Mytilene (Greek: Μυτιλήνη; Mitilini in Modern Greek) is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lesbos, of which it is a municipal unit.[1] It is the capital of the island of Lesbos. Mytilene, whose name is pre-Greek, is built on the southeast edge of the island.
It is also the seat of a metropolitan bishop of the Orthodox church.
The town is located in the southeastern part of the island, north and east of the Bay of Gera. It has a land area of 107.46 square kilometres and a population of 36,196 inhabitants (2001). The next largest towns in the municipal unit are Vareiá (pop. 1,254), Pámfila (1,247), Mória (1,207), and Loutrá (1,118).
Her most famous ancient Greek citizens were the poets Sappho and Alcaeus and the statesman Pittacus (one of the Seven Sages of ancient Greece).
This post is part of Kim's Water World Wednesday meme,
and also of Susan's Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of Nature Footsteps Waters meme.
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres north of the equator, with a population of 5.2 million people (but only 3.3 million people are Singaporean citizens and 0.5 million people are Singapore Permanent Residents).
It is an island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. Singapore is highly urbanised but almost half of the country is covered by greenery. More land is being created for development through land reclamation. Singapore had been a part of various local empires since it was first inhabited in the second century AD.
Modern Singapore was founded as a trading post of the East India Company by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 with permission from the Sultanate of Johor. The British obtained full sovereignty over the island in 1824 and Singapore became one of the British Straits Settlements in 1826. Singapore was occupied by the Japanese in World War II and reverted to British rule after the war. It became internally self-governing in 1959. To persuade the British to grant it independence, Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963 and the next two years were spent in impasse. Due to serious cultural and ideological conflicts over many issues, the Malaysian parliament voted 126 to 0 to expel Singapore from Malaysia and Singapore became a fully independent state in 1965.
Since its independence, it has seen an increase in living standards, and is one of the Four Asian Tigers. The economy is diversified but the twin pillars are the industry and service sectors. Despite its small size, Singapore is a world leader in several areas. It is the world's fourth-leading financial centre, the world's second-biggest casino gambling market, the world's third-largest oil refining centre and one of the five busiest ports in the world. The country has the highest number of US dollar millionaire households per capita, with one out of every six households having more than one million US dollar in disposable wealth, not taking into account properties and businesses. The World Bank notes that Singapore is the easiest place in the world to do business. The country has the world's third highest GDP PPP per capita of US$59,936, making Singapore one of the world's wealthiest countries.
This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme.
Rafina (Greek: Ραφήνα) is a town located on the eastern coast of Attica in Greece. It has a population of 10,701 inhabitants (2001 census). Rafina is about 30 km E of downtown Athens. The municipal unit of Rafina contains, besides the city itself, a large portion of the surrounding area, which is mostly woodland and farmland.
Rafina is a port town serving ferries to the southern part of Euboea as well as most of the Cyclades. Its port is the second largest of Attica, after that of Piraeus, but it will probably be superseded by the one in Lavrio, which is currently being expanded. There are many holiday houses in the town and also dotted along the coast, which serve Athenians during their holiday times.
This post is part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Weekly Topshot meme.
The Story Bridge is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Brisbane River that carries vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the northern and the southern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is the longest cantilever bridge in Australia. The bridge is part of Bradfield Highway and connects Fortitude Valley to Kangaroo Point. It is named for John Douglas Story (7 August 1869, Edinburgh, Scotland — 2 February 1966, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia). Story was a prominent Queensland public servant who entered the Queensland Public Service and was Under-Secretary for the Department of Education between 1906 and 1920. He was the Public Service Commissioner from 1920 to 1939. Story worked for the establishment of the University of Queensland and was a government representative on the University senate.
Before the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932 the Government of Queensland asked John Bradfield to design a new bridge in Brisbane. The Queensland Government appointed John Bradfield on 15 December 1933 as consulting engineer to the Bureau of Industry who were in charge of the construction of the bridge. In June 1934 Bradfield's recommendation of a steel cantilever bridge was approved. The design for the bridge was based heavily on that of the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal, completed in 1930. On 30 April 1935 a consortium of two Queensland companies, Evans Deakin and Hornibrook Constructions, won the tender with a bid of ₤1,150,000. Construction on the bridge began on 24 May 1935, with the first sod being turned by the then Premier of Queensland, William Forgan Smith.
Until it was completed the bridge was known as the Jubilee Bridge in honour of King George V. It was opened on 6 July 1940 by Sir Leslie Orme Wilson, Governor of Queensland and named for John Douglas Story, a senior and influential public servant who had advocated strongly for the bridge's construction.
This post is part of Louis' Sunday Bridges meme,
and also part of the Scenic Sunday meme.
Reflections in the gardens of South Bank in Brisbane. A cool and restful spot int he middle of the busy city...
This post is part of James' Weekend Reflections meme.
People that follow this blog know that I like taking photos from the plane when I travel. Here is another such photo taken at the end of last year, while approaching Melbourne. The tracts of fertile farmland have been blessed by a few years of good rains.
This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.
Trinity Church Cemetery consists of three separate burial grounds associated with Trinity Church in Manhattan, New York, USA. The first was established in the Churchyard located at 74 Trinity Place at Wall Street and Broadway. In 1842, the church, running out of space in its churchyard, established Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum in Upper Manhattan between Broadway and Riverside Drive, at the Chapel of the Intercession (now The Church of the Intercession, New York), formerly the location of John James Audubon's estate. A third burial place is the Churchyard of St. Paul's Chapel.
The burial grounds have been the final resting place for many historic figures since the Churchyard cemetery opened in 1697. A non-denominational cemetery, it is listed in the United States National Register of Historic Places and is the only remaining active cemetery in Manhattan. There are two bronze plaques at the Church of the Intercession cemetery commemorating the Battle of Fort Washington, which included some of the fiercest fighting of the Revolutionary War. Trinity Church Cemetery, along with Broadway, marks the center of the Heritage Rose District of NYC.
The imposing statue of John Watts stands an impressive 9-feet and 3-inches tall, making it visible from beyond the railing in Trinity Churchyard. George E. Bissell's statue, which rests upon a 7-foot high marble pedestal, was commissioned by Major General John Watts de Peyster to decorate his ancestor's tomb.
John Watts (August 27, 1749–September 3, 1836) was a lawyer and politician from New York City. He was the last recorder of New York under the English Crown. Watts later served as a member of the New York State Assembly from 1791 to 1793, serving as speaker during these three terms. He was a member of the commission to build Newgate Prison, New York City, 1796-1799. Watts was elected to the Third United States Congress, representing New York State. He later served as a judge of Westchester County and founded and endowed the Leake and Watts Orphan House.
This post is part of Julie's Taphophile Tragics meme.
The Queen Victoria Market at the northern part of the CBD offers a variety of stall, shops and many open-air as well as under cover shopping areas. The flower stall here, outside the market tempts passers-by with some fragrant offerings on cold, grey, Melbourne Winter's day. Even though he thought about it, in the end he didn't buy the bouquet...
This post is part of the Mellow Yellow Monday meme.
