Pictures of Hittite archaeological sites, photos & images of Hittite art. Photos of the Hittite capital Hattusa with images of its lion and sphinx gates. Pictures of relief sculptures from Karkamis showing scenes from the legend of Gligamesh. Buy as stock pictures or photo art prints. The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia. They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c. the 14th century BC, encompassing a large part of Anatolia, north-western Syria about as far south as the mouth of the Litani River (in present-day Lebanon), and eastward into upper Mesopotamia. The Hittite military made successful use of chariots.
Photos, pictures & images of Busós (Busos) in their masks and sheep costumes on their annual parade as well as traditional Hungarian dancers. The Busójárás (Hungarian, meaning "Busó-walking"; in Croatian: Pohod bu?ara) is an annual celebration of the ?okci (Croats) living in the town of Mohács, Hungary, held at the end of the Carnival season ("Farsang"), ending the day before Ash Wednesday. The celebration features Busós (people wearing traditional masks) and includes folk music, masquerading, parades and dancing. Busójárás lasts six days, usually during February. It starts on a Thursday, followed by the Kisfarsang (Little Farsang) carnival on Friday, with the biggest celebration, Farsang vasárnap (Farsang Sunday) on the seventh Sunday before Easter Sunday; the celebration then ends with Farsangtemetés (Burial of Farsang) on the following Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras).
Stock photos pictures & images of the spring Busójárás (Busojaras) Carnival in Mohács (Mohacs) Hungary.
Pictures of Fountains Abbey and the Studley Water Gardens
Pictures & Images of Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Park Water Gardens. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for over 400 years until it was closed by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The Abbey is part of It is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England and was the second Cistercian monastery to be built after Rievaulx Abbey just 20 (32km) or so miles away. After its closure like all monasteries in England it was abandoned and became a ruin.
In 1718 John Aislabie the owner of the Studley Estate & Chancellor of the Exchequer decided to build a water Garden in his park. The style of the day was for picturesque landscaping and the ruins of Fountains Abbey were incorporated into the design at the end of a sweeping curved lake that follows a narrow wooded valley. This has created the famous vista of Fountains Abbey making Studley Royal one of the best surviving examples of a Georgian water garden in England. Studley Royal Park including the ruins of Fountains Abbey owes its originality and striking beauty to the fact that a humanised landscape was created around the largest medieval ruins in the United Kingdom. The use of these features, combined with the planning of the water garden itself, is a true masterpiece of human creative genius that influenced the rest of Europe.
Studley Royal & Fountains Abbey are a UNESCO World Heritage Site
One of the best known tourist sites on Crete is the Palace of Knossos. Famed for its “Throne Room” and “Dolphin Frescoes” it has become the symbol of the Minoan Civilisation. Few realise and are rarely told by their guides that Knossos is the fantasy world of Arthur Evans, the Englishman who bought & excavated the site in the 1900 and paid for the reconstruction at Knossos.
Very little is known about the Minoans, as the people of Knossos were named by Evans. A civilisation called the Minoans never existed under that name and may never have existed as a separated organised civilisation outside the archaic Greek peoples at all. Evans named the Minoans after the Mythical King Minos of Crete. Evans also proclaimed Knossos to be a Palace which has clouded its real function ever since. Knossos was certainly a central storage and administration point for the surrounding area and therefore was almost certainly a centre of trade. There is no evidence though of it being part of a Minoan “Kingdom” and therefore there is no basis for Knossos being a Kings Palace.
The fragments of frescoes Evans found became the basis of the extraordinary reconstructed art pieces of Knossos that can only be approximations of the originals. Evans reconstructed buildings on the site of Knossos and designed them using scant evidence from buildings found on Pottery. Today concrete reconstructions sit on top of archaeological evidence that can never be examined as it is incased in reinforced concrete. A Throne room has been built around a humble excavated stone seat. Evans then had the room painted by a father-and-son team of Swiss artists, the Émile Gilliérons Junior and Senior. It seems very unlikely that a King would have inhabited such a small insignificant room.
Stone tablets with 2 types of syllabic script named “Linear A” & “Linear B” were excavated at Knossos. Linear A has not been deciphered yet but Linear B was deciphered by Michael Ventris in 1952, 11 years after Evans died, and showed that Knossos was some sort of administrative centre but Evans could not have known this when he turned the site into a Minoan theme park.
The Minoans of Crete were probably wiped out by a massive volcanic explosion on the neighbouring island of Santorini in the 1400′s BC. The tidal wave from this eruption deposited 40 meters of mud in the Sinai desert so the destruction on nearby Crete would have been catastrophic. The whole of the crescent shaped Santorini island of Thira was covered with meters of volcanic ash, under which was discovered the Minoan town of Akrotiri. The excavations in the 1960′s revealed in tact Frescoes that showed the towns & ships of the Minoans none of which look like Knossos in style. The style of the Frescoes does support the style of the reconstruction paintings at Knossos but there is some evidence that maybe some of the frescoes were originally on the floor.
Knossos is a conundrum. Knossos is one mans conceit and one of the best examples in the world of how to destroy an archaeological site. I am sure that Evans intentions were to educate, but the site also shows his ambition to be viewed by posterity as the great archaeologist who discovered an ancient civilisation. Evan certainly succeeded in this as the Minoans are now part of ancient history but who they really were and how they lived remains a mystery now clouded by Evans imaginings. Knossos is though a popular tourist site and attracts far more visitors that the other Minoan sites on Crete. What a shame Evans did not think to build his reconstruction next to the Archaeological site of Knossos as they have done with the Viking village at the Jorvik Museum in York.
