TRAVEL TUESDAY #149 - DARWIN, AUSTRALIA

“A man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth.” - Charles Darwin 

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel. 

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only. 

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities. It is the smallest and most northerly of the Australian capital cities, and acts as the “Top End’s” regional centre.

Darwin has grown from a pioneer outpost and small port into one of Australia’s most modern and multicultural cities. Its proximity to Asia makes it an important Australian gateway to countries such as Indonesia and East Timor. The city itself is built on a low bluff overlooking the harbour. Its suburbs spread out over some area, beginning at Lee Point in the north and stretching to Berrimah in the east—past Berrimah, the Stuart Highway goes on to Darwin’s satellite city, Palmerston, and its suburbs.

The region, like the rest of the Top End, has a tropical climate, with a Wet and a Dry Season. The city is noted for its consistently warm to hot climate, all throughout the year. It receives heavy rainfall during the Wet Season, and is well known for its spectacular lightning. The original inhabitants of the greater Darwin area are the Larrakia people. On 9 September 1839, HMS Beagle sailed into Darwin harbour during its surveying of the area. John Clements Wickham named the region “Port Darwin” in honour of their former shipmate Charles Darwin, who had sailed with them on the ship's previous voyage which had ended in October 1836.

The settlement there became the town of Palmerston in 1869, and was renamed Darwin in 1911. Having been almost entirely rebuilt twice, once due to Japanese air raids during World War II, and again after being devastated by Tropical Cyclone Tracy in 1974, the city is one of Australia’s most modern capitals.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.
 

JACK 5

“There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.” - Steven Wright 

Jack, any of numerous species of fishes belonging to the family Carangidae (order Perciformes). The name jack is also applied collectively to the family. Representatives can be found in temperate and tropical portions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans and occasionally in fresh or brackish water. Although body size and shape vary greatly among jacks, many of the more than 150 species are characterised by laterally compressed bodies, a row of enlarged scales (scutes) along the side near the tailfin, small scales resulting in a smooth appearance, and a deeply forked tail. Many have a bluish green, silvery, or yellowish sheen on the body.

Jacks are important commercially and are favoured sports fishes. Some of the most popular marine game fishes are the amberjacks (genus Seriola), which are found worldwide. The greater amberjack (S. dumerili) of the tropical Atlantic is one of the largest members of the jack family, often attaining lengths of 1.8 m. The genus Caranx includes several species of smaller but popular game fish, such as the crevalle jack (C. hippos) of warm Atlantic waters and the yellow jack (C. bartholomaei), which frequents warm Atlantic waters and is noted for its golden-yellow sides and fins.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #148 - NEW YORK CITY, USA

“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.”

Martin LutherKing Jr

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

On this anniversary of 9/11, the violent terrorist act that claimed the lives of 3000 or so innocent victims still haunts the memory of all people around the world who believe that non-violent means for achieving a change for the better is the only means that befits a rational, humane and thinking human being. September eleven still horrifies and disturbs all human beings who have a pure heart.

The world has changed since that attack and we, the survivors have a duty to do our best in order to ensure that such acts become not only impossible in the future, but are declared to be reprehensible and heinous, all over the world by all leaders. The way that we bring up our children, the way that we worship our God, the way that we live our life, the way that we administer justice, the way that we ensure that each person on this earth has dignity, freedom and a comfortable life where basic needs are met, should all contribute to the war against terror. This is how we ensure that such attacks do not recur. One does not go to war to stop terrorism - one does not fight a terrorist act with another terrorist act.

We visited Ground Zero when we were in New York City in 2003 and we were speechless with emotion and awestruck by the terrible sights we saw, the stories we heard, the people we met, the things we read... No photograph can convey the desolation of the place and the plight of both those lost and those that survived them. And yet the cross made of rusty iron girders, the exhibit in St Paul’s Chapel and the mural that we saw nearby are deep and heart-felt memorials to those involved in the tragedy.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #147 - JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

“Jerusalem is not just a beautiful city: The challenge is to show that Jerusalem can be shared in peace and respect.” - Federica Mogherini

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

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Jerusalem located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, is one of the oldest cities in the world. In the ancient cuneiform, Jerusalem was called Urusalima, meaning ‘City of Peace’, during the early Canaanite period (approximately 2400 BC). It is considered a Holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital, as the State of Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there while the State of Palestine ultimately foresees the city as its seat of power; however, neither claim is widely recognised internationally.

