Ronda - Town on The Rocks (Spain)

Ronda - a small but very picturesque Spanish town located in the northwest of the province of Malaga. On the official website of the city it is called the soul of Andalusia - and for good reason, because it's unique charm does not leave anyone indifferent tourists who visited the place. Colorful Spain has lost a lot would not if she had such an interesting angle, so visit Ronda - one of the essential tasks for any self-respecting traveler.

The main feature of the city is its location - it is a hill, divided into two deep gorge at the bottom of which flows the river Guadalevin (Guadalevín).

New Crude Oil Spas in Naftalan at Azerbaijan

In the Azerbaijan city of Naftalan, 320 kilometers north-west of the capital Baku, crude oil is found in such abundance that people literally bath in it. During the Soviet era, Naftalan’s famous crude oil baths used to draw tourists from all over the Soviet Union. It is believed that Naftalan crude oil has medicinal properties and is good for treating skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis, easing joint pains and generally calming the nerves. At their peak in the 1980s, Naftalan spas had 75,000 visitors a year. This reduced to a trickle when war broke out between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians in nearby Nagorno-Karabakh in 1988, and many resorts were converted into camps for housing refugees. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, petroleum baths closed down entirely. Now nearly two decades later, crude oil spas have started opening up again.

13 inspiring facts about airplanes

At the May holidays, many of our compatriots prefer to fly away from their home towns. Even those who are afraid to fly. If you belong to their number, this post - for you! Probably after you are familiar with our "baker's dozen" air facts, you will feel more confident on the board. Although it is not a fact . Some degree of aerophobia so high that no facts will not help.

Air transportation - the safest form of transport

Really Life is Awesome

Clouds Blast in Uttarakhand ( India )

A view of the washed off buildings area near Kedarnath Dham in Uttarakhand on Tuesday following incessant rains and floods.

Flooding in Europe, The Danube River Reached its Highest Level in 500 Years

The Danube River reached its highest level in 500 years. The Elbe, Rhine, and other rivers and tributaries are cresting high as well as swathes of central Europe lie inundated by floodwaters that have killed 12 and displaced tens of thousands. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic have been severely affected, as Hungary prepares for the swell of water. Gathered here are images of the flooding and people affected in the last several days. -- Lane Turner

Climbing of World's Tallest Peak, Mount Everest

Sixty years ago today New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay made the first confirmed ascent of the world's tallest peak which reaches 29,029 feet. Since then thousands of people have made the attempt, with many perishing. Just last week 80-year-old Japanese mountaineer Yuichiro Miura became the oldest person to reach the summit for the third time, although he said that he nearly died on the descent and that this would be his last time. The 1953 expedition that took Hillary and Norgay to the top ended with a stay of just 15 minutes, with Norgay leaving chocolates in the snow and Hillary leaving a cross that was given to him by Army Colonel John Hunt, the leader of the British expedition. -- Lloyd Young

Photos of Plane Wrecks With “Happy Ends”

Airplane wrecks usually denote tragedies, but photographer Dietmar Eckell aims to highlight the rare miracles from the history of aviation where everyone survived. "'Happy End' is a photo-project about miracles in aviation history - 15 airplanes that had forced landings but all on board survived and were rescued from the remote locations," says Dietmar Eckell a photographer from Dusseldorf, Germany.

West Sahara

Thousands of fishermen empty lake in minutes

On one day of the year the Dogon people of Mali can fish in the sacred water of Lake Antogo. It's every fisherman for himself as the lake is emptied in minutes.

Dogon Dances of Dogon People, Mali (Africa)

The Dogon are an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of the country of Mali, in the West of the Continent of Africa, south of the Nigerbend, near the city of Bandiagara, in the Mopti region. The population numbers between 400,000 and 800,000 The Dogon are best known for their religious traditions, their mask dances, wooden sculpture and their architecture. The past century has seen significant changes in the social organization, material culture and beliefs of the Dogon, partly because Dogon country is one of Mali's major tourist attractions.

