tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13226223678657639632024-03-13T01:19:07.148-07:00Clancy Tucker's BlogStoryteller, Author, Publisher, Photographer, Human Rights Activist, Social Justice Campaigner and sometime poet Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.comBlogger3821125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-78933650297935004302023-07-17T15:42:00.002-07:002023-07-17T15:42:51.050-07:0018 July 2023 - HUNDREDS OF RUINS IN IRELAND - RATHCROGHAN <p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9TvF3dNWlfH67fvwI5-4Q7_0rh2DVqU2RriIKUvCsZcFibJAu1BA9WfefnET78BdYsMoKUxP3z9wb27ePXc5t7g5QPvEmd__bPVlnALfg_5i9iD3340VfXOIAMsC2ZycDFVpafpyUv6FbbHbP0dK0tP8Minm8fSxw6pGd_NhsFk80ADt5p6ONFB8F/s547/b1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="547" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9TvF3dNWlfH67fvwI5-4Q7_0rh2DVqU2RriIKUvCsZcFibJAu1BA9WfefnET78BdYsMoKUxP3z9wb27ePXc5t7g5QPvEmd__bPVlnALfg_5i9iD3340VfXOIAMsC2ZycDFVpafpyUv6FbbHbP0dK0tP8Minm8fSxw6pGd_NhsFk80ADt5p6ONFB8F/w400-h285/b1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">HUNDREDS OF RUINS</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> IN IRELAND </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">- RATHCROGHAN -</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This ancient Irish landscape boasts hundreds of legendary ruins. </span></span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">Rathcroghan, or </span><em><span class="section-start-text">Cruachan Aí</span></em><span class="section-start-text">, is </span>an
archaeologist’s dream. Found in the center of County Roscommon, it
contains about 240 identified archaeological sites packed within an area
of about 2.5 square miles.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">This landscape confidently bears witness to nearly 5,500 years of
continuous settlement. The earliest known monument is a small court tomb
from the early Neolithic Period. </span>Bronze and Iron Age burial mounds dot
the earth. You’ll also find traces of massive feats of late Iron Age
architecture such as the Rathcroghan Mound and the Mucklaghs earthworks
as well as early historic settlement sites and religious foundations.
The later medieval period sees Rathcroghan divided into a large matrix
of field systems, evidence of the pastoral farming practice common to
this region from prehistory up to the present day.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9bzEJv1bLp8Dp07Z3sk46ATjMBqCgLFy23UTPo6CXAY4CGem6DnXdDh0PFVftPxCZ_F1IbUi5k4rwhqD95nsBfrR3QKH3ic8wKhz6wL-vNL9KeN0R7WNF8QuC7fmH-r7SEbCUlkalZ3ECQ0eZqe96CXUGC0h8O-FlVeauO_fpczuaK2IT5RWj5iP/s547/b1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="547" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9bzEJv1bLp8Dp07Z3sk46ATjMBqCgLFy23UTPo6CXAY4CGem6DnXdDh0PFVftPxCZ_F1IbUi5k4rwhqD95nsBfrR3QKH3ic8wKhz6wL-vNL9KeN0R7WNF8QuC7fmH-r7SEbCUlkalZ3ECQ0eZqe96CXUGC0h8O-FlVeauO_fpczuaK2IT5RWj5iP/w640-h456/b1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHx7dZMDX1Q8aipSkOR78Dw-L6fX3QWTPz--0rtzUVRQXbTyDOYe1bVlv2-UUbTAKvcVdKh3tG1U2FGBPOytD8tPleX3InHnh3KdLxDmOckNezJEPIiIYjclWEE1lI-siQ27r3ZbOr9Yy20NITEAqsEdF2VbpCLcS3YU15gHLugBQ9fGGh9ONnklvf/s520/b2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHx7dZMDX1Q8aipSkOR78Dw-L6fX3QWTPz--0rtzUVRQXbTyDOYe1bVlv2-UUbTAKvcVdKh3tG1U2FGBPOytD8tPleX3InHnh3KdLxDmOckNezJEPIiIYjclWEE1lI-siQ27r3ZbOr9Yy20NITEAqsEdF2VbpCLcS3YU15gHLugBQ9fGGh9ONnklvf/w640-h480/b2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This area, perhaps unsurprisingly, is also one of the key theaters of <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/ireland">Ireland</a>’s
impressive collection of intoxicating mythology and literature. It
boasts the mythological gateway into the Irish Otherworld: the cave of
Oweynagat. <em>Uaimh na gCat</em> (Gaelic for “Cave of the Cats”) is the
origin place of the pre-Christian seasonal celebration of Samhain, the
Celtic precursor to modern Halloween.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Rathcroghan is the starting point for a whole series of Iron Age heroic cattle raiding tales, known as <em>na Tána</em>. Indeed, the central tale of the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, <em>an Táin Bó Cúailnge</em>,
Ireland’s greatest epic, rises out of Rathcroghan, at the behest of the
famous Iron Age Warrior Queen Medb (Maeve) of Connacht. Medb is a vital
part of this landscape, and of the West more generally, and her capitol
and palace are reputed to be located on the Rathcroghan landscape.
These stories record the deeds of Ireland’s heroes, such as Cú Chulainn,
Fráoch, the Morrigan, Conor Mac Nessa, Ferdia, and Medb herself.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Many of these archaeological sites retain links to these heroic tales through their names, among them <em>Reilig na Rí</em> (the Cemetery of Kings), <em>Caiseal Mhanannán</em> (the stone fort of Manannán mac Lír, god of the sea), <em>Rath na dtarbh</em>
(the fort of the bulls), Daithí’s Stone, and more. Hearing these
stories, told on this earthen canvas, is the perfect way to understand
the previous generations who walked this sacred landscape.</span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-30990297878571672542023-02-18T13:44:00.000-08:002023-04-13T14:27:08.433-07:0014 April 2023 - SECRET WARTIME BUNKER ON LONDON STATION<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF41FyCRSoRPg3Z8fYXV5OYE_4hKtuE0wySZh3gagt0OD9FfDx3UkqbDOZK1nFTg33RAJ2ss0ftWcAB7sx-DaASRVwKd4fLamVtFniHF3YDVJi6pX8minoXCVqS7i62Fw74EKEYl1TMR7ybdXMo1jX56hVq-nyVOeHCFk3Lna0QnLuue0stArIU3Bp/s520/A1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF41FyCRSoRPg3Z8fYXV5OYE_4hKtuE0wySZh3gagt0OD9FfDx3UkqbDOZK1nFTg33RAJ2ss0ftWcAB7sx-DaASRVwKd4fLamVtFniHF3YDVJi6pX8minoXCVqS7i62Fw74EKEYl1TMR7ybdXMo1jX56hVq-nyVOeHCFk3Lna0QnLuue0stArIU3Bp/w400-h300/A1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">SECRET WARTIME BUNKER </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">on </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">LONDON STATION</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Welcome to the secret wartime bunker built on the platforms of an abandoned Tube station. </span></span></span></p><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body">
<div>
<p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">The Down Street Underground Station </span>was
practically doomed from the start to a short operational life. The
residents of the wealthy Mayfair area where it was to be built were not
keen on having a Tube station on their doorsteps, believing it would
entice “undesirables” into visiting the posher parts of the city.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Great Northern, Piccadilly, and Brompton Railway had tried to
purchase land so that all their stations along the Piccadilly route had
entrances on the main road, but no one was willing to let them buy such a
prime site around Down Street. Instead, they had to make do with
building on a side street, necessitating construction of longer
subterranean passageways to bring passengers from the lifts to the
Underground platforms.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">When the station opened on March 15, 1907, it immediately suffered
from low passenger numbers. The residents of Mayfair could afford other
methods of transport, the location made the station harder to spot, and
it was close to other, more convenient stations on the same line. By
1932, Down Street was closed for service.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarDVwdl0JrU3Ksk31I5LJBMMnkt971uneZ9K16Nt17UUtJirE1rYVwSESqxSCv6BJBfWWEiXgwoVx0hWoEOX8PpFkfsmQlZfRZs-Rn0Tha7lB8KSGucGQkSzSO74CW7TTenRMPm_e7EssKgbVGJUMTf2ygt4BP8N3_rVt4Sbq21mNBZis5RnebdxK/s390/A2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="293" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarDVwdl0JrU3Ksk31I5LJBMMnkt971uneZ9K16Nt17UUtJirE1rYVwSESqxSCv6BJBfWWEiXgwoVx0hWoEOX8PpFkfsmQlZfRZs-Rn0Tha7lB8KSGucGQkSzSO74CW7TTenRMPm_e7EssKgbVGJUMTf2ygt4BP8N3_rVt4Sbq21mNBZis5RnebdxK/w480-h640/A2.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqFrJjm7TAj6HQilTwVkQ6gF3sbdyddzCYLgU_r-CJMFRxKO96h8Ww_FWM0mZekxsfi78FQerE_bEvC6d35QciWHob_QwIHyLPD4eBSFtVHmm1OQTMvB0BiiIDO4nZLUYYzhwdLqB8Bl1MpBtSX9yI9afSt5g5i2aqxYQ-yMrQH09SE1DkORs6Qzv/s520/A3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqFrJjm7TAj6HQilTwVkQ6gF3sbdyddzCYLgU_r-CJMFRxKO96h8Ww_FWM0mZekxsfi78FQerE_bEvC6d35QciWHob_QwIHyLPD4eBSFtVHmm1OQTMvB0BiiIDO4nZLUYYzhwdLqB8Bl1MpBtSX9yI9afSt5g5i2aqxYQ-yMrQH09SE1DkORs6Qzv/w640-h480/A3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDiL-qney3kt39MQ29AGXtQdZot3tyUiwrrvofPsF21doYwy52J_LHM_ix_OyZ_El1XyCjfvA3xUKtmxovsCMcBG2bwRlQPECcodZ1rpzabejZYeF0BFai3lWn8r-whseP0ZUItI2qxrOE-FJykCCqnVVd59pgIb_GHWK_EArJAgiL6tVTbOHbSu4/s520/A4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDiL-qney3kt39MQ29AGXtQdZot3tyUiwrrvofPsF21doYwy52J_LHM_ix_OyZ_El1XyCjfvA3xUKtmxovsCMcBG2bwRlQPECcodZ1rpzabejZYeF0BFai3lWn8r-whseP0ZUItI2qxrOE-FJykCCqnVVd59pgIb_GHWK_EArJAgiL6tVTbOHbSu4/w640-h480/A4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This was not the end of the station’s use though. In 1939 it was
repurposed as an underground bunker to be used by the Railway Executive
Committee, the organization in charge of keeping Britain’s railways
running during the Second World War. The long tunnels and platforms were
converted into offices, dining rooms, bathrooms, and dormitories. A
popular story has it that the dimensions of the corridors running along
the outside of the offices were planned to be just wide enough for a tea
trolley to roll along.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The executives could arrive at the bunker at street level, entering
through the old building. But when it came to leave, they could choose a
different route. There was still a short section of accessible
platform, and if an executive left a red lamp there, the next train
would stop so they could board the driver’s cab—the drivers were
instructed to ask no questions. The other passengers of the train would
be unaware of the cause of the stop, as the platform was only long
enough for the front of the locomotive.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Down Street bunker was secure and “comfortable” enough that it
was also used by Winston Churchill and other members of the government
before the completion of the Cabinet War Rooms. Churchill affectionately
called the bunker “The Barn.”</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">After the war, the station was given back to <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/london-england">London</a>
Transport for engineering access and to use as an emergency exit point.
Many of the offices in the tunnels were removed, though those on the
platforms remain. London Transport Museum now operates tours of Down
Street, showing visitors down the dusty spiral stairs to the darkened
and dilapidated corridors, where Piccadilly Line trains rush past just
behind metal gates.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span></div><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-36854459593910218452023-01-07T12:16:00.000-08:002023-03-18T14:29:14.359-07:0019 March 2023 - ONE OF THE WORST DAM FAILURES - ITALY<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXaFLBE6GR1qLfFcg6KVXQFwgT3l2SCgRAZY-BaRzTTnUr-N7TT6YONDLhubJro_D454j35YseqS5DgfH-UTVSXM9_YDbXtWUBT_1e1xtkRQVuorZvs4eWo23Pn0-ESGoLikt6jq6SL9jaCaC_zLx5Vg2Q3zk9dZcJlYC70hi17PDZD8nsZgjHzIh1/s583/A1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="583" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXaFLBE6GR1qLfFcg6KVXQFwgT3l2SCgRAZY-BaRzTTnUr-N7TT6YONDLhubJro_D454j35YseqS5DgfH-UTVSXM9_YDbXtWUBT_1e1xtkRQVuorZvs4eWo23Pn0-ESGoLikt6jq6SL9jaCaC_zLx5Vg2Q3zk9dZcJlYC70hi17PDZD8nsZgjHzIh1/w400-h268/A1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">ONE OF THE WORST </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">DAM FAILURES </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">- ITALY -</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The sinister ruins of one of the worst dam failures of the 20th century lie in this astonishing alpine setting. </span></span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">In a growing modern nation </span>craving for energy, as <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/italy">Italy</a>
was at the beginning of the 20th century, hydroelectric power was a
synonym of progress, representing a victory of humankind over nature.
Yet in the mountains of Bergamo province in Lombardy, that attempted
feat would take a tragic turn. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Construction of a hydroelectric dam to exploit the river Gleno in
the the Valle di Scalve (Scalve valley) began in 1916, but the project
was immediately cursed by poor materials and poor workmanship. On top of
that, due to funding problems, the plan changed from the original idea
of a gravity dam to a multiple-arch dam while the work was still in
progress, resulting in a mixed-type dam.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg60w1ReMmoCV3kFtAzgH37UXE0rrCED706nrMJDpf6ddsh_2S2r2ISU4fGqcf1UiVJXHZ_tyE4VDu1GgkjzaflbgWVgkMK0QGz8wkbtQ42-pfEcJe9w64Qod01fB9cPtREJdNmUw-5iCu_UVKIVSvCHShSSnjtC3BkEZ0asMTf425M4zxWOyv1dNS/s583/A1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="583" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg60w1ReMmoCV3kFtAzgH37UXE0rrCED706nrMJDpf6ddsh_2S2r2ISU4fGqcf1UiVJXHZ_tyE4VDu1GgkjzaflbgWVgkMK0QGz8wkbtQ42-pfEcJe9w64Qod01fB9cPtREJdNmUw-5iCu_UVKIVSvCHShSSnjtC3BkEZ0asMTf425M4zxWOyv1dNS/w640-h428/A1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YsiQfsSOvaQMLu0YNNKQnOVU9U-3E1OroucKejhbZbTziIHEWnG6AC5unuKrp5RauGwE5b0KTxALucYBT6YonfSgggsAs7T8aUGx86ltDcKfv2bDorYW9Hpv5Lti48OEu1YhZbm9UHGNyRP1On-HEykg1o1srLaBLOv6RXbI5unJZm7QBySOVPHO/s520/A2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YsiQfsSOvaQMLu0YNNKQnOVU9U-3E1OroucKejhbZbTziIHEWnG6AC5unuKrp5RauGwE5b0KTxALucYBT6YonfSgggsAs7T8aUGx86ltDcKfv2bDorYW9Hpv5Lti48OEu1YhZbm9UHGNyRP1On-HEykg1o1srLaBLOv6RXbI5unJZm7QBySOVPHO/w640-h480/A2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9V7I4mQjKE9iWSPdulEg3Rd4L2vLwnabEA9rv6uK9vX0b28wicytlC85RLVmY8ujkxHGt6vWezeI4P9L3ohiAQjoy7xFvhVDL67nIptWKAO26yjU2eSsFBzcy9HJhP2zTsi00wTfZCAmCsyT0nb6NehZ34ANZiJfwrhv5KkUcNVjn0ISpOto1RiFB/s566/A3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="566" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9V7I4mQjKE9iWSPdulEg3Rd4L2vLwnabEA9rv6uK9vX0b28wicytlC85RLVmY8ujkxHGt6vWezeI4P9L3ohiAQjoy7xFvhVDL67nIptWKAO26yjU2eSsFBzcy9HJhP2zTsi00wTfZCAmCsyT0nb6NehZ34ANZiJfwrhv5KkUcNVjn0ISpOto1RiFB/w640-h440/A3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaz9Ucc95Y5JNO2PVDwJYhAH5AxPYHhV7f_ER7D_Ue41UoCFOFjKs7eh1hiUxWIBawECS0kGzGJdgBqj0yX_UAb7rJ4UOJ1FpdPtKJ9F86MvyPEXWsTRo19PSQ6GRIADdSd_j8jgr1EP81JXToInBzsy4nZWk4VcdlACVAOiZ06PjZL_9CyAxnP698/s731/A4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="731" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaz9Ucc95Y5JNO2PVDwJYhAH5AxPYHhV7f_ER7D_Ue41UoCFOFjKs7eh1hiUxWIBawECS0kGzGJdgBqj0yX_UAb7rJ4UOJ1FpdPtKJ9F86MvyPEXWsTRo19PSQ6GRIADdSd_j8jgr1EP81JXToInBzsy4nZWk4VcdlACVAOiZ06PjZL_9CyAxnP698/w640-h342/A4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Just after its completion, heavy rains filled the reservoir, and
several leaks caused concern among the inhabitants of the valley below.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">Sure enough on December 1, 1923, at 7:15 in the morning, the tragedy
happened. The central section collapsed, causing a mass of 4.5 million
cubic meters of water to pour into the villages in the Scalve valley.
