Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum

By Jim Lucas
Nation: Poland
Taken on: July 7, 2012

Conversing With The Lord

The Sultan Hassan Mosque is a compact and stylish mosque.It is one of the masterpieces of Mamluk architecture.

The building was commissioned by Sultan Hassan bin Al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun in 1356 AD as a mosque and religious school for all four juristic branches of Sunni Islam.

Construction started in 1356 AD and ended 7 years later in 1363 AD

By Saira Bhatti
Taken on: July 1, 2011

The Huntsmen

The Jægerkorpset (Huntsmen Corps): is a special forces unit of the Royal Danish Army

The first incarnation of the corps was formed in 1785 as Jægercorpset i Sielland (The Hunter Corps of Zealand) and existed in various forms until it was remade in its current form in 1961. Their hunting origin is recalled in the Hunting horn on their insignia. The Danish Huntmen Corps has trained a total of 362 soldiers from its inception in 1961 until 2009.

After one year of satisfactory service and training in JGK the wearer is issued the shoulder patch “JÆGER” (English: Hunter) and may call himself by this name.

Jægerkorpset is composed of around 150 highly trained soldiers with special expertise in counter-terrorism, demolitions,parachuting, and combat swimming, HAHO and HALO parachuting, infiltration, sabotage, reconnaissance and more.

The corps regularly trains with similar units from different countries, such as the US Navy SEALs, British SAS and the Danish naval special forces group, the Frogman Corps. The corps is based on the structure and modus operandi of the British SAS.

Their slogan, which is Latin, Plus esse, quam simultatur translates to Mere at være, end at synes (“More to be, than to seem”) in Danish, meaning that the soldier’s capabilities do not have to be widely recognized or boasted – they are only more effective if unknown.

Info via: Wikipedia

Minaret

By Dan
Taken on: March 31, 2011
Location: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (جامع الشيخ زايد الكبير), Abu Dhabi (أبو ظبي)Note: The above title is mine. 

WithOut Peer

My one, my soul without peer,
Most beautiful of all!
Rising like the morning star
At the start of a happy year.
Shining bright, fair of skin,
Lovely the look of her eyes,
Sweet the speech of her lips,
She has not a word too much.
Upright neck, shining breast,
Hair true Lapis Lazuli;
Arms surpassing gold,
Fingers like lotus buds.
Heavy thighs, narrow waist,
Her legs parade her beauty;
With graceful step she treads the ground,
Captures my heart by her movements.
She causes all men’s necks
To turn about to see her;
Joy has he whom she embraces,
When she steps outside she seems like the Sun!

Photo by: Doctor-Honesty
Photo title: I Adore You
Description: Unedited Photo-shoot of a 10 inch statue of the God Osiris and his wife Isis.

Poem Name: WithOut Peer
Description: Ancient Egyptian Love Poem
Poem provided by: CZ

MayFlower

From thy fragrant, beauteous bosom,
I accept and clasp the treasure,
To my breast with grateful pleasure,
Dear the gift, and dear the giver,
Whose loving hand is near me ever,
Memory ever fondly clinging,
To the past, before me bringing,
With deepest sweetest fascination,
Past scenes of love and admiration.

Art by: MainLoop
Model: Rivi Madison
Poem (portion): The May Flower
Poet: Janet Hamilton
Poem Provided by: CZ

Harun Al-Rashid Receiving A Delegation Of Charlemagne In Baghdad

Harun al-Rashid (Arabic: هارون الرشيد‎}; Hārūn ar-Rashīd) (17 March 763 or February 766 — 24 March 809) was the fifth Abbasid Caliph.

His surnametranslates to “the Just”, “the Upright”, or “the Rightly-Guided”. Al-Rashid ruled from 786 to 809, during the peak of the Islamic Golden Age.

His time was marked by scientific, cultural, and religious prosperity. Islamic art and musicalso flourished significantly during his reign. He established the legendary library Bayt al-Hikma (“House of Wisdom”) in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, and during his rule Baghdad began to flourish as a center of knowledge, culture and trade.

Charlemagne (/ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn/; 2 April 742/747/748 – 28 January 814),also known as Charles the Great (German: Karl der Große; Latin: Carolus or Karolus Magnus) or Charles I, was the King of the Franks from 768, the King of Italy from 774, and from 800 the first emperor in western Europe since the collapse of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. The expanded Frankish state he founded is called the Carolingian Empire.

The oldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, Charlemagne became king in 768 following the death of his father. He was initially co-ruler with his brother Carloman I. Carloman’s sudden death in 771 under unexplained circumstances left Charlemagne as the undisputed ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. Charlemagne continued his father’s policy towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy, and leading an incursion into Muslim Spain.

He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, Christianizing them upon penalty of death, at times leading to events such as the Massacre of Verden.

Charlemagne reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned “emperor” by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at Old St. Peter’s Basilica.

Called the “Father of Europe” (pater Europae), Charlemagne united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire. His rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of cultural and intellectual activity within the Catholic Church. Both the French and German monarchies considered their kingdoms to be descendants of Charlemagne’s empire.

Charlemagne died in 814, having ruled as emperor for just over thirteen years. He was laid to rest in his imperial capital of Aachen in what is today Germany. His son Louis the Pious succeeded him.

