Today's Featured Picture..

[chilavert]

LEANING TOWER of PISA INFORMATION

TOWER BASICS

Official Name: TORRE PENDENTE DI PISA
Function: Bell Tower (Campanile)
Original Architect: Bonanno Pisano
Architect who realized that the Leaning Tower could not be straightened:
Tomasso di Andrea da Pontedera (1275)
Years Built: 1173-1350

Latitude: 43.7167 (43° 43' 0" N)
Longitude: 10.3833 (10° 22' 60" E)
Elevation of Piazza dei Miracoli: About 6 feet, (2 meters) (DMS)

First Construction Stop: 1178 (War with Firenze)
Year in which lean became obvious: 1178 (Third Story)
Height at which lean became obvious: 10.6 meters (35 ft.)
Level at which Tower Straightens to North: 5 (About 110 meters)
Second Construction Stop: 1185 (War with Firenze)
Later Construction Stop: 1284 (War with Genoa, Major Sea Battle Defeat)

Height: 55.863 meters (185 feet). 8 stories.
Outer Diameter of Base: 15.484 meters
Inner Diameter of Base: 7.368 meters

Weight: 14,700 metric tons
Thickness of Walls at the Base: 8 feet
Direction of Lean: 1173-1250 North, 1272-1997 South

[chilavert]

Crewmembers salute as the Japanese Naval Ensign is lowered on the sinking Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku, in the battle off Cape Engaño, October 25, 1944. Half of this crew drowned as the ship sank. The view looks aft from the rear of the carrier's island, with radio antenna masts folded horizontal on her starboard side. Note her sharp list to port. A 25mm single anti-aircraft machine gun is mounted on the flight deck, at the lower right.

[chilavert]

The Eiffel Tower (French: La Tour Eiffel; IPA pronunciation: /'aɪfəl/, "eye-fell" English; /i'fɛl/, "e-fell" French) is an irontower built on the Champ de Mars beside the River Seine in Paris. It is the 'tallest structure in Paris' and among the most recognized symbols in the world. Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, it is a premier tourist destination.

The tower stands 300 m (986 ft) high, which is about 75 stories. Including the 24-m (72-ft) antenna, the structure is 324 m (1058 ft) high which is about 81 stories. At the time of its construction in 1889, the tower was the tallest structure in the world, a title it retained until 1930, when New York City's Chrysler Building (319 m/1046 ft tall) was completed (although the tower was still taller if the respective spires of the two structures were excluded). The tower is the second-highest structure in France, after the 350-m Allouis longwave transmitter, built in 1939. It is the highest structure by far in Paris; the second-highest structure in Paris, and the fourth-highest in France, is the Tour Montparnasse (Montparnasse Tower), at 209 m. It is also famous among architects for being one of the few tall structures in the world that is perfectly vertical.

The metal structure weighs 7,300 tonnes, and the total weight is 10,100 tonnes. The number of steps to the summit has varied over the history of the tower, through various renovations: at the time of construction in 1889, there were 1710 steps to the summit platform at 300.65 m; after renovation in the early 1980s, there were 1920 steps; and today there are 1665 steps (although it is not possible for the public to reach the summit via the stairs—elevators are required beyond the second platform).

Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 8 cm (3.25 inches), due to expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun.

Maintenance of the tower includes applying 50 tonnes of three graded tones of paint every seven years to protect it from rust. On occasion, the colour of the paint is changed — the tower is currently painted a shade of brown. On the first floor, there are interactive consoles hosting a poll for the colour to use for a future session of painting.

[chilavert]

Highgate Cemetery is a famous cemetery located in Highgate, London, England.
The cemetery in its original form (the older, Western part) was opened in 1839, part of an initiative to provide seven large, modern cemeteries (known as the "Magnificent Seven") in a ring round the outside of London. The inner-city cemeteries, mostly the graveyards attached to individual churches, had long been unable to cope with the number of burials and were seen as a hazard to health and an undignified way to treat the dead.
Highgate, like the others, soon became a fashionable place for burials and was much admired and visited. The Victorian attitude to death and its presentation led to the creation of a wealth of Gothic tombs and buildings. It occupies a spectacular south-facing hillside site slightly downhill from the top of the hill of Highgate itself, next to Waterlow Park, both of which were part of the former Dartmouth Park which covered the area.
In 1854, the area to the east of the original area across Swains Lane was purchased to form the eastern part of the cemetery. This part is still used today for burials, as is the Western part.
The cemetery's grounds are full of old-growth trees, shrubbery and wildflowers that are a haven for birds and small animals like foxes. The Egyptian Avenue and the Circle of Lebanon (topped by a huge Cedar of Lebanon) feature tombs, vaults and winding paths dug into hillsides. For its protection, the oldest section, which holds an impressive collection of Victorian mausoleums and gravestones, plus elaborately carved tombs, allows admission only in tour groups. The newer section, which contains a mix of Victorian and modern statuary, can be toured unescorted.

[chilavert]

Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after İstanbul. The city has a population of 4,319,167 (Province 5,153,000) (as of 2005), and a mean elevation of 850 m. (2800 ft.) It was formerly known as Angora or Engürü, and in Roman times as Ancyra, and in classical and Hellenistic periods as Άγκυρα Ánkyra.
It is also the capital of Ankara Province.