The Most Famous Tarns

A tarn is a lake formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier and is located at the top of a mountain. The most famous tarns are Upper Thornton Lake in North Cascades National Park and Andrews Tarn at the base of Andrews Glacier in Rocky Mountain National Park in the USA. Štrbské pleso is the most famous tarn in Slovakia and Ve?ké Hincovo pleso tarn, the deepest tarn in Slovakia, both located in High Tatras mountain.

The Amazon Rainforest Deforestation Impact

The Amazon rain forest is disappearing at an alarming rate.
Previously the forest covered 14% of earth’s surface and now it is only about 6%. By this speed the forest will disappear within 40 years.

The main reasons for deforestation are logging of tropical hardwoods for exportation (like teak and mahagony, timber, ply wood), cattle grazing, farming, road building, hydroelectric dams, mining.
Another problem is damage due to reduced rainfall caused by global warming.

The World Wildlife Fund states that the point of no return, from which recovery will be impossible, is only 15 to 25 years away.

Salty Baths of Urubamba

The holy valley is first of all prominent due to the ancient ruins of Machu-Picchu, Ollantaytambo, Tambomachay lost on the mountain slopes. But besides them, there are other wonders hidden on those slopes, uneven and abrupt, with numerous fractures.

One of such fractures near Urubamba town (that means "flat ground" in Quechua) attracts by numerous "cells" looking like honeycomb from afar.  It turns out to be a salt mine Salineras, from where Peruvians have been extracting salt for centuries. From the bowels of the earth the salty water is springing and flowing down the canal it forms such reservoirs, where later it evaporates leaving only sparkling crystals for people. Here are hundreds or maybe even thousands of cells, small and big. And each family has their own plot of land and maybe more than one.

But not everything is so simple. There are some fine points. For example, depth of the plot shouldn't exceed 30 cm. Reservoirs built in the form of polygons are surrounded by stones and farmers strictly control a water level inside. Color of salt that may vary from white to brown depends on their skills. The spectacle is undoubtedly beautiful thus attracting tourists going by. Peruvians, knowing that, ask for a token payment letting them go down to the plots and see them closer.

The town itself is not big and seems even smaller when is looked at from the slope. Though it's considered the biggest in the holy valley. Down we can see the Urubamba river flowing among the hills. In the city there is a football field where in June all citizens come for a festival El Señor de Torrechayoc for dancing and playing football.

Leaving the town - you may see a rock with a strange inscription on it - DIMA711. But nobody can say why this Russian name is written there.

Autumn Spring In Turkey

Why the title of the post is that odd? Because it all looks like autumn, though shot in March...

In the center of attention today - some historical object of Turkey named Kzikos.

The weather is just like autumn. Drizzling. Big pelicans and black ducks are rowing on the lake.

An empty village, it seems nobody lives here except ducks.

Looks like an olive garden.

The trees got a weird form under impact of strong winds.

Tiled roofs always look cute.

Tiling is expensive, but it doesn't seem that people who live here are rich.

People are hospitable, invite you for tea.

No Turkey without mosques.

Does it look like spring??

Nice place to inspire for poetry...

No fuss and stress in living here.

Back to the village

Going to make cakes...

Women get embarrassed seeing a camera.

Men are not shy at all.

Chinese Tombs Of Great Emperors

The complex Shisanlin, or 13 tombs of Ming emperors, is situated 30 km north of Beijing. Sightseeing buses, going to the Great Wall near Badaling, often call at this place. Because of its accessibility the Ming Tombs in Shisanline have become a promoted locality of tourists' attraction. For the first time in the history of China the tomb of one of the emperors - Wanli was opened, now it is shown to tourists. So nowadays, Shisanlin is not only a majestic memorial to the Ming imperial dynasty, but also a monument to a painful birth of the Chinese archaeology. The corridor leading to the burial chamber of the tomb Dinlin.

You can often hear that this necropolis is not impressive, even in spite of its enormous historical significance. To somebody's opinion, the burial disposal of the Qing emperors in Tsindunlin is much more interesting, there are more tombs accessible for visitors and the district itself is not so "spoiled" by human activities. The Ming tombs are located too close to Beijing, and in this

Istanbul Promenade

Innumerable number of people annually rest on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. However even if you come three times a year to resorts of Antalya, Kemer, Belek and Marmaris, you'll never feel the real spirit of Turkey. You may feel a touch of the hot sun, feel the warm sea water with your skin, enjoy "all inclusive" programs in the most comfortable hotels of Southern Turkey, and be "tortured" by local animators. But thus you'll never feel the spirit of Turkey, you'll just touch it. Real Turkey means Istanbul. Its soul is here. Here, like in good old cognac, various ancient cultures are mixed. Here traditions of three strongest empires are inconceivably blended: Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman. And like you taste cognac - slowly savouring, savour this city, the city that has grown up on the border of the Black and the Marmara seas, the city of numerous palaces, mosques and churches.

The Corinth Canal and Epidaurus - Ancient Heritage of Greece

Today we are in Peloponnesus island of Greece. Here we may see the impressively huge Corinth canal and the ancient city Epidaurus with its famous amphitheatre and Asklepion.  

The Corinth canal was built in the end of the XIX century to connect the Aegian and the Ionian seas.

In the western part there was located Corinth city that gave the name to the canal itself. The height of the limestone walls reaches 75 meters, the width - about 20 meters and the length - about 6 km. 

The canal was built by 2500 workers. About 930000 m3 of soil was dug out. On the 6th of August, 1893 the canal was formally opened.

Today it sooner plays the historic role than the practic one. Many modern vessels simply cannot get in.

And this is Epidavros. The famous amphitheatre seating up to 14000 people, it was constructed in the IV century BC.

The theatre strikes with its acoustics - even if you clap standing on the stage, it's heard in the upper rows. 

Many tourists often play something native on the stage, sing native songs...

Dramatized shows are still held here annually. It must be very beautiful here at night, in the lights of projectors.

Epidavros is also famous for its Asklepion - the temple in honor of god-healer Asclhpioz (Aesculapius).

By the way, in Ancient Greece there were more than 300 asklepions. Besides their cult status they were peculiar medical institutes, where future doctors were studying medical science. Thus Hippocrates and  Galen studied in asklepions too.

In this particular asklepion there preserved some plates, dated approximately 320 BC, with ancient medical reports written on them.

And moderm Greeks, of course, continue to modernize it all and develop.