The official death toll counted 356 lives lost as a result </span>of the flood,
as well as massive damage to roads, bridges and buildings.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">What remains of the dam is a 160-foot-high concrete barrage with a
huge, chilling laceration in its central section. The sinister ruins are
a stark and surreal contrast with the stunning alpine surroundings. </span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-76349576039597937872022-12-03T13:45:00.005-08:002023-02-25T12:50:27.909-08:0026 February 2023 - THE CALENDAR SUNDIAL - IRELAND<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozwllPWcpPaAhWa7NcxlMwuzRn2JErDSWlmaAkqmMrvrZmfCOf6xCk5A42RY0cPPU78CRNiY5UTefAx4vZTbv28ULTCIJGMnVLBR-7cRlTMW0XhJfLnHOB2UEd_C33liok3k_3Zi_sNwEF-HvAiQmDfsJUNn65M-pqZZoUgfMjHcdV3Glthi-zn_t/s520/A3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozwllPWcpPaAhWa7NcxlMwuzRn2JErDSWlmaAkqmMrvrZmfCOf6xCk5A42RY0cPPU78CRNiY5UTefAx4vZTbv28ULTCIJGMnVLBR-7cRlTMW0XhJfLnHOB2UEd_C33liok3k_3Zi_sNwEF-HvAiQmDfsJUNn65M-pqZZoUgfMjHcdV3Glthi-zn_t/w400-h300/A3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">THE CALENDAR SUNDIAL </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">- IRELAND -</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This modern sundial uses ancient methods to tell time and date perfectly. </span></span></span></span></h3><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="color: #f1c232;"><span class="section-start-text">The Calendar Sundial in </span><a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/galway-ireland"><span class="section-start-text">Galway</span></a><span class="section-start-text">,</span> <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/ireland">Ireland</a>
tells both the time of day and the month of the year. Located in
Brigit’s Garden, a local park, the Calendar Sundial, built in 2006, is
the biggest in Ireland. Its five-foot spike of bog oak, situated near
the center of a stone circle, casts a shadow that can be used to
determine much information with beautifully simple techniques. </span></span></span></span></h3><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3sbu9hqjLxY2vPzD5RVDrWHczfnlqgrBCPDkzzz5PZHXs0uMrn_6Y4VWEH2lA63hXp5dGG4ysQJLzrrlYABZqdgM0N6eC3WzhHyJeitr9l4qp7yMnpe0q2uYxFG5p30srPdphJ6KgiBil0MGegpPLw_BAP6Q4Z2N8_pu6bgdXQrDhy-4JnIuoZGnh/s520/A3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3sbu9hqjLxY2vPzD5RVDrWHczfnlqgrBCPDkzzz5PZHXs0uMrn_6Y4VWEH2lA63hXp5dGG4ysQJLzrrlYABZqdgM0N6eC3WzhHyJeitr9l4qp7yMnpe0q2uYxFG5p30srPdphJ6KgiBil0MGegpPLw_BAP6Q4Z2N8_pu6bgdXQrDhy-4JnIuoZGnh/w640-h480/A3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg31utOG8toAT-J_xypcfzhylyYSLk5HvqTQKexpNre_BQ6hyB37fnhrhqOtIyYaO1mvlJXlvIRWmkL2haWkS_FGbNnJ4Mvezw0oB61-QFvMSyWHfhm4TFDzouD6ziblBY0AcUmFapXZczmN0E74Bp0-ERIRnhXFzw33d5jKl1cy70B1HKZ5y-ZtuXe/s520/A2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg31utOG8toAT-J_xypcfzhylyYSLk5HvqTQKexpNre_BQ6hyB37fnhrhqOtIyYaO1mvlJXlvIRWmkL2haWkS_FGbNnJ4Mvezw0oB61-QFvMSyWHfhm4TFDzouD6ziblBY0AcUmFapXZczmN0E74Bp0-ERIRnhXFzw33d5jKl1cy70B1HKZ5y-ZtuXe/w640-h480/A2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5J_6op4vC2xRfGunZFxXLLi_duZU0yQDlRN_xx-R35BYAHiShYkf74hBeDnBYLoMEps13GKg3SQPEqAP9FqsqnGdfNfbHDJ2WI09ApmmP0r5esFZrTPRCm-dnbJU-XzSilnU-6QfX7IohRVkUT7u9GEybk4sgf3BBbk10fg7sFKAPuSsXNFG1Bhuv/s534/A1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="534" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5J_6op4vC2xRfGunZFxXLLi_duZU0yQDlRN_xx-R35BYAHiShYkf74hBeDnBYLoMEps13GKg3SQPEqAP9FqsqnGdfNfbHDJ2WI09ApmmP0r5esFZrTPRCm-dnbJU-XzSilnU-6QfX7IohRVkUT7u9GEybk4sgf3BBbk10fg7sFKAPuSsXNFG1Bhuv/w640-h414/A1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span></span></span></span></h3><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Elliptical lines carved in the stone show the passage of the shadow
during the different months of the year, while the length of the shadow
determines the time of day.</span></span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><div>
<p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Calendar Sundial can show the time and date to great accuracy
using methods that have been available for thousands of years.
Ironically, it sits in a country famous for its frequent rainy days.</span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><br /></h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-34524679334680332712022-11-28T23:53:00.000-08:002023-02-21T12:29:59.414-08:0022 February 2023 - SPANISH ARTIST BUILDS CASTLE<div><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8pEasRglGrIC2wvCFEQg2Ktl8jjkGOkpHXssJkJO-zcZ62Vnqeb7D0wN9tUng-WNX2WSXsjudAWfLU6sJgYTIthUHPyG-5hBH7Wdj2PVcBw3pJ2aChrvzlFMNxvX3jZ6hC5q3f32VB56kbnEsvzdvh6Az-4kFBJKRdNlEHLAD-18lBBfL36LAHfO/s520/A1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8pEasRglGrIC2wvCFEQg2Ktl8jjkGOkpHXssJkJO-zcZ62Vnqeb7D0wN9tUng-WNX2WSXsjudAWfLU6sJgYTIthUHPyG-5hBH7Wdj2PVcBw3pJ2aChrvzlFMNxvX3jZ6hC5q3f32VB56kbnEsvzdvh6Az-4kFBJKRdNlEHLAD-18lBBfL36LAHfO/w400-h300/A1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">SPANISH ARTIST </span></span></span></b></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">BUILDS CASTLE</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span class="section-start-text">People spend their whole lives </span>looking
for whatever it is that makes a perfect home. For some, it’s as simple
as a walk-in closet or space in the yard for an herb garden that looks
just so. For others, nothing can compare to grandiose dreams of a
seaside villa or a mountain chalet. Not so for Francisco Gonzalez
Grajera.</span></span></span></p><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><div>
<p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Francisco Gonzalez Grajera was an artist and he did not want a normal home.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4dmX7jsr0Qj-19qjf82K6BfI01n7blynM2XP3JqpLoFMiWLmFx0Ask0bKVpR5dZ0DwWwY1EwmqnniXauHQGyqfB2wEiOjZ63cFNzXlM6N_5FaghO3CwhUf6X9riAVp_JJwehTQzOIJIUMoTZ2h0LoQf0KabjiB5vBr3yEqMlrzdnIt66xlvMGtiC/s520/A1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4dmX7jsr0Qj-19qjf82K6BfI01n7blynM2XP3JqpLoFMiWLmFx0Ask0bKVpR5dZ0DwWwY1EwmqnniXauHQGyqfB2wEiOjZ63cFNzXlM6N_5FaghO3CwhUf6X9riAVp_JJwehTQzOIJIUMoTZ2h0LoQf0KabjiB5vBr3yEqMlrzdnIt66xlvMGtiC/w640-h480/A1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSr5y-yRE9h-6PR_UHzfo0ffffWAsdXJ63EUJzLdlG0SoXUikbc3MNJ0sfgzSd2jWoG1s75vtH1NrwOg54f0TIdd-YEQxPHda_jx_HKNjR1ayo2D91qakLNrHcGJtveA1iNhe-RIy5Sc08I5MfNfDKc6gdaAW-A2zXALbg2-kCy_7rVGEI6QO96HN_/s390/A2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="259" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSr5y-yRE9h-6PR_UHzfo0ffffWAsdXJ63EUJzLdlG0SoXUikbc3MNJ0sfgzSd2jWoG1s75vtH1NrwOg54f0TIdd-YEQxPHda_jx_HKNjR1ayo2D91qakLNrHcGJtveA1iNhe-RIy5Sc08I5MfNfDKc6gdaAW-A2zXALbg2-kCy_7rVGEI6QO96HN_/w426-h640/A2.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWSga2qW1-M-9Bw46ZJCCXk5ecCpMTg_hsqTRS50GXIUho4G28j4az3OV-eJOSRBza75AgBoXB-qz62RDl6dHmyUmfWWnX6sexIH8KFM8ntr-FFsFyadT3ZJHrx_vXSClwrOFiWXJgH3w-wa5YzFhoRXT7BI5SqfQVler9siMwJ2Th6n4dqj9mMle/s520/A3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWSga2qW1-M-9Bw46ZJCCXk5ecCpMTg_hsqTRS50GXIUho4G28j4az3OV-eJOSRBza75AgBoXB-qz62RDl6dHmyUmfWWnX6sexIH8KFM8ntr-FFsFyadT3ZJHrx_vXSClwrOFiWXJgH3w-wa5YzFhoRXT7BI5SqfQVler9siMwJ2Th6n4dqj9mMle/w640-h480/A3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOa9CalHQJd88AyiLLE53GcUKskpZZwAh35Y2vF2J2lldvriFe12Jxf-zQlhiT-VZ_6s4W0JhCGy5g8rntNxQprxGX4qnWnyi--Wbh9ZDttlx7yKcSKXYvWRL3JGD7BpUIEuzpYNKEGrxCCvFGhqlSDcVhpEXi7Yx14iiHzDv4cJkS9Lsg-_AOSLgT/s390/A4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="390" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOa9CalHQJd88AyiLLE53GcUKskpZZwAh35Y2vF2J2lldvriFe12Jxf-zQlhiT-VZ_6s4W0JhCGy5g8rntNxQprxGX4qnWnyi--Wbh9ZDttlx7yKcSKXYvWRL3JGD7BpUIEuzpYNKEGrxCCvFGhqlSDcVhpEXi7Yx14iiHzDv4cJkS9Lsg-_AOSLgT/w640-h430/A4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">So Francisco set about building something special, with his bare
hands, that would satisfy his creativity both while he lived there and
while he built it. Before long, he had created a startlingly unique
estate – one that fits right in with the whimsical outsider art <a href="http://atlasobscura.com/place/peter-buchs-house-sculpture-garden">sculpture house of Peter Buchs</a>, or <a href="http://atlasobscura.com/place/ed-leedskalnins-coral-castle">Ed Leedskalnin’s coral castle</a>.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Clad in elaborate mosaics built in the trencadis style of broken
tiles, the house of Francisco Gonzalez is a sprawling castle-shaped
villa, flanked with towering ramparts and spires made to look like the
points of a massive royal crown. Tourists now drop by the Gonzalez home,
still a private residence, just to see the odd house the locals always
talk about.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">If you were to speak to Francisco himself, he would tell you there’s nothing odd about this place. To Francisco, it’s just home.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span></div><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span><br /></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-10424362069653872232022-11-28T23:42:00.000-08:002023-02-18T13:45:42.015-08:0019 February 2023 - SOVIET 'SPY HOUSE' in VIRGINIA, USA<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyO5K47FLaMuRv7F_YyN975EbZucb3WvmmlyIAfqJ0ZCq8VHJaJpykjzhO6OPL2-9C3jb5LuzvgqSBlTAkaEQbSrIFvwOp_OkSI-cQQHjYJ7muUklo8iP3uHeROsQUC1c67IzPpyx1QgxIFM--SIfgxq_SKn1Ql1wQ6kixer4kFfOAlp5lIbiFk48/s522/a1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="522" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyO5K47FLaMuRv7F_YyN975EbZucb3WvmmlyIAfqJ0ZCq8VHJaJpykjzhO6OPL2-9C3jb5LuzvgqSBlTAkaEQbSrIFvwOp_OkSI-cQQHjYJ7muUklo8iP3uHeROsQUC1c67IzPpyx1QgxIFM--SIfgxq_SKn1Ql1wQ6kixer4kFfOAlp5lIbiFk48/w400-h299/a1.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">SOVIET 'SPY HOUSE' </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">in VIRGINIA, USA</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Conveniently located within binocular range of a nuclear bunker, this "summer camp" area was a painfully obvious spy house. </span></span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body">
<div>
<p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="section-start-text">On April 23, 1966 the </span><em><span>Associated Press </span></em><span>reported
that the Soviet Ambassador in Washington had finally settled on a
location for a new “camp and summer recreation area” for the children of
his embassy employees. The site in question was a beautiful mansion on
the Shenandoah River in Northern Virginia, 40 miles out of D.C. </span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The elephant-sized omission from the news report was that the
house was strategically positioned at the base of Mount Weather, home to
a key U.S. continuity of government site and a massive underground
nuclear bunker. The “summer camp” was a dreadfully obvious ruse, but
both the State and Defense Departments inexplicably gave their
authorization to the Soviet summer campers.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAB_AoKOhIrttPIcBH-vVCOY00C4cR2Y8pWJF4n9-AyNK9X423MwuRqto9YtOTqBGmXtAARF1umKW3xWRNLpPnDWMzD47paHsJqrs4XzEryRh0fbilgXzdX5GQfqPL4K3jkNUGF3K2x0v32ohCKoQSJrVBz9PsscqP7mkj6HCLyDNwKr0bBvPJD6ib/s522/a1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="522" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAB_AoKOhIrttPIcBH-vVCOY00C4cR2Y8pWJF4n9-AyNK9X423MwuRqto9YtOTqBGmXtAARF1umKW3xWRNLpPnDWMzD47paHsJqrs4XzEryRh0fbilgXzdX5GQfqPL4K3jkNUGF3K2x0v32ohCKoQSJrVBz9PsscqP7mkj6HCLyDNwKr0bBvPJD6ib/w640-h478/a1.png" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhat5nH9hKVRldJKSauH_g7H3Q0GL-PTQ7nGAPGdqcvxAdFWV5Jq7FL8_4EQhVP26BkvV917zSqC3C1IOMc2OO0CaxlvD-uBfAbajtojcWLhsuUYwAjOijmBvjgeDCIZM8unY7O3q6diEcNfrW5BfOrOb3BjKmQIe67xJOVeTGT6xKPmAfmbeBmJG0w/s520/a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhat5nH9hKVRldJKSauH_g7H3Q0GL-PTQ7nGAPGdqcvxAdFWV5Jq7FL8_4EQhVP26BkvV917zSqC3C1IOMc2OO0CaxlvD-uBfAbajtojcWLhsuUYwAjOijmBvjgeDCIZM8unY7O3q6diEcNfrW5BfOrOb3BjKmQIe67xJOVeTGT6xKPmAfmbeBmJG0w/w640-h480/a2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrejUzZ8ww5CfQl6sL97wD2FwO9hGBWGf4_ra7OPalFrvq5vq83j-SaWOEW71AxVDkH3oqsCJUVm5iWijKmYf1z8U3Bqrx0nZWjyMYYqjODjUCe2g9Yz9D0T79AKJOT1gRM2yNp4w6VqnoyFE5mmL4kASEGohQOil5trLMxVVZypt6nmB6LIMYKUU/s483/a3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="483" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrejUzZ8ww5CfQl6sL97wD2FwO9hGBWGf4_ra7OPalFrvq5vq83j-SaWOEW71AxVDkH3oqsCJUVm5iWijKmYf1z8U3Bqrx0nZWjyMYYqjODjUCe2g9Yz9D0T79AKJOT1gRM2yNp4w6VqnoyFE5mmL4kASEGohQOil5trLMxVVZypt6nmB6LIMYKUU/w640-h516/a3.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Mount Weather was something of an open secret among locals who
rubbed shoulders with military men at the town bar and could see the
black helicopters run mock evacuation drills. After the Soviet summer
camp plans became known, a loca<span>l</span><em><span> <a href="http://conelrad.blogspot.com/2014/11/mount-weather-memos-part-3.html">Clarke Courier</a></span></em><span><a href="http://conelrad.blogspot.com/2014/11/mount-weather-memos-part-3.html"> reporter</a>
blasted the State Department for permitting such a blunder, calling it a
“stupid move that tempts the fate of the unknown.” “Maybe we have been
wrong, along with everyone else in the area, in thinking that Mt.