During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times. The part of Jerusalem called the City of David was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent. Today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters (known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters). The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old City's boundaries. Despite having an area of only 0.9 square kilometres the Old City is home to many sites of seminal religious importance, among them the Temple Mount and its Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock (shown above), the Garden Tomb and al-Aqsa Mosque. Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Nevertheless, all branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister and President, and the Supreme Court. The international community does not recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and the city hosts no foreign embassies.

Jerusalem is also home to some non-governmental Israeli institutions of national importance, such as the Hebrew University and the Israel Museum with its Shrine of the Book. In 2011, Jerusalem had a population of 801,000, of which Jews comprised 497,000 (62%), Muslims 281,000 (35%), Christians 14,000 (around 2%) and 9,000 (1%) were not classified by religion.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

FAR

“Australia’s arid western region, from the town of Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean coast, is a beautiful, haunting, but largely empty land. Dominated by the harsh, almost uninhabited Great Sandy and Gibson deserts, the region is known only to Australian Aborigines, a handful of white settlers, and the few travelers who motor across it.” - Robyn Davidson 

The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia. The term “the outback” is generally used to refer to locations that are far out, comparatively more remote than those areas named “the bush” which, colloquially, can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. Because of the low and erratic rainfall over most of the outback, combined with soils which are usually not very fertile, inland Australia is relatively sparsely settled. More than 90 percent of Australians live in urban areas on the coast. 

The total population of the Outback in Australia declined from 700,000 in 1996 to 690,000 in 2006. Largest decline was noted in Outback NT, while Kimberley and Pilbara showed population increase during the same period. The sex ratio is 104 males for 100 females and 17% of the total population is indigenous. Other than agriculture and tourism, the main economic activity in this vast and sparsely settled area is mining.

Owing to the complete absence of mountain building and glaciation since the Permian (in many areas since the Cambrian) ages, the outback is extremely rich in iron, aluminium, manganese and uranium ores, and also contains major deposits of gold, nickel, iron, lead and zinc ores. Because of its size, the value of grazing and mining is considerable.

There is much beauty within the Outback, with vast, unspoilt tracts of land, desert and scrubland, hidden oases and watercourses, striking rock formations, unusual vegetation, striking soil and mineral colours, our native animals, and amazing vistas at sunrise and sunset. There is terror also, with droughts, bushfires, floods and other natural disasters...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #146 - MUMBAI, INDIA

“By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower.” - Rabindranath Tagore

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Mumbai (also known as Bombay, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India with an estimated city proper population of 12.4 million as of 2011. Along with the neighbouring regions of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, it is the second most populous metropolitan area in India, with a population of 21.3 million as of 2016. Mumbai lies on the Konkan coast on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2008, Mumbai was named an alpha world city. It is also the wealthiest city in India, and has the highest number of millionaires and billionaires among all cities in India. Mumbai is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Elephanta Caves, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, and the city's distinctive ensemble of Victorian and Art Deco buildings.

Always bustling with activity, the city’s shopping districts range from the humble stalls in the street markets to exclusive shopping centres where major brands have their boutiques. A highlight of our visit there was mingling with the common people and visiting small shops where locals made us feel very welcome, such as is in this small florist shop.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #145 - PINNACLES, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

“The best education I have ever received was through travel.” - Lisa Ling

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

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The Pinnacles are limestone formations contained within Nambung National Park, near the town of Cervantes, Western Australia. The raw material for the limestone of the Pinnacles came from seashells in an earlier epoch rich in marine life. These shells were broken down into lime rich sands which were blown inland to form high mobile dunes. The Pinnacles remained unknown to most Australians until the 1960s, when the area was added to Nambung National Park. The area receives over 250,000 visitors a year. A visitor precinct and interpretive centre was completed in March 2008.

