Yasaka Shrine (八坂神社, Yasaka Jinja), also known as Gion Shrine, is one of the most famous shrines in Kyoto. Founded over 1350 years ago, the shrine is located between the popular Gion District and Higashiyama District, and is often visited by tourists walking between the two districts.
The shrine's main hall combines the honden (inner sanctuary) and haiden (offering hall) into a single building. In front of it stands a dance stage with hundreds of lanterns that get lit in the evenings. Each lantern bears the name of a local business in return for a donation.
Yasaka Shrine is well known for its summer festival, the Gion Matsuri, which is celebrated every July. Arguably the most famous festival in the whole country, the Gion Matsuri dates back over a thousand years and involves a procession with massive floats and hundreds of participants. The shrine also becomes busy during the cherry blossom season around early April, as the adjacent Maruyama Park is one of the most famous cherry blossom spots in Kyoto.
Showing posts with label TRAVEL HISTORY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TRAVEL HISTORY. Show all posts
Saturday, September 3, 2011
The Clock Tower
Sighişoara (Romanian pronunciation: [siɡiˈʃo̯ara]; German: Schäßburg; Hungarian: Segesvár, Hungarian pronunciation: [’ʃɛɡɛʃvaːr]; Latin: Castrum Sex) is a city and municipality on the Târnava Mare River in Mureş County, Romania. Located in the historic region Transylvania, Sighişoara has a population of 32,287 (2002).
The city administers seven villages: Angofa, Aurel Vlaicu, Hetiur, Rora, Şoromiclea, Venchi and Viilor.
During the 12th century, German craftsmen and merchants known as the Transylvanian Saxons were invited to Transylvania by the King of Hungary to settle and defend the frontier of his realm. The chronicler Krauss lists a Saxon settlement in present-day Sighiṣoara by 1191.[citation needed] A document of 1280 records a town built on the site of a Roman fort as Castrum Sex or "six-sided camp", referring to the fort's shape of an irregular hexagon. Other names recorded include Schaäsburg (1282), Schespurg (1298) and Segusvar (1300).[2] By 1337 Sighişoara had become a royal center for the kings, who awarded the settlement urban status in 1367 as the Civitas de Segusvar.
The city played an important strategic and commercial role at the edges of Central Europe for several centuries. Sighişoara became one of the most important cities of Transylvania, with artisans from throughout the Holy Roman Empire visiting the settlement. The German artisans and craftsmen dominated the urban economy, as well as building the fortifications protecting it. It is estimated that during the 16th and the 17th centuries Sighişoara had as many as 15 guilds and 20 handicraft branches. The Baroque sculptor Elias Nicolai lived in the city. The Wallachian prince Vlad Dracul (father of Vlad the Impaler (Dracula), who lived in exile in the town, let coins to be minted in the city (otherwise coinage was the monopoly of the Hungarian kings in the Kingdom of Hungary) and issued the first document listing the city's Romanian name, Sighişoara.
via Wikipedia
The city administers seven villages: Angofa, Aurel Vlaicu, Hetiur, Rora, Şoromiclea, Venchi and Viilor.
During the 12th century, German craftsmen and merchants known as the Transylvanian Saxons were invited to Transylvania by the King of Hungary to settle and defend the frontier of his realm. The chronicler Krauss lists a Saxon settlement in present-day Sighiṣoara by 1191.[citation needed] A document of 1280 records a town built on the site of a Roman fort as Castrum Sex or "six-sided camp", referring to the fort's shape of an irregular hexagon. Other names recorded include Schaäsburg (1282), Schespurg (1298) and Segusvar (1300).[2] By 1337 Sighişoara had become a royal center for the kings, who awarded the settlement urban status in 1367 as the Civitas de Segusvar.
The city played an important strategic and commercial role at the edges of Central Europe for several centuries. Sighişoara became one of the most important cities of Transylvania, with artisans from throughout the Holy Roman Empire visiting the settlement. The German artisans and craftsmen dominated the urban economy, as well as building the fortifications protecting it. It is estimated that during the 16th and the 17th centuries Sighişoara had as many as 15 guilds and 20 handicraft branches. The Baroque sculptor Elias Nicolai lived in the city. The Wallachian prince Vlad Dracul (father of Vlad the Impaler (Dracula), who lived in exile in the town, let coins to be minted in the city (otherwise coinage was the monopoly of the Hungarian kings in the Kingdom of Hungary) and issued the first document listing the city's Romanian name, Sighişoara.
