I never came across as many sleepy animals in one country! Could it be that there’s something in the air? Just a few shots, - I’ve got more…
Sleeping Wombat in a private zoo near Melbourne
Kangaroo in a private zoo near Melbourne
Sleeping (?) frog in the Sydney Aquarium
Montreal has many houses with wooden or wrought iron stairways, and beautifully painted doors and facades.
Like the other famous Andalusian cities (Granada, Córdoba…), Sevilla also has an “Alcázar” - a Moorish fortress.
The one in Sevilla dates back to the 8th century, but much of the current site was actually built after the reconquista in the times of Pedro the cruel who nevertheless employed Moorish architects and artisans.
The palace-fortress has beautiful gardens and right next to them are some vaulted baths.
This photo was taken from a small rowing boat on the Ganges river.
Pylos nowadays is a small, pleasant place with a huge fortress and an interesting museum.
Pylos is very strategically situated with a huge natural harbour, where the famous battle of Navarino took place.
Here, in 1827, a European fleet (England, France, and Russia) destroyed the holed-in Egyptian fleet of Muhammad Ali, who came to the aid of the Turkish Empire in the Greek war of independence.
More on the battle of Navarino at Wikipedia.
In the picture you can see part of the small opening of the huge bay with Sphacteria island to the right.
I took this photo using a polarizing filter on Fuji Velvia.
A house that is painted in bright colours with comic-like faces on all sides.
The Sagrada Familia, Barcelonas newest cathedral, has been a building site ever since 1882.
It is foreseen that carrying out the plans of Antoni Gaudí, even using materials not available at his time, will take another 80 years or so.
On the other hand, the first restoration works are already taking place.
The church itself is a peculiar mixture of Gothic and modern elements.
Definitely worth a visit - after all where else can you see a cathedral in the making?
Antoni Gaudí (1856-1926= is one of the most important modern architects. In Barcelona, it is hard not to come across at least some of his works: Parc Güell, Palau Güell, many private houses and, of course, his most important project, the Sagrada Familia.
Hot and spicy: chilis drying in the streets of Tozeur.
I was wondering about the name of this spice. At first glance, it looks as though it was derived from the country Chile, especially, as variant (but correct) spellings are chili, chile and chiley (Pl. chilies, chiles, chileys, chil·lies).
Dictionary.com however states that the Spanish word “chile” was derived from Nahuatl “chilli”.
Nahuatl is the Aztec language - so this would point towards Mexico rather than Chile.
I found quite an interesting page on Chili peppers at an MSN group.
By the way, the sight of drying Chili peppers is nothing new to me, - I saw them in Southeast Asia, South and Central America, Egypt, Nepal… . Maybe the most unusual location was on the bow of a ship cruising the Yangtze River in China.
The Buddhist “dagoba” once was among the greatest of its kind, but now it is completely overgrown.
A stupa is a Buddhist monument, normally housing a relic. In Sri Lanka, the stupas are called “dagoba”.
This one once housed the famous tooth relic now venerated in the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy.
I wrote a little photo tip on “shooting” moving objects: Capturing Movement.
Salamanca is known as the city where the “purest” Spanish is spoken. This may partly explain the large number of language schools.
However, there are many other facets of this city that attract culturally interested travellers from all over the world: the city itself is very beautiful with its traditional architecture that made it a world heritage site and there is always something going on in the historic setting. At the same time, Salamanca with its 180000 inhabitants is not really a big city, but rather a pleasant town. The famous university certainly is a factor - and explains the many pubs, bars and restaurants.
I saw this bird near Cape Town - if anyone knows the name, please tell me!
The ruins of the abandoned upper town of Monemvasía are a mystical place, - especially if you get there very early in the morning - or shortly before sunset.
This is the silhouette of one of the walls.
More on Monemvasia.
PS: Here’s a tip on how to take pictures of dramatic silhouettes.
The Convento de Santa Catalina is one of the major attractions of Arequipa.
The compound is huge - covering some 20,000 square metres. Built in the 16th century, it was almost a city within the city.
Contact between the 450 nuns living here and the outside world was fairly limited until 1970 when the convent was opened to the public.
The buildings are made of “sillar”, a volcanic material that is readily available near Arequipa and is easy to work with.
This may partly explain the elaborate design of the facades.
There are several distinct styles, including Spanish, Andalusian and indigenous elements.
Walking down the Calle Cordoba, it is easy to believe that this is somewhere in Andalusia…
I especially liked the strong colours used - many buildings are painted in red or blue and there are green plants everywhere…
Not exactly the right place for a nice beach holiday: Patagonia (Southern Chile)
a close-up of the famous reclining Buddha of Polonnaruwa.
The Buddha statue lying on its stone cushion is actually 14 metres long.
By the way, the reclining Buddha depicts the moment when Buddha enters the Nirvana - at the end of his life.
A sitting and a standing Buddha statue are nearby.
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