50 Years of NASA’s Space Food

NASA’s Advanced Food Technology Project is responsible for providing space flight crews with a food system that is safe, nutritious, and acceptable to the crew, while balancing appropriate vehicle mass, volume, waste, and food preparation time for exploration missions. For the past 50 years, the methods involved in the preservation process have evolved from pilots eating seed and crackers to allowing for gourmet diets like freeze dried shrimp and meats to be eaten.

John Glenn was America's first man to eat anything in the near weightlessness of Earth orbit. Before that, Yuri Gagarin, the first man on space, experimented by eating three 160 g toothpaste-type tubes serving puréed meat and chocolate sauce for lunch. Glen found the task of eating fairly easy, but found the menu to be limited. Many Mercury astronauts had to endure bite-sized cubes, freeze dried powders, and semiliquids stuffed in aluminum tubes. The astronauts found it unappetizing, experienced difficulties in rehydrating the freeze-dried foods, and did not like having to squeeze tubes. Moreover, freeze-dried foods produced crumbs which could foul instruments.

25 Vintage Photos of "Oscar"

 May 11, 1927 in California, was founded the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy was conceived as an organization of professionals, volunteer, dedicated to the advancement of cinema. But above all, the Academy is known around the world for her to set up an annual award "Oscar" - the most prestigious film awards.

Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed Oscar as best actor and actress for her role in From Here to Eternity, which won the 8 statuettes in 1954.

Church, Mosque & Museum, Hagia Sophia - Istanbul (Turkey)

Hagia Sophia  is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica (church), later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its construction in 537 until 1453, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedra land seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum on 1 February 1935.

Kitintale Skate Park in Uganda

The Uganda Skateboard Union consists of a group of young people in the Kampala district of Uganda. After watching a skateboarding video from the United States, Jackson Mubiru, the director of the USU, along with a few others decided to build their own skateboard park. The Kintalke Skate Park is the first skate park in East Africa, and was also built entirely without the assistance of NGO’s or government funding. Today, there are over 50 members of the USU who skate daily at Kitintale, and the skateboard company Birdhouse has since sponsored the skateparks, along with a number of private donors who support the cause. Kitintale acts as not only a place for recreation, but encourages community among these young people, both keeping them from trouble and encouraging them to pursue a dream that seems almost unheard of from a small village in Uganda.

New Sustainable Modular Buildings Open At New York's Beaches

After Sandy, the lifeguard stations on New York’s beaches were destroyed. But these new versions are built to withstand a storm--and might be a model for how to think about building better for the future. Designed and built at a breakneck pace, prefab comfort stations by Garrison Architects. The restrooms, lifeguard stations and offices were designed to replace structures washed away by Hurricane Sandy in October.

World’s Longest Desert Highway With Green Belt (China)

The Tarim Desert Highway across the Taklamakan desert, in China, links the cities of Luntai and Minfeng on the northern and southern edges of the Tarim basin. The total length of the highway is 552 km, of which approximately 446 km is built across uninhabited areas covered by shifting sand dunes, 20 metes tall, that frequently bury the highway.

To prevent the highway from getting buried by the encroaching sand dunes, rows of vegetation were planted on both sides of the road to anchor the sand with their roots. A massive irrigation system was constructed that pump water from underground reservoirs to sustain the artificial ecosystem. Hundreds of workers were employed, housed every four kilometers along the road who tend to the short, small-leaved rose willows, sacsaoul and buckthorn and make sure they do not die. The water comes from wells, bored 100 meters deep into an aquifer which sits under the desert, which in turn is fed by the rivers that flow down from the surrounding mountains. Despite the high saline content in the water, the green belt continues to thrive.

Beautiful Mountains And Rice Fields of Tam Coc Valley (Vietnam)

Tam Coc Valley - one of the most exciting attractions in Vietnam. In the valley of rice fields on the picturesque River flows Ngo Dong, the bed of which are painted in different colors depending on the season. This is a popular tourist destination near the city of Ninh Binh in northern Vietnam. The Tam Coc (“three caves”) portion is a three-hour excursion by small boat along the Ngo Dong river, beginning at the village of Van Lam and proceeding through a scenic landscape dominated by rice fields and karst towers. The route includes floating through three natural caves  the largest of which is 125m long with its ceiling about 2m high above the water. The boats are typically rowed by one or two local women who also sell embroidered goods.