via Wikipedia
Sunday, February 13, 2011
10 Most Fascinating Castles and Palaces
The Potala Palace: Tibet's greatest monumental structure
Mont Saint-Michel: a Medieval Castle on a Small Island
Predjamski Castle: Integrated in a Cave
The castle wasn't built in one go; first written records exist from 13th century, though the first part (left wing) was probably built in the first half of 12th century. Middle part was added in renaissance, and the right wing was build around 1570. Some things were added and changed later, but since 1990 renovation work is in progress, restoring it to the original 16th century look. (Photo by visitareslovenia)
Neuschwanstein Castle: the Classic Fairytale's Castle
The construction of the castle was carried out according to a well thought-out plan. The castle was equipped with all kinds of technical conveniences which were very modern, if not to say revolutionary at that time. Running water on all floors. There were toilets equipped with automatic flushing on every floor. A warm air heating system for the entire building. American tourists are already familiar with Neuschwanstein; the sleeping beauty Castle in DisneyLand, was modeled on it. (Photo by grotsasha)
Matsumoto Castle: Japan's most fascinating castle
Hunyad Castle: were Dracula was held prisoner
Malbork Castle: World's Largest Brick Gothic Castle
Palacio da Pena: Oldest Palace inspired by European Romanticism
Löwenburg Castle: The Disneyland of the 18th century
Prague Castle: World's Largest Ancient Castle
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
islas Galapagos, Ecuador
Open publication - Free publishing
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler
Monday, May 10, 2010
red telephone box, London - UK
The red telephone box, a public telephone kiosk designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar, and despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years, red boxes can still be seen in many places and current or ex-British Colonies around the world. The colour red was chosen to make them easy to spot.
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Moulin Rouge, Paris - France
Carefree life, Flickleness and Joie de Vivre... Those are the three words that could best sum up this unique period in the History of France. It was a rest between two wars, a period of transition between two centuries, during which the social barriers collapsed, when the industrial revolution gave hope of a better life for all, in a rich cultural profusion and that promised much fun.
The middle-class mixed with the riffraff, the popular culture was enchanced in a contented disorder full of joy and vitality. In that atmosphere, which favoured artistic creativity, literary circles appeared and disappeared according to people'meetings, while painters and drawers got especially inspired by this joyful sometimes outrageous but full of fancy atmosphere that broke completely with the rigid classicism of that period.
The Japonism *, a movement of Far-East inspiration using influences from the Japanese style in French Art, was at its height. Toulouse-Lautrec and his famous Japanese engravings was one of the most famous disciples of that time. The atmosphere fitted perfectly to the appearance of the first cabarets, such as the Moulin Rouge in 1889.
the above and more, from:
http://www.moulinrouge.fr/home-flash-gb.html
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler
Monday, August 31, 2009
Greece: Sea Sun & Culture
Greece was the first area in Europe where advanced early civilizations emerged, beginning with the Minoan civilization in Crete and then the Mycenean civilization on the mainland.
Later, city-states emerged across the Greek peninsula and spread to the shores of Black Sea, South Italy and Asia Minor reaching great levels of prosperity that resulted in an unprecedented cultural boom, expressed in architecture, drama, science and philosophy, and nurtured in Athens under a democratic environment.
Athens and Sparta led the way in repelling the Persian Empire in a series of battles.
Both were later overshadowed by Thebes and eventually Macedon, with the latter under the guidance of Alexander the Great uniting and leading the Greek world to victory over the Persians, to presage the Hellenistic era, itself brought only partially to a close two centuries later with the establishment of Roman rule over Greek lands in 146 BC.
Many Greeks migrated to Alexandria, Antioch, Seleucia and the many other new Hellenistic cities in Asia and Africa founded in Alexander's wake.
The subsequent mixture of Roman and Hellenic cultures took form in the establishment of the Byzantine Empire in 330 AD around Constantinople, which remained a major cultural and military power for the next 1,123 years, until its fall at the hands of Ottomans in 1453.
On the eve of the Ottoman era much of the Greek intelligentsia migrated to the Italian territories and much of non-Ottoman occupied Europe, playing a significant role in the Western European Renaissance through the transferring of works of Ancient Greeks to Western Europe.
Nevertheless, the Ottoman millet system contributed to the cohesion of the Orthodox Greeks by segregating the various peoples within the Ottoman Empire based on religion, as the latter played an integral role in the formation of modern Greek identity.
