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The Lluvia de Peces or Rain of Fish - Honduras
The Lluvia de Peces or Rain of Fish is a phenomenon that has been occurring for more than a century on a yearly basis in the country of Honduras.
History and background
The Rain of Fish is common in Honduran Folklore. It occurs in the Departamento de Yoro, between the months of May and July.
Witnesses of this phenomenon state that it begins with a dark cloud in the sky followed by lightning, thunder, strong winds and heavy rain for two to three hours. Once the rain has stopped, hundreds of living fish are found on the ground. People take the fish home to cook and eat them.
A popular song: "Conozca Honduras" (Know Honduras) says:
"Donde hay lluvia de peces cual milagro celestial"
(Where there is rain of fish, like a heavenly miracle)
Since 1998 a festival known as "Festival de la Lluvia de Peces" (Festival of the Rain of Fishes) is celebrated every year in the city of Yoro, Departamento de Yoro, Honduras .
On July 26, 2006 a Honduran TV news program, Abriendo Brecha made a report about this phenomenon, saying that the Rain of Fish has been occurring twice a year lately.
A Honduran newspaper "El Heraldo" published about the documentary film to be produced by Lion TV about this phenomenon.
Known as "animal rain," this weather phenomenon has been reported around the world for centuries, though the scientific understanding of it still remains sketchy.
In 1823 Alexander Von Humbolt, explorer and botanist, wrote of the 1698 volcanic eruption of Mt. Carguairazo which apparently also covered forty-three square miles the surrounding country with mud and fishes. (Possibly from an underground lake connected to the volcano.)
Explanation
The explanation generally offered for the rain of fish is meteorogical, in terms of strong winds or waterspouts, as for other accounts of raining animals. The most likely source of the fish is the Atlantic Ocean, about 200km (140 miles) away.
An alternative story claims that the fish are not sea water fish, but fresh water fish, and that they swim from a nearby river into a subterranean water current. Some of the fish then leave this current and appear on the ground inland.
In the 1970s a National Geographic team actually witnessed the event making it one of the few credible sightings of such a phenomenon, though proof that the fish were coming from the sky and not another source remained elusive.
They discovered that all the fish were approximately the same size, around 6 inches (15.2 cm), and completely blind. The experts identified the species but found no record of it in any surrounding bodies of water. Their theory was that these fish are from underground rivers, never exposed to light and thus blind.
An esoteric institution tries to explain this phenomenon according to its own teachings.
Father Subirana miracle
Many people believe this phenomenon occurs because of Father José Manuel Subirana, a Spanish Catholic missionary and considered by many to be a saint. He visited Honduras from 1856-1864, and upon encountering so many poor people, prayed for 3 days and 3 nights asking God for a miracle to help the poor people by providing food. The Rain of Fish has occurred ever since .
The phenomenon is also quoted in recent appeals by missionaries for funds to alleviate poverty in Honduras.
Other website about The Lluvia de Peces or Rain of Fish : Eye witness accounts Spanish
Source : Wikipedia
Fish and Frogs from the Sky
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Fort Boyard
Fort Boyard - The Adventurers
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Fort Boyard - France
Fort Boyard (pronounced phonetically : / bojar /) is a fort located between the island of Aix and the Ile d'Oleron , attached to the town of Ile-d'Aix , in the Department of Charente-Maritime .
If building a defensive system on the 'Loin Boyard "was considered from the seventeenth century , the project was not realized until well into the nineteenth century. Built to protect the harbor, the mouth of the Charente, the port and especially the great arsenal of Rochefort assaults of the British navy, it is converted into a prison a few years after its completion.
Fort Boyard is part of the arsenal of Rochefort Maritime extends throughout the estuary of the Charente - Maritime . Today it is a property of the General Council of Charente-Maritime .
The fort is the subject of a classification under the Historic Monuments since 1950.