The best season to see the Pinnacles is Spring (from August to October), as the days are mild and wildflowers start to bloom. The pinnacle formations are best viewed in the early morning or late afternoon as the play of light brings out the colours and the extended shadows of the formations delivers a contrast that brings out their features. Most animals in the park are nocturnal, but emus and kangaroos can be seen during the daytime, more commonly in the evening or early morning.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #144 - VIENNA, AUSTRIA

“Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.” - Frederic Chopin

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only. 

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Vienna (German: Wien) is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria’s primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million (2.6 million within the metropolitan area, nearly one third of Austria’s population, and its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was the largest German-speaking city in the world, and before the splitting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the city had 2 million inhabitants. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin.

Vienna is host to many major international organisations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the eastern part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region. Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In July 2017 it was moved to the list of World Heritage in Danger. Apart from being regarded as the “City of Music” because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be “The City of Dreams” because it was home to the world’s first psychoanalyst – Sigmund Freud.

The city’s roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city, and then the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, and the late-19th-century Ringstraße lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks.

Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first (in a tie with Vancouver, Canada and San Francisco, USA) for the world's most liveable cities. Between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. For eight consecutive years (2009–2016), the human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Vienna first in its annual ‘Quality of Living’ survey of hundreds of cities around the world, a title the city still held in 2016. Monocle’s 2015 ‘Quality of Life Survey’ ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world “to make a base within.”

The UN-Habitat has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. The city was ranked 1st globally for its culture of innovation in 2007 and 2008, and sixth globally (out of 256 cities) in the 2014 Innovation Cities Index, which analysed 162 indicators in covering three areas: Culture, infrastructure, and markets. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is often used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the world's number-one destination for international congresses and conventions. It attracts over 6.8 million tourists a year.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #143 - GRAND MOSQUE, MOROCCO

“When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.” - Mahatma Gandhi 

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

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The Hassan II Mosque or Grande Mosquée Hassan II (Arabic: مسجد الحسن الثاني‎; colloquially the “Casablanca Hajj”) is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the largest mosque in Morocco, the second largest in Africa, and the 5th largest in the world. Its minaret is the world’s tallest at 210 metres. Completed in 1993, it was designed by Michel Pinseau and built by Bouygues.

The minaret is 60 stories high topped by a laser, the light from which is directed towards Mecca. The mosque stands on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic Ocean; worshippers can pray over the sea but there is no glass floor looking into the sea. The walls are of hand-crafted marble and the roof is retractable. A maximum of 105,000 worshippers can gather together for prayer: 25,000 inside the mosque hall and another 80,000 on the mosque’s outside ground.

Apart from the mosque, other structures in the area are a madrasa (Islamic school), hammams (bathhouses), a museum on Moroccan history, conference halls, and a very large library said to be the “most comprehensive in the Islamic world”. The 41 fountains in the courtyard are all well decorated. The garden around the mosque is well-tended and is a popular location for family picnics. The traditionally designed madrasa occupies an area of 4,840 square metres including the basement. Two stories in height, it is constructed in a semi-circular shape, with abutting qibla wall and the mihrab section. 

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme, 
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #142 - SOUNION, GREECE

“We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.” - Aristotle Onassis 

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

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Cape Sounion (Modern Greek: Aκρωτήριο Σούνιο Akrotírio Soúnio; Ancient Greek: Ἄκρον Σούνιον Άkron Soúnion, latinised Sunium; Venetian: Capo Colonne “Cape of Columns”) is the promontory at the southernmost tip of the Attic peninsula, 8 kilometres south of the town of Lavrio (ancient Thoricus), and 70 kilometres southeast of Athens. It is part of Lavreotiki municipality, East Attica, Greece. Cape Sounion is noted for its Temple of Poseidon, one of the major monuments of the Golden Age of Athens. Its remains are perched on the headland, surrounded on three sides by the sea.

