BLAKAN MOUNTAIN RANGE

BLAKAN MOUNTAIN RANGE 

 

The Balkan mountain range (Bulgarian and Serbian: Стара планина, Stara planina, "Old Mountain"; Bulgarian pronunciation: ˈstarɐ plɐniˈna]; Serbian pronunciation: [stâːraː planǐna]) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka / Vrška Čuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and eastern Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea. The highest peaks of the Stara planina are in central Bulgaria. The highest peak is Botev (2,376 m), located in the Central Balkan National Park (established 1991). The mountain gives the name of the Balkan Peninsula. Stara planina played an enormous role in the history of Bulgaria and the development of the Bulgarian nation and people.
In earlier times the mountains were known as the Haemus Mons. Scholars consider that Haemus (Greek Haimos) is derived from an unattested Thracian word *saimon, meaning 'mountain range'. Other names used to refer to the mountains in different time periods include Aemon, Haemimons, Hem, Emus, the Slavonic Matorni gori, the Turkish Kodzhabalkan and Balkan. "Balkan" comes from a Turkish word meaning "a chain of wooded mountains". In places like Turkmenistan and the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea one still encounters this name, such as the Balkan Peninsula and the Balkan Province in Turkmenistan.
Stara Planina is remarkable for its flora and fauna. Edelweiss grows there in the region of Kozyata stena. Some of the most striking landscapes are included in the Central Balkan National Park with steep cliffs, the highest waterfalls in the Balkan peninsula and lush vegetation. There are a number of important nature reserves such as Chuprene, Kozyata stena and others. Most of Europe's large mammals inhabit the area including the brown bear, wolf, boar, chamois, deer.

PORTOFINO

Portofino (Ligurian: Portofin) is a small Italian fishing village, comune and tourist resort located in the province of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is crowded round its small harbour, is closely associated with Paraggi Beach, which is a few minutes up the coast. Other nearby beaches include Camogli, Chiavari, Lavagna, and Sestri Levante.

 
Portofino has inspired a re-creation of the sea side town around the harbour at Tokyo DisneySea in Chiba, Japan, a full scale replication, in authentic detail at the Portofino Bay at Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, USA, which opened in September 1999.
Portofino also featured on Top Gear in Episode 5, Series 12 where Richard Hammond, in a Ferrari Daytona raced James May in a carbon fibre powerboat from Portofino to St Tropez.
Portofino is the eponym of Frank Schaeffer's Portofino: A Novel (1992). It was the first of Schaeffer's Calvin Becker Trilogy.

SANTORINI

                                  

Santorini (Greek: Σαντορίνη, pronounced [sadoˈrini]), classically Thera ), and officially Thira (Greek: Θήρα [ˈθira]), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera. It forms the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands, with an area of approximately 73 km² (28 sq mi) and a 2001 census population of 13,670. The municipality of Santorini comprises the inhabited islands of Santorini and Therasia and the uninhabited islands of Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni, Aspronisi, and Christiana. The total land area is 90.623 km² (34.990 sq mi). Santorini is part of the Thira regional unit.
Santorini is essentially what remains after an enormous volcanic explosion that destroyed the earliest settlements, on a formerly single island, and created the current geological caldera. A giant central, rectangular lagoon, which measures about 12 by 7 km (7.5 by 4.3 mi), is surrounded by 300 m (980 ft) high, steep cliffs on three sides. The main island slopes downward to the Aegean Sea. On the fourth side, the lagoon is separated from the sea by another much smaller island called Therasia; the lagoon is connected to the sea in two places, in the northwest and southwest. The caldera being 400m deep makes it possible for all but the largest ships to anchor anywhere in the protected bay; there is, however, a newly built marina in Vlychada on the southwestern coast. The principal port is called Athinias. The capital, Fira, clings to the top of the cliff looking down on the lagoon. The volcanic rocks present from the prior eruptions feature olivine and have a notably small presence of hornblende.
It is the most active volcanic centre in the South Aegean Volcanic Arc, though what remains today is chiefly a water-filled caldera. The volcanic arc is approximately 500 km (310 mi) long and 20 to 40 km (12 to 25 mi) wide. The region first became volcanically active around 3–4 million years ago, though volcanism on Thera began around 2 million years ago with the extrusion of dacitic lavas from vents around the Akrotiri.
The island is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history: the Minoan eruption (sometimes called the Thera eruption), which occurred some 3600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization. The eruption left a large caldera surrounded by volcanic ash deposits hundreds of feet deep and may have led indirectly to the collapse of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, 110 km (68 mi) to the south, through a gigantic tsunami. This theory is not, however, supported by chronology, in that the collapse of the Minoan civilization did not occur at the date of the tsunami, but some 90 years later. Another popular theory holds that the Thera eruption is the source of the legend of Atlantis.^[3]