Weather is a hush-hush project,” the </span><em><span>Courier</span></em><span> opined. “Perhaps it should be classified as merely a weather station which, of course, it isn’t.” </span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It’s unlikely that the Soviets could have used their spy
station to listen in through Mount Weather’s blast-proof walls. But
there were plenty of useful clues to be gathered in the open source from
such an opportunely located lookout—namely monitoring the front gates
for motorcade arrivals and the skies for helicopters. The unexpected
arrival of a mass of visitors from Washington could be a tip off that a
surprise nuclear attack was underway against the Soviet Union.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Soviet summer spy camp has been alluded to in several
histories of the Cold War period, but the exact location of the house
was a mystery. Comparing an <em>AP</em> archival photograph with modern Google Earth imagery and <a href="http://www.ttrsir.com/eng/sales/detail/279-l-2106-cl8423219/445-randleston-lane-bluemont-va-20135">real estate listings</a>
reveals a likely address. It’s unknown when the Soviets moved out of
the area, but it seems their old spying summer camp is presently used as
a veterinary stable.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span></div><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-45798204216547845372022-11-26T19:04:00.004-08:002023-02-15T12:18:24.233-08:0016 February 2023 - WEIRD MOSAIC TILE HOUSE in USA<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihT_-2BrUmPzZWDWFvroIOszgr6VHa7GbVdsCsngrElCKcYk734VyS7M9sogS7PwhIyifRNMLKM-GPA12q9nVDXfYj9rB9VEZmk24HvWKkzCJqdXu4v8Sj4orm_GLadpqVEalwnmHMcwSuWXsOQ7krbmm3NGUR8tfIoqFFpwe8Z_mxI3dPmMsxIlso/s584/A1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="584" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihT_-2BrUmPzZWDWFvroIOszgr6VHa7GbVdsCsngrElCKcYk734VyS7M9sogS7PwhIyifRNMLKM-GPA12q9nVDXfYj9rB9VEZmk24HvWKkzCJqdXu4v8Sj4orm_GLadpqVEalwnmHMcwSuWXsOQ7krbmm3NGUR8tfIoqFFpwe8Z_mxI3dPmMsxIlso/w400-h268/A1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">MOSAIC TILE </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">HOUSE in USA</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Welcome to something different - a rainbow-hued local gem in Venice, USA. </span></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">Venice Beach is known for </span>its
boardwalk filled with colorful, eccentric people. The houses,
buildings, and structures that dot this area also reflect this “rainbow
coalition” of people. From simple beach bungalows to ultramodern homes,
Venice is truly a unique place to live. But none of these places quite
capture the effervescent essence of Venice like the Mosaic Tile House. </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Though it’s not well known to the public, the moment you enter this
large-scale artwork-in-progress structure, it’s like walking inside a
coral reef. Most of the tiles are in the red, yellow, and orange
spectrum, but bold colors radiate throughout the space. Almost every
square inch of the home (including the outside) is covered in mosaic
tiles. Cheri Pann and Gonzalo Duran, a husband and wife team, are
responsible for this local masterpiece. Pann is the docent guide if you
visit.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Pann and Duran’s “visual feast” began as a weekend project to install
bathroom tiles, and it later developed into a lifetime love affair
that’s lasted more than two decades. Cheri is an artist who creates
contemplative large-scale oil paintings with mythic themes, and Gonzalo,
canvases in vignettes of their life together. </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjQnOd8gFK9OSl2A7HpMRlQX2azE__xisxmLGUDr4VHFrg1FJM3K7tLWMWNdZ8pzX1FYiSIqZ2PqgrmY8bWzkPDoPnh5T4co6_XSJPdD0hvGEZjziov1RgE2cl2vOhSTf3NbL7-y0bx3ARymrhSyHy35rsHiRh2k68gaM3OoPqsbtmBtUyilpTT07/s584/A1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="584" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjQnOd8gFK9OSl2A7HpMRlQX2azE__xisxmLGUDr4VHFrg1FJM3K7tLWMWNdZ8pzX1FYiSIqZ2PqgrmY8bWzkPDoPnh5T4co6_XSJPdD0hvGEZjziov1RgE2cl2vOhSTf3NbL7-y0bx3ARymrhSyHy35rsHiRh2k68gaM3OoPqsbtmBtUyilpTT07/w640-h428/A1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWR6Xl09LQb23rhMi798uDGT8ycPNdxT91idnFFJPMMgdbIvBq_t6CAfBad-dTOnsCOM2MPgaTnMDTM3bbGvnozPlQrrBbXKu0Npx58JhCpc9Y-Q_pSKqO6snNgpl9FwsOVO5DXPhArfwr-VN1353J8aWh_S1A0upA4SdbLpr4Jxs6g-1b_c0sN34M/s585/A2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="585" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWR6Xl09LQb23rhMi798uDGT8ycPNdxT91idnFFJPMMgdbIvBq_t6CAfBad-dTOnsCOM2MPgaTnMDTM3bbGvnozPlQrrBbXKu0Npx58JhCpc9Y-Q_pSKqO6snNgpl9FwsOVO5DXPhArfwr-VN1353J8aWh_S1A0upA4SdbLpr4Jxs6g-1b_c0sN34M/w640-h426/A2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyW3g60iVuf82_wtDCeJS4Jf9Osv7ykbKvI3hz9eqn9Aqz8Q1avaKpoB0HPnona75-col0McC7TIE7rA5FPXppq6tvBXO8DLsSN_mLQ04CIAZkckRRAfOGVCv6-2Kr1po-mNeryE_M_yu3Sl3yfMjwpz4Hhgc_TUyVHkyNaY4KcgXbahG8g2ANtVh/s584/A3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="584" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyW3g60iVuf82_wtDCeJS4Jf9Osv7ykbKvI3hz9eqn9Aqz8Q1avaKpoB0HPnona75-col0McC7TIE7rA5FPXppq6tvBXO8DLsSN_mLQ04CIAZkckRRAfOGVCv6-2Kr1po-mNeryE_M_yu3Sl3yfMjwpz4Hhgc_TUyVHkyNaY4KcgXbahG8g2ANtVh/w640-h428/A3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqnTbWbSo7zBOJPIWT8oEY-mZEobF8EOzBSihwH_ZzpILLMOSF8jw9UFIb9vhaqHfDxQnQZdktNj3E7eRSuDoHQINGvboaEa-FDvSxXxL5hDmgJjVvHon68GrTjlMDvIWTlmf4x5xRV70_aUlUEFXNlDWj2IFf9-Fy60I7-8Ss3QkFfYrLz8CxlDQT/s584/A4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="584" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqnTbWbSo7zBOJPIWT8oEY-mZEobF8EOzBSihwH_ZzpILLMOSF8jw9UFIb9vhaqHfDxQnQZdktNj3E7eRSuDoHQINGvboaEa-FDvSxXxL5hDmgJjVvHon68GrTjlMDvIWTlmf4x5xRV70_aUlUEFXNlDWj2IFf9-Fy60I7-8Ss3QkFfYrLz8CxlDQT/w640-h428/A4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">For the house, Cheri creates the tiles, and Gonzalo shatters them and
distributes them over every square inch of their home. Since 1994, the
couple has been transforming their once bland, beige stucco home into
the structural kaleidoscope that it exists as today. The Mosaic Tile
House is still a work in process–there are still sections where it has
not yet been completely covered in tiles–but what is completed is more
than enough to give the average person a visual overload. What might
catch your attention is a fruit tree and vegetable garden incorporated
into all the tile landscaping, and a black fridge stuffed with dolls
that Pann has described as the dark part of her imagination.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">So if you ever find yourself visiting Venice, once you’ve had your
fill of Abbot Kinney and the Boardwalk, head east a mile or so, and
visit the Mosaic Tile House. </span></span></span></p>
</div><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-21245019834173878662022-11-22T14:57:00.001-08:002023-02-13T12:59:16.623-08:0014 February 2023 - THE MAGNIFICENT WHALE HOUSE <p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9U0oYKmkjEsFO8swILyMZJPt4Q70a9QPOg6LNIOAfRMroxsPoEuSX9UNwo4NHqGf-sfk7FZmb9x0ZPTw6SREGpAffY-XGtgJ3XOlwl4zg548mfcm5vHcWU6SgsDMja-EY9On7-dB05dcnVW2kg1xqfKc2ENQa953GrzFmZ0v9XJtxiwUyAYM2AK8v/s582/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="582" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9U0oYKmkjEsFO8swILyMZJPt4Q70a9QPOg6LNIOAfRMroxsPoEuSX9UNwo4NHqGf-sfk7FZmb9x0ZPTw6SREGpAffY-XGtgJ3XOlwl4zg548mfcm5vHcWU6SgsDMja-EY9On7-dB05dcnVW2kg1xqfKc2ENQa953GrzFmZ0v9XJtxiwUyAYM2AK8v/w400-h268/a1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">THE MAGNIFICENT</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> WHALE HOUSE </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This stunning sea creature-shaped home blends into the landscape like a fantasy villa. </span></span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">What’s large, gray, and shingled </span>all over? Mission Canyon’s very own “Whale House.” Camouflaged in the woods of a suburb of <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/santa-barbara-california">Santa Barbara</a> and a stone’s throw from the city’s Botanic Gardens, this stunning home feels like a fantasy hideout come to life.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The home, now available for vacation rental, is aptly named. Its
somewhat whale-shaped exterior is made up completely of undulating rows
of gray cedar shingles. The unusual abode was designed by architect
Michael Carmichael and completed in 1978 after three years and with the
help of 20 craftsmen.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7B1PjdSTQQaCEq6bsVRg5NjlI3WfX7VaLiJN7OJUWKaRlBUhrQkhph_Ni-ewLAJ6iSbY7bZOM_AVKcGCR2WMxwTntA427yJm6qaeSoTWbWTDzzWLV-IpvRNkLXdrGw55XTHDzM6bQrJSf7hlUe8nl9lzN5DXJV9vQ5_I01ChfO-tGN2eu-0Bfqvz/s582/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="582" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7B1PjdSTQQaCEq6bsVRg5NjlI3WfX7VaLiJN7OJUWKaRlBUhrQkhph_Ni-ewLAJ6iSbY7bZOM_AVKcGCR2WMxwTntA427yJm6qaeSoTWbWTDzzWLV-IpvRNkLXdrGw55XTHDzM6bQrJSf7hlUe8nl9lzN5DXJV9vQ5_I01ChfO-tGN2eu-0Bfqvz/w640-h428/a1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpUfMC-BokQ4B83YYfJfJSxTh2wWsMYD7EQTwVZgjcdLdbWa19BbWUGu8MT3achpND6q0ghnDolB9zX7miR4C30Xg0zjg2PLG573aWLx_EmVWRH3gRK0kliLtT-4HEmZPf21ZpkJ-SmY68wjIJqGlUKN7-gCbginsFO5NGcjaFPsLeKdEUXJD4d7rP/s582/a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="582" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpUfMC-BokQ4B83YYfJfJSxTh2wWsMYD7EQTwVZgjcdLdbWa19BbWUGu8MT3achpND6q0ghnDolB9zX7miR4C30Xg0zjg2PLG573aWLx_EmVWRH3gRK0kliLtT-4HEmZPf21ZpkJ-SmY68wjIJqGlUKN7-gCbginsFO5NGcjaFPsLeKdEUXJD4d7rP/w640-h428/a2.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFXfeQ5JJQ0UHF3xTyj8B14vAecyCjy7kcSkUO7A_WasklTIhUR_hJT78EzVt5KLod4f3DTKMqnFKP2bOXvGiB60EDTW8zruwIKtMlRooKQfCpKVGmclhkq64aRRMJqgv5WT23djbLZoLgdqvlSlbWFhgXUk9dUPQ4yJ4rSMsWQy5Zo3XVI7G7DZW/s582/a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="582" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFXfeQ5JJQ0UHF3xTyj8B14vAecyCjy7kcSkUO7A_WasklTIhUR_hJT78EzVt5KLod4f3DTKMqnFKP2bOXvGiB60EDTW8zruwIKtMlRooKQfCpKVGmclhkq64aRRMJqgv5WT23djbLZoLgdqvlSlbWFhgXUk9dUPQ4yJ4rSMsWQy5Zo3XVI7G7DZW/w640-h428/a3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTAzNexn0qqDX0YILfwfSLhqKmNgDPWuoOyJ5lmnpYrJmXnOSx__qAkalqxUk2MEhmxr14PVEMgAqyZy9ezRAyGtcJgNVQRW0z01-ubtHwyicPpx-Et-9iQgjVxIqxxvlbfTcIevoJNUJ1lew9q7fvtWvfuM91N7LQwikhmYmFebjTMCpWWXp444n/s582/a4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="582" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTAzNexn0qqDX0YILfwfSLhqKmNgDPWuoOyJ5lmnpYrJmXnOSx__qAkalqxUk2MEhmxr14PVEMgAqyZy9ezRAyGtcJgNVQRW0z01-ubtHwyicPpx-Et-9iQgjVxIqxxvlbfTcIevoJNUJ1lew9q7fvtWvfuM91N7LQwikhmYmFebjTMCpWWXp444n/w640-h428/a4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKyuMtG7QdlMMjrS-88-uoO14ABNZq-e-CNC4OKWmOWamxsXnrT7UTKxDeQAxo-tCVKGTt-ZJGishfJcESH5pbLK7OawXv5PzShjeKaSVopsRJP02oppwNyea4T6Fi2vsCEsarbkYMtI3sfyTGeodL973hO1VfNeUooWimdvL6w-gcFFFosc7Abu1/s582/a5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="582" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKyuMtG7QdlMMjrS-88-uoO14ABNZq-e-CNC4OKWmOWamxsXnrT7UTKxDeQAxo-tCVKGTt-ZJGishfJcESH5pbLK7OawXv5PzShjeKaSVopsRJP02oppwNyea4T6Fi2vsCEsarbkYMtI3sfyTGeodL973hO1VfNeUooWimdvL6w-gcFFFosc7Abu1/w640-h428/a5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The one-acre lot the Whale House sits on is so magical, it’s the main
element that inspired Carmichael to experiment with organic design in
the first place. In the tradition of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí,
whose nature-based designs exemplified the Catalan Modernist movement in
<a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/barcelona-spain">Barcelona</a>, Carmichael was moved to design a home that did not detract from its natural surroundings, and in fact bowed to them.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Whale House has no flat walls and virtually no straight lines.
Three bedrooms (which can sleep nine) and 3.5 bathrooms let people live
comfortably within the belly of the sea creature. A 75-foot lap pool
leads to the tail of the whale (read: a detached guest house). Further
playing upon the home’s name, Carmichael littered the entrance with
rocks to emulate a whale’s mouth full of teeth, and used a high-sitting
stained glass window to serve as the mammal’s eye.</span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-43368281215802401892022-11-18T15:22:00.002-08:002023-02-11T12:42:57.099-08:0012 February 2023 - KGB SPY LAMP POST IN LONDON<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvaPAlgkO2gXCesAp16eCBXKlyGdprqg4hYOiuB7INAVvxHMK8BWbKGCRGqAKezp9JSf6T4ZvoKBNnIYib81VN6pYZNfUD2ktYbext13iEhggr0qL421WvO7Yra0ldLloCVBKqhXYSaxYm0_S-wVoleCIQ6-KuvVQoAiADrU-VaXZq8KibIfjTfh2e/s390/A4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="293" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvaPAlgkO2gXCesAp16eCBXKlyGdprqg4hYOiuB7INAVvxHMK8BWbKGCRGqAKezp9JSf6T4ZvoKBNnIYib81VN6pYZNfUD2ktYbext13iEhggr0qL421WvO7Yra0ldLloCVBKqhXYSaxYm0_S-wVoleCIQ6-KuvVQoAiADrU-VaXZq8KibIfjTfh2e/w300-h400/A4.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">KGB SPY LAMP POST </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">IN LONDON</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"> This overlooked street light once served as a KGB dead letter box. </span><br /></span></span></p><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/london-england"><span class="section-start-text">London</span></a><span class="section-start-text"> has a particular association</span>
with spies: the Special Operations Executive, MI5, MI6, 007, and all
that. However, there is more to London’s espionage heritage than
tuxedoed, suave operatives with a preference for how they like their
martinis.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">During the Cold War, the Soviet Union’s KGB had numerous agents at
work in London. While some could operate under diplomatic cover, many
others did not. These “illegal” agents, after gathering their
information, needed some way to pass it discreetly onto their KGB
superiors. Their reports would be left at selected drop sites, also
known as dead letter boxes.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3rrZQYcjuCkO8Hue-Wz_v-_tpG8d4NqBBdnHbKTlshnokigbzm9Mst8fgpW423hzu5ifot-SayBbQQjg7zockD9nvHyWqEWnJw4XX_mEUhxrjG5VCeGD3p8jnONKytY6j9pcVIpwGH0GxascRUoGfFc-QumgdV2eNCSWKiVYhq_b-_8bxnSUSiKP/s390/A2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="293" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3rrZQYcjuCkO8Hue-Wz_v-_tpG8d4NqBBdnHbKTlshnokigbzm9Mst8fgpW423hzu5ifot-SayBbQQjg7zockD9nvHyWqEWnJw4XX_mEUhxrjG5VCeGD3p8jnONKytY6j9pcVIpwGH0GxascRUoGfFc-QumgdV2eNCSWKiVYhq_b-_8bxnSUSiKP/w480-h640/A2.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVfKYLW_OrKQG50YKZVSBnaSJYJOIfj1tAG3UwaPqQsPpYKRH95JIfUy-1P9mlVQnmtYUI5kEc6dFTfJ_FcAvGRvaGS_HyrCmd9gea5-TyyUOON3USJecsREQglh8UimQEZInkRXqgoVT_ScGGO5DuX07q62RllPZeKoupG3_0o_2ynsWyebgupYi/s390/A3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="293" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVfKYLW_OrKQG50YKZVSBnaSJYJOIfj1tAG3UwaPqQsPpYKRH95JIfUy-1P9mlVQnmtYUI5kEc6dFTfJ_FcAvGRvaGS_HyrCmd9gea5-TyyUOON3USJecsREQglh8UimQEZInkRXqgoVT_ScGGO5DuX07q62RllPZeKoupG3_0o_2ynsWyebgupYi/w480-h640/A3.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVdKy8JRk1xzUF1inVS4jGQx64cgR5zNxiVlHJlwYInQKEK0Xi1FJXZ90EVbc_Xg4DdIJkjBR7uncu18eT38JZPRCBLcLYc758I1N0bZB_p-ONnrkQUhb5KuHMh4MAZ6rH0x8lRHWSPlGLxbGzkaCZjhb2orwY2aqPKu87b9NQofP7YKnMa_Zpv0Kg/s390/A4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="293" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVdKy8JRk1xzUF1inVS4jGQx64cgR5zNxiVlHJlwYInQKEK0Xi1FJXZ90EVbc_Xg4DdIJkjBR7uncu18eT38JZPRCBLcLYc758I1N0bZB_p-ONnrkQUhb5KuHMh4MAZ6rH0x8lRHWSPlGLxbGzkaCZjhb2orwY2aqPKu87b9NQofP7YKnMa_Zpv0Kg/w480-h640/A4.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5o62eIWx_cYzbK7PfrluaOytbqucC7S7ubQV1Ha8UUgnmMM7X77nmR2oO3QDLOKmOrvh2a5xHvX7AS2WOPTH2RfHPI19b1AcrZaeUg6I8NuLLj8Eovf9aE-TFV82fYCE6-CS-Vt3uw1xUQgObXlj1C6OycpdjZWXSs32iUtvq9JrzN5g20FLKgOZy/s390/A5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="293" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5o62eIWx_cYzbK7PfrluaOytbqucC7S7ubQV1Ha8UUgnmMM7X77nmR2oO3QDLOKmOrvh2a5xHvX7AS2WOPTH2RfHPI19b1AcrZaeUg6I8NuLLj8Eovf9aE-TFV82fYCE6-CS-Vt3uw1xUQgObXlj1C6OycpdjZWXSs32iUtvq9JrzN5g20FLKgOZy/w480-h640/A5.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">One such dead letter box was an inconspicuous lamp post in Audley
Square, just outside the University Women’s Club at No. 2. Starting in
the 1950s, agents would leave their documents behind the small door to
the rear of the post. To indicate there was a message waiting, a chalk
mark was made near the base.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The existence of this dead letter box was only revealed to British
Intelligence after the 1985 extraction of their secret agent Colonel
Oleg Gordievsky from under the watchful eyes of the KGB in <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/moscow-russia">Moscow</a>.
