Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
The Graet Buddha
Kamakura (鎌倉市, Kamakura-shi?) is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called Renpu (鎌府?) (short for Kamakura Bakufu (鎌倉幕府, or Kamakura Shogunate?)). Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is sometimes considered a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the Kamakura Period. (In reality its independence from Kyoto was never complete)[1]
According to The Institute for Research on World-Systems,[2] Kamakura was the 4th largest city in the world in 1250 AD, with 200,000 people, and Japan's largest, eclipsing Kyoto by 1200 AD.
As of January 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 173,588 and a density of 4,380 inhabitants per square kilometre (11,300 /sq mi). The total area is 39.60 square kilometres (15.29 sq mi).
Kamakura was designated as a city on November 3, 1939.
Kamakura has a beach which, in combination with the temples and the proximity to Tokyo, makes it a popular tourist destination. It is also noted for its senbei, which are crisp rice cakes grilled and sold fresh along the main shopping street. These are very popular with tourists. Read full history of Kamakura at wikipedia
According to The Institute for Research on World-Systems,[2] Kamakura was the 4th largest city in the world in 1250 AD, with 200,000 people, and Japan's largest, eclipsing Kyoto by 1200 AD.
As of January 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 173,588 and a density of 4,380 inhabitants per square kilometre (11,300 /sq mi). The total area is 39.60 square kilometres (15.29 sq mi).
Kamakura was designated as a city on November 3, 1939.
Kamakura has a beach which, in combination with the temples and the proximity to Tokyo, makes it a popular tourist destination. It is also noted for its senbei, which are crisp rice cakes grilled and sold fresh along the main shopping street. These are very popular with tourists. Read full history of Kamakura at wikipedia
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Enjoy The Tower of London
The Tower of London by Paul Lowman and Katrell Morgan The Tower of London is a complex located on the Thames River in London. It has a rich history dating back to 1066, when William of Normandy decided to build the White Tower after he had taken over the kingdom of England. It was built and completed by Gundulf, the bishop of Rochester, in the year 1078. The Tower has been used as a royal residence as well as for a prison. Executions were held in the central keep and outside the Tower on Tower Hill. Yeoman guards now stand outside this popular tourist attraction.The Tower of London is a complex made up of many different sections. The Tower is surrounded by a moat on three sides and the Thames River on the fourth. The outside fortifications consist of Legge's and Brass Mount. The inner fortifications, called the Ballium Wall, have 12 towers: the Bloody Tower, the Wakefield Tower, the Bell Tower, the Lanthorn Tower, the Salt Tower , the Broad Arrow Tower, the Constable Tower, the Martin Tower, the Brick Tower, the Bowyer Tower, the Flint Tower, the Devereux Tower, and the Beauchamp Tower. The Bloody Tower was named after the murder of the English child king Edward V and his brother, Richard Plantagent, Duke of York, which occurred in this tower. The Record, or Wakefield Tower, was where the records were formerly kept, and where the royal regalia, or Crown Jewels, are currently kept. The Devereux Tower is named for its most famous prisoner, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, who was held there before his execution for treason in 1601. The Jewel Tower was named for once holding the royal regalia.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Beauty Cinque Terre in Italy
The Cinque Terre, Italy. It was a long 6 years since I last visited and I hope to remedy in September with a group of friends. Home Pesto, south-east of Genoa and Pisa to the north, the Cinque Terre are five coastal villages on the Mediterranean Sea. The photo above Vernazza - I zwommen in this bay and hiked in the hills around the village. I can not wait to go back there and see if my old friend Luigi is round and more importantly, if it were still in small production of wine DOC Cinque Terre.
The Cinque Terre is a rugged stretch of coast on the Italian Riviera. E 'in the Liguria region of Italy, west of the city of La Spezia. "The five countries" consists of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.
The coastline, the five countries and the surrounding hills are all part of the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Cinque Terre is known for its beauty. Through the centuries, man has carefully built terraces robust, powerful landscape of rocks with the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of vision "modern" development. Roads, trains and ships connecting the villages, and cars can not reach out. This is a very popular tourist destination.
In 1998, the Italian Ministry of Environment to set the protected marine area of the Cinque Terre to protect the natural environment and promote socio-economic development compatible with the natural landscape of the area.In 1999, the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre was created to preserve the ecological balance, protection of the landscape and protect the values anthropological Site.
The Cinque Terre is a rugged stretch of coast on the Italian Riviera. E 'in the Liguria region of Italy, west of the city of La Spezia. "The five countries" consists of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.
The coastline, the five countries and the surrounding hills are all part of the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Cinque Terre is known for its beauty. Through the centuries, man has carefully built terraces robust, powerful landscape of rocks with the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of vision "modern" development. Roads, trains and ships connecting the villages, and cars can not reach out. This is a very popular tourist destination.
In 1998, the Italian Ministry of Environment to set the protected marine area of the Cinque Terre to protect the natural environment and promote socio-economic development compatible with the natural landscape of the area.In 1999, the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre was created to preserve the ecological balance, protection of the landscape and protect the values anthropological Site.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Tugela Falls : The Highest Waterfall
Tugela Falls is the world's second-highest at 947 m (3110 ft) in KwaZulu-Natal province, Republic of South Africa. Tugela Falls are the world's second highest waterfall. The total drop in five free-leaping falls is 3,110 feet (947 meters). They are located in the Drakensberg (Dragon's Mountains) in the Royal Natal National Park in KwaZulu-Natal Province, Republic of South Africa. The Tugela Falls are easily viewed after a heavy rain from the main travel road into the park, glistening from the reflection of the late afternoon sun.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Kaikoura in New Zealand
History of Kaikoura, New Zealand.