Tam Coc is located about 90 km from the city of Ninh Binh, and is considered one of the most spectacular sights in Vietnam.

700 Years Old Wooden Tourist Trek Up Thousands of Feet on Mountain in Chaina

These vertigo-inducing pictures show tourists navigating an extremely narrow and treacherous walkway along cliffs at a scenic mountain in China's Shaanxi Province. The precipitous Chang Kong Cliff Road on Haushan mountain was built more than 700 years ago by hermits seeking ‘immortals’ they thought were living deep in the mountains. The walkway is only a foot width wide and has been built clinging to the absolutely vertical cliff. One misstep would send pilgrims plunging thousands of feet down into the valley. These days, anyone brave enough to navigate the path does have to wear a special safety harness

Perhaps its better not to see? A daredevil visitor to Huashan Mountain's Chang Kong Cliff Road walks the narrow pathway in a dense mist which obscures the background... and the lethal drop below

The Strangest Trees Around The World

We are all accustomed to the sight of trees around us and, passing by, do not pay much attention to them. But our world grow and very unusual specimens. Their views have not only surprised, but also make stop in amazement.

 On our planet grows a variety of trees for our unaccustomed eye view. But where they grow, the locals see them as a matter of course and do not pay them much attention.

26 - Foot Anaconda, Snaps Incredible Photos!

These remarkable images show the enormous 26-foot (eight metre) anacondas of Mato Grosso in Brazil searching for prey in the murky depths. They were captured by brave diver and snake enthusiast Franco Banfi, 53, who joined the beasts in their natural habitat armed only with a camera. 

The Swiss diver and his team visited the region for ten-days. Speaking to dailymail.com, “As the snake had just eaten it didn’t take much interest in us,” said Banfi. “At the first moment it’s scary because you don’t know the animal and everybody says it’s dangerous. But after a while you understand that nothing happens if you respect the snake. I have never been so close to a snake like this before. But I think a small poisonous snake is more scary than a big one. At least you can see the anacondas clearly and know what they’re doing,” he added. The 53-year-old snake lover went out in the snake’s natural habitat with just a camera and took these remarkable close-up photos of huge snakes resting on the river bank.

82,500 Miles Journey On Motorcycle

When Alex Chacon decided to travel the world, he decided to do it in an unusual way. To be exact - on a motorcycle. This graduate of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Texas began a long journey to make a reality of your dreams before you get serious medical practice. Alex is shot on camera and the camera. By the way, this photo project, called "Modern Motorcycle Diaries," has become not only a personal project, but also the charity event - the proceeds go to a non-profit organization "Children of Uganda."

The Shipwrecks of Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands are made up of three islands - Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. They lie in western Caribbean Sea about 700 km south of Miami, 366 km south of Cuba, and about 500 km northwest of Jamaica. Grand Cayman is by far the biggest and most developed, with an area of 197 square kilometers. Grand Cayman's two "Sister Islands", Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are small - 38 and 28.5 sq km respectively - and located about 120 km east north-east of Grand Cayman.

One of the main attractions of Cayman Islands is scuba diving. The three islands of the Cayman Islands are the exposed tips of a massive underwater mountain. The sides of this mountain are quite steep, vertical in some places, within as little as a few hundred meters from shore. This wall has coral reefs, colourful fish, and other exotic underwater creatures, providing something extraordinary for scuba divers. And then there are shipwrecks.