The original, Archaic-period temple of Poseidon on the site, which was built of tufa, was probably destroyed in 480 BC by Persian troops during Xerxes I’s invasion of Greece. Although there is no direct evidence for Sounion, Xerxes certainly had the temple of Athena and everything else on the Acropolis of Athens, razed as punishment for the Athenians' defiance. After they defeated Xerxes in the naval Battle of Salamis, the Athenians placed an entire captured enemy trireme (warship with three banks of oars) at Sounion as a trophy dedicated to Poseidon. The temple of Poseidon at Sounion was constructed in 444–440 BC. This was during the ascendancy of the Athenian statesman Pericles, who also rebuilt the Parthenon in Athens. It was built on the ruins of a temple dating from the Archaic period.

As with all Greek temples, the Poseidon building was rectangular, with a colonnade on all four sides encompassing the peristasis. The total number of original columns of the outer colonnade was 34: 15 columns still stand today (with the addition of 1 out of 4 columns of the inner naos). The columns are of the Doric Order. They were made of white marble quarried locally at Laureotic Olympus. They were 6.10 m high, with a diameter of 1 m at the base and 79 cm at the top. At the centre of the temple colonnade would have been the hall of worship (naos), a windowless rectangular room, similar to the partly intact hall at the Temple of Hephaestus. It would have contained, at one end facing the entrance, the cult image, a colossal, ceiling-height (6 metres) bronze statue of Poseidon, god of the sea.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #141 - SICILY

“Let us ever remember that our interest is in concord, not in conflict; and that our real eminence rests in the victories of peace, not those of war.” - William McKinley

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

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The Temple of Concordia (Greek: Harmonia), built c.440-430 BC, is an ancient Greek temple of the ancient city of Akragas, located in the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento. This temple, constructed like the nearby Temple of Juno on a solid base designed to overcome the unevenness of the rocky terrain, is considered one of the most notable examples of Ancient Greek architecture on account of its state of preservation.

The very well-preserved peristasis of six by thirteen columns stands on top of a crepidoma of four steps (measuring 39.44 metres x 16.91 meters). The columns are 6.72 metres high and carved with twenty flutes and harmonious entasis (tapering at the tops of the columns and swelling around the middles). The peristasis is surmounted by an architrave, a frieze of triglyphs and metopes, and a cornice. The tympana are also preserved in situ.

The naos, preceded by a pronaos in antis (mirrored by the opisthodomos), is entered through a step. The front walls of the naos, with integrated steps to the roof are preserved, as are the sockets for the wooden beams of the roof on the top of the walls of the naos and in the blocks of the entablature of the peristasis. The exterior and interior of the temple was decorated with polychrome stucco. The sima at the edges of the roof formed a gutter with lion protomes and the roof was covered in marble tiles.

The temple's transformation into a Christian church involved the removal of the ancient ornamentation, the demolition of the back wall of the naos, the closure of the space between the columns, and the creation of twelve curved openings in the walls of the naos in order to create the canonical three naves - the two lateral naves from the peristasis and the central nave from the naos. The classical altar was destroyed at that time and sacristies arranged in the corners, the whole building almost completely taking on the form of a basilica. Digging occurred inside and outside the church in relation to a High Medieval sepulchre, placed in close contact with the basilica in accordance with custom.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #140 - JAIPUR, INDIA

“Resplendent in the hues of its noble and magnificent past, the historic city of Jaipur stands out as one of the most spectacular and culturally vibrant destinations in the world.” - Kate Smith 

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

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Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan in Northern India. It was founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, after whom the city is named.

The city today has a population of 3.1 million. Jaipur is known as the Pink City of India. The city is unusual among pre-modern Indian cities in the regularity of its streets, and the division of the city into six sectors by broad streets 34 m wide. The urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, with a sixth quarter immediately to the east.