In a strange coincidence, back in the early ’60s No. 3 Audley Square
was used as an office by Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman when they
were casting the role of a certain James Bond—all the while unaware of
the real-life spies who may have been lurking just outside.</span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-12388731123311851832022-11-16T14:42:00.005-08:002023-02-09T12:38:56.665-08:0010 February 2023 - THE MAGNIFICENT IRON HOLE<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOX8nUSvzKw0DcpEmHtZt80nLfexyCrTcuu3clRyOIyXurZZFqgo0pIBrpFyQ00zZkm9IWfiA79ij9D9VCKJL298a_8dGkm1xpevp0f6ff63U4Svos8LC1P6oeVM_wbe9-QDy0h5-e_-jd3nmj__tM8mj-TEOK59XJY6hJBX_l66T_DW79lnNxomE7/s696/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="696" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOX8nUSvzKw0DcpEmHtZt80nLfexyCrTcuu3clRyOIyXurZZFqgo0pIBrpFyQ00zZkm9IWfiA79ij9D9VCKJL298a_8dGkm1xpevp0f6ff63U4Svos8LC1P6oeVM_wbe9-QDy0h5-e_-jd3nmj__tM8mj-TEOK59XJY6hJBX_l66T_DW79lnNxomE7/w400-h224/a1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">THE MAGNIFICENT </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">IRON HOLE</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">At the centre of an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean is a deep chasm ringed by tall waterfalls. </span></span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">Réunion is an island in </span>the Indian Ocean, sandwiched between <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/madagascar">Madagascar</a> and <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/mauritius">Mauritius</a>, a thousand miles from the east coast of Africa. Despite its remote location, as a “department” of <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/france">France</a>
it’s actually part of the Eurozone, and with nearly a million
inhabitants and some of the lushest and most magical landscapes in the
world, the volcanic outpost has a robust tourist industry.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIfIQF-qorMt1m7w-7_qcdQD7clcv4-QIvyHFCKcrdvP_MTITxZERCxT7IXoWw_-MPl9Qc5mXUE2uNXMSW4HXZCJXM3Q3kLrnH72B-HcdEOcVa0yM_MNNkp9Coc6tRcdpnXckraA7mxquXVqzcrjtHxThEUV7VFm2i1XCAm8Ufl_pZG3sWE-YGQpIC/s688/a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="688" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIfIQF-qorMt1m7w-7_qcdQD7clcv4-QIvyHFCKcrdvP_MTITxZERCxT7IXoWw_-MPl9Qc5mXUE2uNXMSW4HXZCJXM3Q3kLrnH72B-HcdEOcVa0yM_MNNkp9Coc6tRcdpnXckraA7mxquXVqzcrjtHxThEUV7VFm2i1XCAm8Ufl_pZG3sWE-YGQpIC/w640-h362/a2.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQAX-yMNUgAdNhtM3lEAUotlfG7Wxxh4QuLUS2CQzYYLNSMrtIJbNE2GP1WbrwDhOTmaPZzi5ZHfEe-6k1TaWLU8t2_hPlyc7PhIruGo_JzYRJi5gfZIpQ0rNTQ44szIfQ2QJ6d0mYEmLwnZ2taXNnhb10jvD2K0_4Q0L2OOO8WOv-fElcTFcz4g8W/s587/a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="587" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQAX-yMNUgAdNhtM3lEAUotlfG7Wxxh4QuLUS2CQzYYLNSMrtIJbNE2GP1WbrwDhOTmaPZzi5ZHfEe-6k1TaWLU8t2_hPlyc7PhIruGo_JzYRJi5gfZIpQ0rNTQ44szIfQ2QJ6d0mYEmLwnZ2taXNnhb10jvD2K0_4Q0L2OOO8WOv-fElcTFcz4g8W/w640-h426/a3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnccAuqm3LjeGgWoI0VOWb2jGUo_gB-IUPIW9HaUDXN6U1br4dZdp2lDqWEnGs_URv4MXZ0FnBneE3ecVJ0cj3W28bW2viUBbwxbPepTXbccOduJNkHlJMsfqEKSC6jpNOIC0Fq5uSQ96rekr_IpJKzXvXd7jWLssr473bDGlUu5jq7RSohiOAHIU/s696/a4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="696" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnccAuqm3LjeGgWoI0VOWb2jGUo_gB-IUPIW9HaUDXN6U1br4dZdp2lDqWEnGs_URv4MXZ0FnBneE3ecVJ0cj3W28bW2viUBbwxbPepTXbccOduJNkHlJMsfqEKSC6jpNOIC0Fq5uSQ96rekr_IpJKzXvXd7jWLssr473bDGlUu5jq7RSohiOAHIU/w640-h358/a4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BXCyBlbcse9Ym_z0APfGEpx2q07wWBaxfi2vLkkuC0PkPUKL9WcPhm5PzJlNUKvOhxYh4vhKEDuKMOk219MmsfzgU08oCZeWgKZAm-9GLnmYTQxL0-HL9i-Mk24inuts8KlL5ffnOwjOoYPXuASmG56eCHEOqXZkdMOtuC3FMuOmDkGh1dNLy8AC/s681/a5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="681" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6BXCyBlbcse9Ym_z0APfGEpx2q07wWBaxfi2vLkkuC0PkPUKL9WcPhm5PzJlNUKvOhxYh4vhKEDuKMOk219MmsfzgU08oCZeWgKZAm-9GLnmYTQxL0-HL9i-Mk24inuts8KlL5ffnOwjOoYPXuASmG56eCHEOqXZkdMOtuC3FMuOmDkGh1dNLy8AC/w640-h366/a5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Tourism in the area centers around the coastal regions of Réunion,
but at the island’s center is one of its most extraordinary sites, a
canyon that reaches nearly a quarter mile (300 meters) into the Earth,
ringed by a chorus of six tall waterfalls. Trou de Fer (the “Iron Hole”)
is a collapsed crater of an ancient volcano, fed by bubbling rivers and
streams, but dangerous to descend.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">So rugged is the terrain at Trou de Fer, and so rain-soaked most of
the year, the deep chasm wasn’t fully explored until 1989. Not that
climbers hadn’t tried to reach its depths—they just never made it back
out. Today it is a relatively easy hike to get there, just a couple of
miles of well-groomed trails with a viewing platform at the end. From
the high vantage point, you can see the surrounding mountains, tropical
forests, and all the waterfalls that make their way to the bottom. </span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-89398018779347969192022-11-13T16:00:00.004-08:002023-02-03T11:45:45.870-08:004 February 2023 - THE RESULTS OF FEUDING BROTHERS - LEBANON<div><p style="text-align: center;"> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-XEyeR82p7utXN75rvQKw1jBdJoqRZqXJ3xxmw0e4WKiOeB8LmdlPYK165vxll8cq2B3qMe8ROwjxA9rjJPkkjv7rqaZqQKU4ePEq616s3ly_CE-WObMMRlxDLiG6DE805XMZ1dJn2FOY3X_iQK9OV8zemqk-dQhKAPgCiaZA2GFAxsOImHaCuyA/s520/A1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-XEyeR82p7utXN75rvQKw1jBdJoqRZqXJ3xxmw0e4WKiOeB8LmdlPYK165vxll8cq2B3qMe8ROwjxA9rjJPkkjv7rqaZqQKU4ePEq616s3ly_CE-WObMMRlxDLiG6DE805XMZ1dJn2FOY3X_iQK9OV8zemqk-dQhKAPgCiaZA2GFAxsOImHaCuyA/w400-h300/A1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">THE RESULTS OF </span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">FEUDING BROTHERS</span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> - LEBANON -</span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Beirut's thinnest building was the result of feuding brothers. </span></span></span></span></h3><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">A sliver-thin house in Beirut, </span>built in 1954, is the ultimate display of how deep sibling annoyance can go. Known as The Grudge, or <i>Al Ba’sa</i> in Arabic, the house is just a bit over 13 feet at its widest point, and just around 2 feet at its narrowest.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">At a side view, the “house” built of brotherly spite looks more like a
wall than a place to live. But despite its narrow dimensions, <i>Al Ba’sa</i> is habitable, and is the skinniest building in the city. </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">As the story goes, two brothers inherited land from their father.
They couldn’t decide how to split the land between them, a dispute
complicated further by the fact that one part of the property had been
cut over the years by various municipal infrastructure projects, leaving
a portion of the land a small and sort of odd shape. </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqrmztpgG-uzpEZr1m9qpp2ObyXLkI3n6AEpPx5KoU6txSq4waSkH508FfEdES1QDwdouUkwWg4nV-XGlryfn6ruAmz1XMZs7KdIZdUvrT7Acz9PgLHRneVE8rEpuO24EjnPGivL9vda6V9v9tjzLRyr1njbtcZTgV7AvZ1rxz05maPz1VMQscsUX/s520/A1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqrmztpgG-uzpEZr1m9qpp2ObyXLkI3n6AEpPx5KoU6txSq4waSkH508FfEdES1QDwdouUkwWg4nV-XGlryfn6ruAmz1XMZs7KdIZdUvrT7Acz9PgLHRneVE8rEpuO24EjnPGivL9vda6V9v9tjzLRyr1njbtcZTgV7AvZ1rxz05maPz1VMQscsUX/w640-h480/A1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPojVO-fOl2EgJM6I3gVtZ84ypGEvcmifK42z7Ss9gF8H56YOMKQT9MQtlhUVqSulugcJLou4gOx3uYusjJ4U_6uHh6XZDH5aXp1EMLsF4WyTZbRCZp9ZIheoKyvA01j9N-JTgnFoEBBYD8dhDSO4t-NL1hSEPcNxG041YhnO7ZylNDvjRT9ruMsu/s587/A2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="587" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPojVO-fOl2EgJM6I3gVtZ84ypGEvcmifK42z7Ss9gF8H56YOMKQT9MQtlhUVqSulugcJLou4gOx3uYusjJ4U_6uHh6XZDH5aXp1EMLsF4WyTZbRCZp9ZIheoKyvA01j9N-JTgnFoEBBYD8dhDSO4t-NL1hSEPcNxG041YhnO7ZylNDvjRT9ruMsu/w640-h426/A2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">One brother
decided to take that small, oddly shaped bit of land and build on it,
constructing a building that fit the confines of the land with the added
bonus of blocking his brother’s ocean view. Not only would his brother
not be able to enjoy his spectacular sea view, but because he was now
facing what was essentially a wall his property values would sink, too.
The perfect plan.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Over the years, there have been some tenants in the house that
sibling rivalry built. Each floor of the structure contains two
apartments. For years, one was in use as a brothel, while the others
served as refuge for a family fleeing the war.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Today the house stands as a reminder of a long-ago feud, and it
probably will for a very long time; current city zoning laws state that
the plot of land the house sits on is <a href="http://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/30570/Inhabiting-a-Grudge">too small to build on</a>.
If The Grudge comes down, nothing else can be put in its place, making
the land more profitable with the house than without it. As architect
Sandra Rishani pointed out in her <a href="https://www.mashallahnews.com/mashallah-news-book-beirut-re-collected/">essay</a>
on the house, Al Ba’sa “continues to exist grudgingly and also
defiantly in one of Beirut’s most prime locations, only time will tell
what will become of it.”</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3></div><br />Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-46169579397244712692022-11-09T15:57:00.002-08:002023-02-08T12:26:46.353-08:009 February 2023 - SEISMIC STATION BELOW THE BRONX<div><p style="text-align: center;"> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6buOa9QsjoITsKMLr9OXN3DSXSWs1ZX65bhaL2Mhpyw2WqFntb_5L7xpETm17T9oI3BtcEY5uOnDud5g1Fjg5ScRfSaxgj0YNiCxffBZwiIGq_WaGbhTXazW2Tb5xnEyiE9ysGKr5Y2V0Hfi5gTDt47ps_jOpp-pXu0sRA7ycmPgs4HqzC_FptyU/s390/a1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="390" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6buOa9QsjoITsKMLr9OXN3DSXSWs1ZX65bhaL2Mhpyw2WqFntb_5L7xpETm17T9oI3BtcEY5uOnDud5g1Fjg5ScRfSaxgj0YNiCxffBZwiIGq_WaGbhTXazW2Tb5xnEyiE9ysGKr5Y2V0Hfi5gTDt47ps_jOpp-pXu0sRA7ycmPgs4HqzC_FptyU/w400-h400/a1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">SEISMIC STATION </span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">BELOW THE BRONX</span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"> An unassuming stone building houses New York City's oldest seismic station almost 30 feet below the Bronx. </span><br /></span></span></div><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span><span class="section-start-text">Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus </span>is
home to the oldest seismic station in New York City, and one of the
oldest in the United States. Installed in the basement of the
university’s main administrative building in 1910, it continues to chart
seismic activity from all over the world to this day. </span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>The station is maintained by Fordham’s physics department,
where data is transmitted to the adjacent academic building, Freeman
Hall. </span><span>While mainly used by the physics department, that
data is available to students across several disciplines, notably
environmental science. </span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>Originally, data was gathered using a Wiechert seismograph, a
precarious pendulum-dependent machine that graphed vibrations using a
system of levers, kerosene-smoked paper, a weight, and a rod. It was so
sensitive that in order to avoid skewing data, a horse was kept on
campus to maintain the grass outside of the station instead of usual
lawn-mowers. </span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>Of course, this seismograph has since been replaced by
computerized broadband seismometers, which lie in a vault nearly 30 feet
below the ground, picking up trembling of the Earth’s tectonic plates
and even of trains heading to Grand Central from the nearby Metro-North
Fordham stop.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWbQpdFk_Anpyt1Yk1qGWRxig4vF6mvRtJOceI1yeUvcywGbd-XyerEMJVvThaOPMNz9YpjV7JsgS8c3yfj6GlP_nKRx2TTARhZJ79QDpKF8lKqUQ1zqFCQ2tCecd9HYvyn5GsTi6xNCSNa1TDJ_pDwg63Cg0Vj_DSM36MQZHfatGPp23EeWOG0Vz/s390/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="390" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWbQpdFk_Anpyt1Yk1qGWRxig4vF6mvRtJOceI1yeUvcywGbd-XyerEMJVvThaOPMNz9YpjV7JsgS8c3yfj6GlP_nKRx2TTARhZJ79QDpKF8lKqUQ1zqFCQ2tCecd9HYvyn5GsTi6xNCSNa1TDJ_pDwg63Cg0Vj_DSM36MQZHfatGPp23EeWOG0Vz/w640-h640/a1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZX7TyAzd-g7EuiCXHAS_pVAedFmpMTWNyGP4dlArJ6PW70hUZ9c8xwcjiw5ngBik_A-AO63HW8ykMJz2X8j26085NoC3xf_skWB_oy8h_vpU-iD2qxRwy_P5hWW_-pXys48IHl35To-5pTejrnIa5PUVXD1CVIpr-WFQGf33lOS8cNYVEkzbRycV/s390/a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="293" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZX7TyAzd-g7EuiCXHAS_pVAedFmpMTWNyGP4dlArJ6PW70hUZ9c8xwcjiw5ngBik_A-AO63HW8ykMJz2X8j26085NoC3xf_skWB_oy8h_vpU-iD2qxRwy_P5hWW_-pXys48IHl35To-5pTejrnIa5PUVXD1CVIpr-WFQGf33lOS8cNYVEkzbRycV/w480-h640/a2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>About a decade after that first basement seismograph, Fordham
constructed a new seismic station using money donated by William Spain,
who then named it after his son, William, a physics student of the
university who died some years before. While the actual seismograph is
subterranean, it is inside a small stone cottage flanked by trees and
wildflowers with a stone path leading to the entrance. There is a bronze
plaque of St. Emidio on the observatory’s side, the patron saint of
protection against earthquakes.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>Today, the William Spain Seismic Observatory, using a strong
motion detector, partners with a U.S. government program to assess
earthquake risk in metropolitan areas. This particular data is also
streamed to a government data repository in Boulder, Colorado. Fordham
is also a member of the regional Lamont Cooperative Seismic Network,
which allows the 21 other seismic-observatory members across the eastern
U.S. to share data and equipment like geophones and seismometers for
further research projects.</span></span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-26989607106140680742022-11-07T16:07:00.000-08:002023-02-07T12:10:08.732-08:008 February 2023 - TATYANA MARKUS MEMORIAL - UKRAINE<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWo9r89IVGQUld9tf7kn-6sdBAyzZ-ZTyW-E6jndJ2JBu-wo9mF1Pw4A6h2inYxZ7sI1iVOvP-fHQZjz2ZnjSe6YYBUoyp1twuzaBmZba8QetELu9eot1uRSv58Yr7aYFWCrf3E1UNoTAl1dN2_rMo0eTArQU7h8ow2vPz-5zULMfaLS3pFNZTvA4/s390/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="259" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWo9r89IVGQUld9tf7kn-6sdBAyzZ-ZTyW-E6jndJ2JBu-wo9mF1Pw4A6h2inYxZ7sI1iVOvP-fHQZjz2ZnjSe6YYBUoyp1twuzaBmZba8QetELu9eot1uRSv58Yr7aYFWCrf3E1UNoTAl1dN2_rMo0eTArQU7h8ow2vPz-5zULMfaLS3pFNZTvA4/w266-h400/a1.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">TATYANA MARKUS</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> MEMORIAL</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> - UKRAINE -</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Welcome to a tribute to a Ukrainian heroine who went undercover and killed several Nazi operatives. </span></span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">Tatyana Yossifovna Markus was born </span>in <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/ukraine">Ukraine</a>
in 1921 and lived only for 22 years, but within that short span of
time, she became a formidable underground agent the Nazis feared.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">In 1941, when the Germans entered the city of <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/kyiv-ukraine">Kyiv</a>, a
young Markus was there to greet them, congratulatory flowers in hand.