About 180,000 years ago periods of rapid uplift raised the layers of limestone and siltstone laid down on the sea-bed about 60 million years before to form the twisted and weathered outcrops that today make up the Kaikoura Peninsula. Originally an island, the peninsula has since been joined to the mainland by steep plains built up of debris swept down from the mountains in the Hapuka and Kowhai rivers.
In Maori lore the peninsula was the place where Maui braced his foot when he fished up the North Island and was named Te taumanu o te whaka a Maui ; the thwart of Maui's canoe. The name Kaikoura, meaning meal of crayfish, was given by Tamaki-te-rangi when he stopped over to eat here while chasing his runaway wives. It is likely that Kaikoura was first settled by the Waitaha followed by the Ngati Mamoe and then the Ngai Tahu tribes.
As Moa numbers declined crops and settlements became more important so they built lookouts and fortifications around their hilltop pa sites. Although they were only occupied for short times there are at least fifteen of these pa sites in and around Kaikoura with fierce battles occurring at some of them.
In 1843 Captain Robert Fyfe, reputed to be Kaikoura's earliest European settler, established "Waiopuka", the first shore whaling station near where his house, built in 1860, still stands on it's whale bone piles. Other whaling stations soon followed at South Bay but after 1850 whale numbers steadily declined and the exploitation of them became uneconomic. Today all marine mammals are protected in New Zealand and the whales are hunted with cameras instead of harpoons. Sheep and goats were introduced to the area by him in 1849 and in 1854 he was joined by his cousin George who leased an area north of Kaikoura known as the "Mount Fyffe Run" thus Mount Fyffe got it's name and farming began in the district.
Overland routes to Kaikoura were extremely difficult to travel with rough country and many river crossings. As a result most people and freight traveled by sea despite the often perilous coastline with it's changeable weather resulting in many shipwrecks. The remains of an old chimney near Fyffe House are all that is left of the former custom house, the official port of entry and the main link with the outside world for many years. With land access being improved by the construction of roads and bridges the old port was closed in 1949. The Christchurch to Picton Railway, a major accomplishment complete with 21 tunnels, was opened during 1945.
Like many rural areas of New Zealand, Kaikoura suffered from the economic downturn of the 1980's but is now on the road to recovery.
Tourism got a boost in 1989 when whale watching began. This has brought about an increased awareness of the areas varied and unique wildlife along with an amazing mixture of geological features providing scenery equal to or better than that seen anywhere.
Article from : http://www.virtual-kaikoura.com/history/history.htm
look more picture of kaikoura in new zealand above :
About 180,000 years ago periods of rapid uplift raised the layers of limestone and siltstone laid down on the sea-bed about 60 million years before to form the twisted and weathered outcrops that today make up the Kaikoura Peninsula. Originally an island, the peninsula has since been joined to the mainland by steep plains built up of debris swept down from the mountains in the Hapuka and Kowhai rivers.
In Maori lore the peninsula was the place where Maui braced his foot when he fished up the North Island and was named Te taumanu o te whaka a Maui ; the thwart of Maui's canoe. The name Kaikoura, meaning meal of crayfish, was given by Tamaki-te-rangi when he stopped over to eat here while chasing his runaway wives. It is likely that Kaikoura was first settled by the Waitaha followed by the Ngati Mamoe and then the Ngai Tahu tribes.
As Moa numbers declined crops and settlements became more important so they built lookouts and fortifications around their hilltop pa sites. Although they were only occupied for short times there are at least fifteen of these pa sites in and around Kaikoura with fierce battles occurring at some of them.
In 1843 Captain Robert Fyfe, reputed to be Kaikoura's earliest European settler, established "Waiopuka", the first shore whaling station near where his house, built in 1860, still stands on it's whale bone piles. Other whaling stations soon followed at South Bay but after 1850 whale numbers steadily declined and the exploitation of them became uneconomic. Today all marine mammals are protected in New Zealand and the whales are hunted with cameras instead of harpoons. Sheep and goats were introduced to the area by him in 1849 and in 1854 he was joined by his cousin George who leased an area north of Kaikoura known as the "Mount Fyffe Run" thus Mount Fyffe got it's name and farming began in the district.
Overland routes to Kaikoura were extremely difficult to travel with rough country and many river crossings. As a result most people and freight traveled by sea despite the often perilous coastline with it's changeable weather resulting in many shipwrecks. The remains of an old chimney near Fyffe House are all that is left of the former custom house, the official port of entry and the main link with the outside world for many years. With land access being improved by the construction of roads and bridges the old port was closed in 1949. The Christchurch to Picton Railway, a major accomplishment complete with 21 tunnels, was opened during 1945.
Like many rural areas of New Zealand, Kaikoura suffered from the economic downturn of the 1980's but is now on the road to recovery.
Tourism got a boost in 1989 when whale watching began. This has brought about an increased awareness of the areas varied and unique wildlife along with an amazing mixture of geological features providing scenery equal to or better than that seen anywhere.
Article from : http://www.virtual-kaikoura.com/history/history.htm
look more picture of kaikoura in new zealand above :
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