Toruń

Toruń

Toruń is a city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus. The first settlement in the vicinity is dated by archaeologists to 1100 BC. During medieval times, in the 7th-13th centuries, it was the location of an old Polish settlement, at a ford in the river. The Teutonic Knights built a castle in the vicinity of the Polish settlement in the years 1230-31. In 1263 Franciscan monks settled in the city, followed in 1239 by Dominicans. In 1264 the nearby New Town was founded. In 1280, the city (or as it was then, both cities) joined the mercantile Hanseatic League and was soon turned into an important medieval trade centre. As you can see from the photograph above, it is a beautiful medieval city and well worth visiting.

 The first settlement in the vicinity is dated by archaeologists to 1100 BC (Lusatian culture). During early medieval times, in the 7th-13th centuries, it was the location of an old Slavonic settlement, at a ford in the Vistula River.

The Teutonic Knights built a castle in the vicinity of the Polish settlement in the years 1230-31. On 28 December 1233, the Teutonic Knights Hermann von Salza and Hermann Balk signed the foundation charters for Thorn and Chełmno. The original document was lost in 1244. The set of rights in general is known as Kulm law. In 1236, due to frequent flooding, it was relocated to the present site of the Old Town. In 1263 Franciscan monks settled in the city, followed in 1239 by Dominicans. In 1264 the nearby New Town was founded. In 1280, the city (or as it was then, both cities) joined the mercantile Hanseatic League, and thus became an important medieval trade centre.

The First Peace of Thorn ending the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War was signed in the city in February 1411. In 1440, the gentry of Thorn formed the Prussian Confederation, and in 1454 rose with the Confederation against the Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights in the Thirteen Years' War. After almost 200 years, New and Old Town amalgamated in 1454. The Poles destroyed the Teutonic castle. The Thirteen Years' War ended in 1466 with the Second Peace of Thorn, in which the Teutonic Order ceded their control over western provinces, henceforth Royal Prussia. Toruń became part of Kingdom of Poland.

In 1557, during the Protestant Reformation, the city adopted Protestantism, while most Polish cities remained Roman Catholic. Under Mayor Heinrich Starboard (1586–1609), the city became centralized. Administrative power passed into the hands of the city council. In 1595 Jesuits arrived to promote the Counter-Reformation, taking control of St. John's Church. The Protestant city officials tried to limit the influx of Catholics into the city, as Catholics (Jesuits and Dominican monks) already controlled most of the churches, leaving only St. Mary's to Protestant citizens.

In 1677 the Prussian historian and educator Christoph Hartknoch was invited to be director of the Thorn Gymnasium, a post which he held until his death in 1687. Hartknoch wrote histories of Prussia, including the cities of Royal Prussia.

Tower of Hercules: Spain

Tower of Hercules: Spain

Tower of Hercules: Spain

The Tower of Hercules is an ancient Roman lighthouse on a peninsula about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the centre of A Coruña, Galicia, in north-western Spain. The name Corunna is said to be derived from the ancient column. The structure is 55 meters (180 ft) tall and overlooks the North Atlantic coast of Spain. It is almost 1900 years old, was rehabilitated in 1791, and is the oldest Roman lighthouse still used as a lighthouse.

The Tower of Hercules has served as a lighthouse and landmark at the entrance of La Coruña harbor in north-western Spain since the late 1st century A.D. when the Romans built the Farum Brigantium. The Tower, built on a 57 metre high rock, rises a further 55 metres, of which 34 metres correspond to the Roman masonry and 21 meters to the restoration directed by architect Eustaquio Giannini in the 18^th century, who augmented the Roman core with two octagonal forms. Immediately adjacent to the base of the Tower, is a small rectangular Roman building. The site also features a sculpture park, the Monte dos Bicos rock carvings from the Iron Age and a Muslim cemetery. The Roman foundations of the building were revealed in excavations conducted in the 1990s. Many legends from the middle Ages to the 19th century surround the Tower of Hercules, which is unique as it is the only lighthouse of Greco-Roman antiquity to have retained a measure of structural integrity and functional continuity.