Introduction
The fort is 68 meters long and 31 meters wide,The walls rising to 20 meters. Il est construit sur un banc de sable nommé « longe de Boyard » qui a donné son nom au fort . It is built on a sandbar called "loin Boyard" which gave its name to Fort .It is visible from Fouras from the bridge linking the island of Oléron continent (southern island), from the lighthouse Chassiron in good weather (extreme north of the island), along with much East Coast of the island, particularly since Boyardville and also from the city of La Rochelle .From 1995 to 2002 , under the "Sites Scenes", a firework went from July 14, that we could see from all the surrounding beaches.
This firework contains thousands of rockets and lasted, on average, about thirty minutes with simultaneous music composed by the generic Paul Kulak (1989) played on local radio.
History
First draft
The fort was built to protect the arsenal of Rochefort which was one of the most prestigious of the empire. The exact reason for the construction of the fort in addition to the gun batteries available on the shores of various islands is that their scope was too low (1500 meters) and remained an elusive area between the two islands .
This is the end of construction of the armory ( 1666 ) that the need for protection was raised. It is envisaged at the outset loin Boyard as a basis for building but, after the various statements, Vauban say, in mocking at Louis XIV :
"Sire, it would be easier to grasp the moon with the teeth of trying this place such a task ."
Resurgence Project
It was not until the beginning of the nineteenth century that the question again become topical. A project developed by a committee of officers and engineers was proposed to Napoleon . To allow the construction of the fort, the project planned to sit it on a base of rocks deposited on the lanyard.. Rocks of the royal quarries were stored at Boyardville . The initial work began in riprap 1804 . This operation could take place only for a few hours each day during low tide because of the current. It is also because the current one can not do this work only during the summer.But the result is not expected, the rocks sinking under their own weight. Finally, in 1809 , this project is deferred
Construction
It was not until the reign of Louis Philippe and the renewed tensions between French and British for the project to resume in 1841 . A new method is implemented. These are not rocks that are cast but boxes of lime, built on site. Finally, in 1848 , construction of the base end, it is two meters above the sea level at high tide.The construction of the fort itself will then take ten years:
1852 : Construction of the lower level (ground floor) ends (powder magazines and live kitchens) .
1854 : end of construction of the first level .
1857 : Construction of the fort closes with the last level and the tower lookout .
However, one major problem has been underestimated by the army: in fact due to the fact that there is very little background about the fort, access via the grand staircase of granite is almost impossible to tide low or when the sea is rough. The first piers were swallowed by the waves, and the strong shaking heavily with each big wave, causing a fear in some of the soldiers.To remedy this, a haven of collision ("the barachoi") is built to the south, while north, a breakwater was built, preventing the waves directly hitting the wall hard. The statement announcing the end of the entire project was finally signed on 6 February 1866 .
First use
The box can then accommodate two hundred and fifty men for two months without contact with the mainland. But between the first projects and the completion of construction, the scope of guns has increased and the usefulness of the fort is limited.There is still an important work of construction on the sea, as well as certain lights.Its military use is never that it should have been. It then becomes the target of looters, no one knows what to do. He served as a prison for the Prussian and Austrian soldiers of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 , and for political prisoners of the Commune , including Henri Rochefort and Grousset Paschal.
Some time later, because of its uselessness, a project was set up and offers to destroy Fort entirely, leaving only the granite base, to install two large automatic turrets, rising and falling on their own; However, it was not put in execution because of opposition to it.
Finally, in 1913 , separates the army, the guns are sold. During the Second World War , it serves as target practice for Germans .
The prey of looters
Abandoned for 80 years, Fort Boyard had become the domain of seabirds, with the wind, have brought the vegetation restoration crews have removed and re-waterproofing of the terrace and courtyard interior.
On 28 May 1962 , the fort was auctioned at a price of 7500 francs.The auction was won for 28,000 francs by Eric Aerts, Belgian dentist at Avoriaz , which seems to have bought the box as it offers an array . In fact person, beginning with himself, really knows what he will do , the buyer can not afford to maintain, let alone restore it.Later, saddened by the damage caused by looters, he never returns to the fort, merely to make the boat trip when it comes to the region.