Instead of graciously handing them over to the triumphant soldiers, she
threw them, and the grenades hidden underneath them, at the approaching
contingent, killing four soldiers. Her father threw a second grenade, to
prevent them from retaliating. </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">In the tumultuous times of war, father and daughter had become
members of the Kyiv underground, resisting Nazi rule. But her father was
caught and killed shortly after the grenade incident.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Markus got further entrenched into the movement and took on the alias
of Tatyana or Tatiana Markusidze, the daughter of a Georgian prince who
had been killed by the Bolsheviks.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">With this tragic (fake) backstory, she purported to hate the Soviet
Union and joined the Germans. A young beautiful operative, she won the
confidence of several German officials and gathered information that
helped the Ukrainian rebels kill them. She even worked in a German
officers’ mess and often lured soldiers into isolated areas and killed
them herself.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1OLGas18QzF3UBTyHIRgxZfhZYQqGBywdrEfpViXj80bDgG0Ev--kgVGWsaof4f2ugBIGBOdJpJoWrHF9nLtFyhdgOKWWv8lqh90EMf8tBfaPFK1wODw5WU2ZodMo-oW466joUQ8-vK8__AtUx-gRj2dogau2bY9Yai7Y2k0JachjRlpB4nMNEI3/s390/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="259" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1OLGas18QzF3UBTyHIRgxZfhZYQqGBywdrEfpViXj80bDgG0Ev--kgVGWsaof4f2ugBIGBOdJpJoWrHF9nLtFyhdgOKWWv8lqh90EMf8tBfaPFK1wODw5WU2ZodMo-oW466joUQ8-vK8__AtUx-gRj2dogau2bY9Yai7Y2k0JachjRlpB4nMNEI3/w426-h640/a1.jpg" width="426" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcVbvJk7zjclV_eM53B9wgTORUJJgCUvuJ5F4LhYSLy4YZlahOLt_GQGs683AcfQyAJDL45V6yjrzkCFeof8EJkd5AmV59H6omz1kLLxD0KPL3-p9t_fgaL6lY95GcbsWa8lvM_H7lmzcZuIyP_z76KrloOYHKVz5jA0ECtnopTN69IN35CXFdAhu/s520/a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcVbvJk7zjclV_eM53B9wgTORUJJgCUvuJ5F4LhYSLy4YZlahOLt_GQGs683AcfQyAJDL45V6yjrzkCFeof8EJkd5AmV59H6omz1kLLxD0KPL3-p9t_fgaL6lY95GcbsWa8lvM_H7lmzcZuIyP_z76KrloOYHKVz5jA0ECtnopTN69IN35CXFdAhu/w640-h480/a2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvidb6wAnffI30GyABA_PvK7wiF_1QKcfCGdLPn39G5_BRQ68a0n7jPMjob-NGxN-fBfAXNarBOgFl01A8c7mzBKCX5lRk2h6urp7CCyQboD3Qy-P3cmH47LvlTxeM2SaSqJHNra-WV6xhTdd9TcUZzJdDGL0EPVFxR_Td-SKrH7XEZT8qOJhDY1b/s587/a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="587" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvidb6wAnffI30GyABA_PvK7wiF_1QKcfCGdLPn39G5_BRQ68a0n7jPMjob-NGxN-fBfAXNarBOgFl01A8c7mzBKCX5lRk2h6urp7CCyQboD3Qy-P3cmH47LvlTxeM2SaSqJHNra-WV6xhTdd9TcUZzJdDGL0EPVFxR_Td-SKrH7XEZT8qOJhDY1b/w640-h426/a3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">With a number of Nazi soldiers dead, the Gestapo launched an
operation to identify and catch her. As she was escaping, in August
1942, she was caught and interrogated brutally for more than five
months, which intensified when her Jewish identity was discovered. But
despite the torture, she refused to provide them with any information
about her comrades. She was then killed in January 1943 and, according
to some accounts, her body was thrown into the notorious Babi Yar
ravine, where thousands were massacred by the Germans.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A few years later, in 1946, a Communist Party district report dealing
with the period of occupation included her and spoke about the “brave
Komsomol girl who knew no fear, Tanya Marcus, who was known as
Markusidze. An active member in the sabotage movement, she personally
killed dozens of soldiers, officers, and collaborators. She carried out
very responsible operations on behalf of the organization by preparing
sabotage operations, etc.”</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">After the fall of the Soviet Union, a statue of this courageous young
woman who gave her life in the fight against the Nazis was unveiled in
Babi Yar in 2009, just a few years after she was honored as a “Heroine
of Ukraine.”</span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;">Let's hope this statue is still standing! </span></b><br /></span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-77758506576334085832022-11-05T15:47:00.002-07:002023-02-04T12:39:20.669-08:005 February 2023 - WORLD'S TALLEST SOLAR TOWER - ISRAEL<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVq5Px0TeqoE4YfDAQMzzQ8d-w70-pzXPOP2eRXivmGInWjFF_GiWFP8DlT4kmMkcOMLCUHwTljHGR42eaDBnBtpjWSmSfa8aQdPnK2QKaRFiuUf7mlnX2VxFUs_FNYxuuNNpfR7eygnzedUf2jBXbMaB_DirNCVqurQBaVXdduYXOeUztzQY5QeJB/s520/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVq5Px0TeqoE4YfDAQMzzQ8d-w70-pzXPOP2eRXivmGInWjFF_GiWFP8DlT4kmMkcOMLCUHwTljHGR42eaDBnBtpjWSmSfa8aQdPnK2QKaRFiuUf7mlnX2VxFUs_FNYxuuNNpfR7eygnzedUf2jBXbMaB_DirNCVqurQBaVXdduYXOeUztzQY5QeJB/w400-h300/a1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">WORLD'S TALLEST </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">SOLAR TOWER </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">- ISRAEL -</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Deep in the Negev Desert, the world's tallest solar tower looks like it's straight out of a science fiction comic. </span></span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">Thanks to drip irrigation, the </span>roads to Be’er Sheva in <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/israel">Israel</a>
are fringed with fields that were once barren. A simple system of
water-carrying pipes have transformed the Negev Desert into productive
agricultural land. But a newer addition just south of Be’er Sheva,
transforms the desert into something more akin to a science fiction
movie.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJ0TqIBMUvdZQFViCe0OpOCEhgM6LlMoeq3Oiu4X7qf6IzGMcU31p_nlX9JB2NUJXIby6leToV2Tj-_E-v9EjDDR743fJE1u13wHIe6LuX6S5toRqUpKf3wHTF8ANdBUXQDzT9vCya2YBFbRPvXUxWuDp3Ufm6MiuCQLmBQ8BCgPjjrLDshdcW2tK/s841/a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="841" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJ0TqIBMUvdZQFViCe0OpOCEhgM6LlMoeq3Oiu4X7qf6IzGMcU31p_nlX9JB2NUJXIby6leToV2Tj-_E-v9EjDDR743fJE1u13wHIe6LuX6S5toRqUpKf3wHTF8ANdBUXQDzT9vCya2YBFbRPvXUxWuDp3Ufm6MiuCQLmBQ8BCgPjjrLDshdcW2tK/w640-h296/a2.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG6DDMBu5PgpG4jsSl85XLyC4erk1RZtEOIryo8RSpxXt_TpVdDkOTFdGRhIfKtXFCjvaRjw_a-A9KnNjXrymquJ_P5VsH3xUB98fKZwomtYTt8BGDozHIFkR_62vGRAiBfE0e6VHa3hJvd6JyDw9Ov2Ehlz73Xy6VhmReg1-giBbb7zFrWlcT3zEC/s520/a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG6DDMBu5PgpG4jsSl85XLyC4erk1RZtEOIryo8RSpxXt_TpVdDkOTFdGRhIfKtXFCjvaRjw_a-A9KnNjXrymquJ_P5VsH3xUB98fKZwomtYTt8BGDozHIFkR_62vGRAiBfE0e6VHa3hJvd6JyDw9Ov2Ehlz73Xy6VhmReg1-giBbb7zFrWlcT3zEC/w640-h480/a3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The first sign of something unusual ahead appears just after you
leave the city limits. If you look carefully, you’ll notice a pale
orange flame floating just above the horizon. As you get closer, a tall
dark tower appears, its pinnacle glowing as bright as the sun. Light
radiates towards the ground, seeming like sunbeams. This is the Ashalim
Power Station.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Opened in September 2019, Ashalim is the tallest solar power station
in the world, standing 260 meters (853 feet) tall. <span style="color: #ffa400;">Ashalim Power Station
uses an array of 56,000 solar panels known as heliostats arranged
around the tower to reflect sunlight onto the pinnacle. The heliostats
are computer-controlled and follow the sun as it moves from east to west
through the day.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">From the barren hilltops surrounding the station, the tower and the
heliostats look like a scene from a futuristic story. The system
produces enough clean energy to power 120,000 homes, about five percent
of all homes in Israel. And development at the power station is still
ongoing. While electricity production has already started, further plans
will allow Ashalim Power Station to combine solar thermal energy,
photovoltaic energy, and natural gas.</span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-43314222446914330742022-11-04T18:35:00.005-07:002023-01-30T12:13:52.378-08:0031 January 2023 - SLAVE MARKET MEMORIAL - ZANZIBAR<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisq3d_DE_6PaoXxEKIYMMMU9WiP516Qz34SbHiL7v9C2Y8OjENpFnXu-RbNftHT9-DmjOWsol-NsOr9um8S4KgLilTKVkAlr_z0NJQqXgfgQrexpizoaAjhlpZ7irLyxemWPKrUYzL2JzPwCR0uibiHM5Wij1sIAZNoEjItqaixCHHg1RJRxHTp1hI/s629/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="629" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisq3d_DE_6PaoXxEKIYMMMU9WiP516Qz34SbHiL7v9C2Y8OjENpFnXu-RbNftHT9-DmjOWsol-NsOr9um8S4KgLilTKVkAlr_z0NJQqXgfgQrexpizoaAjhlpZ7irLyxemWPKrUYzL2JzPwCR0uibiHM5Wij1sIAZNoEjItqaixCHHg1RJRxHTp1hI/w400-h248/a1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">SLAVE MARKET </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">MEMORIAL</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> - ZANZIBAR -</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This monument is a stark reminder of the horrors of the Zanzibar slave trade. </span> </span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">In 1873 the world’s last </span>open slave market closed. The last vestige of this horrific institution was located in Stone Town, <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/zanzibar-tanzania">Zanzibar</a>.
Enslaved people were transported to Zanzibar via overcrowded dhows.
With little food, rampant disease, and appalling conditions, not all of
the captives survived long enough to reach Zanzibar. Those who didn’t
were thrown overboard. For those that did make it, another ordeal
awaited, as they were sold at this site and then were likely shipped off
to various Arab countries.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimbdnco7MDsbXLdJ8-BTNNl1zWBQhXaT8U8S-XiOzo-2ujl3u1zOuhpvM84y1vHKiLdP-rgmCinCYen9qjYMLy3afqaweNCJkHScCt0s_20l4RX-N25mEnANnMhDHAMqvVNMwztPs4Lq93ARNZ1OB3zbJhufBzPb_TG1KUsZrY2GmahQ2AP8K7uZsv/s675/a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="675" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimbdnco7MDsbXLdJ8-BTNNl1zWBQhXaT8U8S-XiOzo-2ujl3u1zOuhpvM84y1vHKiLdP-rgmCinCYen9qjYMLy3afqaweNCJkHScCt0s_20l4RX-N25mEnANnMhDHAMqvVNMwztPs4Lq93ARNZ1OB3zbJhufBzPb_TG1KUsZrY2GmahQ2AP8K7uZsv/w640-h370/a2.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrL1MotV3bjjagRRhwX6JOdmC6N3P7l0lttlA8CW3NyTmp2W1FDoCimd2YMuP9rv0pgeI8AbV1cejnyCRu9ZLqtsis639feuwFlgg9KQRINL71eGkK2GmAgjASYffHK4ammtNn5uvui0ktamYB1E1VcnsvvIj5qrvcLqx3-T630K-fUpkKaNyEwL4N/s520/a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrL1MotV3bjjagRRhwX6JOdmC6N3P7l0lttlA8CW3NyTmp2W1FDoCimd2YMuP9rv0pgeI8AbV1cejnyCRu9ZLqtsis639feuwFlgg9KQRINL71eGkK2GmAgjASYffHK4ammtNn5uvui0ktamYB1E1VcnsvvIj5qrvcLqx3-T630K-fUpkKaNyEwL4N/w640-h480/a3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYvacetkppyE1-210aqNI2Q-t4wz25kGU9LZzL1ktEeutNeDyirjZ2iQgEvp1b9oJgzaDJFyPGHyrLSQmZfeShhpOUZQyNrQTzIMWnQlXTBFtXCpOpNB2rXlWDOi0dRDpHbhmtUJywS6kN_wsiC8SgnOATB9hhmtn8ofegdf3Q4gjk1TsZ8LQQi_L/s681/a4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="681" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYvacetkppyE1-210aqNI2Q-t4wz25kGU9LZzL1ktEeutNeDyirjZ2iQgEvp1b9oJgzaDJFyPGHyrLSQmZfeShhpOUZQyNrQTzIMWnQlXTBFtXCpOpNB2rXlWDOi0dRDpHbhmtUJywS6kN_wsiC8SgnOATB9hhmtn8ofegdf3Q4gjk1TsZ8LQQi_L/w640-h366/a4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Zanzibar was home to one of the largest slave markets in the world.
Although the slave trade took place all over the island, three major
markets saw the bulk of these inhumane transactions. The market in Stone
Town was infamous for being the most brutal. The pit and the Slave
Market Memorial is in the same location where enslaved people were
gathered to be brought and sold. This memorial was created in 1998 by
Clara Sornas of Scandinavia.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">On one side of the memorial is a mansion housing the slave cellar,
one of fifteen low-ceiling chambers. <span style="color: #ffa400;">Dim, suffocating, and with no
toilets, these chambers were crammed with enslaved people, where they
awaited the auction block.</span> Captives were summoned to the yard and
marched to the pit. There, they would be inspected by potential buyers.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">On the other side of the memorial is an Anglican church, from which
you can see a mosque. A circle of white stones at the altar marks the
place where the whipping post once stood The value of enslaved people
on Zanzibar was often based on how much pain they could endure at this
post. An outer circle of red stones represents the bloodshed that took
place. Unveiled in 1998, the Slave Market Memorial is a reminder of the
sordid history of this island.</span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-29959847928018339812022-10-31T20:55:00.000-07:002023-01-22T11:10:23.194-08:0023 January 2023 - VIKING SILVER DISCOVERED IN SWEDEN <div><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyF0pkYJ7hLxXCu_tAY8L4DqpMe-nb9l-XRFF7ytkimn8LE9evhQEdLoi0VdfLVB-Qv-CizKC1chqq0c6Nmmes3JteJO_qEJmpX1enMkyyGjyY-5qi7oLxIEziEfwRKnt_6dxBw2uMAjK-ZB6UP60cfk9RlphT8F47s2dXWc24NbCRBmSXeRPbeBnO/s679/A1%20893d8171-0665-4d44-904a-63d91865e4d9c5a94ceb1b52540aeb_Spillings_Silver_Hoard_2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="679" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyF0pkYJ7hLxXCu_tAY8L4DqpMe-nb9l-XRFF7ytkimn8LE9evhQEdLoi0VdfLVB-Qv-CizKC1chqq0c6Nmmes3JteJO_qEJmpX1enMkyyGjyY-5qi7oLxIEziEfwRKnt_6dxBw2uMAjK-ZB6UP60cfk9RlphT8F47s2dXWc24NbCRBmSXeRPbeBnO/w400-h230/A1%20893d8171-0665-4d44-904a-63d91865e4d9c5a94ceb1b52540aeb_Spillings_Silver_Hoard_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> VIKING SILVER </span></span></span></b></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">DISCOVERED IN SWEDEN </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Buried beneath an unassuming Gotland farm was the largest collection of Viking silver, mostly of Islamic origin. </span></span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body">
<div>
<p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span><span class="section-start-text">In 1999, a TV crew </span>accompanied
archaeologist Jonas Ström and numismatist Kenneth Jonsson to an
unassuming farm on Gotland, Sweden’s largest island. After a farmer had
discovered a Viking coin, roughly 150 coins and artifacts had been
unearthed. The crew got the footage they wanted and left the site, but
Ström and Jonsson stayed behind, continuing their unofficial search with
a metal detector. In less than half an hour, they discovered two
massive caches of Viking treasure.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwx-t97lv1NU7SGvklM59cuV-kpb9Tx6yg3-oP4kZY8aMHaEJnnWHa6ugzQ97Hobs6YrqlLGdA2ZgkQCIoh2X75aUj3jB_mwiibNEdu4jWOiCMiChjoM-KEw_3PsD-b-_N8n0rkBFfQ5KF6Q3r7sARYroK7XDI0p9JTfEekiF74c9kU3YPUYGJ9il6/s679/A1%20893d8171-0665-4d44-904a-63d91865e4d9c5a94ceb1b52540aeb_Spillings_Silver_Hoard_2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="679" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwx-t97lv1NU7SGvklM59cuV-kpb9Tx6yg3-oP4kZY8aMHaEJnnWHa6ugzQ97Hobs6YrqlLGdA2ZgkQCIoh2X75aUj3jB_mwiibNEdu4jWOiCMiChjoM-KEw_3PsD-b-_N8n0rkBFfQ5KF6Q3r7sARYroK7XDI0p9JTfEekiF74c9kU3YPUYGJ9il6/w640-h368/A1%20893d8171-0665-4d44-904a-63d91865e4d9c5a94ceb1b52540aeb_Spillings_Silver_Hoard_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggO5ghzatFfDzZG2YOQD-O7P38jsEvCly1U8RFqwXvP71e3BKb3jFkrDZv03fU_tL2F7ATFVHCVCFjMdZaKwmqT9edORv0bUS3fR6mqh4FYSiyhSZuZBoxKPqPkeTDhosQxcz8GwD4RmxyQJk3rK4ein0mGE2Sgb79U0NLMoXBMhCrETBG3C_q7Esd/s778/A2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggO5ghzatFfDzZG2YOQD-O7P38jsEvCly1U8RFqwXvP71e3BKb3jFkrDZv03fU_tL2F7ATFVHCVCFjMdZaKwmqT9edORv0bUS3fR6mqh4FYSiyhSZuZBoxKPqPkeTDhosQxcz8GwD4RmxyQJk3rK4ein0mGE2Sgb79U0NLMoXBMhCrETBG3C_q7Esd/w640-h320/A2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcG5rnG4mEPE2J3NsgO7KbwNfcDz7Ibb58nr7XsN9L_Yd7LBjr5ox-8FKyWo7yLG-u9Q955EBLB6hxpsHfUXe_HJ8msUjrSr-5WsQk0gF6sB_HzB0FahVqs990jTa02hXXZdAe0gRBurcuFWiKqgsfYmLC6LZt0M2iB_E_LbRgKLo5a-7C9UebIWG/s520/A3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcG5rnG4mEPE2J3NsgO7KbwNfcDz7Ibb58nr7XsN9L_Yd7LBjr5ox-8FKyWo7yLG-u9Q955EBLB6hxpsHfUXe_HJ8msUjrSr-5WsQk0gF6sB_HzB0FahVqs990jTa02hXXZdAe0gRBurcuFWiKqgsfYmLC6LZt0M2iB_E_LbRgKLo5a-7C9UebIWG/w640-h480/A3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>They immediately asked for permission to officially excavate
the site, and over 2,000 people reportedly visited the farm the first
weekend after the dig was made public. A third cache was soon
discovered, and by the end of the excavation, <span style="color: #ffa400;">67 kilograms (148 pounds)
of silver and 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of bronze artifacts had been dug
up. </span></span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>The hoard, believed to have been buried beneath a ninth-century
outhouse, consisted of coins, ingots, and jewelry items such as rings,
bangles, and necklaces. Of the 14,295 coins discovered here, as many as
14,200 of them were centuries-old Islamic dirhams. The remaining 95 were
an assortment of Nordic, Byzantine, and Persian coins. A few were
contemporary counterfeits.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span><span style="color: #ffa400;">Perhaps most compelling was the discovery of “the Moses Coin.”
