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Elafonisi

January 11th 2012 05:49
Elafonisi Beach

Elafonisi (Greek: "deer island") is an island located close to the southwestern corner of the mediterranean island of Crete, of which it is administratively a part, in the regional unit of Chania. When the weather is fine it is possible to walk to the island through the shallow water. The island is a protected nature reserve.

Elafonisi Crete

It is a popular and beautiful beach to visit during the tourist season.
Beautiful water at Elafonisi

On the mainland the 17th century monastery of Chrysoskalitissa is approximately 5 km from the island.

Despite it's beauty Elafonisi has seen some unfortunate events in the past.

At the highest point on the island there is a plaque that commemorates a tragic event. On Easter sunday of 24 April 1824 several hundred Greeks, mostly women and children, were killed on Elafonisi by Ottoman soldiers. To avoid advancing Ottoman troops, forty armed men had taken refuge on the island with women, children and old folk where they were waiting for a ship to take them to the Ionian Islands. The Ottoman soldiers had decided to camp on the beach opposite the island. One of their horses walked along the shallow water to the island and the people hiding on the island were discovered. According to several sources there were between 640 and 850 people in total, most of whom were killed and the remaining survivors were sold in to slavery in Egypt

Images of Elafonisi

A large wooden cross commemorates a shipwreck from 22 February 1907. It was an Austrian Lloyd passenger steamer, called the Imperatrix. Due to strong northwest winds 38 people died in a lifeboat that tried to reach the shore. They were all buried on the island. The Imperatrix still lies on the seabed in front of the island's cliffs and was the reason that a lighthouse was built on an island hilltop.
The lighthouse was destroyed during the Second World War by the occupying German troops.
Information on Elafonisi Greece



*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article for Elafonisi.
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Gate To Hell

November 25th 2011 02:21
natural gas gate to hell

Derweze (Turkmen language: The Gate, also known as Darvaza) is a Turkmenistan village of about 350 inhabitants, located in the middle of the Karakum desert, about 260 km north from Ashgabat.
Darvaza inhabitants are mostly Turkmen of the Teke tribe, preserving a half-nomadic lifestyle.
gate to hell in Derweze

The Derweze area is rich in natural gas. While drilling in 1971, geologists tapped into a cavern filled with natural gas. The ground beneath the drilling rig collapsed, leaving a large hole with a diameter of about 70 metres (230 ft). To avoid poisonous gas discharge, it was decided to burn it off. Geologists had hoped the fire would use all the fuel in a matter of days, but the gas still burns 40 years later. Locals have dubbed the cavern "The Door to Hell".
door to hell. Turkmenistan

Next to capturing the gas, flaring is safer and friendlier to the environment than releasing the methane into the atmosphere, as methane is a relatively potent greenhouse gas and considered to have a high global warming potential of 72 (averaged over 20 years) or 25 (averaged over 100 years).
Turkmenistan plans to increase its production of natural gas. In April 2010, the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow visited the site and ordered that the hole should be closed, or other measures be taken to limit its influence on the development of other natural gas fields in the area.





*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article for Derweze.
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St. George's Chapel

September 30th 2011 06:42
St George's Chapel is the place of worship at Windsor Castle in England, United Kingdom. It is both a royal peculiar and the chapel of the Order of the Garter. The chapel is governed by the Dean and Canons of Windsor.
The chapel is located in the Lower Ward of the castle, which is one of the principal residences of Queen Elizabeth II.
st georges windsor

Members of the order meet at Windsor Castle every June for the annual Garter Service. After lunch in the State Apartments in the Upper Ward of the Castle they process on foot, wearing their robes and insignia, down to St George's Chapel where the service is held. If any new members have been admitted to the Order they are installed at the service. After the service, the members of the order return to the Upper Ward by carriage or car.
inside st georges chapel

The order once enjoyed frequent services at the chapel, but, after becoming infrequent in the 18th century, were discontinued after 1805. The ceremony was revived in 1948 by King George VI for the 600th anniversary of the founding of the Order, and has since become an annual event.
st georges chapel upper

After their installation, members are each assigned a stall in the chapel choir above which his or her heraldic devices are displayed.
A member's sword is placed below a helm which is decorated with a mantling and topped by a crest, coronet or crown. Above this, a member's heraldic banner is flown emblazoned with his or her arms. A much smaller piece of brass ("stall plate") is attached to the back of the stall displaying its member's name, arms and date of installation.
st georges windsor

On a member's death, the sword, helm, mantling, crest, coronet or crown, and banner are removed. A ceremony marking the death of the late member must be held before the stall can be assigned to anyone else. This ceremony takes place in the chapel, during which the Military Knights of Windsor carry the banner of the deceased member and offer it to the Dean of Windsor, who places it on the altar.
windsor st georges chapel

The stall plates, however, are not removed; rather, they remain permanently affixed somewhere about the stall, so the stalls of the chapel are festooned with a colourful record of the members throughout history.