Towards a second life
He sold the fort in November 1988 for 1.5 million francs to the production company games televised Jacques Antoine .It sells immediately to the General Council of Charente-Maritime for a token. In return, the department undertakes to carry out rehabilitation work, and ensures the exclusivity of the site is operational at JAC (Jacques Antoine and Co., third largest producer of television game of the day). Therefore, the place becomes part of a television program.
The revival since the late 1980s
Still privately owned production company, the fort was partially cleaned (removal of stones, shells and grasses in the central courtyard and closed compartments ripped) in 1988 to be visiting a producer of TV channel in any country , intrigued by the idea of the game was not until July 1989 , after the change of ownership, the total renovation of the fort began. An offshore platform (always present but that is never seen on TV) is installed at twenty-five meters high, to allow access by boat impossible since the destruction of the harbor collision. The fort is completely cleaned, fifty centimeters of guano , and seven hundred cubic meters of dirt are various evacuated. The fort is now cleaned and closed thanks to the openings of windows, doors and shutters.In autumn , a platform for strolling, a sort of bridge is built at the first floor in the courtyard, to serve the cells of the floor. The set construction is seen down pending the arrival of winter storm. It was not until the spring of 1990 that the last sets are built, as the Treasure Room, or watch, but also the tests. Moreover, final preparations will be finished on sets that shortly before filming the first issue.
In 1996 , the artillery platforms are dismantled and restored. Mais le fort Boyard est fragile et subit encore les dégâts de la mer. Après les tournages en 1998 , le département décide d'entamer une nouvelle étape dans la restauration du monument. But Fort Boyard is fragile and is still suffering damage from the sea after the shootings in 1998 , the department decided to begin a new step in the restoration of the monument. Chaque pierre de la terrasse sera démontée puis réimplantée après avoir été nettoyée. Each stone terrace will be dismantled and relocated after being cleaned. L' hélicoptère employé pour les travaux aura fait au total près de 6000 rotations entre le fort et Boyardville . The helicopter used for the work has made a total of nearly 6,000 rotations between the strong and Boyardville .
This restoration allows a thorough cleaning of the front walls, and a repair of a number of cracks. The tightness of the terrace is completely redone. The location of the clock, not restored in 1989 , was repaired in 1998 . Finally, this section of work lasted from September 1998 to April 1999 . During the winter in 2003 - 2,004 , the central courtyard is redone. The last major restoration dates from 2005 : clogging, with concrete, foundation cracks Fort, south side, was made in spring , before the filming of the television game, late summer 2005 , complete refurbishment of all walls courtyard (pillars arches included) was performed. It was for the team stonemason engaged, to change all the damaged stones - by cutting the terrace of the fort of stone to shape, having brought the matter of Oleron by helicopter - and again joints in walls.
Since 1 February 1950 , Fort Boyard is classified in the Supplementary Inventory of Historical Monuments by the National Education . Thus, the agreement of the architect of the buildings of France is now required before any change in the inventory.
Appearances
A 52 min documentary directed by Bernard Flament, one of the directors of the game Fort Boyard , the history of the stone ship was released in 2008 on France 3 and TV5 .
Appearance in the Treasure Hunt
The game Fort Boyard
Since 1990 , Fort Boyard is the location of a television game of the same name (originally titled Keys Fort Boyard ) created by Jacques Antoine , Jean-Pierre and Pierre Launay Mitrecey, in which a team candidate, surrounded by strange characters more or less, must overcome a number of intellectual and physical tests (agility, endurance, strength, etc..) in order to seize the treasure in gold coins.
In film
The fort also served as a backdrop to the filming of the following films:
Warrior's Rest ( 1962 ): the appearance of the fort is assumed in the film Roger Vadim .Indeed, many official sources are in hand, describing a scene where stealth Brigitte Bardot take a sunbath on the terrace of the fort. However, after the screenings appear high in any scene, it is then relayed any error by the authors of bibliographies on the fort, or a cut scene is not retained in final assembly.
The Adventurers ( 1967 ): Fort appears in the last third of the film by Robert Enrico .It first appears as a postcard before being shot inside and outside, including the settling of scores and shooting them down, including Lino Ventura and Alain Delon , completing the film and the final credits. Thanks to this film that Jacques Antoine was able to find the perfect place for his new adventure game.