Minted in the Khazar Kingdom around 800</span>, the coin imitates the design of
the silver dirham, but mentions Moses rather than Muhammad in its
inscription, offering some archaeological evidence for the popular yet
unconfirmed claim that Khazar rulers converted to Judaism.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>The Spillings Hoard is the largest Viking hoard ever discovered. Its treasures are now on display at <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/sweden">Sweden</a>’s Gotland Museum.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span></div><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span></div><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p><br />Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-42418152315770952562022-10-28T18:16:00.000-07:002023-01-21T12:01:29.188-08:0022 January 2023 - PADLOCK TREE PARK - MOSCOW<div><p style="text-align: center;"> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfXgQkGBt7cyiGPmFJaF6ULgnSFW4ygL-U1afPzDxrLwiW9MSt4nbYIsJSPijECZw2oXwQ-rU-5WpCnJVwG8VuBcmsGwNn_d_zxdHn4EXfsZkO4dLw3Ck_8DjiJ9ICtQlnBisR_-QTeUyqMhEqjnAjZ56MWJihTmcKY3B8wv6EIG7Q-3_ZOEHAGybP/s520/A3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfXgQkGBt7cyiGPmFJaF6ULgnSFW4ygL-U1afPzDxrLwiW9MSt4nbYIsJSPijECZw2oXwQ-rU-5WpCnJVwG8VuBcmsGwNn_d_zxdHn4EXfsZkO4dLw3Ck_8DjiJ9ICtQlnBisR_-QTeUyqMhEqjnAjZ56MWJihTmcKY3B8wv6EIG7Q-3_ZOEHAGybP/w400-h300/A3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">PADLOCK TREE PARK</span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> - MOSCOW -</span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Welcome to dozens of padlock-trees along the Moscow River. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body">
<div>
<p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">Rows of dozens of trees, </span>each
one housing hundreds if not thousands of padlocks, adorn the banks of
the Moscow River and symbolize a couple’s eternal love in marriage.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_BEXuf9pvJvgU5SsuyM0XCMXly4EZXbFF-pGaDLuH6_8CSJ0M04Tff97_NsChds0fYj7njF5sYT0HpEGCVBTzmQYf13KtMmyuyEyLwaT_Us0ZGhD2pUNv6rTgPYUVRogsfiZWVHOmpxT9k1PzHiLRLqw6mvmMFxj-SiRlhzR_RdJTspoR2enBIYD/s520/A3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_BEXuf9pvJvgU5SsuyM0XCMXly4EZXbFF-pGaDLuH6_8CSJ0M04Tff97_NsChds0fYj7njF5sYT0HpEGCVBTzmQYf13KtMmyuyEyLwaT_Us0ZGhD2pUNv6rTgPYUVRogsfiZWVHOmpxT9k1PzHiLRLqw6mvmMFxj-SiRlhzR_RdJTspoR2enBIYD/w640-h480/A3.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QVTwEuldSX_LZiTh_vfgMUJ-XqRb6Fyvm36DUew2OcjR5aMgdZEtmaMxTx95LedzMMmyIYBzWx-w3PHCUKXk3ELrxs64C6-GTMM1JiBsp8ULIYxNs9mPNs7a5BPlP5Ny75n3yY5RbZO3Tn3So1KgsSj1IpM3Bk4zW-b401yUyelpjvqfTGNilwx4/s584/A4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="584" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QVTwEuldSX_LZiTh_vfgMUJ-XqRb6Fyvm36DUew2OcjR5aMgdZEtmaMxTx95LedzMMmyIYBzWx-w3PHCUKXk3ELrxs64C6-GTMM1JiBsp8ULIYxNs9mPNs7a5BPlP5Ny75n3yY5RbZO3Tn3So1KgsSj1IpM3Bk4zW-b401yUyelpjvqfTGNilwx4/w640-h428/A4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7R0f1zt3wlj5V1vISLamfmQivMXTJYVpQThWHRLKpr9s7WHITZApAhICx5C5Cn29hWKz3AWJ8qZIf6TLrLl-xNHX09oSr2Ec9hGPNJbZhOJOstz7UW6QZao11yX1boeXC27bf8oImx5-kv2xSSL5oF_EHCl2pBlaZPpOzxIHrxVigBZJ-E5mutjTF/s520/A5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7R0f1zt3wlj5V1vISLamfmQivMXTJYVpQThWHRLKpr9s7WHITZApAhICx5C5Cn29hWKz3AWJ8qZIf6TLrLl-xNHX09oSr2Ec9hGPNJbZhOJOstz7UW6QZao11yX1boeXC27bf8oImx5-kv2xSSL5oF_EHCl2pBlaZPpOzxIHrxVigBZJ-E5mutjTF/w640-h480/A5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">When a couple get married, they write their names on a padlock (which
is often the shape of a heart), lock it to some free space on one of
the metal tree frames, and toss the key into the river. Although the
practice is common in many other countries, the iron trees that lovers
affix their lock to make Moscow’s bridge of love a unique and romantic
site.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">It is not uncommon to see newlyweds on the bridge, and even brides in
their wedding gowns, kissing just before clicking down their padlock of
love on Luzhkov Bridge.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span></div><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span></div></div><br />Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-3298732276624491542022-10-28T18:03:00.003-07:002023-01-15T12:30:17.036-08:0016 January 2023 - ANCIENT STONE GRAVES SHAPED LIKE SHIPS - SWEDEN <p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7sVFO8_Y2WITT0XBMNaiS5MCHAO81lHyUFez7WAR1HWSb_rDgdxH4egZEGOuM8NDac6YFsqT5Ql_tinKmIJCs84o5ik2m9GH4HoZWW75fDOG1xA6XhjDpzfYU4hEJvYLfgCjxojog5959SIePKpAmnQtJ_2qhhb3wqxsAGC8v43UWtCL1VL8tqIG/s587/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="587" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7sVFO8_Y2WITT0XBMNaiS5MCHAO81lHyUFez7WAR1HWSb_rDgdxH4egZEGOuM8NDac6YFsqT5Ql_tinKmIJCs84o5ik2m9GH4HoZWW75fDOG1xA6XhjDpzfYU4hEJvYLfgCjxojog5959SIePKpAmnQtJ_2qhhb3wqxsAGC8v43UWtCL1VL8tqIG/w400-h266/a1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">ANCIENT STONE GRAVES </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">SHAPED LIKE SHIPS </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">- SWEDEN -</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Welcome to ancient stone graves shaped like ships provided a Viking-like burial to carry the dead to the afterlife. </span></span></span></p><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">Gotland is a Swedish island </span>brimming
with ancient structures, from Visby’s medieval city wall to a roughly
5,000-year-old megalithic tomb. Some of the most fascinating sights are
the stone burial “ships,” or <em>skeppssättningar, </em>found throughout the island. <span style="color: #ffa400;">These ancient gravesites date from the late Bronze Age, between 1100 and 400 BC. </span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #ffa400;"></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKGWxBuAm94AoEBiaTCKWusshqjKT5S-yD28gW6136aDqND7kf7Hu2Hx4LsAFirtZsliBlIlMiQpwykIh5iMpL5BQr8pLe4cJSfQ8FanfJitYnJYgV3_UUCjcHgsBgHZj-SkmE5Ju4YP0HQQ6nOSBV3T-PEEzEbyTYliR0OphRlmOIdztNtF4gwzKt/s587/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="587" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKGWxBuAm94AoEBiaTCKWusshqjKT5S-yD28gW6136aDqND7kf7Hu2Hx4LsAFirtZsliBlIlMiQpwykIh5iMpL5BQr8pLe4cJSfQ8FanfJitYnJYgV3_UUCjcHgsBgHZj-SkmE5Ju4YP0HQQ6nOSBV3T-PEEzEbyTYliR0OphRlmOIdztNtF4gwzKt/w640-h426/a1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5XzG5UHz00s5-exRNSEAyVAkXC63Q_aA28MMoz7hVKIS4cYj5iKF-Cvd21qm17srLJQ_ZpEhOrtUZ2byzwPI9erXnJcjmANXDNn6LTcaqj0bVUKSeCyjD34KWBUSyudJd-I1_oNnkHM3PuiglOxxNQaaJTKQ0DRAyb825xVI41E9Z1KMESKvea3Xf/s520/a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5XzG5UHz00s5-exRNSEAyVAkXC63Q_aA28MMoz7hVKIS4cYj5iKF-Cvd21qm17srLJQ_ZpEhOrtUZ2byzwPI9erXnJcjmANXDNn6LTcaqj0bVUKSeCyjD34KWBUSyudJd-I1_oNnkHM3PuiglOxxNQaaJTKQ0DRAyb825xVI41E9Z1KMESKvea3Xf/w640-h480/a2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZTYLiecQDNDXcvUdjfPv984wE7jD6C0T2Xn42GracqE5u-f4-4gtjlVV9FfyG-LXEQxPAuq4VC1Q4rgNy0ovXfBl7iI6mtpb69xjvJTl8G3pf97sBlWLZjJbCrsJFHPd4Yxumn5pAISqLF0nSiumrd4pjO0eHIJyr3OBy4-ZinW3fKo0fLRz580i/s520/a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZTYLiecQDNDXcvUdjfPv984wE7jD6C0T2Xn42GracqE5u-f4-4gtjlVV9FfyG-LXEQxPAuq4VC1Q4rgNy0ovXfBl7iI6mtpb69xjvJTl8G3pf97sBlWLZjJbCrsJFHPd4Yxumn5pAISqLF0nSiumrd4pjO0eHIJyr3OBy4-ZinW3fKo0fLRz580i/w640-h480/a3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The boat-shaped stone monuments were generally used as burial spots
for an important member of this coastal community. The person would be
cremated and their bones beaten to dust. These remains would then be
collected in a stone urn and buried inside the ship. It is believed that
this was done to equip the dead with everything they had in life and to
facilitate the journey to the afterlife.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The stone ships in the village of Gnisvärd are among the best
preserved examples of the ritual in Gotland, and one of them is also the
largest on the island. Made of around 100 tall stones, it stretches 148
feet (45 meters) long. The site contains three ships in total that are
erected one after another as if going in a ghostly precession. The lead
ship is pointed toward an ancient megalithic tomb, the only one in
Gotland. Archaeologists believe this was done to “moor” the newer graves
to an old revered place.</span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-86586111284589803602022-10-25T21:46:00.002-07:002023-01-12T12:14:27.058-08:0013 January 2023 - MAYMAND - ANCIENT CAVE VILLAGE - IRAN<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiqQoBspP26ImbiqnfnsfelQLlkmr79y58_BFyWdAYOAvSmigFUL3YazhMJC1smNcayg6FuZCV813ANYGX6JLETvADxL6o94uUyu5rYhpLNkOIMuazmAS7NxQ8wssUKe76R4N4b24eeCurUV59D-gq-LJtp99dJFD8aJgDXwTcOZc2lofWFfC8mZ2h/s520/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiqQoBspP26ImbiqnfnsfelQLlkmr79y58_BFyWdAYOAvSmigFUL3YazhMJC1smNcayg6FuZCV813ANYGX6JLETvADxL6o94uUyu5rYhpLNkOIMuazmAS7NxQ8wssUKe76R4N4b24eeCurUV59D-gq-LJtp99dJFD8aJgDXwTcOZc2lofWFfC8mZ2h/w400-h300/a1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">MAYMAND</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> - ANCIENT CAVE VILLAGE - <br /></span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">- IRAN -</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This 12,000 year old Iranian cave village has been continuously inhabited for over 3,000 years. </span></span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">From an American point of </span>view,
where very few settlements have been around for more than a few hundred
years, its hard to fathom just how long a village like Maymand in Iran
(which is thought to have been established around 12,000 years ago) has
been around. But the still inhabited cave dwellings help.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipuzoxsqvdPlX617vfI7F8A6ztoSDyOUox7EDAVgVfdrVsGtFgYvZLLfhAfiDGDieQ24GcR0RZhQ9Z4WWonT7evA00YBGeqjAEULzc17-8VKifiXQ9MjG7BbjgqP4I7HiGTOKxTZEqOq-L8QvZ-8BU1Q4w8YQHuDyE7qCEtWlH7-fAUrVb_VmfAf_t/s520/a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipuzoxsqvdPlX617vfI7F8A6ztoSDyOUox7EDAVgVfdrVsGtFgYvZLLfhAfiDGDieQ24GcR0RZhQ9Z4WWonT7evA00YBGeqjAEULzc17-8VKifiXQ9MjG7BbjgqP4I7HiGTOKxTZEqOq-L8QvZ-8BU1Q4w8YQHuDyE7qCEtWlH7-fAUrVb_VmfAf_t/w640-h480/a2.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Fxoq4Ky63X_KQrL0uEDO2fDGMCq6sWSv5aRGTjLAN7dEmU-jQGfPNAkWTg-vxXeI919dPWRhU_OnvhTFnNRNJO0_tyUAJC7e4hoVXOfqoA9zFuqZbbrG2TXNB52LbizH6bLfvrk6rxR67mkK1qKoWwGahOKqOz_ZuRzWco3JS-GK12yU9lcWDRN2/s390/a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="293" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Fxoq4Ky63X_KQrL0uEDO2fDGMCq6sWSv5aRGTjLAN7dEmU-jQGfPNAkWTg-vxXeI919dPWRhU_OnvhTFnNRNJO0_tyUAJC7e4hoVXOfqoA9zFuqZbbrG2TXNB52LbizH6bLfvrk6rxR67mkK1qKoWwGahOKqOz_ZuRzWco3JS-GK12yU9lcWDRN2/w480-h640/a3.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The staggering age of the settlement at Maymand was determined by
fragments of stone etchings that established the existence of human
settlers. However the defining characteristic of the village, namely its
300+ in-ground cave homes are not nearly so old, only dating back
3-4,000 years. It is thought that the cave dwellings began as religious
sites, but slowly evolved into permanent houses as settlers stayed on
the spot longer and longer. As the locals tell it, their ancestors
carved out the simple cave homes using a type of hard, sharpened stone
that can be found in the area as opposed to traditional tools. The
single room dwellings are stacked atop one another four and five tall
sometimes, yet each of the barren caves has room for its own stove
area. </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Nywq0VyWKpFo4NficLrArmXk2hbrfG32WmCJt3pOq_eDjnvThVtz6RRQPTUf1Lwb39dmOHTXnyf1ocVy81z1dPWwLL9LOt5TXIq5bGQ1JKHqZ_5NAqPh_JmOxDRtmuyKT-wz07PoZiAc28I_V58W2y5qF5d60QVvDYoGL1LelM3kg2JCbT-tT-He/s520/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Nywq0VyWKpFo4NficLrArmXk2hbrfG32WmCJt3pOq_eDjnvThVtz6RRQPTUf1Lwb39dmOHTXnyf1ocVy81z1dPWwLL9LOt5TXIq5bGQ1JKHqZ_5NAqPh_JmOxDRtmuyKT-wz07PoZiAc28I_V58W2y5qF5d60QVvDYoGL1LelM3kg2JCbT-tT-He/w640-h480/a1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Miraculously for such an ancient and stark settlement, the array of
caves that make up the village are still inhabited today. Some of the
homes are thought to have been continually inhabited since their
creation thousands of years earlier. The population as of 2006 numbered
673, but tends to fluctuate with the seasons. The caves may have a sort
of barren beauty, but they are not exactly luxury accommodations. </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Iran is a country rich in history, and the village of Maymand is one
of the oldest places there, as well as one of the most beautiful.</span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-5695207421923589972022-10-25T21:34:00.006-07:002023-01-11T12:20:59.065-08:0012 January 2023 - SHAKI WATERFALL & HYDRO - ARMENIA<div><p style="text-align: center;"> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vGv9YwdiTwjgdc9qMsCo-Ioh9cvBtoHSlzD76yQ9lIG9ZrdWctDyI5YCMMbOOpp2XnK8-moSYmSxQVR9wLTwQFOInwEbCuptJzjX2o23ANoJA6EW55EcT74ZKve21CW5XPs9KeR4mIhfdNawns5yDHyNm7-YzN3fLGUTCGpKphc8qof8AKEVbrTW/s521/a1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="521" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vGv9YwdiTwjgdc9qMsCo-Ioh9cvBtoHSlzD76yQ9lIG9ZrdWctDyI5YCMMbOOpp2XnK8-moSYmSxQVR9wLTwQFOInwEbCuptJzjX2o23ANoJA6EW55EcT74ZKve21CW5XPs9KeR4mIhfdNawns5yDHyNm7-YzN3fLGUTCGpKphc8qof8AKEVbrTW/w400-h300/a1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">SHAKI WATERFALL</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> & HYDRO </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">- ARMENIA -</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">After visiting hours, this picturesque waterfall is essentially turned "off" to be used for hydroelectric power. </span></span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body">
<div>
<p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">Shaki Waterfall is a beautiful </span>spot,
where cascades of water plunge 60 feet down over solidified basalt lava
flows. The waterfall was enjoyed much like any other natural attraction
until the 1990s, when someone built a small hydroelectric generator
nearby and began diverting most of the water from upstream to generate
electricity.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcV8gVjH77k0EA9jvOHIzTgn5T0ujGveLyL7QPs6Mfp9Kv5fglCTjNRs6nNeOSzOeBnXTgRfuFLsNPB7jmS9RPdPUc3QTpb6PXtzXHt4BDx-OLjfkg84uneo3bLDbbiNY4IO7f3glfXcrXLJia0FKSlHNei6hK0R74UBhcGuGdWMVQeXUg1pCugDaj/s521/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="521" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcV8gVjH77k0EA9jvOHIzTgn5T0ujGveLyL7QPs6Mfp9Kv5fglCTjNRs6nNeOSzOeBnXTgRfuFLsNPB7jmS9RPdPUc3QTpb6PXtzXHt4BDx-OLjfkg84uneo3bLDbbiNY4IO7f3glfXcrXLJia0FKSlHNei6hK0R74UBhcGuGdWMVQeXUg1pCugDaj/w640-h480/a1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0orVvWL9JDDMeR9d0FmsC-8gxYR8wxaDGq1yPNpbL4uhW44Lq0eTqJqiVxZzvuzXkjdDnjbLqsCKLFgudrgNQJy1KUBsm9TClnnlDn7Zny9bZeFsBGW2tXFvYUuB_k9k2Ya01lWoUhunpdzwEbgwmmsXzPMjx7uGmRztYsU61l5pT8yu82j2zd5nC/s585/a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="585" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0orVvWL9JDDMeR9d0FmsC-8gxYR8wxaDGq1yPNpbL4uhW44Lq0eTqJqiVxZzvuzXkjdDnjbLqsCKLFgudrgNQJy1KUBsm9TClnnlDn7Zny9bZeFsBGW2tXFvYUuB_k9k2Ya01lWoUhunpdzwEbgwmmsXzPMjx7uGmRztYsU61l5pT8yu82j2zd5nC/w640-h426/a2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">When visitors would come to witness the falls, they were disappointed