After the Greek War of Independence, successfully fought against the Ottoman Empire from 1821 to 1829, the nascent Greek state was finally recognized under the London Protocol. In 1827, Ioannis Kapodistrias, from Ionian Islands, was chosen as the first governor of the new Republic.
However, following his assassination, the Great Powers installed a monarchy under Otto, of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach. In 1843, an uprising forced the King to grant a constitution and a representative assembly.
Due to his unimpaired authoritarian rule, he was eventually dethroned in 1863 and replaced by Prince Vilhelm (William) of Denmark, who took the name George I and brought with him the Ionian Islands as a coronation gift from Britain. In 1877, Charilaos Trikoupis, who is attributed with the significant improvement of the country's infrastructure, curbed the power of the monarchy to interfere in the assembly by issuing the rule of vote of confidence to any potential prime minister.
As a result of the Balkan Wars, Greece successfully increased the extent of her territory and population, a challenging context both socially and economically. In the following years, the struggle between King Constantine I and charismatic Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos over the country's foreign policy on the eve of World War I dominated the country's political scene, and divided the country into two opposed groups.
In the aftermath of WWI, Greece fought against Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal, a war which resulted in a massive population exchange between the two countries under the Treaty of Lausanne.
According to various sources, several hundred thousand Pontic Greeks died during this period.
Instability and successive coups d'état marked the following era, which was overshadowed by the massive task of incorporating 1.5 million Greek refugees from Asia Minor into Greek society.
The Greek population in Istanbul had shrunk from 300,000 at the turn of the century to around 3,000 in the city today.
On 28 October 1940 Fascist Italy demanded the surrender of Greece, but Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas refused and in the following Greco-Italian War, Greece repelled Italian forces into Albania, giving the Allies their first victory over Axis forces on land. The country would eventually fall to urgently dispatched German forces during the Battle of Greece.
The German occupiers nevertheless met serious challenges from the Greek Resistance. Over 100,000 civilians died from starvation during the winter of 1941–42. In 1943 virtually the entire Jewish population was deported to Nazi extermination camps.
After liberation, Greece experienced a bitter civil war between Royalist and Communist forces, which led to economic devastation and severe social tensions between its Rightists and largely Communist Leftists for the next 30 years.
The next 20 years were characterized by marginalisation of the left in the political and social spheres but also by a significant economic growth, propelled in part by the Marshall Plan.
In 1965, a period of political turbulence led to a coup d’etat on 21 April 1967 by the US-backed Regime of the Colonels. On November 1973 the Athens Polytechnic Uprising sent shock waves across the regime, and a counter-coup established Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannides as dictator.
On 20 July 1974, as Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus, the regime collapsed.
Former premier Constantine Karamanlis was invited back from Paris where he had lived in self-exile since 1963, marking the beginning of the Metapolitefsi era. On the 14 August 1974 Greek forces withdrew from the integrated military structure of NATO in protest at the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus.
In 1975 a democratic republican constitution was activated and the monarchy abolished by a referendum held that same year.
Meanwhile, Andreas Papandreou founded the Panhellenic Socialist Party, or PASOK, in response to Constantine Karamanlis' New Democracy party, with the two political formations dominating Greek political affairs in the ensuing decades. Greece rejoined NATO in 1980.
Relations with neighbouring Turkey have improved substantially over the last decade, since successive earthquakes hit both nations in the summer of 1999 (see Greece-Turkey earthquake diplomacy), and today Athens is an active supporter of Turkey's bid for EU membership.
Greece became the tenth member of the European Union on 1 January 1981, and ever since the nation has experienced a remarkable and sustained economic growth. Widespread investments in industrial enterprises and heavy infrastructure, as well as funds from the European Union and growing revenues from tourism, shipping and a fast growing service sector have raised the country's standard of living to unprecedented levels.
The country adopted the Euro in 2001 and successfully organised the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Later, city-states emerged across the Greek peninsula and spread to the shores of Black Sea, South Italy and Asia Minor reaching great levels of prosperity that resulted in an unprecedented cultural boom, expressed in architecture, drama, science and philosophy, and nurtured in Athens under a democratic environment.
Athens and Sparta led the way in repelling the Persian Empire in a series of battles.
Both were later overshadowed by Thebes and eventually Macedon, with the latter under the guidance of Alexander the Great uniting and leading the Greek world to victory over the Persians, to presage the Hellenistic era, itself brought only partially to a close two centuries later with the establishment of Roman rule over Greek lands in 146 BC.
Many Greeks migrated to Alexandria, Antioch, Seleucia and the many other new Hellenistic cities in Asia and Africa founded in Alexander's wake.