Freedom-Oléron ( 2001 ): the fort is on a walk at sea and views of the sea in the film Bruno Podalydès
Other website about Fort Boyard : FortBoyard
Source : Wikipedia
Train Graveyard of Uyuni
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Train Graveyard at Uyuni - Bolivia
Uyuni is a town in the Potosí Department in the south of Bolivia. The town's primary function is as a gateway for tourists visiting the world's largest salt flats - the Salar de Uyuni.
Origin
Founded in 1890 as a trading post, the town has a population of 10,600 (2006 official estimate). The town has an extensive street-market. It lies at the edge of an extensive plain at an elevation of 3,670 meters above sea level, with more mountainous country to the east.
There is little agriculture in the area because water supplies are scarce and somewhat saline. Today the town's primary function is as a gateway for tourists visiting the world's largest salt flats - the Salar de Uyuni. Each year Uyuni receives approximately 60,000 visitors from around the globe.
Transport
It is an important transport hub, being the location of a major railway junction. Four lines join here, respectively from La Paz (via Oruro), Calama (in Chile), Potosí, and Villazón (on the Argentine border, where the line now ends).
Tourist attractions
Train cemetery
One of the major tourist attractions of the area is an antique train cemetery. It is located 3 km outside Uyuni and is connected to it by the old train tracks. The town served in the past as a distribution hub for the trains carrying minerals on their way to the Pacific Ocean ports. The train lines were built by British engineers who arrived near the end of the 19th century and formed a sizable community in Uyuni. The engineers were invited by British-sponsored Antofagasta and Bolivia Railway Companies, which is now Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia. The rail construction started in 1888 and ended in 1892. It was encouraged by the then Bolivian President Aniceto Arce, who believed Bolivia would flourish with a good transport system, but it was also constantly sabotaged by the local Aymara indigenous Indians who saw it as an intrusion into their lives. The trains were mostly used by the mining companies. In the 1940s, the mining industry collapsed, partly due to the mineral depletion. Many trains were abandoned thereby producing the train cemetery. There are talks to build a museum out of the cemetery.
Source : Wikipedia
Sigiriya Fortress in The Sky
Sigiriya Fortress in The Sky
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Sigiriya fortress Sri Lanka.
Sigiriya (Lion's rock) is an ancient rock fortress and palace ruin situated in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. A popular tourist destination, Sigiriya is also renowned for its ancient paintings (frescos), which are reminiscent of the Ajanta Caves of India. The Sigiriya was built during the reign of King Kassapa I (AD 477 – 495), and it is one of the seven World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka.
Sigiriya may have been inhabited through prehistoric times. It was used as a rock-shelter mountain monastery from about the 5th century BC, with caves prepared and donated by devotees to the Buddhist Sangha. The garden and palace were built by King Kasyapa. Following King Kasyapa's death, it was again a monastery complex up to about the 14th century, after which it was abandoned. . The Sigiri inscriptions were deciphered by the archaeologist Senarath Paranavithana in his renowned two-volume work, published by Oxford, Sigiri Graffiti. He also wrote the popular book "Story of Sigiriya".
The Mahavamsa, the ancient historical record of Sri Lanka, describes King Kasyapa as the son of King Dhatusena. Kasyapa murdered his father by walling him alive and then usurping the throne which rightfully belonged to his brother Mogallana, Dhatusena's son by the true queen. Mogallana fled to India to escape being assassinated by Kasyapa but vowed revenge. In India he raised an army with the intention of returning and retaking the throne of Sri Lanka which he considered was rightfully his. Knowing the inevitable return of Mogallana, Kasyapa is said to have built his palace on the summit of Sigiriya as a fortress and pleasure palace. Mogallana finally arrived and declared war. During the battle Kasyapa's armies abandoned him and he committed suicide by falling on his sword. Chronicles and lore say that the battle-elephant on which Kasyapa was mounted changed course to take a strategic advantage, but the army misinterpreted the movement as the King having opted to retreat, prompting the army to abandon the king altogether. It is said that being too proud to be surrendered he took his dagger from the waist band, cut his throat, raised the dagger proudly, sheathed it and fell dead. Moggallana returned the capital to Anuradapura, converting Sigiriya into a monastery complex.Alternative stories have the primary builder of Sigiriya as King Dhatusena, with Kasyapa finishing the work in honour of his father. Still other stories have Kasyapa as a playboy king, with Sigiriya a pleasure palace. Even Kasyapa's eventual fate is mutable. In some versions he is assassinated by poison administered by a concubine. In others he cuts his own throat when isolated in his final battle. Still further interpretations have the site as the work of a Buddhist community, with no military function at all. This site may have been important in the competition between the Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist traditions in ancient Sri Lanka.
