JERSEY

Jersey (officially the Bailiwick of Jersey), is a Crown dependency of the United Kingdom, ruled by the Crown in right of Jersey, off the coast of Normandy, France. Jersey was part of the Duchy of Normandy, whose dukes went on to become kings of England from 1066. After Normandy was lost by the kings of England in the 13th century, and the ducal title surrendered to France, Jersey and the other Channel Islands remained attached to the English crown. Jersey is a self-governing parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, with its own financial, legal and judicial systems, and the power of self-determination.

The Lieutenant Governor on the island is the personal representative of the Queen. British cultural influence on the island can also be seen with the main language being English, British pound currency, driving on the left, BBC and ITV regions, school curriculum following that of England, and the popularity of British sports, including football, cricket and rugby. The bailiwick consists of the island of Jersey, along with surrounding uninhabited islands and rocks collectively named Les Dirouilles, Les Écréhous, Les Minquiers, Les Pierres de Lecq, and other reefs. The island of Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

ELSINORE, DENMARK

Kronborg is a castle and stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalised as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet", Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and has been added to UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list (2000).

The castle is situated on the extreme northeastern tip of the island of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden. In this part, the sound is only 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) wide, hence the strategic importance of maintaining a coastal fortification at this location commanding one of the few outlets of the Baltic Sea.

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme.

KASBAH, RABAT, MOROCCO

The Kasbah of the Udayas is a kasbah in Rabat, Morocco. A kasbah (Arabic قصبة) is a type of medina, Islamic city, or fortress (citadel). It was a place for the local leader to live and a defence when a city was under attack. A kasbah has high walls, usually without windows. Sometimes, it was built on hilltops so that it could be more easily defended. Some were placed near the entrance to harbours.

The Kasbah of the Udayas is located at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river opposite Salé. The edifice was built in the 12th century during the reign of the Almohad Caliphate (AD 1121-1269). When the Almohads had captured Rabat and destroyed the kasbah of the Almoravid dynasty in the town, they began reconstructing it in AD 1150. They added a palace and a mosque and named it al-Mahdiyya, after their ancestor al-Mahdi Ibn Tumart. After the death of Yaqub al-Mansur (AD 1199) the kasbah was deserted.

The Almohads brought significant changes to the Rabat area, including the destruction and rebuilding of the Kasbah of the Udayas and turning Chellah into a royal necropolis. Rabat was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on July 20, 2006 in the Cultural category. It was granted World Heritage Status in 2012.

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

RHODES, GREECE

Rhodes (Greek: Ρόδος, Ródos) is the principal city on the island of Rhodes, an island in the Dodecanese, Greece. It has a population of approximately 80,000. Rhodes has been famous since antiquity as the site of Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The citadel of Rhodes, built by the Hospitalliers, is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe which in 1988 was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The City of Rhodes is a popular international tourist destination.

The city is home to numerous landmarks. Some of them date back to antiquity and most of the others remain from the medieval period. They include: The Grand Master's Palace (15th century); Knights Street; Acropolis of Rhodes; Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent; Medieval walls, created in the mid-14th century on a previous line and remade after the Ottoman siege of 1480 and the earthquake of the following year; Gothic buildings in the historical upper town. Recently, the Byzantine harbour was excavated, discovering medieval shipwrecks.

This post is part of the Water World Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Waters meme.