to see the diminished flow as the picturesque falls were essentially
turned “off.” And so a compromise was reached: For a fee, visitors could
have all the water sent to the waterfall and enjoy the full effect once
more. This agreement lasted for several years, but many folks were not
happy to have to pay to see their old waterfall.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">In 2017, the Armenian government decided that at least during tourist
season, the waterfall should flow uninterrupted and free of charge for
much of the day. They set regular opening hours, and now anyone can
enjoy the full splendor of the falls—as long as you get there at the
right time.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span></div><span style="color: #f1c232;">
</span></div><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3></div><br />Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-3273613106564271082022-10-22T19:06:00.004-07:002023-01-07T12:18:53.148-08:008 January 2023 - A FORMER ROMAN QUARRY in GERMANY<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilk4LelfFwpdartyq7LoGfOqMU2BLWUuLyANRjFsxglN5Mfqkbc6wERSNWPCHJ4W6GQ8ez4seXG36zaA5KiP9mWTP_vMA53rzshYdnjJ7mTlUCl6-U3JiQm2B6pFrWRMrFgovXCRNGBjM7N-RAGaMGxd8xdTwb2yKIFzyRVekYge-SxnwDs7YU4jul/s562/A1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="562" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilk4LelfFwpdartyq7LoGfOqMU2BLWUuLyANRjFsxglN5Mfqkbc6wERSNWPCHJ4W6GQ8ez4seXG36zaA5KiP9mWTP_vMA53rzshYdnjJ7mTlUCl6-U3JiQm2B6pFrWRMrFgovXCRNGBjM7N-RAGaMGxd8xdTwb2yKIFzyRVekYge-SxnwDs7YU4jul/w400-h278/A1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A FORMER </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">ROMAN QUARRY</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> in GERMANY</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This natural "sea of stones" was once used by the Romans as a quarry. </span></span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">Despite often looking like a </span>scree slope of very large stones, this Felsenmeer (or Blockfield) has a unique history.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">These stones did not come from the mountain but were generated by a
weathering process that occurred below the ground. As the surface began
to erode, these massive rocks were exposed. The most popular theory
behind their creation is that they are the result of frost weathering,
however, it has also been suggested that subsurface chemical weathering
played a role. This Felsenmeer is one of the most gorgeous in <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/germany">Germany</a>. It’s part of the Geo-Nature Park Bergstrasse- Odenwald, just south of <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/darmstadt-germany">Darmstadt</a>.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVKejIU_V3y-pKs4ERDj0PMqHLtERpFUcm792k1nGUYVR_8g0cRSoGo-nMMmy9sgYnWJvNNv3orfU789_zkERcTYHxfvLGLNgL_BgBmbYJBus39feRI1Bb2yXxK2xUG2VjDSikD-tt6LyKiBBOJdhpDhWNThQFd8KLnn-QeMlJginUW-G29luenKh/s562/A1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="562" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVKejIU_V3y-pKs4ERDj0PMqHLtERpFUcm792k1nGUYVR_8g0cRSoGo-nMMmy9sgYnWJvNNv3orfU789_zkERcTYHxfvLGLNgL_BgBmbYJBus39feRI1Bb2yXxK2xUG2VjDSikD-tt6LyKiBBOJdhpDhWNThQFd8KLnn-QeMlJginUW-G29luenKh/w640-h444/A1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSepQVjaUsqjEjQvXYchs3p9FdvM3Ve7FUdTnRcIKfXBifeDD2GBsRv83O09FGJnlBRXsvjWPQrqfZwqz13tnxHhrlNuZjUA_r66223UflHUMBHDe0b4tU_8ZtwlOGfMW9P_I8NJMGdUXr6xrMbRPJ_-Qicgh_d8PPSN_1T9p5WsMrmJCvkfaRDk9/s585/A2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="585" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSepQVjaUsqjEjQvXYchs3p9FdvM3Ve7FUdTnRcIKfXBifeDD2GBsRv83O09FGJnlBRXsvjWPQrqfZwqz13tnxHhrlNuZjUA_r66223UflHUMBHDe0b4tU_8ZtwlOGfMW9P_I8NJMGdUXr6xrMbRPJ_-Qicgh_d8PPSN_1T9p5WsMrmJCvkfaRDk9/w640-h426/A2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhje59iqgUwRKeBXsbIG9e-LFUZydWTpG0sePbZ7lk0eAkpODIZV8tteDPY1IyiF-B-Uu9G8hxPNo1l2YSrjygu67gAfmdY_IXDsPoAYzoiKSFek6yILfHffbyUt5z1f_-tIMiDpzNCLtytXAdGcVy4_SGHEPNyA8bT8_xb4NFvfcMs93ZRxQlbxYxJ/s585/A3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="585" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhje59iqgUwRKeBXsbIG9e-LFUZydWTpG0sePbZ7lk0eAkpODIZV8tteDPY1IyiF-B-Uu9G8hxPNo1l2YSrjygu67gAfmdY_IXDsPoAYzoiKSFek6yILfHffbyUt5z1f_-tIMiDpzNCLtytXAdGcVy4_SGHEPNyA8bT8_xb4NFvfcMs93ZRxQlbxYxJ/w640-h426/A3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9HDZKCk_ckvxDgJim4W6pAL_2qHWqhLKzo4qDeS7GxiRYR81GEWB_uG-fz92StuJfdix9h02K7MO_hFGJSseLVkCW-kpI0q80kNrQX4evYWvZc_bJkTouaz7iOLrP0cqMgoh2r6vDRTTW_7-Ws3TqOSeSXvza9p1QfD_0i__PCmCisTEJwbWsjMGb/s585/A4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="585" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9HDZKCk_ckvxDgJim4W6pAL_2qHWqhLKzo4qDeS7GxiRYR81GEWB_uG-fz92StuJfdix9h02K7MO_hFGJSseLVkCW-kpI0q80kNrQX4evYWvZc_bJkTouaz7iOLrP0cqMgoh2r6vDRTTW_7-Ws3TqOSeSXvza9p1QfD_0i__PCmCisTEJwbWsjMGb/w640-h426/A4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">After being exposed, the rocks were significantly modified by
glaciation processes around 10,000 years ago. This occurred across
several Ice Ages and gave the rocks their round shape. </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Romans occupied this part of Germany during the 3rd and 4th-century
CE. There is evidence of stone masonry across the rocks when they
utilized the Felsenmeer as a quarry.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A number of both naturally formed and modified stones have been given
specific names such as the”Altar Stone” and the amazing, yet very
natural, “Crocodile.” A major attraction at the site is a massive column
intended for a Roman temple but, for some reason, was never removed
from the site.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This amazing natural phenomenon is located in a lovely wooded glade on the slopes of a hill known as Feldberg.</span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-73830244452161655692022-10-11T17:35:00.000-07:002023-01-01T11:47:49.212-08:002 January 2023 - THE SAD TALE of CHATEAU LAURIER - OTTAWA<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVItVdw-9ep-EaMoT2T7ZsL_nYyCuYpoD6pglQ1d_Zbo0sdUdrEfHcHQYDUYNgdkE6ZNR_SZm-9AZH9Jq269op3AUZZK8h4I9zF6TbVmEJoTt6eJ9zAGuXMdh8gwuZAcdIEzyraf3A9CR_rEb82qAqVWwhZFERDHDyP0Dp6l4tfhh3D1bWgw_SIm-/s585/A1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="585" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMVItVdw-9ep-EaMoT2T7ZsL_nYyCuYpoD6pglQ1d_Zbo0sdUdrEfHcHQYDUYNgdkE6ZNR_SZm-9AZH9Jq269op3AUZZK8h4I9zF6TbVmEJoTt6eJ9zAGuXMdh8gwuZAcdIEzyraf3A9CR_rEb82qAqVWwhZFERDHDyP0Dp6l4tfhh3D1bWgw_SIm-/w400-h266/A1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">THE SAD TALE </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">of </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">CHATEAU LAURIER </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">- OTTAWA -</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The mastermind behind this palatial hotel perished on the Titanic weeks before its grand opening. </span></span></span></span></h3><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">With its elegant turrets and </span>enormous
size, this riverside hotel looks like it could double as some sort of
fairytale castle perched atop a European hillside. The nearby canal even
makes it seem as though a moat surrounds part of what could easily be
mistaken as a stoic fortress.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The architectural beauty isn’t a palace at all, though it has had a
few brushes with royalty. Many famous figures, prime ministers, and
royalty from around the world have stayed within this 429-room hotel.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9zH4YvcI9Pl2STmrlxZVJBJSfV2d5AbLJvp8QqVloCbbVt2IIjc9s4-0MjczxVPTyUR5OZmeZt-fb3E1FO9XYuqlcfNsjmS-ExHVsXUkKmz6ay3onTEcgyEwJwLEU0BXhaR-lRt4LOvZDXfHptTdawTl2vYJ8jeGeAFE8CwcBion2op5dzbsbdrO/s585/A1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="585" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9zH4YvcI9Pl2STmrlxZVJBJSfV2d5AbLJvp8QqVloCbbVt2IIjc9s4-0MjczxVPTyUR5OZmeZt-fb3E1FO9XYuqlcfNsjmS-ExHVsXUkKmz6ay3onTEcgyEwJwLEU0BXhaR-lRt4LOvZDXfHptTdawTl2vYJ8jeGeAFE8CwcBion2op5dzbsbdrO/w640-h426/A1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjw7qaqhhRV9_WI7md5ZBcumd1md9_1C4CMKfumlMMdAY6LVLF7U_VC5sJJ3WTdLmDG_n1JAIcig6NNtNEwQ8InfqchziqdItCoVz9ez3V23M4ZCMDQ2-eQT1ZO_IgzCnLj1tkOvO2eoyV3fMumci5k0i_wNtqvCxKGZZRnNT7hlKyijKTLQ-Zyro/s581/A2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="581" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjw7qaqhhRV9_WI7md5ZBcumd1md9_1C4CMKfumlMMdAY6LVLF7U_VC5sJJ3WTdLmDG_n1JAIcig6NNtNEwQ8InfqchziqdItCoVz9ez3V23M4ZCMDQ2-eQT1ZO_IgzCnLj1tkOvO2eoyV3fMumci5k0i_wNtqvCxKGZZRnNT7hlKyijKTLQ-Zyro/w640-h430/A2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX1gY8tWyTeK49LNbBmbE_6ePDkMo2y4AbOSAslJ2hvrPRbmgBZ0D8Qb_SKEBGctBdnTbCTTGdoPLcoGjk2Obs2SnZrYG9J_AM3BkX1eIHhw7fN-K4779eTunmFQFRDNSNRZ2w6liRkrA8-umnq_H3HMeT6xqorygIxKl1lAnTE_drm_lhDz3JnwvN/s572/A3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="572" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX1gY8tWyTeK49LNbBmbE_6ePDkMo2y4AbOSAslJ2hvrPRbmgBZ0D8Qb_SKEBGctBdnTbCTTGdoPLcoGjk2Obs2SnZrYG9J_AM3BkX1eIHhw7fN-K4779eTunmFQFRDNSNRZ2w6liRkrA8-umnq_H3HMeT6xqorygIxKl1lAnTE_drm_lhDz3JnwvN/w640-h436/A3.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Its insides reveal early 20th-century hand-moulded plaster
decorations, original Tiffany stained-glass windows, and walls made with
the finest <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/indiana">Indiana</a> limestone. When it first opened in 1912, a private room cost a whopping $2 per night.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Yet despite the hotel’s grandeur, its story is tinged with sadness.
The palatial Château Laurier was commissioned by Charles Melville Hays,
American millionaire, philanthropist, and president of the (now
long-bankrupt) Grand Trunk Railway System. But unfortunately for Hays,
he died before he could see the hotel’s grand opening.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIhM8n3hMWVGq3_gYSS4bSV0TDm_u31_X0Jye4Iknw-Udk8VTy20BgGzxVgHwQg6uOL8MLm5hv4OdfN9mu3tSBGKO161Vv8WvcTDnOM0wkHcsz9ZshyxnMeWPOMCq3AV8E7w3c0TGSOjWkp_0Q9EdKlglGxMCpV-tq3MY8s2bCF5u_Ep82WQ1X2jI/s520/A4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIhM8n3hMWVGq3_gYSS4bSV0TDm_u31_X0Jye4Iknw-Udk8VTy20BgGzxVgHwQg6uOL8MLm5hv4OdfN9mu3tSBGKO161Vv8WvcTDnOM0wkHcsz9ZshyxnMeWPOMCq3AV8E7w3c0TGSOjWkp_0Q9EdKlglGxMCpV-tq3MY8s2bCF5u_Ep82WQ1X2jI/w640-h480/A4.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKE_0K06nnL_O2uvFnDADikUhPv76Ry0gsxfA-VFq7QPJxqiA8YNZp9dQH65pNh2HjW1WI_GL-kWj-toa-KQ8tKuJvCtH8Lb7XT4VhzxJYSIO_lEQIFsrRWfBsy2cm1J6GaqD9nYZQgjoBS5xTsiGYPo1h3e5REfINMFFaT4MS9mwGaoYR48NDANl/s587/A5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="587" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKE_0K06nnL_O2uvFnDADikUhPv76Ry0gsxfA-VFq7QPJxqiA8YNZp9dQH65pNh2HjW1WI_GL-kWj-toa-KQ8tKuJvCtH8Lb7XT4VhzxJYSIO_lEQIFsrRWfBsy2cm1J6GaqD9nYZQgjoBS5xTsiGYPo1h3e5REfINMFFaT4MS9mwGaoYR48NDANl/w640-h426/A5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYoY-AWkMsLW4Cv17bDjXenuTdclNk5K3AtwhMb_CYWKOYXdiepAwsLRku435HotFtQwP4JiR-kEqcKR30LPyIhAQMF0Rqf7HWQkJYVNbWRpRtMUeZJJKgZ61H3shVhqjXNBPqnWnaSA1LouLLtEQn8asRgfZnxME7yqo1-SmefWDhQF83ncS2gIO/s587/A6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="587" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYoY-AWkMsLW4Cv17bDjXenuTdclNk5K3AtwhMb_CYWKOYXdiepAwsLRku435HotFtQwP4JiR-kEqcKR30LPyIhAQMF0Rqf7HWQkJYVNbWRpRtMUeZJJKgZ61H3shVhqjXNBPqnWnaSA1LouLLtEQn8asRgfZnxME7yqo1-SmefWDhQF83ncS2gIO/w640-h426/A6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4K_e9Y5eJg6xPv_cIKeFXazxmw4WpyD_FwJhLtSpLO4j7sULdevF0zfNNiTJ3TbKiVI90olt3zVAyvUVYDfkaxCeuyHAZzODxsJSZQmNVqhEBbcPfzDPqffucPzS-kHv3YQ6cDuwfGeTyoQ8ivEvNEjgxyPH1fkjKDYsZ5va3fuJFtifpag_xFYO/s390/A7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="293" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4K_e9Y5eJg6xPv_cIKeFXazxmw4WpyD_FwJhLtSpLO4j7sULdevF0zfNNiTJ3TbKiVI90olt3zVAyvUVYDfkaxCeuyHAZzODxsJSZQmNVqhEBbcPfzDPqffucPzS-kHv3YQ6cDuwfGeTyoQ8ivEvNEjgxyPH1fkjKDYsZ5va3fuJFtifpag_xFYO/w480-h640/A7.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Hays, anxious to return from <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/london-england">London</a> to <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/ottawa-ontario">Ottawa</a> for the Château’s big opening, booked a ticket on the famously ill-fated <em>RMS Titanic</em>.
Strangely, he reportedly prophesied an “appalling disaster” on the very
night the ship collided with the iceberg and met its demise. Hays sadly
perished when the ship sank.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Notably, the Château has a second connection to the <em>Titanic</em>.
Hays commissioned French sculptor, Paul Chevré, to create a bust of
prime minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier for the hotel’s official opening. The
bust, still located in the hotel foyer today, was transported aboard
another ship, La Bretagne. Chevré and Hays boarded the <em>Titanic</em>, but unlike Hays, Chevré survived the sinking.</span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-6456385717093867752022-10-11T16:55:00.000-07:002023-01-26T12:24:23.403-08:0027 January 2023 - TUOL SLENG MEMORIAL MUSEUM - CAMBODIA<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ppfDhiNXaevDREt1zeNc9pa5agd_VzcfIGGOSHZCXqM5W4cb-jO2X5p92EonZXdMxuPKa5Xcy2aDxjJ_uZ5DMx8BCwnLmPo2NM-YMXvt8IoZ7eAg_gO1DzO7zpERLSv-Z8iSQow5C6LgFC6q-RpwsyO79NYCzkrt2aE8ZRqT0huHIOlP7j5k9Rpf/s520/b1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ppfDhiNXaevDREt1zeNc9pa5agd_VzcfIGGOSHZCXqM5W4cb-jO2X5p92EonZXdMxuPKa5Xcy2aDxjJ_uZ5DMx8BCwnLmPo2NM-YMXvt8IoZ7eAg_gO1DzO7zpERLSv-Z8iSQow5C6LgFC6q-RpwsyO79NYCzkrt2aE8ZRqT0huHIOlP7j5k9Rpf/w400-h300/b1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">TUOL SLENG </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">MEMORIAL MUSEUM </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">- CAMBODIA -</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This once was the Khmer Rouge's high security prison. </span></span></span></p><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">Tuol Sleng is nestled within </span>in the heart of <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/phnom-penh-cambodia">Phnom Penh</a>, the capital of <a class="destination-link place-destination-link" href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/cambodia">Cambodia</a>.