Location and geographical features
Sigiriya is located in matale District in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is within the cultural triangle, which includes five of the seven world heritage sites in Sri Lanka.
The Sigiriya rock is a hardened magma plug from an extinct and long-eroded volcano. It stands high above the surrounding plain, visible for miles in all directions. The rock rests on a steep mound that rises abruptly from the flat plain surrounding it. The rock itself rises 370 m (1,214 ft) above sea level and is sheer on all sides, in many places overhanging the base. It is elliptical in plan and has a flat top that slopes gradually along the long axis of the ellipse.
History
The earliest evidence of human habitation at Sigiriya was found from the Aligala rock shelter to the east of Sigiriya rock, indicating that the area was occupied nearly five thousand years ago during the mesolithic period.
Buddhist monastic settlements were established in the western and northern slopes of the boulder-strewn hills surrounding the Sigiriya rock, during the third century B.C. Several rock shelters or caves had been created during this period. These shelters were made under large boulders, with carved drip ledges around the cave mouths. Rock inscriptions are carved near the drip ledges on many of the shelters, recording the donation of the shelters to the Buddhist monastic order as residences. These have been made within the period between the third century B.C and the first century A.D.
In 477 A.D, prince Kasyapa seized the throne from King Dhatusena, following a coup assisted by Migara, the king’s nephew and army commander. Kasyapa, the king’s son by a non-royal consort, usurped the rightful heir, Moggallana, who fled to South India. Fearing an attack from Moggallana, Kasyapa moved the capital and his residence from the traditional capital of Anuradhapura to the more secure Sigiriya. During King Kasyapa’s reign from 477 to 495 A.D, Sigiriya was developed into a complex city and fortress. Most of the elaborate constructions on the rock summit and around it, including defensive structures, palaces and gardens, date back to this period.
Kasyapa was defeated in 495 A.D by Moggallana, who moved the capital again to Anuradhapura. Sigiriya was then turned back into a Buddhist monastery, which lasted until the thirteenth or fourteenth century. After this period, no records are found on Sigirya until the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when it was used as an outpost of the Kingdom of Kandy. When the kingdom ended, it was abandoned again.
In 1831 Major Jonathan Forbes of the 78th Highlanders of the British army while returning on horseback from a trip to Pollonnuruwa came across the “bush covered summit of Sigiriya". Sigiriya came to the attention of antiquarians and, later, archaeologists. Archaeological work at Sigiriya began on a small scale in the 1890s. H.C.P Bell was the first archaeologist to conduct extensive research on Sigiriya. The Cultural Triangle Project, launched by the Government of Sri Lanka, focused its attention on Sigiriya in 1982. Archaeological work began on the entire city for the first time under this project.
Archaeological remains and features
Sigiriya consists of an ancient castle built by King Kasyapa during the 5th century AD. The Sigiriya site has the remains of an upper palace sited on the flat top of the rock, a mid-level terrace that includes the Lion Gate and the mirror wall with its frescoes, the lower palace that clings to the slopes below the rock, and the moats, walls and gardens that extend for some hundreds of metres out from the base of the rock.
