31 July 2010
30 July 2010
Visiting Cambridge University ~ England
View Larger Map
Cambridge Town has two main streets...St.James which becomes Regent Street going south toward the Train Station...is more for the "Town"...a very commercial area...
To the West (left from the Train Station) is the main street for the University Area...its called King's Parade or Thrumpington Street in the south by the Station.
Unlike Oxford University which is right in the middle of town~ Cambridge University is just slightly off center to the west of the town center...
It is all an easy walk from the Train Station to the University area about 15 minutes...But connect to Thrumpington Street straightaway if you want to avoid the Town's rather ordinary commercial district...
The trains from London to Cambridge leave from King's Cross Station about every half hour until late...and a ticket is about 20 pounds each way...about half the cost of a ticket to Oxford which is farther away...
29 July 2010
Visiting Oxford University ~ England
Oxford specializes in the picturesque... The intersection of Cornmarket, Queen, Alsdate and HighStreets is the undeniable epicenter of Oxford Town...and the University is all around Oxford's center....
View Larger Map
Ramses, Memphis, Egypt
This Ramses colossus is the main attraction at Memphis ...along with a small Hatshepsut Sphinx outside ...
Memphis- Ancient Capital of Egypt - is really just a series of dusty dirt mounds...of interest perhaps only to the archeologist with permission to explore them... There is a "modern" donkey cart village at Memphis now...mainly catering to tourist needs...with plenty of souvenir touts and booths inside the ticket area.
The old city ~ which once ruled the known world ~ during the Old Kingdom is long gone.
28 July 2010
26 July 2010
THE HUNGARIAN PLAIN IS AS FLAT AS KANSAS...
The Hungarian Plain...is as flat as Kansas... Sunflowers, corn, wheat...all perhaps a bit dry and needing water... But the land is flat...very flat...
It took a strong people to settle on this plain... without any high defensive positions...to build forts and or an "Acropolis"
That was the reason the Magyar tribes decided to live on the plain...where the Huns had settled briefly several hundred years before...giving the plain the name of "Hungary"...
The Magyars could defend themselves....they were not Huns... But they were only a few generations away from the steppe Nomads that the more settled Slavic tribes feared so much...
It took a strong people to settle on this plain... without any high defensive positions...to build forts and or an "Acropolis"
That was the reason the Magyar tribes decided to live on the plain...where the Huns had settled briefly several hundred years before...giving the plain the name of "Hungary"...
The Magyars could defend themselves....they were not Huns... But they were only a few generations away from the steppe Nomads that the more settled Slavic tribes feared so much...
24 July 2010
23 July 2010
22 July 2010
Valley of the Kings, Luxor Egypt ~ Satellite View...
View Larger Map
Notice the sharp line between green and brown...this is actually the case...the irrigation stops quickly and the desert returns literally within a few feet... Also be aware that the Valley of the Kings is almost directly across the Nile from Karnak Temple...and that from a roof top in Luxor...(try the roof top bar of St Joseph Hotel)...you can just make out the Hatshepsut Temple...it is visible from Luxor...but very distant. Note that you must climb a large mountain to get "across" to the Valley of the Kings...it does not "adjoin" Hatshepsut's Temple without a major climb...despite how the map appears... Your taxi or bus will take you the long way...by road...passed Carters House and into the Valley of the Kings parking lot...No cameras allowed anywhere in the Valley...you will need to leave them in your taxi or bus! So taking a camera is a problem ...
But since you can photograph at and inside of Hatshepsut's Temple...you can't leave your camera behind either...! So get a trustworthy taxi driver...your tour bus operator will have planned for this.
Giza Pyramids from Space ~ The Satellite View
View Larger Map
The Pyramids of Giza are really just a nearby western suburb of Cairo... Driving out to the Pyramids on the "Ring Road"...you can see the Pyramids in the distance between the larger buildings...mostly the classic "mud brick" looking apartment complexes that are so common in Cairo...some of these apartments look half finished with the top floors being worked on ....even as the bottom floors seem occupied...!
Giza is a town with donkey carts pulling loads of vegetables...fruit and veggie sellers abound...with the usual Arab style store fronts...selling sundries, clothing, jeans, shoes, cheap plastic housewares...whatever. Egypt will seem rather "exotic" to the western vistior...but it is completely safe... People may try to sell you something...or get you to visit their bothers Papyrus Shop...but you won't be mugged or strong armed...that is just not the way Muslims act...
