Monday, December 13, 2010

ERITREA'S DEBRE BIZEN MONASTERY

Debre Bizen is the best-known monastery of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, located at the top of the Debre Bizen mountain near the town of Nefasit. Debre Bizen was founded in the 1350's by Abba Filiposwho was a student of Abba Absadi.


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Pictured above is the dwellings of monks perched on the mountain of Debre Bizen


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Pictured above is the misty path leading to the monastery.


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Pictured above is a small winding street in the monastery compound.


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Pictured above is one of the storage towers of the monastery.


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Sunday, December 12, 2010

THE FANTASTIC PIT IN ELLISONS CAVE

The Fantastic Pit in Georgia's Ellisons Cave is 586' deep (179 m), which is the deepest known cave pit in the United States. This pit is big enough to hold the Washington Monument.


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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

FRUIT FOR THOUGHT: The Brazilian Grape Tree


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The Jabuticaba, also known as the Brazilian Grape Tree is a unique fruit-bearing tree native to Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia. The tree has purple fruit similar to plums that develops, not at the end of smaller branches, but straight from the trunk of the tree, a truly peculiar sight. Each fruit is about 3-4 cm in diameter, contains four seeds and has sweet rose-coloured flesh. Because the fruit ferment quickly – about three to four days after being picked – it is most often eaten raw, but is also used for making liqueurs, strong wines, baked products and jams.

The tree has evolved its unique fruit-bearing manner to enable animals that can’t climb trees, to access the succulent fruit. In return it ensures that the seeds get scattered via animal droppings over a wide stretch of forest. The fruit are known to have various medicinal uses such as aiding in the treatment of tonsillitis, asthma and diarrhea, compounds of the fruits are also used in the battle against cancer. The Brazilian Grape Tree is yet another example of how beautifully quirky mother nature can be, and how much we still have to learn.

Monday, December 6, 2010

AWESOME PHILIP TREACY HATS

Philip Treacy's work is clearly part of the fashion world, but his 'unlikely' sculptures crosses the boundary into visual art. Born in County Galway, Ireland, Philip Treacy studied fashion design in Dublin before winning a place at the Royal College of Art.

Here are some of my favourite Philip Treacy 'head art'.
















THE FAST WAY TO MAKE BRICK ROADS

The Tiger-Stone is a six meter wide machine that easily creates brick roads. This is another machine that replaces human labour. I still think it is very impressive.





Thursday, November 11, 2010

WHEN A SEA DISAPPEARS...

The Aral Sea was once the world's fourth-largest saline body of water. It has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s, after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet Union irrigation projects. And now it's gone leaving a dessert full of old shipwrecks.










Wednesday, October 20, 2010

SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST UNIQUE RIVERS

1. The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, Phillipines

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River (aka St. Paul Underground River) and its surroundings form the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. The park is located about 50 kilometers north of the city of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. The river flows underground before emerging into the South China Sea. It is the world’s longest navigable underground river. The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is one of the 28 finalists for the “New Seven Wonders of Nature” competition. The site contains a full mountain-to-the-sea ecosystem and has some of the most important forests in Asia. It was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site on December 4, 1999.



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2. Rio Tinto, Spain


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The Rio Tinto, originating in the Sierra Morena mountains of Andalusia, Spain, has an unusual blood red hue due to its high iron content. The site along the river has been mined for copper, silver, gold and other metals for over 5 000 years. However strangely beautiful it may be, this river is actually an environmental disaster due to its heavy metal contamination. This river has gained recent scientific interest due to the presence of extremophile aerobic bacteria that dwell in the water. The rocks on the river bed contain iron and sulfide minerals on which the bacteria feed. Scientists compares the extreme chemistry of the river to the liquid water found on Mars.

3. The Caristales River, Columbia, South America






The Caristales, which is located near the town of La Macarena in Colombia, is world famous for its colourful display and have been called the most beautiful river in the world. During Columbia’s wet season the river flows fast preventing the mosses and algae on the surface from receiving the necessary sun to flourish. During the dry season there is not enough water to support the variety of life in the river. However, there is a brief time span, between the wet and dry season, when the water level and consistency is just right, that the algae and moss in the river bloom in a dazzling display of colours. Blotches of amarillo, blue, green, black and red – and a thousand shades in between – coat the river. The part of the river where the coloration occur is quite isolated and only accessible by plane.

See The World's most colourful river

4. The Yarlung Tsangpo River, Tibet, China


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The Magnificent Yarlung Zangbo River, known as the roof of the world, is the highest major river in the world, with an average elevation of about 4000 meters. The Yarlung Tsangpo River originates from a glacier on the northern side of the middle Himalayas, over 5,300 meters above sea level. It runs across the south of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from west to east, through India and Bengal, and finally flows into the Bay of Bengal. Since the 1990s the Yarlung Zangbo River has been the destination for a number of people that engage in exploration and whitewater kayaking. The river has been called the “Everest of Rivers” because of the extreme conditions of the river.

5. Horseshoe Bend, Arizona, USA


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Arizona’s Horseshoe Bend, a meander of the Colorado River is situated slightly downstream from Lake Powell within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. From the steep cliff above, some 305 metres higher up, it makes a breathtaking sight.