The subsequent mixture of Roman and Hellenic cultures took form in the establishment of the Byzantine Empire in 330 AD around Constantinople, which remained a major cultural and military power for the next 1,123 years, until its fall at the hands of Ottomans in 1453.
On the eve of the Ottoman era much of the Greek intelligentsia migrated to the Italian territories and much of non-Ottoman occupied Europe, playing a significant role in the Western European Renaissance through the transferring of works of Ancient Greeks to Western Europe.
Nevertheless, the Ottoman millet system contributed to the cohesion of the Orthodox Greeks by segregating the various peoples within the Ottoman Empire based on religion, as the latter played an integral role in the formation of modern Greek identity.
After the Greek War of Independence, successfully fought against the Ottoman Empire from 1821 to 1829, the nascent Greek state was finally recognized under the London Protocol. In 1827, Ioannis Kapodistrias, from Ionian Islands, was chosen as the first governor of the new Republic.
However, following his assassination, the Great Powers installed a monarchy under Otto, of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach. In 1843, an uprising forced the King to grant a constitution and a representative assembly.
Due to his unimpaired authoritarian rule, he was eventually dethroned in 1863 and replaced by Prince Vilhelm (William) of Denmark, who took the name George I and brought with him the Ionian Islands as a coronation gift from Britain. In 1877, Charilaos Trikoupis, who is attributed with the significant improvement of the country's infrastructure, curbed the power of the monarchy to interfere in the assembly by issuing the rule of vote of confidence to any potential prime minister.
As a result of the Balkan Wars, Greece successfully increased the extent of her territory and population, a challenging context both socially and economically. In the following years, the struggle between King Constantine I and charismatic Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos over the country's foreign policy on the eve of World War I dominated the country's political scene, and divided the country into two opposed groups.
In the aftermath of WWI, Greece fought against Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal, a war which resulted in a massive population exchange between the two countries under the Treaty of Lausanne.
According to various sources, several hundred thousand Pontic Greeks died during this period.
Instability and successive coups d'état marked the following era, which was overshadowed by the massive task of incorporating 1.5 million Greek refugees from Asia Minor into Greek society.
The Greek population in Istanbul had shrunk from 300,000 at the turn of the century to around 3,000 in the city today.
On 28 October 1940 Fascist Italy demanded the surrender of Greece, but Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas refused and in the following Greco-Italian War, Greece repelled Italian forces into Albania, giving the Allies their first victory over Axis forces on land. The country would eventually fall to urgently dispatched German forces during the Battle of Greece.
The German occupiers nevertheless met serious challenges from the Greek Resistance. Over 100,000 civilians died from starvation during the winter of 1941–42. In 1943 virtually the entire Jewish population was deported to Nazi extermination camps.
After liberation, Greece experienced a bitter civil war between Royalist and Communist forces, which led to economic devastation and severe social tensions between its Rightists and largely Communist Leftists for the next 30 years.
The next 20 years were characterized by marginalisation of the left in the political and social spheres but also by a significant economic growth, propelled in part by the Marshall Plan.
In 1965, a period of political turbulence led to a coup d’etat on 21 April 1967 by the US-backed Regime of the Colonels. On November 1973 the Athens Polytechnic Uprising sent shock waves across the regime, and a counter-coup established Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannides as dictator.
On 20 July 1974, as Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus, the regime collapsed.
Former premier Constantine Karamanlis was invited back from Paris where he had lived in self-exile since 1963, marking the beginning of the Metapolitefsi era. On the 14 August 1974 Greek forces withdrew from the integrated military structure of NATO in protest at the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus.
In 1975 a democratic republican constitution was activated and the monarchy abolished by a referendum held that same year.
Meanwhile, Andreas Papandreou founded the Panhellenic Socialist Party, or PASOK, in response to Constantine Karamanlis' New Democracy party, with the two political formations dominating Greek political affairs in the ensuing decades. Greece rejoined NATO in 1980.
Relations with neighbouring Turkey have improved substantially over the last decade, since successive earthquakes hit both nations in the summer of 1999 (see Greece-Turkey earthquake diplomacy), and today Athens is an active supporter of Turkey's bid for EU membership.
Greece became the tenth member of the European Union on 1 January 1981, and ever since the nation has experienced a remarkable and sustained economic growth. Widespread investments in industrial enterprises and heavy infrastructure, as well as funds from the European Union and growing revenues from tourism, shipping and a fast growing service sector have raised the country's standard of living to unprecedented levels.
