Dinant, BelgiumDinant (French pronunciation: [di.nɑ̃]) is a Walloon city and municipality located on the River Meuse in the Belgian province of Namur, Belgium. It is around 30 km south-east of Charleroi. The Dinant municipality includes the old communes of Anseremme, Bouvignes-sur-Meuse, Dréhance, Falmagne, Falmignoul, Foy-Notre-Dame, Furfooz, Lisogne, Sorinnes, and Thynes.
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Cinque TerreThe Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. It is in the Liguria region of Italy, to the west of the city of La Spezia. "The Five Lands" is composed of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Over centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible corporate development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside. The Cinque Terre is a very popular tourist destination. The villages of the Cinque Terre were severely affected by torrential rains which caused floods and mudslides on October 25, 2011. Nine people have been confirmed killed by the floods, and damage to the villages, particularly Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare, is extensive. |
Bosphorus Bridge, Istanbul , turkeyhe Bosphorus Bridge, also called the First Bosphorus Bridge (Turkish: Boğaziçi Köprüsü or 1. Boğaziçi Köprüsü) is one of the two bridges in Istanbul, Turkey, spanning the Bosphorus strait (Turkish: Boğaziçi) and thus connecting Europe and Asia (the other one is the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, which is called the Second Bosphorus Bridge.) The bridge is located between Ortaköy (on the European side) and Beylerbeyi (on the Asian side). It is a gravity anchored suspension bridge with steel pylons and inclined hangers. The aerodynamic deck hangs on zigzag steel cables. It is 1,510 m (4,954 ft) long with a deck width of 39 m (128 ft). The distance between the towers (main span) is 1,074 m (3,524 ft) and their height over road level is 105 m (344 ft). The clearance of the bridge from sea level is 64 m (210 ft). The Bosphorus Bridge had the 4th longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed in 1973, and the longest outside the United States. At present, it is the 19th longest suspension bridge span in the world.
The idea of a bridge crossing the Bosphorus dates back to antiquity. For Emperor Darius I The Great of Persia (522 BC - 485 BC), as recorded by the Greek writer Herodotus in his Histories, Mandrocles of Samos once engineered a pontoon bridge that stretched across the Bosphorus, linking Asia to Europe, so that Darius could pursue the fleeing Scythians as well as move his army into position in the Balkans to overwhelm Macedon.[1] The first project for a permanent bridge across the Bosphorus was proposed to Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II by the Bosphorus Railroad Company in 1900, which included a rail link between the continents.[2] The decision to build a bridge across the Bosphorus was taken in 1957 by Prime Minister Adnan Menderes. For the structural engineering work, a contract was signed with the British firm Freeman Fox & Partners in 1968. The bridge was designed by the renowned British civil engineers Sir Gilbert Roberts and William Brown who also designed the Humber Bridge, Severn Bridge, Forth Road Bridge, Auckland Harbour Bridge and the Volta River Bridge. The construction started in February 1970, the ceremonies were attended by President Cevdet Sunay and Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel and was carried out by the Turkish firm Enka Construction & Industry Co. along with the co-contractors Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Co. Ltd. (England) and Hochtief AG (Germany). Thirty-five engineers and 400 men worked on the project. The bridge was completed on 30 October 1973, one day after the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey, and opened by President Fahri Korutürk and Prime Minister Naim Talu. The cost of the bridge amounted to USD 200 million. At the time the bridge was opened, much was made of its being the first bridge between Europe and Asia since the pontoon bridge of Xerxes in 480 BCE. That bridge, however, spanned the Hellespont (Dardanelles), some distance away from the Bosphorus. |
Neuschwanstein Castle , GermanyNeuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein, pronounced [nɔʏˈʃvaːnʃtaɪn]) is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as an homage to Richard Wagner. Contrary to common belief[citation needed], Ludwig paid for the palace out of his personal fortune and extensive borrowing, not with Bavarian public funds (see below).