Artist: Julius Köckert
Date: 1864
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Location: Maximilianeum Foundation, Munich, Germany
Info via: Wikipedia
Info provided by: CZ

Scales Of Perception

Reality is what we take to be true.
What we take to be true is what we believe.
What we believe is based upon our perceptions.
What we perceive depends upon what we look for.
What we look for depends upon what we think.
What we think depends upon what we perceive.
What we perceive determines what we believe.
What we believe determines what we take to be true.
What we take to be true is our reality.

By Hengki24
Note: The title is mine
Original title: Haiku Haiku
Quote by: Gary Zukav
Quote provided by: CZ

Today You Soar

Like the grand eagle, you spread your wings
And put forth the effort to do great things.
Looking skyward you dared to challenge the wind,
Harnessing power to help you ascend.

With an eye on the goal, fixed in flight,
You climbed to an impressive height.
Undaunted by gusts and unkind gails,
You never gave up and would not fail.

So now you’ve reached where few even try
As the eagle high in a glorious sky.
Not superior, but grand.
Not proud, but sure.
Not a cub, wolf, or bear but an eagle pure.
Today you soar.

By: pe_ha45

Taken on: August 7, 2014

Title of photo: It Was A Wonderful Day

Name of poem: Today You Soar

Poem by: Richelle E. Goodrich

Title and poem provided by: CZ

Sheikh Zayed Mosque Light Show

In celebration of UAE National Day 2011

Projection and design by Obscura Digital

44 projectors with a combined brightness of 840,000 lumens, were used to cover a surface 600ft wide x 351ft high

Music by Random Rab

Tigers and Leopards

By Squiver

This is an impression of a unique and spectacular photo tour, focusing on the two prettiest and most elusive big cats: tigers and leopards. Want to join us in South-Africa (!) to photograph tigers and leopards, and improve your photography skills at the same time? 

The Escape Artists

Honey badgers escape from their enclosure using anything from mud balls to rakes.

Courtesy Of: The BBC

Waterton Lake Eclipse

Explanation: Recorded on April 15th, this total lunar eclipse sequence looks south down icy Waterton Lake from the Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, planet Earth. The most distant horizon includes peaks in Glacier National Park, USA. An exposure every 10 minutes captured the Moon’s position and eclipse phase, as it arced, left to right, above the rugged skyline and Waterton town lights. In fact, the sequence effectively measures the roughly 80 minute duration of the total phase of the eclipse. Around 270 BC, the Greek astronomer Aristarchus also measured the duration of lunar eclipses – though probably without the benefit of digital clocks and cameras. Still, using geometry, he devised a simple and impressively accurate way to calculate the Moon’s distance, in terms of the radius of planet Earth, from the eclipse duration. This modern eclipse sequence also tracks the successive positions of Mars, above and right of the Moon, bright star Spica next to the reddened lunar disk, and Saturn to the left and below.

Image Credit & Copyright: Yuichi Takasaka

Spark Of Love

He’s more myself than I am.
Whatever our souls are made of,
His and mine are the same.

By Adam Lee
(AdamChris1992)
Quote by: Emily Bronte
From: Wuthering Heights
Quote provided by: CZ

Wherever I May Roam

And the road becomes my bride
I have stripped of all but pride
So in her I do confide
And she keeps me satisfied
Gives me all I need!

And the earth becomes my throne
I adapt to the unknown
Under wandering stars I’ve grown
By myself but not alone

And my ties are severed clean
Less I have the more I gain
Off the beaten path I reign

Rover, wanderer
Nomad, vagabond
Call me what you will!

Photo by: Peyman Az
Song title: Wherever I May Roam
Lyrics by: Metallica
Lyrics provided by: CZ

Final Moments

There’s nothing more evocative than the sight of a lioness at full charge. The raw essence of power and focus!

By Fuz-Caforio-Art

Sublime

Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood,
In which the burden of the mystery
In which the heavy and weary weight
Of all this unintelligible world,
Is lightened

Photo by: DMMDesign
Location: Sunset – College Cove, Trinidad, California, USA
Portion of poem by: William Wordsworth
Poem provided by: CZ

Accursed

I used to write about her. I would write
With eyes shut tight—shut tight that I might see
A world outside myself; a blessed night
When she might come unbidden unto me.

Now, I fear to close my bloodshot eyes.
I fear the dreams of her that I must bear;
The hope that festers there—the wretched lies
I once held dear. My night mind is her lair.

There, she’s still and silent by my side,

Her fingers interlacing with my own—

I touch her cheek and look into her eyes—

We needn’t speak; we live and breathe as one.

There, I’m wrapped in such serenity;
Blessed by a peace such as I’ve never known—
Yet doomed; accursed for all eternity,
For when I wake, I am again alone.

By Stefangrosjean
Photo name: The Balance Of Light
Poem by: AzraelWrites
Poem name: Accursed

Evening Light

By Ann Marie Bone

The Anthropocentric Orrery

For man to be convinced he is the at centre of the universe, is a profoundly shallow view of the part we all play in the grand scheme of things. The living and breathing universe is as much part of us as we are of it.

Sat against the backdrop of the constellation of Orion (left), the Pleiades star cluster (centre) and the Andromeda galaxy (right), I triggered the camera to capture myself pondering the impact of human activity on the landscape that we are so very fond of.

The light pollution and passing ships on the horizon that, together with less than ideal weather conditions, make it very difficult to capture the night sky like this.

Let’s keep the lights off at night, so that we together can enjoy the night sky again.

Please share this image if you like it! This helps me out a lot. Thanks!

By SurrealExposure
Location: Den Helder, Netherlands