 |
#TerryTravelsBWPhotos5 Greek Islands Finding these religious symbols that are predominantly tied to Orthodox Christianity Interesting Facts A) The Mati Charm; its the blue eye symbol you find everywhere here, it is a protective measure against a curse from someone who has envy or has malicious energy towards you B) Double-Headed Eagle; used by the church with its historical connection to the Byzantine Empire C) Pomegranates for Prosperity; symbols of fertility, abundance and good fortune that gets its roots from Greek Mythology Smashing one to the ground during a wedding or New Years celebration is a traditional ritual to ensure good luck D) Roadside Shrines; look for them along roadsides here as an expression of thanks for miracles or for you to have a safe journey |
 |
Winter Palace From Catherine the Great influence, who greatly expanded the collection (with her love) of art and sculptures |
 |
Yaroslavl Exploring some "secret passageways" at the monasteries here which may lead to hidden tunnels and then another blog 😅 |
 |
Tabor Czech Republic Thinking of the "Eye in the Sky" reference when taking this picture, which has many ancient or modern meanings to some I will use the Freemasonry version, which appeared on the Great Seal of the United States |
 |
Moscow This particular train station was used as a bomb shelter during the war, hospital (over 200 babies were born here) library and concert hall |
 |
Volga River Canal System This part of the waterway was built with tens of thousands of forced laborers from the Gulag System The conditions those prisoners endured were notoriously brutal with 14 working hours per day, inadequate food rations, unsanitary living conditions and violence from both the guards plus other inmates |
 |
Halifax Canada Tall Ship Festival on a typical maritime day, fog Nova Scotia is the "collision zone" for the two major opposing ocean systems You have the cold Labrador Current and the warm Gulf of Mexico that converge off our coast, to create our legendary marine mist |
 |
Quebec City The street lamp has evolved from early use of candles plus oil in 4th Century BC Onto Benjamin Franklin improving the oil lamps with a four-pane design to reduce soot up to London (1807) with the first use of gas lighting Today Ever notice some LED streetlights turn purple, its because the blue light is shining through a degraded phosphor coating |
 |
Naples Italy Finding this Gothic street lamp in the Spanish Quarter of the city You need to look down the narrow alleys for this part of the areas character, which some being protected by a glass globe or ornate metalwork |
 |
Ottawa Entrance is open, by i just liked the aesthetics of staircase inviting you in with the classic door and its wrought iron accents |
 |
Nova Scotia Part of my city of Halifax "green space" which takes in over 14,000 acres, which is well above the national average |
 |
Barcelona Counting many Griffins on top of this building All part of mythology which it was a legendary creature with the body of a lion, head and wings of an eagle It symbolizes strength plus its the guardianship of treasures below its feet |
 |
Vorarlberg Austria After hiking all morning, had a British "Ploughmans Snack" which here was bread, cheese, pickles and ham served on a wooden board In Austria its called Brettjause and its illegal to serve anyone warm food, as by historical imperial decree Taverns are only allowed to sell self produced cold wine and eats |
 |
Spain Bridges Some have the Roman engineering footprint all over it, for one with the addition of aqueducts that were raised to maintain elevation for water flow Also with the arch design that would efficiently transfer the weight down to the piers and abutments, so way ahead thinking The spans were basically monuments to themselves, highlighting their advanced strategic vision of this empire |
 |
Sahara Oasis Much of the aqua that keeps these places "alive" is actually from the fossil era It is an ancient groundwater that has been trapped in subterranean aquifers, back when the desert was actually a green landscape |