in Greece) during the carnivals, there were beautiful colours everywhere and it was a nice warm day.

#Greece

on the way to Spetsesgreek flagHydra portRio BridgeAre You Readyfluorescent Monastiraki
vacation mode is ONon the way to Porosrespectit is timeHydraunder the sun
stairway to heavenballoon1hot afternoonI wish I ...branchy snowfresh
Monastiraki and the blimpwinter 2008 on the way to Lesvoswinter 2008 arrivalaug 2004 athensakropolisGreece: Sea Sun & Culture

Greece, a set on Flickr.

a set on Flickr!

Glossa, #Messinia, #Peloponnese, #Greece


Messinia | Glossa, originally uploaded by Visit Greece.

Messinia: featuring luxurious resorts and boutique guest houses, high mountains and mellow olive groves, historical sites of all ages and of course amazing beaches of all kinds.

Τhis corner of the Peloponnese has it all!

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