AUGUST 16, 2006: ABBEY SPIRE, MONT SAINT MICHEL, FRANCE
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Mont Saint Michel, a small rocky tidal island in Normandy, is famous for its Benedictine abbey (spire pictured here) and steepled church (built between the 11th and 16th centuries) which occupy most of the island. The abbey was constructed in the 11th century, but by the time of the French Revolution its popularity had waned to the point where there were scarcely any monks in residence and it was converted to a prison. However, in 1874 it was declared a national monument and is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Photo credit: Nilington |
AUGUST 15, 2006: BLANK MAP OF INDIA
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The second-most populous nation in the world, India has long played a major role in human history. Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism all have their origins in India, while Islam and Christianity enjoy a strong cultural heritage. Colonised as part of the British Empire in the nineteenth century, India gained independence in 1947 as a unified nation after an intense struggle for independence. This blank map of India is one of the most comprehensive on the Internet in terms of its borders with respect to its territorial disputes with Pakistan and China. Map credit: Nichalp |
AUGUST 14, 2006: PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
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The Prothonotary Warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It breeds in hardwood swamps in southern Canada and the eastern United States, nesting in a cavity. The male often builds several incomplete unused nests in his territory; the female builds the real nest. It winters in the West Indies, Central America and northern South America. This bird was named after officials in the Roman Catholic Church known as the protonotarii, who wore golden robes. Photo credit: Mdf/Fir0002 |
AUGUST 13, 2006: NILOV MONASTERY ON STOLOBNYI ISLAND IN LAKE SELIGER IN TVER PROVINCE, RUSSIA
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This photo of the Nilov Monastery on Stolbnyi Island in Tver Oblast, Russia, was taken by Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii in 1910 before the advent of colour photography. His process used a camera that took a series of monochrome pictures in rapid sequence, each through a different coloured filter. By projecting all three monochrome pictures using correctly-coloured light, it was possible to reconstruct the original colour scene. Photo credit: Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii |
AUGUST 9, 2006: CHâTEAU DE CHAMBORD, FRANCE
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| With its very distinct Renaissance architecture, the Château de Chambord in Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France, is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world. The massive castle, originally built as a hunting lodge for King François I, features 440 rooms, 365 fireplaces, and 84 staircases. The château was never intended to provide any form of defence from imagined enemies. As such, the walls, towers and partial moat are purely symbolic.
Photo credit: Stevage/Yummifruitbat |
AUGUST 8, 2006: FORTIFIED CITY OF CARCASSONNE, FRANCE, AND THE PONT VIEUX CROSSING THE AUDE RIVER
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| Panorama of the fortified city of Carcassonne (Aude, France) and the Pont Vieux crossing the Aude River. The fortress of Carcassonne was considered impregnable and never conquered. It was begun by the Romans and built up through the years. It fell into disrepair was restored in the 19th century. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Photo credit: Jean-Pierre Lavoie |
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AUGUST 7, 2006: CATHODE RAY TUBE
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Cutaway rendering of a cathode ray tube (see legend). The CRT was invented by Karl Ferdinand Braun, based on work by Philo Farnsworth, and was the display device that was traditionally used in most computer displays, video monitors, televisions, radar displays and oscilloscopes until the late 20th century before the advent of plasma screens, LCD TVs, DLP, OLED displays, and other technologies. Photo credit: Søren Peo Pedersen/grm_wnr |
AUGUST 3, 2006: LONDON EYE, VIEWED FROM THE REAR
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Seen here from the rear at twilight, the London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, is the largest observation wheel in the world at 135 m (443 ft) high. The wheel carries 32 sealed passenger capsules and rotates at a rate of 0.26 m/s (about 0.9 km/h or 0.6 mph) so that one revolution takes about 30 minutes to complete. Photo credit: Diliff |
AUGUST 1, 2006: MACHU PICCHU
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| A panorama of Machu Picchu Sanctuary, showing the prominent peak of Huayna Picchu. Machu Picchu, probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire, is a well-preserved pre-Columbian Inca ruin located above the Urubamba Valley in Peru at about 2,350 m (7,710 ft). Since 1983 the site has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has been the subject of concern about damage caused by tourism.
Photo credit: Rubyk/Fir0002 |