History:

In 61 BCE a Roman seaborne expedition, probably led by Julius Caesar himself, landed at present-day La Coruña (Brigantium) with the intention of installing a port and commercial settlement. There had already been Roman colonisation along the Mediterranean facade of the Iberian Peninsula and along the south and south-west from the 2nd century BCE. The port of Brigantium played an important role during the Cantabrian Wars (29-19 BCE). Once peace was restored, its strategic maritime role at the entrance to the Bay of Biscay, as well as that of a trading station, was confirmed. It became a rear base for the conquest of the British Isles while Galicia was being romanised.

Under the name of Farum Brigantium, the Tower was probably erected in the 1st century CE, at the latest in the reign of Trajan (98-117). The votive inscription on a small ancillary construction would appear to bear this out.

This monumental lighthouse is located at the entrance to La Coruña harbor, in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is designed to facilitate navigation along the rugged Galicia coastline, on a strategic point on the sea route linking the Mediterranean to northwest Europe.

A wood-fired system was located on the summit platform in a shelter opening on to the seaward facade; it possibly had columns used for navigational alignment when making the difficult approach and entry into the harbor.

On the basis of the surviving structure, the original tower had a horizontal cross-section measuring 11.75m (33 Roman feet) square. It was surrounded by a spiral ramp providing access to the platform. The base of the Tower rested on 18m square foundations.

The Tower's use as an illuminated lighthouse probably persisted for a relatively long time throughout the Roman Empire. It seems not to have been lit throughout most of the High Middle Ages, although it remained intact and continued to play a role as a landmark and watchtower. The gazetteer lists the names of farum and faro in the 9th and 10th centuries, probably with periods of return to nocturnal service depending on the historical context and the state of maritime navigation. It is difficult to determine exactly the Tower's use and upkeep in medieval times. It seems to have been abandoned and in poor condition after the Viking invasions (854-56), as was the city; it is, however, referred to in two 10th century texts as the Farum Precantium.

Medieval chronicles mention the creation of a fort and a small town in the 11th-12th centuries, in this same position. The Tower is referred to as the Castellum Pharum; at this time it was used for defensive purposes and as an observation post, which most likely saved it from probable ruin. The urban and port development of Burgo de Faro Novo, later Crunia, started at the end of the 12th century and into the following century, in connection with the reign of Ferdinand II and the Pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela. The contemporary toponymy shows that the name then given to the Tower was Turrin de Faro suggesting its restoration as a lighthouse, but the external ramp appears to have been in ruins, perhaps as a result of the Tower's use for defensive purposes in the preceding centuries. The reuse of dressed stone from the collapsed parts of the Tower is reported during the late middle Ages, until a 1557 municipal edict forbade this practice.

POSITANO ON THE AMALFI COAST

POSITANO ON THE AMALFI COAST

Location: ITALY

Description:

    Positano is a small town located in Campania, Italy. Positano is situated on the coastal line called “Amalfi Coast”. The beauty part of this city is situated on the hill leading down to the coast and it is the most luxurious and romantic spot in Italy. Positano was built vertically on the face of the mountain. Initially, Positano began as a fishing village and later on, the town became famous for writers and artists. This small town has many high class boutiques and it is also a great place to purchase sandals and footwear which are exclusively made in Positano. As there are many lemon trees in Amalfi coast, Limoncello (a lemon alcoholic drink) is popular all over the world. By the sea side, we can shop and have a nice sea food meal along the Spiaggia Grande. The coast of Positano is always crowded with a lot of visitors swimming in the crystal clear waters and catching some sun on the beaches. Santa Maria Assunta, a famous Positano church has a beautiful ceramic dome can be viewed from many places.
    According to the legends of Positano, an icon was stolen by the Byzantium which was being transported across the Mediterranean by the pirates. A horrifying storm began in the sea and pirates heard a voice saying “posa! Posa!” which means “put down”. The sailors got frightened and unloaded the precious icon to the fishing village. Positano has many beautiful buildings, palaces, and villas along with eight defense towers which were built in the 16th century.
    The best way to get around Positano is by walking. If we use the bus facility, we reach the top of Positano called the thousand steps. There is a bus along the main street which takes down to the beach. From Positano, one can visit beaches, villages and countryside using pedestrian zone. There are also water and car taxis available to reach the beaches and villages. The nearby airport to Positano is Naples international airport. The road which leads to Positano from Naples is difficult to drive. Therefore, I suggest the readers who are interested in visiting Positano to avoid traveling by a car.
    Today, Positano has become a major attraction for tourism due to its beaches and seafoods. A well renowned magazine “travel+leisure” had published the results of its 11th annual poll for best traveling hot spots and Positano stood in the 30th position.
   “If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday”