From the outside it looks unremarkable: a multi-story former high
school with whitewashed walls and grey shutters. However, inside, Tuol
Sleng holds a dark history.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Under the Khmer Rouge, Tuol Sleng was transformed from a school into
Security prison 21 (S-21), a place in which some of the most violent
atrocities of the Pol Pot’s regime were perpetrated. Originally named
Chao Ponhea Yat High School, the complex includes five buildings in
total. Several months after the Khemer Rouge took power in 1975, they
implemented measures to convert the high school into a high-security
facility. Between 1975 and 1979 it is estimated that over 15,000 people
were imprisoned at Tuol Sleng. The prison held between 1,000 and 1,500
occupants along with a large security force.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBxP_19yzGdAgfIvCX-KZWeqSR6UqLgvXjXmZeIKZGeE-wiGss0whbnMhjkFVOzeLFvyS4VQaayAdb9wpZSKLRUX-Ao5-mFm3wGHgJIVCnqvA84Oozfkg4L0JNhZhyxiDlvhhOt-bc07-_HSqm1jEwMV7hBHgS2g791llEOxmHRDapwpRupHEPUnB/s520/b1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBxP_19yzGdAgfIvCX-KZWeqSR6UqLgvXjXmZeIKZGeE-wiGss0whbnMhjkFVOzeLFvyS4VQaayAdb9wpZSKLRUX-Ao5-mFm3wGHgJIVCnqvA84Oozfkg4L0JNhZhyxiDlvhhOt-bc07-_HSqm1jEwMV7hBHgS2g791llEOxmHRDapwpRupHEPUnB/w640-h480/b1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNI0VD5_2XLawLIy_EODUZwPtnnl29GiZoZM84-PB-A6j5NDO2DeGjGAH9acH-HPPG6bVp0GEL8y4ZFg8ahc3dsIJog8gMydZ54gR5pc0yDxuWtYoSjh7pOXrH0cWDP7iDKqHW5TJABRA5ARJu-AxMV4SViYAQviG_3rEBhOlcwCoiyDWT_CojmpM/s390/b2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="261" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNI0VD5_2XLawLIy_EODUZwPtnnl29GiZoZM84-PB-A6j5NDO2DeGjGAH9acH-HPPG6bVp0GEL8y4ZFg8ahc3dsIJog8gMydZ54gR5pc0yDxuWtYoSjh7pOXrH0cWDP7iDKqHW5TJABRA5ARJu-AxMV4SViYAQviG_3rEBhOlcwCoiyDWT_CojmpM/w428-h640/b2.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBlRKceQL1FueX1kUkCLwWelKhZR4-mUw8FWz5GJNVKcC4aLk6LoKaduUHLvHRjfxrkzYlu5jUxl8aNbfXsLBh85yfp2m41divFNZ5E2YYPR3mSHZY43LxonFJwAlXHiCRPW9d00rBaC7fuvS5GZhm6uOZlsRjBogTzTMvti_1ROIqkAWlYmaXKBiD/s520/b3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBlRKceQL1FueX1kUkCLwWelKhZR4-mUw8FWz5GJNVKcC4aLk6LoKaduUHLvHRjfxrkzYlu5jUxl8aNbfXsLBh85yfp2m41divFNZ5E2YYPR3mSHZY43LxonFJwAlXHiCRPW9d00rBaC7fuvS5GZhm6uOZlsRjBogTzTMvti_1ROIqkAWlYmaXKBiD/w640-h480/b3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Life within the prison was terrible, and the people imprisoned at
Tuol Sleng were treated cruelly. Prisoners were shackled into their
cells, forbidden to talk to one another and frequently beaten and
tortured by the guards. All prisoners were interrogated during their
stay at Tuol Sleng. These interrogations normally included torture:
Prisoners were shocked with electricity, burned with irons and
water-boarded.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">In 2010, Cambodia convicted Kang Kek Iew, the chief of Tuol Sleng
Prison, for crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva
Convention. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, and died while still
in custody in 2020.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRkR-W2wUaiVMiVlzJKZ9LII3MjAgwo90VDf-7T71RU7HAghIh2vfRCnFAe2C39x8BnQMPwHGhCg4d64XwsjDehfA6q9gwznPiW15KNptp1djIE8Bty9WSjQ7UQJNGPF2n3oWhKHGwhboENAGtNAF4ewM4CQCJ1RhiyD2AmuPSIVEaNUxYehmfaqv/s693/b4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="693" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRkR-W2wUaiVMiVlzJKZ9LII3MjAgwo90VDf-7T71RU7HAghIh2vfRCnFAe2C39x8BnQMPwHGhCg4d64XwsjDehfA6q9gwznPiW15KNptp1djIE8Bty9WSjQ7UQJNGPF2n3oWhKHGwhboENAGtNAF4ewM4CQCJ1RhiyD2AmuPSIVEaNUxYehmfaqv/w640-h360/b4.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-uE50Zv3Lr0PJx9trLKxIHEjrhJF1BoXbfHJARV6cCiLCHkHdMZCoV8V72SN1rm9SI5NbJePRZjJ487oOPsUAIg123xkYTwjvgpanqtyTOR1syy-tK2SH-gKCOzL-zIOQ9Wg5FyevcewayF-Aji-dLiss7MSPqTbNDFy9S4cprIkcL00qrz02cXE/s693/b5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="693" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-uE50Zv3Lr0PJx9trLKxIHEjrhJF1BoXbfHJARV6cCiLCHkHdMZCoV8V72SN1rm9SI5NbJePRZjJ487oOPsUAIg123xkYTwjvgpanqtyTOR1syy-tK2SH-gKCOzL-zIOQ9Wg5FyevcewayF-Aji-dLiss7MSPqTbNDFy9S4cprIkcL00qrz02cXE/w640-h360/b5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Today, the former prison stands as a monument to the brutalities of
the Khmer Rouge. It is now a museum dedicated to preserving the memory
of those who passed through its gates. Several of the implements that
were used to torture the prisoners are also on display along with a
“skull map,” a map of Cambodia made entirely from human skulls and
bones. Rooms that were once used to torture and abuse are now lined with
thousands of photographs of those who were incarcerated there.</span></span></span></p>
</div>
</div><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-8988436478599718862022-10-11T16:41:00.000-07:002023-01-16T12:28:26.465-08:0017 January 2023 - PHNOM PENH MEMORIAL STUPA - CAMBODIA<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjab-L8CzSfUsQZwqe6uaD2P1NJQOM-nFepuQUrRaFErUmJMQW9BHW6m6EiYu42EccUUD9IA7hP9Bq1KfwkXvCGmnugdolFKTDi3UlfcBfPZ9Ny5S3rEgXPkAxzuZ9S0I3xZNcOYv-Zs75PaHunCK-13Yt1JQCoHjHi19cjASb8oMT0S2neQdNeZPqm/s520/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjab-L8CzSfUsQZwqe6uaD2P1NJQOM-nFepuQUrRaFErUmJMQW9BHW6m6EiYu42EccUUD9IA7hP9Bq1KfwkXvCGmnugdolFKTDi3UlfcBfPZ9Ny5S3rEgXPkAxzuZ9S0I3xZNcOYv-Zs75PaHunCK-13Yt1JQCoHjHi19cjASb8oMT0S2neQdNeZPqm/w400-h300/a1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">PHNOM PENH </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">MEMORIAL STUPA </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">- CAMBODIA - </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Here, 5,000 skulls are in memorial to those who were killed by the Khmer Rouge. </span></span></span></span></h3><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">After the Cambodian Civil War </span>ended, the vicious rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge began.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">From 1975-1979, they killed 1.7 million people out of a population of
8 million.</span> Many of those murdered were buried in mass graves in what
has come to be dubbed the “killing fields.”</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCDUPUwiCaHN_XLh3ITiI4cZVbDIkJPU80N9RBvUisFC-UOqLiQzhcN260Z3Bj3N5WIRDe1Ri6ehqOSlp_qz4mI2yojgYzRPfZQHFA5GidcQeKzzhnsq-qnyWAnHUAgskcP2rzJASathsZQUsGeKYWnm3H9qv8sqkdZc_mEEZ65xVcdpaTba2Kde_/s520/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiCDUPUwiCaHN_XLh3ITiI4cZVbDIkJPU80N9RBvUisFC-UOqLiQzhcN260Z3Bj3N5WIRDe1Ri6ehqOSlp_qz4mI2yojgYzRPfZQHFA5GidcQeKzzhnsq-qnyWAnHUAgskcP2rzJASathsZQUsGeKYWnm3H9qv8sqkdZc_mEEZ65xVcdpaTba2Kde_/w640-h480/a1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0MfWfhynMjni1jlJErInRqx_yilKcvVt8cYQjD4GFg0nMpVvFq-XnZucY6fmkNBujuovTPqsDgi_EggzUbXCmV2Bes6y3GYgMZ3cuVll-AtmSJRmC5Un7K3LslLDHwlL4wg_Vu7NAK1sua2LsdyAhW7SUDuM4RSMEpXEEhTpCgDGFsC5BsWVfdGiJ/s585/a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="585" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0MfWfhynMjni1jlJErInRqx_yilKcvVt8cYQjD4GFg0nMpVvFq-XnZucY6fmkNBujuovTPqsDgi_EggzUbXCmV2Bes6y3GYgMZ3cuVll-AtmSJRmC5Un7K3LslLDHwlL4wg_Vu7NAK1sua2LsdyAhW7SUDuM4RSMEpXEEhTpCgDGFsC5BsWVfdGiJ/w640-h426/a2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81gBi-tVss5JgV6ecrQrWHFpShXKLz2mgj8gt63sRC_gJ07-HwBhGQQcMov0N6Som34fGz8eJSWdYmoV3-mU65wBSq-encj7uhWDcU1D88tXL74C-5zG1WSr-vrd-uqTdqO943ufXayUAvr1arUVKyuDTudWSilNEJBgIAfFxMJRh77i6cfVhJzIi/s390/a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="293" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81gBi-tVss5JgV6ecrQrWHFpShXKLz2mgj8gt63sRC_gJ07-HwBhGQQcMov0N6Som34fGz8eJSWdYmoV3-mU65wBSq-encj7uhWDcU1D88tXL74C-5zG1WSr-vrd-uqTdqO943ufXayUAvr1arUVKyuDTudWSilNEJBgIAfFxMJRh77i6cfVhJzIi/w480-h640/a3.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">In Phnom Penh at Choeung Ek, a memorial was erected to remember those
who were killed at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. At the site, the
remains of an estimated 10,000 people were found. The memorial was then
constructed so as not to obscure the facts, but to show the grisly and
honest truth.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Designed in the style of a Buddhist stupa, the Choeung Ek memorial
has glass sides, and is comprised of multiple layers of human skulls.
Totaling 5,000 of those executed at the site, the skulls are a harsh
reminder of a genocide that took place only 40 years ago. The memorial
is particularly disturbing upon closer examination of the skulls, many
of which bear marks of the trauma they suffered before their execution.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Along with the stupa, Choeung Ek still has a number of pits that were
used as mass graves, and some human bones can still be seen in the
area. The Cambodian government encourages visitors to see the site, and
never forget the atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge regime.</span></span></span></p><h3 class="DDPage__header-dek"></h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1322622367865763963.post-44779452517135010672022-10-08T15:38:00.000-07:002022-10-08T15:38:16.909-07:009 October 2022 - SECRET WW11 HOME OF THE BBC<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4JOEMG63nmoKNbmzhkihqqQCMlxy1q_XUvEnLV9xH_F1GlL4hhNIejkVGpa2s1G8oqjm3nmZXVRLpONW5CiOZMe0KwW89qz0M-qNNHeSovWf6p4U8PNJFiUa_MYlzplmQtZwRL7Y0Ide8tmA__szB7nTRmF69td254mRqPAWsAhCMS2_XjeZozzn/s518/A1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="518" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr4JOEMG63nmoKNbmzhkihqqQCMlxy1q_XUvEnLV9xH_F1GlL4hhNIejkVGpa2s1G8oqjm3nmZXVRLpONW5CiOZMe0KwW89qz0M-qNNHeSovWf6p4U8PNJFiUa_MYlzplmQtZwRL7Y0Ide8tmA__szB7nTRmF69td254mRqPAWsAhCMS2_XjeZozzn/w400-h301/A1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">SECRET WW11 </span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">HOME OF THE BBC</span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">G'day folks,</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This abandoned funicular tunnel was a secret base for the BBC during World War II. </span></span></span></p><div class="DDP__body-copy" id="place-body"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="section-start-text">There’s a secret hiding in </span>the
rocks lining the road that runs along the River Avon. There, tucked
behind a gate, is an abandoned Victorian-era funicular tunnel that
served as a clandestine sanctuary during World War II.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The underground funicular opened in March of 1893. It was the work of
an entrepreneur named George Newnes, who hatched a plan to build a
luxurious spa atop the gorge. He decided to construct the railroad to
link the spa with the port down below.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwssxKO4NK_4Nh7RJ4UH4bgbSNVOANA9qRwD3xY5ZCdQmgbu9rLO6ZgJS02zsg9wJdrPJaNLYiHC6toSakWtgTgCN-yJJVIa6YUwYuNkkOsYeP0UVn7lHdM_rVWiDslj-IOJMAupFfPOMbAFidkj-AjeQzaEkJArhKR7jykk3cKcMhI_RnKdAjxMX/s518/A1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="518" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwssxKO4NK_4Nh7RJ4UH4bgbSNVOANA9qRwD3xY5ZCdQmgbu9rLO6ZgJS02zsg9wJdrPJaNLYiHC6toSakWtgTgCN-yJJVIa6YUwYuNkkOsYeP0UVn7lHdM_rVWiDslj-IOJMAupFfPOMbAFidkj-AjeQzaEkJArhKR7jykk3cKcMhI_RnKdAjxMX/w640-h482/A1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwir1Uhh35VOPC0TXZn-a2yS_kUm0lM5W5mAAHMuTvhdGSI7LIhbHfwHkAxxp7j9A3LrBBQiTtikxOEYkVCC13Dd7xmFe0xnzlgMzdhUPLuJeXEM9uFKDAtEfPwaNCJRMmkZRcfVTmtqciHchSQcvaDlEv_e1yGLHzMlESlOaJYPy5WExOtzkzCLn/s520/A2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwir1Uhh35VOPC0TXZn-a2yS_kUm0lM5W5mAAHMuTvhdGSI7LIhbHfwHkAxxp7j9A3LrBBQiTtikxOEYkVCC13Dd7xmFe0xnzlgMzdhUPLuJeXEM9uFKDAtEfPwaNCJRMmkZRcfVTmtqciHchSQcvaDlEv_e1yGLHzMlESlOaJYPy5WExOtzkzCLn/w640-h480/A2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEn51slkKTLZmSvTCEhj--oZryj7hzZVV_IUISrLl9oJrDZNTq-Cqqan0pGnMvszDI3x3-b8MhlBP9sh5_9kBlzOMX2bRnoxbTtkrLEsk1kiipEvBbSfg3dxTdf5n7zgxnnl8GAQz_xa8FrSWIh8PPV0rhGBOZPhMo4iV37YhyfCAHk64MXT89lLs/s585/A3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="585" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEn51slkKTLZmSvTCEhj--oZryj7hzZVV_IUISrLl9oJrDZNTq-Cqqan0pGnMvszDI3x3-b8MhlBP9sh5_9kBlzOMX2bRnoxbTtkrLEsk1kiipEvBbSfg3dxTdf5n7zgxnnl8GAQz_xa8FrSWIh8PPV0rhGBOZPhMo4iV37YhyfCAHk64MXT89lLs/w640-h426/A3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The town let Newnes complete his plan, but there were a few
conditions. The funicular had to be underground, so as not to spoil the
picturesque scenery. It also needed secret entrances and exits to keep
commoners separated from the hotel guests.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Unfortunately for the railroad, its working days were short-lived. By
the 1920s, automobiles rendered it largely unnecessary. The last rail
journey took place in 1934, and the secluded funicular seemed doomed to
fade into obsoleteness.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">But World War II changed all that. Locals took refuge from bombs in
the upper parts of the tunnel. The BBC set up camp in the lower chamber,
using it as a place to house its Symphony Orchestra. The BBC also
constructed an emergency studio within the bowels of the tunnel network,
though the air raids stopped before it was ever put to proper use.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The BBC kept the studio even after World War II ended, considering it
a backup option during the Cold War. However, the organization moved
out in 1960, and the tunnel was abandoned once again.</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">In 2008, a volunteer group set to work restoring the tunnel. Rocks,
broken bottles, shoes, and other remnants from its bomb shelter days
litter the space. The rusted train tracks still stretch throughout the
tunnel, though they’ll likely never be used again.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyjTVNZM-Q8RQ8ppMs9hfc0pv-B-iaqZUV3ZFKjt5kAsSwGog4m1M1L0IoTyLLyRUVQyZ70wsNaCbJkkgZdK3j7aUtXz-MyHT2g8d2S_CXLUlLq1rzXuwgsKRnMLHWtjleTskgRu_p4KizgxTmO7Q6l9-YuYqEoHV8ubquZZah6dE8MpoAwQWhm_z/s390/A4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="386" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyjTVNZM-Q8RQ8ppMs9hfc0pv-B-iaqZUV3ZFKjt5kAsSwGog4m1M1L0IoTyLLyRUVQyZ70wsNaCbJkkgZdK3j7aUtXz-MyHT2g8d2S_CXLUlLq1rzXuwgsKRnMLHWtjleTskgRu_p4KizgxTmO7Q6l9-YuYqEoHV8ubquZZah6dE8MpoAwQWhm_z/w634-h640/A4.jpg" width="634" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98b5A6yQQ9-wq08yWXJAhbswDjNSzZI9efIImQmSP8TWb6pzKQzhyBufk7JXDPU5EkDj9XEeDAdMc9Rv2nKhC-Szo4pAFj4qytCc24JIhtSW3fo56NodaL_w4f5S0FwjJ1hHc2zyNDsxSda-pjIrDtT3RrL25ydqPloqUwoPfF_JNSu45X2uClNwf/s520/A5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98b5A6yQQ9-wq08yWXJAhbswDjNSzZI9efIImQmSP8TWb6pzKQzhyBufk7JXDPU5EkDj9XEeDAdMc9Rv2nKhC-Szo4pAFj4qytCc24JIhtSW3fo56NodaL_w4f5S0FwjJ1hHc2zyNDsxSda-pjIrDtT3RrL25ydqPloqUwoPfF_JNSu45X2uClNwf/w640-h480/A5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiflQykyBZj8JNhyXSEl1iT_I7m5GvhCMjWe7wUqVS4_U6XxJWtTx_NdyP5Zwsl-qiq0uvRTS-Q6nM-PpnNPhvgtV_DXIV5qpgoWs_eyjY5aPSYWTV12TQT9jomHw_sZj_V_irkL2REjpDEtjJ5vIaiCSu8TWxRrKaLNw7WIKeCTwCsNbRHPC3f3Ni8/s390/A6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="271" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiflQykyBZj8JNhyXSEl1iT_I7m5GvhCMjWe7wUqVS4_U6XxJWtTx_NdyP5Zwsl-qiq0uvRTS-Q6nM-PpnNPhvgtV_DXIV5qpgoWs_eyjY5aPSYWTV12TQT9jomHw_sZj_V_irkL2REjpDEtjJ5vIaiCSu8TWxRrKaLNw7WIKeCTwCsNbRHPC3f3Ni8/w444-h640/A6.jpg" width="444" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p>
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</div><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Clancy Tucker's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18012972220123740885noreply@blogger.com0