The country adopted the Euro in 2001 and successfully organised the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu
Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Portofino Italy one of the oldest vacation destination
According to Pliny the Elder, Portofino was founded by the Romans and named Portus Delphini, or Port of the Dolphin, because of the large number of dolphins that inhabited the Tigullian Gulf.
Portofino bay.
The village is mentioned in a diploma from 986 by Adelaide of Italy, which assigned it to the nearby Abbey of San Fruttoso di Capodimonte. In 1171, together with the neighbouring Santa Margherita Ligure, it was included in Rapallo's commune jurisdiction. After 1229 it was part of the Republic of Genoa. The town's natural harbour supported a fleet of fishing boats, but was somewhat too cramped to provide more than a temporary safe haven for the growing merchant marine of the Republic of Genoa.
In 1409 Portofino was sold to the Republic of Florence by Charles VI of France, but when the latter was ousted from Genoa the Florentine gave it back. In the 15th century it was a fief of families such as the Fieschi, Spinola, Adorno and Doria.
In 1815 it became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia and, from 1861, of the unified Kingdom of Italy.
In the late 19th century, first British, then other northern European aristocratic tourists began to visit Portofino, which they reached by horse and cart from Santa Margherita Ligure. Aubrey Herbert (1880–1923) was one of the more famous Englishmen to maintain a villa at Portofino. Eventually more expatriates built expensive vacation houses, and by 1950 tourism had supplanted fishing as the town's chief industry, and the waterfront was a continuous ring of restaurants and cafés.
thanks to:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portofino
Portofino bay.
The village is mentioned in a diploma from 986 by Adelaide of Italy, which assigned it to the nearby Abbey of San Fruttoso di Capodimonte. In 1171, together with the neighbouring Santa Margherita Ligure, it was included in Rapallo's commune jurisdiction. After 1229 it was part of the Republic of Genoa. The town's natural harbour supported a fleet of fishing boats, but was somewhat too cramped to provide more than a temporary safe haven for the growing merchant marine of the Republic of Genoa.
In 1409 Portofino was sold to the Republic of Florence by Charles VI of France, but when the latter was ousted from Genoa the Florentine gave it back. In the 15th century it was a fief of families such as the Fieschi, Spinola, Adorno and Doria.
In 1815 it became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia and, from 1861, of the unified Kingdom of Italy.
In the late 19th century, first British, then other northern European aristocratic tourists began to visit Portofino, which they reached by horse and cart from Santa Margherita Ligure. Aubrey Herbert (1880–1923) was one of the more famous Englishmen to maintain a villa at Portofino. Eventually more expatriates built expensive vacation houses, and by 1950 tourism had supplanted fishing as the town's chief industry, and the waterfront was a continuous ring of restaurants and cafés.
thanks to:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portofino
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu
Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler
travelThursday, May 21, 2009
65 years old, climbs to Everest summit
Fiennes climbs to Everest summit
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu
Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler
travelSaturday, May 16, 2009
Ross-on-Wye, the birthplace of the British tourist industry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ross-on-Wye (Welsh: Rhosan ar Wy) is a small market town with a population of 10,089 (according to the 2001 census) in southeastern Herefordshire, England, located on the River Wye, and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean. The town is known for its antique shops, market square with its market hall and high number of public houses.
Ross-on-Wye was the birthplace of the British tourist industry. In 1745, the rector, Dr John Egerton, started taking friends on boat trips down the Valley from the rectory at Ross. The Wye Valley's particular attraction was its river scenery, its precipitous landscapes, and its castles and abbeys, which were accessible to fashionable seekers of the "Picturesque". In 1782, William Gilpin's book "Observations on the River Wye" was published, the first illustrated tour guide to be published in Britain. Once it was published, demand grew so much that by 1808 there were eight boats making regular excursions down the Wye, most of them hired from inns in Ross and Monmouth. By 1850 more than 20 visitors had published their own accounts of the Wye Tour, and the area was established as a tourist area
Regular Thursday and Saturday markets are held at the red sandstone Market House building in the town centre, which was built between 1650 and 1654 replacing an older, probably wooden building.
The 700 year old parish church of St. Mary's is the town's most prominent landmark and its tall pointed spire is visible when approaching the town from all directions . The church holds several distinctive tombs, one of which – that of a certain William Rudhall (d.1530) – is one of the last great alabaster sculptures from the specialist masons of Nottingham, whose work was prized across medieval Europe. Another tomb is of John Kyrle, a prominent figure in 18th century Ross, whose name is now given to the town's secondary school.