FLORENCE CITYSCAPE

FLORENCE CITYSCAPE

Location: ITALY.

Description:

    The city of Florence is the capital of the Italy. The city is situated on the top of a river called Arno and is known for its interesting past, art and architecture. For a period of 5 years i.e. from 1865 to 1870 it was also declared the capital of Italy. The City of Florence is a part of the World Heritage Site which was registered in 1982.

    Florence is one of the mot attractive tourist spot in the entire Italy due to is cityscape. The reason why Florence Cityscape is so special is because since the sixteenth century, it has fascinated big masters like Leonardo da Vinci and till the 21st century, mesmerizes every tourist that visits this place.

    Some of the major attractions of the city are the Duomo, Sky line Icons, Best Vantage etc. The Duomo is a huge cathedral in the Florence’s city. The Palazzo Vecchio Tower is yet another skyline Icon or a bell tower that has an outstanding appeal to it. The Ponte Vecchio, of the14th century is also another landmark in the cityscape of Florence Italy. The Floreence Cityscape is also known for its artistic past. Almost all great Italian artists belonged to this part of the city. It seems that the entire city lit up beautifully during the evening as if is a beautiful painting made on canvas. Most of the tourists who visit this place come mainly to see the colorful city of Florence.

LOUVRE MUSEUM

LOUVRE MUSEUM 

Location: FRANCE.

Description:

    Louvre Museum, French Musée du Louvre, official name Great Louvre, French Grand Louvre,  national museum and art gallery of France, housed in part of a large palace in Paris that was built on the right-bank site of the 12th-century fortress of Philip Augustus. In 1546 Francis I, who was a great art collector, had this old castle razed and began to build on its site another royal residence, the Louvre, which was added to by almost every subsequent French monarch. Under Francis I, only a small portion of the present Louvre was completed, under the architect Pierre Lescot. This original section is today the southwestern part of the Cour Carrée. In the 17th century, major additions were made to the building complex by Louis XIII and Louis XIV. Cardinal de Richelieu, the chief minister of Louis XIII, acquired great works of art for the king. Louis XIV and his minister, Cardinal Mazarin, acquired outstanding art collections, including that of Charles I of England. A committee consisting of the architects Claude Perrault and Louis Le Vau and the decorator and painter Charles Le Brun planned that part of the Louvre which is known as the Colonnade.      The Louvre ceased to be a royal residence when Louis XIV moved his court to Versailles in 1682. The idea of using the Louvre as a public museum originated in the 18th century. The comte d’Angiviller helped build and plan the Grande Galerie and continued to acquire major works of art. In 1793 the revolutionary government opened to the public the Musée Central des Arts in the Grande Galerie. Under Napoleon theCour Carrée and a wing on the north along the rue de Rivoli were begun. In the 19th century two major wings, their galleries and pavilions extending west, were completed, and Napoleon III was responsible for the exhibition that opened them. The completed Louvre was a vast complex of buildings forming two main quadrilaterals and enclosing two large courtyards.
     The Louvre building complex underwent a major remodeling in the 1980s and ’90s in order to make the old museum more accessible and accommodating to its visitors. To this end, a vast underground complex of offices, shops, exhibition spaces, storage areas, and parking areas, as well as an auditorium, a tourist bus depot, and a cafeteria, was constructed underneath the Louvre’s central courtyards of theCour Napoléon and the Cour du Carrousel. The ground-level entrance to this complex was situated in the centre of the Cour Napoléon and was crowned by a controversial steel-and-glass pyramid designed by the American architect I.M. Pei. The underground complex of support facilities and public amenities was opened in 1989. In 1993, on the museum’s 200th anniversary, the rebuilt Richelieu wing, formerly occupied by France’s Ministry of Finance, was opened; for the first time, the entire Louvre was devoted to museum purposes. The new wing, also designed by Pei, had more than 230,000 square feet (21,368 square metres) of exhibition space, housing collections of European painting, decorative arts, and Islamic arts. Three glass-roofed interior courtyards display French sculpture and ancient Assyrian artworks.
In 2007 the French government announced that it was lending the Louvre’s name to a new museum being built on Saadiyat Island, off the coast of Abū Ẓaby. The 30-year agreement called for hundreds of works of art belonging to the museum to be rented to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel.
    The Louvre’s painting collection is one of the richest in the world, representing all periods of European art up to Impressionism. The Louvre’s collection of French paintings from the 15th to the 19th century is unsurpassed in the world, and it also has many masterpieces by Italian Renaissance painters and Flemish and Dutch painters of the Baroque period.
    The department of medieval, Renaissance, and modern art objects displays the treasures of the French kings—bronzes, miniatures, pottery, tapestries, jewelry, and furniture—while the department of Greek and Roman antiquities (which includes Etruscan art) features architecture, sculpture, mosaics, bronzes, jewelry, and pottery. The department of Egyptian antiquities was established in 1826 to organize the collections acquired during Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign. The department of Oriental antiquities is most important for its collection of Mesopotamian art. In 1954 a section of Christian antiquities was established to group Early Christian, Byzantine, and Coptic works including ivories, glass, ceramics, textiles, gold, and Greek and Russian icons.