Entering the Red Pyramid, Cairo
The Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid are less crowded as you see from the parking lot below... Also you can take a camera inside the Red Pyramid...but not inside the Great Pyramid at Giza...unless its small and you hide it well...there is a ticket taker who will inquire if you have a camera...if you do carry a camera openly... you will be required to leave it on a shelf with the ticket taker who will watch it for you until you climb out of the Pyramid...
Giza Great Pyramid
Cars, Taxis and Tour Buses at the Great Pyramid of Giza... The grounds are huge so there is no sense of crowding...You can wander off by yourself...or take a camel ride out to a more distant location for photographic shot of the "nine pyramids"...
Great Patriotic War Memorial ~ Kiev Ukraine
Kids love to climb on these painted tanks at the War Memorial...a short walk from the Caves Monastery...
Kreshatik Street Festival ~ Kiev Ukraine
Jeans and black jackets...the standard "uniform" of the "hip" Kiev...?
21 July 2010
Hippodrome, Istanbul
The Hippodrome in Istanbul...was the Ancient place for Chariot Races in Roman Constantinople ...It's now a park wedged between two roads which are all that remains of the old oblong race track...
Kiev, Ukraine ~ Apartments
Typical apartment blocs seen all over Eastern Europe...Often called "Stalinist"...but very typical of Soviet Urban Planning ideals of the 50's and 60's...
20 July 2010
Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird Movie 1
Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird Movie 1, originally uploaded by Vasenka.
19 July 2010
Kiev, Ukraine, at the Caves Monestary
The Hills of the right (east) bank of the Dneiper River have all of the monasteries and major church buildings...as from ancient times...This photo shows "The Caves" Monastery...with the bridge and the Apartment Blocs of the left bank in the distance...
Amsterdam at Night
The narrow streets of the Old Town are very near the Central Train Station...just across the street really... Many ancient streets, allies and passages to explore...always with thousands of bicycles just lying around... This is also the so called Red Light District...but its very tame. Plenty of Hash Bars...with patrons lying on mattresses near the windows smoking something...Everyone in Amsterdam speaks English...Amazingly.
CLICK HERE for a Map of Old Town...
CLICK HERE for a Map of Old Town...
Amsterdam at Night
Old Town is a maze of small streets and passages...mostly navigated on foot or on bikes...which are all over Amsterdam...
CLICK HERE for a Map of Old Town
Amsterdam at Night
Lots of Small Hotels and Hostels near the Central Train Station in Amsterdam.
CLICK HERE for a Map of Old Town
Sofia, Bulgaria, Bus Station
The Sophia Bus Station is next to the Train Station ... The Bus Station has a new food court...the Train Station is not as modern... Check it out if you are stuck in the train station for a few hours...
Istanbul, Sultanahmet Square
People love to sit on these benches on warm nights...you can look either at Hagia Sophia...or turn around and look at the Blue Mosque...both very close to the Square.
Oxford, England
Oxford Botanic Garden is one of the best and oldest in England...worth the ticket price... May close at 5pm...so check the opening times.
Ayasophia, Istanbul
This building dates from the 600AD period...and is one of the best preserved ancient buildings in the world...
The Great Pyramid at Giza ~ Detail
The Great Pyramid is 755 feet on each side...almost exactly... That is two and a half American Football fields...! And it does look much larger than the other two Pyramids at Giza...
Egyptian Museum Cairo Egypt
The famous Pink Building in Cario...overflows with Ancient Egyptian Masterpieces... Often stuck in dark corners with no Identification...
18 July 2010
British Museum ~ London ~Elgin Marbles
One of the Horses of Dawn...at the end of the West Pediment...
Kew ~ The Queen's Beasts...
Two of the Queens Beasts are below...in a ghastly and fantastical light..
Living Small ~ Tumbleweed Tiny Houses.
LIVING SMALL SO YOU CAN LIVE THE WAY YOU WANT TO...IS AN IDEA THAT MAY BE MORE POPULAR IN THE CURRENT ECONOMIC MESS...
Inside the Red Pyramid Egypt...
Passage inside the Red Pyramid...Note the "spirit obs" near the ceiling...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)