Opposite the church, The Prospect is a neat public garden offering a view of the famous horseshoe bend in the River Wye as well as pleasant views as far as the Black Mountains. The ruins of Wilton Castle lie to the west of the town, the Castle has now been fully restored and is open to visitors as of 2008.
Ross Town F.C. is the local football club. Ross-on-wye Cricket Club is the local cricket team, with Ross junior and senior teams, Last season's U15s are currently Herefordshire county champions.
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu
Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler
travelSaturday, March 21, 2009
Castle of Platamonas, Thessaly, Greece
The Byzantine Castle of Platamonas (platamonas = a long beach) is located in the southern part of Pieria, on the side of the national motorway, on the top of a small hill by the sea.
It is built at a key-position, jist opposite the "passage" of the Valley of Tempi, which has connected Thessaly to Pieria since the remote antiquity.
It has been supported reasonably that the city Heraclia or Heraclion which was probably built in the 5th century BC, was located in exactly the same place. The castle -its greatest part at least- was built by the Franc king of Thessaloniki, Bonifacius e Monferèt, in 1205, upon a Byzantine castle that had previously existed there, as parts of its castle walls -dating from the 6th, 9th and 10th centuries- confirm.
During the years 1218-1224 AD, the castle was seized by the Duke of Hepirus, Angelos Komninos, who gave an end to the Franc Occupation in Thessaloniki in 1224 naming this city the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
The Castle of Platamonas was conquered -about in 1389- by the Turks, who, thus, could have the overall control over the "passage" of the Valley of Tempi, leading to Southern Greece. Later on, nevertheless, while Mourat was encirclinf the Bay of Thermaikos, the Venetians took over the administration of Thessaloniki in 1423. The castle of Platamonas was fortified, then, on a parallel with the fortification of Cassandra, Chalkidiki, so that control over the entire Bay of Thermaikos would by possible.
During the years of the Turkish Occupation, the Castle of Platamonas was considerably fortified very early, owing to its strategic position and the commencement of the nationalistic liberating movements and recolutions taken up by the Greeks, the epicentre of which uprisings being the Olympus.
Even more, Captain Lazos' -coming from the district of Olympus- son, John, managed to conquer the castle after a row of tremendous battles against its Albanian defenders.
When, later on, Southern Greece was liberated and Thessaly was attached to it (1881), the Castle of Platamonas at the Greek-Turkish of that time, regained a new and consederable significance for the Turks.
Nevertheless, it was abandoned afterwards as its defence would be of no avail to the conquerors.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
darwin's day....αλήθεια πόσο έχουμε εξελιχθεί;
Ο Κάρολος Δαρβίνος
η Εξέλιξη
εξελικτικό χίουμορ απο την Αυστραλία
μετά από αυτές τις φωτογραφίες
έχει ακόμη ενστάσεις
για τη θεωριά της εξέλιξης;
η "εξελικτική πραγματικότητα" με χιούμορ!
Ο Richard Dawkins στο CNN για το Darwin's Day Feb. 12, 2008
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu
Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler
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The date of its original construction is unknown and may date back to Roman times. It certainly existed in the early medieval period. The remains of a tower that may date back to the 11th century when Malta was under Arab control can be traced among the more recent works. From the 14th century the Maltese Islands were under Aragonese rule and the fortification was known as Castello a Mare (Castle by the sea) and it was home to the powerful Nava family, feudal lords of the island.
When the the Knights of Malta arrived in Malta in 1530, they chose to settle in Birgu, and Fort St Angelo became the seat of the Grand Master. The Knights made this their primary fortification and substantially reinforced and remodelled it. Fort St Angelo withstood the Turks during the Siege of Malta, though in the aftermath of that siege the Knights built the fortified city of Valletta on Mount Sciberras across the other side of Grand Harbour, and the administrative centre for the knights moved there.
With the coming of the British to Malta the fort retained its importance as a military installation, and the fort was listed as a ship, originally in 1912 as HMS Egremont, but in 1933 renamed as HMS St Angelo. When the Royal Navy left Malta in 1979 the Fort was handed to the Maltese government and since then parts of the Fort have fallen into a state of disrepair.
Today some parts of the fort are leased to the Order of the Knights of St John. Other parts are used as a maritime Museum and most recently commercial development has taken place along the quayside.
The fortification has also undergone some recent repair, though not all parties seem to view this as having been done sympathetically to the site.