The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886.[1] Since then over 60 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle.[2] More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with up to 6,000 per day in the summer.[3] The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle[4] and later, similar structures. The municipality of Schwangau lies at an elevation of 800 m (2,620 ft) at the south west border of the German state of Bavaria. Its surroundings are characterized by the transition between the Alpine foothills in the south (towards the nearby Austrian border) and a hilly landscape in the north that appears flat by comparison. In the Middle Ages, three castles overlooked the villages. One was called Schwanstein Castle.[nb 1] In 1832, Ludwig's father King Maximilian II of Bavaria bought its ruins to replace them by the comfortable neo-Gothic palace known as Hohenschwangau Castle. Finished in 1837, the palace became his family's summer residence, and his elder son Ludwig (born 1845) spent a large part of his childhood here.[citation needed] Vorderhohenschwangau Castle and Hinterhohenschwangau Castle[nb 2] sat on a rugged hill overlooking Schwanstein Castle, two nearby lakes (Alpsee and Schwansee), and the village. Separated only by a moat, they jointly consisted of a hall, a keep, and a fortified tower house.[5] In the 19th century only ruins remained of the medieval twin castles, but those of Hinterhohenschwangau served as a lookout place known as Sylphenturm.[6] The ruins above the family palace were known to the crown prince from his excursions. He first sketched one of them in his diary in 1859.[8] When the young king came to power in 1864, the construction of a new palace in place of the two ruined castles became the first in his series of palace building projects.[9] Ludwig himself called the new palace New Hohenschwangau Castle – only after his death was it renamed Neuschwanstein.[10] The confusing result is that Hohenschwangau and Schwanstein have effectively swapped names: Hohenschwangau Castle replaced the ruins of Schwanstein Castle, and Neuschwanstein Castle replaced the ruins of the two Hohenschwangau Castles |
GeirangerGeiranger is a small tourist village in Sunnmøre in the municipality of Stranda in Møre og Romsdal county, in the western part of Norway. It lies at the head of the Geirangerfjord, which is a branch of the Storfjord. The nearest city is Ålesund. Geiranger is home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, and has been named the best travel destination in Scandinavia by Lonely Planet. Since 2005, the Geirangerfjord has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Seven Sisters waterfall is located just west of Geiranger.[2] Norwegian national road 63 passes through the village.
This third biggest cruise ship port receives 140 to 180 ships during the four-month tourist season. Several hundred thousand people pass through every summer, and tourism is the main business for the 250 people who live there permanently. There are five hotels and over ten camping sites. The tourist season stretches from May to early September; in the off-season the pace and activity are reduced to that of a normal small Norwegian town. Tours of the nearby historic farms of Knivsflå and Skageflå are available from Geiranger. Each year in June, the Geiranger – From Fjord to Summit event occurs. It comprises a half marathon run and a bicycle race, both starting from the sea level at the fjord and ending at the 1,497 metres (4,911 ft) summit of Mount Dalsnibba, near the lake Djupvatnet. Since there is still a lot of snow left in the mountains at that time of year, the race could also be called "From Summer to Winter". Geiranger is under constant threat from the mountain Åkerneset which could erode into the fjord. A collapse could cause a tsunami that could destroy downtown Geiranger. |
Santa Maria della Salute - Venice, ItalyThe Basilica of St Mary of Health (Italian: Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute), commonly known simply as the Salute, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the Italian city of Venice. It stands on a narrow finger of land between the Grand Canal and the Bacino di San Marco making the church visible when entering the Piazza San Marco from the water. The Salute is part of the parish of the Gesuati and is the most recent of the so-called plague-churches.
In 1630 Venice experienced an unusually devastating outbreak of the plague. As a votive offering for the city's deliverance from the pestilence, the Republic of Venice vowed to build and dedicate a church to Our Lady of Health (or of Deliverance, Italian: Salute). The church was designed in the then fashionable baroque style by Baldassare Longhena, who studied under the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi. Construction began in 1631. Most of the objects of art housed in the church bear references to the Black Death. The dome of the Salute was an important addition to the Venice skyline and soon became emblematic of the city, inspiring artists like Canaletto, J. M. W. Turner, John Singer Sargent and Francesco Guar Beginning in the summer of 1629, a wave of the plague assaulted Venice, and over the next two years killed nearly a third of the population. In the city 46,000 people died whilst in the lagoons the number was far higher, some 94,000.[1] Repeated displays of the sacrament, as well as prayers and processions to churches dedicated to San Rocco and San Lorenzo Giustiniani had failed to stem the epidemic. Echoing the architectural response to a prior assault of the plague (1575–76), when Palladio was asked to design the Redentore church, the Venetian Senate on October 22, 1630, decreed that a new church would be built.[1] It was not to be dedicated to a mere "plague" or patron saint, but to the Virgin Mary, who for many reasons was thought to be a protector of the Republic.