*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article for St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
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Windsor Castle

September 28th 2011 06:27
windsor castle

Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it has been used by a succession of monarchs and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe.
the windsor castle

The castle's lavish, early 19th-century State Apartments are architecturally significant, described by art historian Hugh Roberts as "a superb and unrivalled sequence of rooms widely regarded as the finest and most complete expression of later Georgian taste". The castle includes the 15th-century St George's Chapel, considered by historian John Robinson to be "one of the supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic" design.
windsor castle round tower
The Round Tower on top of the motte in the Middle Ward

More than five hundred people live and work in Windsor, making it the largest inhabited castle in the world.
Originally designed to protect Norman dominance around the outskirts of London, and to oversee a strategically important part of the River Thames, Windsor Castle was built as a motte and bailey, with three wards surrounding a central mound. Gradually replaced with stone fortifications, the castle withstood a prolonged siege during the First Barons' War at the start of the 13th century. Henry III built a luxurious royal palace within the castle during the middle of the century, and Edward III went further, rebuilding the palace to produce an even grander set of buildings in what would become "the most expensive secular building project of the entire Middle Ages in England".
changing of the guard windsor castle
Changing of the guard

Edward's core design lasted through the Tudor period, during which Henry VIII and Elizabeth I made increasing use of the castle as a royal court and centre for diplomatic entertainment.
Windsor Castle survived a tumultuous period during the English Civil War, in which the castle was used as a military headquarters for Parliamentary forces and a prison for Charles I. During the Restoration, Charles II rebuilt much of Windsor Castle with the help of architect Hugh May, creating a set of extravagant, Baroque interiors, still praised today. After a period of neglect during the 18th century, George III and George IV renovated and rebuilt Charles II's palace at colossal expense, producing the current design of the State Apartments, full of Rococo, Gothic and Baroque furnishings.
inside windsor castle

Queen Victoria made minor changes to the castle, which became the centre for royal entertainment for much of her reign. Windsor Castle was used as a refuge for the royal family during the bombing campaigns of the Second World War and survived a fire in 1992. It is a popular tourist attraction, a venue for hosting state visits, and the Queen's preferred weekend home.
where is windsor castle



*This article is licesned under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article for Windsor Castle.
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Satellites Orbiting Earth

September 26th 2011 06:18
A satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon.

History's first artificial satellite, the Sputnik 1, was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. Since then, thousands of satellites have been launched into orbit around the Earth; also some satellites, notably space stations, have been launched in parts and assembled in orbit. Artificial satellites originate from more than 50 countries and have used the satellite launching capabilities of ten nations.

A few hundred satellites are currently operational, whereas thousands of unused satellites and satellite fragments orbit the Earth as space debris. A few space probes have been placed into orbit around other bodies and become artificial satellites to the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Sun.

Satellites are used for a large number of purposes. Common types include military and civilian Earth observation satellites, communications satellites, navigation satellites, weather satellites, and research satellites. Space stations and human spacecraft in orbit are also satellites. Satellite orbits vary greatly, depending on the purpose of the satellite, and are classified in a number of ways. Well-known (overlapping) classes include low Earth orbit, polar orbit, and geostationary orbit.

The info-graphic below looks at the satellites in orbit from each country around the world, it breaks them down into functional, dysfunctional and space debris.


space satellites and junk
click on the infographic to open the full version in a new window.



*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article for Satellite
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Wearing Bees

September 21st 2011 06:44
The Guinness Book of Records includes a category for "most pounds of bees worn on the body," which is currently held by American animal trainer Mark Biancaniello. Biancaniello successfully wore 350,000 bees, weighing just over 87 pounds, during a 1998 broadcast of the Guinness World Records: Primetime television show.
A 2005 attempt to break the record by Irish beekeeper Philip McCabe, who was to wear a full one hundred pounds of bees, failed when only 60 pounds of bees landed on his body.

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Posted By: Ian - Category: animals
   


Miskin Manor

September 19th 2011 07:00
Miskin Manor in Wales

Miskin Manor is a Victorian manor house built in 1864 in a Tudor style, situated in the village of Miskin in Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales. The estate was owned by the Williams family including Rhys Rhys-Williams for many years who were descended from the Welsh bard David Williams. Today the manor is used as a hotel and venue for wedding receptions.

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Storm Chasing

September 19th 2011 02:29
Ryan McGinnis is a storm chaser and photographer who lives in Nebraska; he has no formal training in photography.

He's been fascinated with storms all his life and now lives his childhood dreams of storm chasing


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Posted By: Ian - Category: weather
   


Lost Cities Of The World That You Can Still Visit

September 16th 2011 02:40
The Earth is full or a rich history of civilization.
Some ancient cities such as Babylon have disappeared for all time.
However, as reported on the Huffington Post there are still many lost cities which you can still visit today. Click the link above to visit the full original article


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The Moon's Copernicus Crater

September 14th 2011 02:30
Copernicus is a prominent lunar impact crater named after the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. It is estimated to be about 800 million years old.
Copernicus Crater

Copernicus is visible using binoculars, and is located slightly northwest of the center of the Moon's Earth-facing hemisphere. South of the crater is the Mare Insularum, and to the south-south west is the crater Reinhold. North of Copernicus are the Montes Carpatus, which lie at the south edge of Mare Imbrium. West of Copernicus is a group of dispersed lunar hills. Due to its relative youth, the crater has remained in a relatively pristine shape since it formed


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