The site is both a palace and fortress. Despite its age, the splendour of the palace still furnishes a stunning insight into the ingenuity and creativity of its builders. The upper palace on the top of the rock includes cisterns cut into the rock that still retain water. The moats and walls that surround the lower palace are still exquisitely beautiful
Site plan
Sigiriya is considered one of the most important urban planning sites of the first millennium, and the site plan is considered very elaborate and imaginative. The plan combined concepts of symmetry and asymmetry to intentionally interlock the man-made geometrical and natural forms of the surroundings. On the west side of the rock lies a park for the royals, laid out on a symmetrical plan; the park contains water retaining structures, including sophisticated surface/subsurface hydraulic systems, some of which are working even today. The south contains a man made reservoir, these were extensively used from previous capital of the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Five gates were placed at entrances. The more elaborate western gate is thought to be reserved for the royals.
The gardens
The Gardens of the Sigiriya city is one of the most important aspects of the site as it is among the oldest landscaped gardens in the world. The gardens are divided into three distinct but linked forms; water gardens, Cave and boulder gardens, and terraced gardens.
The water gardens
The water gardens can be seen in the central section of the western precinct. Three principal gardens are found here. The first garden consists of an island surrounded by water. It is connected to the main precinct using four causeways, with gateways placed at the head of each causeway. This garden is built according to an ancient garden form known as char bhag, and is one of the oldest surviving models of this form.
The second contains two long, deep pools set on either side of the path. Two shallow, serpentine streams lead to these pools. Fountains made of circular limestone plates are placed here. Underground water conduits supply water to these fountains which are still functional, especially during the rainy season. Two large islands are located on either side of the second water garden. Summer palaces are built on the flattened surfaces of these islands. Two more islands are located further to the north and the south. These islands are built in a similar manner to the Island in the first water garden.
The third garden is situated on a higher level than the other two. It contains a large, octagonal pool with a raised podium on its northeast corner. The large brick and stone wall of the citadel is on the eastern edge of this garden.
The water gardens are built symmetrically on an east-west axis. They are connected with the outer moat on the west and the large artificial lake to the south of the Sigiriya rock. All the pools are also interlinked using an underground conduit network fed by the lake, and connected to the moats. A miniature water garden is located to the west of the first water garden, consisting several small pools and water courses. This recently discovered smaller garden appears to have been built after the Kasyapan period, possibly between the tenth and thirteenth centuries.
The boulder gardens
The boulder garden consists several large boulders linked with winding pathways. The boulder gardens extend from the northern slopes to the southern slopes of the hills at the foot of Sigiriya rock. Most of these boulders had a building or pavilion upon them. There are cuttings on these boulders that were used as footings for brick walls and beams.
The audience hall of the king was situated in the boulder garden, the remains of which are seen on the flattened and polished summit of a large boulder. There is also a five metre long granite throne in this hall. The throne is carved from the boulder itself, and is not separated from it. Another notable feature in the boulder garden is the Cistern rock, named after a large, carved cistern on top of the rock. A large archway, created by two boulders, provides access to the terraced gardens.
The terraced gardens
The terraced gardens are formed from the natural hill at the base of the Sigiriya rock. A series of terraces, each rising above the other, connect the pathways of the boulder garden to the staircases on the rock. These have been created by the construction of brick walls, and are located in a roughly concentric plan around the rock. The path through the terraced gardens is formed by a limestone staircase. From this staircase, there is a covered path on the side of the rock, leading to the uppermost terrace where the lion staircase is situated.
The Mirror Wall
Originally this wall was so well polished that the king could see himself whilst he walked alongside it. Made of a kind of porcelain, the wall is now partially covered with verses scribbled by visitors to the rock. Well preserved, the mirror wall has verses dating from the 8th century. People of all types wrote on the wall, on varying subjects such as love, irony, and experiences of all sorts. Further writing on the mirror wall has now been banned.
One such poem in Sinhala is:
"බුදල්මි. සියොවැ ආමි. සිගිරි බැලිමි. බැලු බැලු බොහො දනා ගී ලීලුයෙන් නොලීමි."
The rough translation is: "I am Budal (name of the person). (I) Came with all my family to see Sigiriya. Since all the others wrote poems, I did not!" He has left an important record that Sigiriya was visited by people from a very long time. Its beauty and majestic appearance made people awe of the technology and skills required to build such a place.