SISTINE CHAPEL

SISTINE CHAPEL

Location: VATICAN CITY.

Description:

    The Sistine Chapel is named after his commissioner, Sixtus IV della Rovere (1471-1484), who decided to have a large room built where the “Cappella Magna” once stood. The “Cappella Magna” was a mediaeval fortified hall that the Papal Court used for assemblies. At that time, it was made up of about 200 members: a college of 20 cardinals, representatives of religious orders and important families, a choir, and a large number of laymen and servants. The Sistine construction was also to be a defensive structure, warding off both the Medici family, because of the continuous tension between the rulers of Florence and the Pope, and Muhammad II’s Turks, who at that time were threatening the western coast of Italy. Its construction started in 1475, during the Jubilee Year proclaimed by Sixtus IV, and ended in 1483, when on August 15th the Pope solemnly inaugurated the new Chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption. The project, designed by Baccio Pontelli, included the use of a third of the height of the existing mediaeval walls.
According to some scholars, the dimensions of the hall (40.23 metres in length, 13.40 metres in width and 20.70 metres in height) are copied from Solomon’s great temple in Jerusalem, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.
    The main entrance to the Chapel, located opposite the small entrance used today, is preceded by the imposing Sala Regia built for papal audiences. Arched windows light the chapel, while lunettes and triangular webs join the ceiling’s barrel vault with the side walls. A choir once used the stalls on the right, while the Papal Court sat on the stone benches along three sides of the hall, excluding the altar side. An elegant 15th century balustrade surmounted by candelabra divides the area destined to the clergy from the area used by the public; at the end of the 16th century the balustrade was pushed back to make the former area larger. The splendid 15th century mosaic floor was copied from mediaeval models and is completely original.
After the architectural structure was completed in 1481, Sixtus IV summoned various Florentine painters to work in the chapel, including Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Cosimo Rosselli, Signorelli and Umbrian artists such as Perugino and Pinturicchio.