It is very hard now to determine fact and fiction about the Minoans but the other Minoan sites on Crete and Santorini will no doubt reveal more in the future as archaeology advances using new technology. It is doubtful though that Knossos will play any future role in revealing the Minoans as it is so completely encased in concrete.
Steve Jobs is dead. Four words that to many people will mean nothing. Steve who? Thanks to the iPod, iPhone, iBook etc etc, people may have a sort of idea who Steve Jobs was. Having owned Apple computers from before Steve invented windows, I have been part of Steve Jobs inspirational coaster ride from the beginning. In the early days his vision outpaced what the hardware could deliver but slowly the vision became a reality. Those of us that kept the faith and believed in Steve’s vision have benefitted from the liberation the Apple vision has delivered. Steve Jobs fundamentally changed the civilised world and for the better. Few humans can say that. I hope this will not be the end of his vision and those that are left in charge of his legacy will be good custodians, with his sense of adventure and innovation. Its a sad day, the world has lost an incredible mind too soon.
Paul Williams Gallery has just released the first series of photos from Paul Williams journeys to Turkey this summer. The art photos explore hot air baloons over the dramatic rock formations of Cappadocia in Turkey. This selective colour series of art images are available to buy as art prints and cards from Funky Stock.
Blenheim Palace Italian Garden with topiary maize - England
Blenheim Palace, England Photos Pictures & Images
Pictures of Blenheim Palace, England, Photos & Images of the Palace of the Duke of Marlborough. Blenheim Palace was the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. The Italian gardeb & fountains of Blenheim Palace England.
Rievaulx Abbey main church.North Yorkshire, England
Rievaulx Abbey, England Photos Pictures & Images
Pictures of Rievaulx Abbey, England, Photos & Images of the ruins of the medieval Cistercian monastery Rievaulx Abbey. Photos of Rievaulx Abbey church & images of Rievaulx Abbey cloisters.
Syros Island is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Greece. Our photos show images of Petros, the pelican mascott of Mykonos, pictures of The Little Venice area of Mykonos town, Photos of the famous windmills of Mykonos as well as pictures of the famous Paraportiani church. You will find images of the interior of the Monastery of Paleokastro Greek Orthodox church at Ano Mera.
All Photos, pictures & images available as stock photos & as photo art prints.
The ancient Lion of Kea (600BC - one of the oldest sculptures in Greece), Ioulis, Kea Greek Cyclades Islands
Kea Island Greece Photos Pictures & Images
Kea Island photos, pictures & iamges. Photos of Kea hill top villages & images of one of oldest statue in Greece, The Lion Of Kea. Pictures of the Byzantine churches & Monasteries of Kea.
All Photos, pictures & images available as stock photos & as photo art prints.
Sea front houses and shingle beach of Aldeburgh - Suffolk - England
Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England Photos Pictures & Images
Pictures of Aldeburgh, England, Photos & Images of the ruins of the the beach of Aldeburgh with its picturesque house & images of the fishing boats. Photos of the fihermen’s huts and sheds.
Doorway of the ruins of the Temple of Apollo. Naxos, Greek Cyclades Islands.
Naxos Island Greece Photos Pictures & Images
Naxos Island photos, pictures & iamges. Photos of Naxo old town with images of Naxos Greek temple. Pictures of Naxos beaches, photos of Naxos hill towns and countryside.
All Photos, pictures & images available as stock photos & as photo art prints.
Few building in the world are as iconic the Eiffel Tower Paris. Read the Magazine article for syndication with photo. The facts & History of The Eiffel Tower.
The Byzantine church of Ayios Nikolaos Thalassinos, Aegina port, Saronic Islands, Greece
Aegina Island Greece Photos Pictures & Images
Aegina Island photos, pictures. Images of Aegina Greek archaelogical site, photos of the old Bronze Age hill village of Paliachora, Pictures of Monastery of Ayios (Saint) Nektarios where he died in 1921 and in buried. Photos of Aegina Greek Doric Temple of Aphaia (500BC).
All Photos, pictures & images available as stock photos & as photo art prints.
Hydra Island photos, pictures. Images of Hydra Island which has no cars. Images of the famous Hydra harbour, photos of the donkeys & ponies that are the transport in Hydra. Pictures of the narrow streets & steps of hydra, Photos of Vlychos Village & beach and the Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Profitis Ilias.
All Photos, pictures & images available as stock photos & as photo art prints.
Acropolis & Parthenon Island Greece Photos Pictures & Images
Acropolis Athens photos, pictures. Images of yje Acropolis Athens, photos of the The Porch of the Caryatids, The Erechtheum. Pictures of The Parthenon Temple. Photos of Odeon of Herodes Atticus amphitheater. Images of Temple of Hephaestus, Agora of Athens.
All Photos, pictures & images available as stock photos & as photo art prints.
House in the cloiuds - Excentric Tourist house - Thorpness - Suffolk England
Thorpeness, Suffolk, England Photos Pictures & Images
Pictures of Thorpeness, Suffolk, England, Photos & Images of the ruins of Thorpness 193′s holiday village, images of The house in the clouds, Photos of Thorpness windmill.