The Palace quarter encloses the Hawa Mahal palace complex, formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort, which was the residence of the King Sawai Jai Singh II, crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. The observatory, Jantar Mantar, is one of the World Heritage Sites. Included on the Golden Triangle tourist circuit, along with Delhi and Agra, Jaipur is an extremely popular tourist destination in Rajasthan and India.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #139 - CAGLIARI, ITALY

“Life in Sardinia is probably the best a man can wish: Twenty-four-thousand kilometers of forests, countryside, shores immersed in a miraculous sea, this corresponds to what I would suggest God to give us as Paradise.” - Fabrizio De Andrè

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

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Cagliari is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari’s Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 150,000 inhabitants, while its metropolitan city (including Cagliari and 16 other nearby municipalities) has more than 431,000 inhabitants. According to Eurostat, the population of the Functional urban area, the commuting zone of Cagliari, rises to 476,974. Cagliari is the 26th largest city in Italy and the largest city on the island of Sardinia.

An ancient city with a long history, Cagliari has seen the rule of several civilisations. Under the buildings of the modern city there is a continuous stratification attesting to human settlement over the course of some five thousand years, from the Neolithic to today. Historical sites include the prehistoric Domus de Janas, very damaged by cave activity, a large Carthaginian era necropolis, a Roman era amphitheatre, a Byzantine basilica, three Pisan-era towers and a strong system of fortification that made the town the core of Spanish Habsburg imperial power in the western Mediterranean Sea.

Its natural resources have always been its sheltered harbour, the often powerfully fortified hill of Castel di Castro, the modern Casteddu, the salt from its lagoons, and, from the hinterland, wheat from the Campidano plain and silver and other ores from the Iglesiente mines. Cagliari was the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1324 to 1848, when Turin became the formal capital of the kingdom (which in 1861 became the Kingdom of Italy).

Today the city is a regional cultural, educational, political and artistic centre, known for its diverse Art Nouveau architecture and several monuments. It is also Sardinia’s economic and industrial hub, having one of the biggest ports in the Mediterranean Sea, an international airport, and the 106th highest income level in Italy (among 8,092 comuni), comparable to that of several northern Italian cities. It is also the seat of the University of Cagliari, founded in 1607, and of the Primate Roman Catholic archdiocese of Sardinia, since the 5th century AD.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #138 - MURRAY RIVER, AUSTRALIA

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” - Heraclitus  

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

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The Murray River (Ngarrindjeri: Millewa, Yorta Yorta: Tongala) is Australia’s longest river, at 2,508 kilometres in length. The Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia’s highest mountains, and then meanders across Australia’s inland plains, forming the border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria as it flows to the northwest into South Australia. It turns south at Morgan for its final 315 kilometres, reaching the ocean at Lake Alexandrina. 

The water of the Murray flows through several terminal lakes that fluctuate in salinity (and were often fresh until recent decades) including Lake Alexandrina and The Coorong before emptying through the Murray Mouth into the southeastern portion of the Indian Ocean, often referenced on Australian maps as the Southern Ocean, near Goolwa. Despite discharging considerable volumes of water at times, particularly before the advent of large-scale river regulation, the mouth has always been comparatively small and shallow.As of 2010, the Murray River system receives 58 percent of its natural flow. It is perhaps Australia’s most important irrigated region, and it is widely known as the food bowl of the nation.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #137 - CAPRI, ITALY

“A man who has not been in Italy, is always conscious of an inferiority.” - Samuel Johnson

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Capri is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been a resort since the time of the Roman Republic. Some of the main features of the island include the following: The Marina Piccola (the little harbour), the Belvedere of Tragara (a high panoramic promenade lined with villas), the limestone crags called sea stacks that project above the sea (the Faraglioni –see picture above), the town of Anacapri, the Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra), and the ruins of the Imperial Roman villas.

Capri is part of the region of Campania, Metropolitan City of Naples. The town of Capri is a comune and the island's main population centre. The island has two harbours, Marina Piccola and Marina Grande (the main port of the island). The separate comune of Anacapri is located high on the hills to the west. The island combines wild beauty, scenic views, cultural and archaeological treasures, cosmopolitan lifestyle, wonderful food and drink and hospitable people.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.