FJORDS OF NORWAY

FJORDS OF NORWAY

Location: NORWAY

Description:

    Norway is the land of divine beauty that takes you one step closer to nature. It offers plenty to visitors right from mountain skiing, a voyage in the Fjords and hiking. Norway has always been known for its scenic beauty of Fjords, mountains and glaciers.
    Fjords are defined as a very thin, long, and narrow bay in a valley made by the glaciers. As far as the Fjords of Norway is concerned, it is said to be the perfect holiday outing for visitors and localities. A long strip of sea on a beautiful sunny afternoon is considered a perfect day for tourists. Fjords of Norway are series of landscape mountain that attracts hikers in abundance. The best time to visit this place is from May till September. Tourists find it really adventurous to cruise the Atlantic Fjords and hike the mountains. Bergen, which was once the capital of Norway, is assimilated between seven mountains, said it be the Gateway of Fjords. Norway is very rich in its flora and has a good historical past to attract tourists all across the globe.
    Visitors come from many places to feel the vertigo from the cliff as they pass by the Fjords. One of the most famous Fjord in Norway is called the Sognafjord, the King of Fjord and is said that the successor of the Norwegian come for fishing. This place is 1200 meters deep and is 200 Kilometers long. One can see fresh water, clear sky, bright flora not to forget the subzero temperature.

CHARTRES CATHEDRAL

CHARTRES CATHEDRAL

Location:  FRANCE

Description:

 Chartres Cathedral, also called Notre-Dame d’Chartres or the Cathedral of Notre-Dame,  Gothic cathedral located in the town of Chartres, northwestern France. Generally ranked as one of the three chief examples of Gothic French architecture (along with Amiens Cathedral and Reims Cathedral), it is noted not only for its architectural innovations but also for its numerous sculptures and its much-celebrated stained glass. The cathedral’s association with the Virgin Mary (the supposed veil of the Virgin is kept in the cathedral treasury) made it the destination of pilgrims in the Middle Ages.

The oldest parts of the cathedral are its crypt and the west portal, or Royal Portal, which are remnants of a Romanesque church that was mostly destroyed by fire in 1194. The present cathedral was constructed on the foundations of the earlier church and consecrated in 1260. It is built of limestone and stands some 112 feet (34 metres) high and is 427 feet (130 metres) long. In many ways, the cathedral’s design resembles those of its contemporaries, especially Laon Cathedral, but it displays innovations with its tall arcades, unusually narrow triforium, and huge clerestory—the massive weight of which required using flying buttresses in an unprecedented manner.
 The cathedral contains an immense amount of sculpture, particularly figure sculpture, ranging from large column statues to miniatures. As the purpose of the sculptures was to preach and instruct, they mainly depict scenes and figures from the Old and New Testaments.
Chartres Cathedral contains 176 stained-glass windows, the feature for which it may be best known. Like the sculpture, the stained glass was intended to be educational. The five windows of the choir hemicycle (a semicircular arrangement) relate in various ways to the Virgin Mary. The rose window in the north transept portrays figures from the Old Testament. The south transept, which is representative of the New Testament, has a rose window depicting the Apocalypse.
Several alterations have been made to the cathedral. The northwest tower’s distinctive spire, for example, was added in the early 1500s. Chartres emerged with relatively little
damage from the political and religious upheavals of the 16th century and sustained less damage than most cathedrals during the French Revolution (1787–99). After a fire damaged the roof in 1836, a series of restorations were carried out during the 19th century. In 1979 Chartres Cathedral was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. During the late 20th century preservation efforts concentrated on protecting the cathedral’s stained glass from air pollution

MONT BLANC

MONT BLANC

Location: FRENCH-ITALIAN BORDER

Description:

     Mont Blanc, Italian Monte Bianco,  mountain massif and highest peak (15,771 feet [4,807 metres]) in Europe. Located in the Alps, the massif lies along the French-Italian border and reaches into Switzerland. It extends southwestward from Martigny, Switzerland, for about 25 miles (40 km) and has a maximum width of 10 miles (16 km). The summit is in French territory. Surrounding the massif are the Graian Alps (south), the Chamonix Valley and Savoy Alps (west), the Pennine Alps (northeast), and the Valley of Courmayeur (east). Other principal peaks within the massif include Mont Blanc du Tacul, Mont Maudit, Aiguille (“Peak”) du Géant, Les Grandes Jorasses, Mont Dolent, and Aiguille du Midi.
     Glaciers cover approximately 40 square miles (100 square km) of Mont Blanc (whence its name, meaning “white mountain”). Ice streams stretch from the central ice dome down to below 4,900 feet (1,490 metres). The Mer de Glace, the second longest glacier in the Alps, reached the elevation of 4,100 feet (1,250 metres) in 1930. At the beginning of the 17th century, glaciers advanced to the bottom of the Chamonix Valley, destroying or burying cultivated land and dwellings. Since that time, the glaciers have periodically advanced and retreated.
     Scientists P. Martel in 1742, Jean A. Deluc in 1770, and, later, Horace Bénédict de Saussure first drew attention to Mont Blanc’s distinction as western Europe’s highest mountain. That designation stirred adventurers to climb the peak. The summit was conquered in 1786 by Michel-Gabriel Paccard, a doctor from Chamonix, together with Jacques Balmat, his porter. Paccard’s achievement, one of the most important in the history of mountaineering, was overshadowed by de Saussure’s ascent the year after. Through Marc-Théodore Bourrit, who failed the ascent and, out of jealousy, published a biased account of the first ascent, the myth was started that all credit for the climb was due to the peasant Balmat.
     In addition to mountaineers, the number of visitors to Chamonix increased steadily; but until about 1870, when an improved road was opened, it remained an exclusive resort. The region has come to form the largest Alpine tourist centre, with aerial tramways and facilities for winter sports, and its traditional pastoral economy has been completely eclipsed.

THE MATTERHORN

THE MATTERHORN

Location: SWITZERLAND

Description:

    An English mountaineer, Edward Whymper, led the first successful climb to the top of the Matterhorn in 1865. That first climb turned out to be really sad. Out of seven, four people died when a rope snapped and they plunged down the north face. One of the bodies was never found.
     The Matterhorn is well known for it's magnificent outline and it's position above the Swiss village of Zermatt. If you've visited Disney Land in California you have no doubt seen a replica of it.
     The Matterhorn is not the highest mountain in the Alps, or even the highest peak in Switzerland, but it has four very marked ridges and faces that make it look like a pyramid. Its beauty is made even more striking by the way it stands by no other mountain close by.
     About 40 million years ago, the Alps were created, when two sections of the Earth's crust crashed into each other, throwing up rock into a chain of buckled, folded mountains.

THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA

THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA

 (one of the masterpiece of Medieval times)

Location: ITALY

 

FACTS ABOUT

  THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA

Height:

    From the low side the height of the tower is 55.86 metres (183.27 ft).

    From the high side the height of the tower is 56.70 metres (186.02 ft).

Width:

    At the base of the tower, the width of walls is 4.09 metres (13.42 ft).

     At the top of the tower, the width of walls is 2.48 metres (8.14 ft).

Weight:

    The weight of the tower is estimated to be 14,500 metric tons (16,000 short tons).

No: of Steps:

    The tower has got 296 steps while seventh floor has got fewer steps.

 THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA

(one of the masterpiece of Medieval times)

Description:

 

    The leaning tower of Pisa is the campanile or free standing bell tower in Pisa capital city of Italian province of Pisa and district of Tuscany standing behind the cathedral and the third oldest structure in Pisa’s Cathedral Square. This tower began leaning during its construction whereas it was designed to be perfectly vertical. This leaning became the reason for the tower to be famous in the world. This building is the most remarkable architectural structure from medieval Europe regardless of the characteristic of leaning. As far as its construction is concerned it lasted for 177 years in three stages. Firstly on August 8 1173 A.D, work on the ground floor of the white campanile got started. This floor is a blind arcade which was articulated by columns with classical Corinthian capitals. The construction of this tower halted for almost a century because of engagement of Republic of Pisa in fighting battles which allowed the underlying soil to settle. Otherwise the tower would have toppled. Later on some clocks on the third floor were temporarily installed. This temporary installation took place in 1198 A.D. In 1272 Giovanni di Simone resumed its construction engineers at that time built upper floors with one side taller than the other in order to overcome its leaning shape. In 1284 Pisians were defeated by the Genoans in the Battle of Meloria which once again became the reason of halting the construction and in 1319, its seventh floor was completed which was built by Tommaso di Andrea Pisano. There are seven bells each is for a note of the major music scale. The installation of the largest one took place in 1655A.D while the bell chamber was finally added in 1372. After the phase of structural strengthening lasted from 1990 to 2001, the tower is now undergoing the process of surface restoration for repairing the visual damage mostly caused by corrosion and blackening which caused by the tower’s age and its exposure to wind and rain.