[2] It was also decided that the Senate would visit the church each year. On November 21 the Feast of the Presentation of the Virgin, in a celebration known as the Festa della Madonna della Salute, the city's officials parade from San Marco to the Salute for a service in gratitude for deliverance from the plague. This involved crossing the Grand Canal on a specially constructed pontoon bridge and is still a major event in Venice. The desire to create a suitable monument at a place that allows for easy processional access from Piazza San Marco led senators to select the present site from among eight potential locations. The location was chosen partially due to its relationship to San Giorgio, San Marco and Il Redentore, with which it forms an arc. The Salute, emblematic of the city's piety, stands adjacent to the rusticated single story customs house or Dogana da Mar, the emblem of its maritime commerce, and near the civic center of the city. A dispute with the patriarch, owner of the church and seminary at the site, was resolved, and razing of some of the buildings began by 1631. Likely, the diplomat Paolo Sarpi and Doge Nicolo Contarini shared the intent to link the church to an order less closely associated with the patriarchate, and ultimately the Somascan Fathers, an order founded near Bergamo by a Venetian nobleman Jerome Emiliani, were invited to administer the church.[citation needed] The high altar with the holy icon of Panagia Mesopantitisa A competition was held to design the building. Of the eleven submissions (including designs by Alessandro Varotari, Matteo Ignoli, and Berteo Belli), only two were chosen for the final round. The architect Baldassare Longhena was selected to design the new church. It was finally completed in 1681, the year before Longhena's death. The other design to make it to the final round was by Antonio Smeraldi (il Fracao) and Zambattista Rubertini. Of the proposals still extant, Belli's and Smeraldi's original plans were conventional counter-reformation linear churches, resembling Palladio's Redentore and San Giorgio Maggiore, while Varotari's was a sketchy geometrical abstraction. Longhena's proposal was a concrete architectural plan, detailing the structure and costs. He wrote: I have created a church in the form of a rotunda, a work of new invention, not built in Venice, a work very worthy and desired by many. This church, having the mystery of its dedication, being dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, made me think, with what little talent God has bestowed upon me of building the church in the ... shape of a crown. Later in a memorandum, he wrote: Firstly, it is a virgin work, never before seen, curious, worthy and beautiful, made in the form of a round monument that has never been seen, nor ever before invented, neither altogether, nor in part, in other churches in this most serene city, just as my competitor (il Fracao) has done for his own advantage, being poor in invention. The Salute, while novel in many ways, still shows the influence of Palladian classicism and the domes of Venice. The Venetian Senate voted 66 in favor, 29 against with 2 abstentions to authorize the designs of the 26 year old Longhena. While Longhena saw the structure as crown-like, the decorative circular building makes it seem more like a reliquary, a ciborium, and embroidered inverted chalice that shelters the city's piety.[citation needed] [edit] Exterior The Salute is a vast, octagonal building with two domes and a pair of picturesque bell-towers at the back. Built on a platform made of 100,000 wooden piles, it is constructed of Istrian stone and marmorino (brick covered with marble dust). At the apex of the pediment stands a statue of the Virgin Mary who presides over the church which was erected in her honour. The façade is decorated with figures of Saint George, Saint Theodore, the Evangelists, the Prophets, Judith with the head of Holofernes.[1] [edit] Facade |
Ferrari World, Abu DhabiFerrari World is a Ferrari themed amusement park on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.[1] The park is the resort covers an area of 30,080 acres (12,173 ha; 47 sq mi) and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels including a campground, two spas and physical fitness centers, five golf courses, and other recreational venues and entertainment. The central park is situated under a 200,000 m2 (2,152,782 sq ft)[2] roof making it the largest indoor amusement park in the world.[3] Ferrari World officially opened on 4 November 2010.[5] The theme park is home to Formula Rossa, the world's fastest roller coaster.[6]
In late 2005, it was reported that Ferrari and Aldar Properties signed an agreement to build the world's first Ferrari theme park in Abu Dhabi. At the time, it was expected that the park was to open in 2008,[7] however, delays saw it bumped back until 2010. Construction began in November 2008 and was completed in under two years.[8] In mid 2010, it was announced that Ferrari World would open on 28 October 2010.[1][2] However, it was delayed by a week due to the passing of Ras al-Khaimah's Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad al-Qassimi the day prior.[9] Ferrari World officially opened to the public on the 4th of November 2010.[5] On December 2011, after one year of operation, Ferrari World shortened its operating hours due to perceived visitor population trends. This resulted in 100 positions eliminated with remaining staff receiving salary and benefit adjustments.[10] |
Port Isaac England
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"Corpus" building in Netherlands charts human bodyThe "Corpus" building is seen in Oegstgeest, 35 kilometers (21 miles) southeast of Amsterdam, Netherlands. "Corpus," a new attraction in the Netherlands, are hoping that a combination amusement park and health education museum will encourage kids to take better care of their own bodies. The building incorporates a 35-meter (115-foot) high seated human figure into its structure. All the walls and halls are modeled with fiberglass to resemble the inside of a giant human body, giving visitors the sensation of being shrunk down to a tiny scale.
THE BUILDING FROM OUTSIDETHE BUILDING FROM INSIDE |
The Swiss Re Building (London, England)Completed in 2003, this Foster and Partners-designed skyscraper has 40 floors and measures almost 600 ft. Londoners called it “The Gherkin Building†because they think it looks like a pickle. And they have a point. If Faberge made pickles instead of eggs, this is probably what it would look like. Cool? Yes, but also kinda weird.
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