Frescos
John Still in 1907 suggested, "The whole face of the hill appears to have been a gigantic picture gallery... the largest picture in the world perhaps".The paintings would have covered most of the western face of the rock, covering an area 140 metres long and 40 metres high. There are references in the graffiti to 500 ladies in these paintings. However, many more are lost forever, having been wiped out when the Palace once more became a Monastery so that they would not disturb meditation.[citation needed] Some more frescos different from the popular collection can be seen elsewhere on the rock surface, for example on the surface of the location called the "Cobra Hood Cave".
Although the frescoes are classified as in the Anuradhapura period, the painting style is considered unique,the line and style of application of the paintings differing from Anuradhapura paintings. The lines are painted in a form which enhances the sense of voluminousness of figures. The paint has been applied in sweeping strokes, using more pressure on one side, giving the effect of a deeper colour tone towards the edge. Other paintings of the Anuradhapura period contain similar approaches to painting, but do not have the sketchy lines of the Sigiriya style, having a distinct artists' boundary line.
Other websites about Sigiriya fortress Sri Lanka : Unesco
Source : Wikipedia
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Skull tower of Niš.
Nišis the second largest city in Serbia and one of the oldest in the Balkans. Situated right between the East and the West it’s had a turbulent history involving numerous occupations and battles. For example in 1385 the Turks seized it after a siege lasting nearly a month.
For a while Serbia regained control, but the Turks re-conquered it in 1448. Then in 1737 the city was seized by the Austrian Army. Austrian rule didn’t last long, however, because the Turks returned the same year and took it back.
By the beginning of the nineteenth-century Serbians started a drive to push the Turks out of Niš. Thus, in 1809, thousands of Serbian insurrectionists surrounded Niš and dug-in. Their plan was to besiege the city then attack from different directions.
The Turks, however, managed to reinforce their army, and as soon as they outnumbered the Serbs they launched a counter-attack. Battles raged at a number of locations. One such battle was waged a few kilometres northeast of Niš at a place called Čegar Hill.
Thousands of Serbs were firmly entrenched at Čegar Hill under the command of Stevan Sinđelić. Even so, Turkish forces charged his position numerous times. At their sixth attempt the Serbian trench was so full of dead bodies the Turks managed to traverse it. They penetrated the Serb position and confronted the Serbs using their sabres, cutting down hundreds.
Realising their situation was hopeless, Sinđelić rushed to where Serbian gunpowder was stockpiled and fired his rifle into it causing a massive explosion. Stevan Sinđelić and many Serbs were totally blasted, but his sacrificial action also destroyed a huge number of the advancing Turks. In the end about three thousand Serbs and nearly six-thousand Turks died at the battle of Čegar Hill.
Though the Turks suffered very heavy losses they nevertheless defeated the Serbs. The brutal Turkish commander at Niš, Hursid Pasha, then set about decapitating hundreds of those killed, whereupon he took about a thousand Serbian skulls and had them mounted on a tower with the skull of Stevan Sinđelić placed on top. The scalps from the skulls were stuffed with cotton and sent to Constantinople (modern Istanbul) as proof for Sultan Mahmud II.
Hursid Pasha’s uniquely gruesome edifice is still standing. Though only 58 skulls remain, much of the Skull Tower has still been preserved thanks to a chapel built to enclose it. Today, however, it serves not as a threat, but as a monument commemorating the battle, a sort of shrine to the value of independence and the real price that some have had to pay.
Today, the remaining 58 in the tower of skulls which, together with the whole
environment, the National Museum of Nis and the whole city carefully taken into
account, respecting the words of Alfonso de Lamartine:
"My eyes and my heart greeted the remains of those brave men whose cut-off heads made the cornerstone of the independence of their homeland. May the Serbs keep this monument! It will always teach their children the value of the independence of a people, showing them the real price their fathers had to pay for it." - Alphonse de Lamartine, Journey to the East, 1833
Other websites about Skull tower of Niš : Battle of Čegar, official website of the municipality of Niš
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