The Largest Cemetery - Wadi Al-Salaam

Wadi us-Salaam, which literally means the Valley of Peace, is an Islamic cemetery located in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq. The cemetery covers an area of 1485.5 acres and contains millions of bodies, making it one of the strongest contender for the title of the largest graveyard on earth. Najaf itself is one of Iraq's biggest cities, with a population of nearly 600,000. But the adjoining city of the dead holds the remains of millions, stretching for up to 10km along the valley. Wadi Al-Salam cemetery is also the only cemetery in the world where the process of burial is still continuing to day since more than 1,400 years. The graveyard holds importance in Shiite belief as it has been said that the souls of all faithful men and women shall be moved there, no matter where their bodies have been buried. Many prophets, kings, princes and Sultans lie in this cemetery including that of Prophet Hud, Prophet Saleh, and Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, as well as the remains of the prince of faithfuls, Ali Ibn Abi Talib.

Floating Phumdis of Loktak Lake, India

Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in northeast India, also called the only Floating lake in the world due to the large amount of floating phumdis on its surface. Phumdis are heterogeneous mass of vegetation, soil, and organic matters at various stages of decomposition that has been thickened into a solid form. They cover a substantial part of the lake area. The largest single mass of phumdi is in the southeastern part of the lake, covering an area of 40 square kilometer. This mass constitutes the world’s largest and the only floating park, named Keibul Lamjao National Park, that is home to the endangered Brow-antlered Deer also called Sangai in the Manipuri language, indigenous to this area.

This ancient lake plays an important role in the economy of Manipur. It serves as a source of water for hydropower generation, irrigation and drinking water supply. The lake is also a source of livelihood for the rural fisherman who live in the surrounding areas and on phumdis, also known as “phumshongs”. Phumdis are used by the local people for constructing huts, for fishing and other livelihood uses. The villagers create artificial circular enclosures out of phumids for fish farming. These are the structures you see in the picture below. Nearly 100,000 people depends on the lake for their livelihood.

 

Mexican Archaeologists Unearth Ancient 1100 Year Old Burial Chamber

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient 1,100-year-old burial chamber at the archeological site of Atzompa, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The funerary complex, consisting of three burial chambers, is different from the previously discovered finds in the region. It was located inside a building designed exclusively to house a series of tombs placed vertically, one above another, and unlike the ones found so far, they are not underground, according to the National Institute of Anthropology and History.

Sun Temple - Konark (India)

Konark Sun Temple is a 13^th century Sun Temple (also known as the Black Pagoda),at Konark, in Odisha. It was constructed fromoxidized and weathered ferruginous sandstone by King Narasimhadeva I (1238-1250 CE) of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. The temple is an example of Orissan architecture of the Ganga dynasty. The temple is one of the most renowned temples in India and is a World Heritage Site. It is one of the Seven Wonders of India (as per the poll collected by NDTV). Legend has it that the temple was constructed by Samba, the son of Lord Krishna. It is said that Samba was afflicted by leprosy, brought about by his father’s curse on him. After 12 years of penance, he was cured by Surya, the Sun God, in whose honour he built the magnificent Konark Sun Temple.

Located on the shoreline, now a little over 3 km from the sea, the temple takes the form of the chariot of Surya (Arka), the Sun God, and is heavily decorated with stone carving. The entire complex was designed in the form of the God's huge chariot drawn by seven spirited horses on twelve pairs of exquisitely decorated wheels at its base. The huge wheels carved at the base of the temple are one of the major attractions. The spokes of the wheels serve as sundials and the shadows cast by these can give the precise time of the day. The pyramidal roof soars over 30 m (98 ft) in height. The temple complex also contains erotic sculptures similar to the temple in Khajuraho.

People Are Awesome - 1

Really People are awesome. 

See the below video. Hope you will like it.

The Citadel Town of Erbil, Iraq

At the heart of the city of Erbil, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, lies an ancient mound of earth some 25 to 30 meters tall from the surrounding plains. On top of this mound lies one of the oldest town in the world. Known as the Citadel of Erbil, this fortified town, measuring a meager 430 by 340 meters and occupying 102,000 square meters in area has been in continuous occupation since at least the 5th millennium BC, and possibly earlier. The imposing yellow-ochre color structure with a solid perimeter wall is one of the most dramatic visual experiences in the Middle East.

The mound rises at an angle of 45 degrees until it reaches the perimeter wall which consist of the facades of approximately 100 houses that have been built against each other. The houses are contiguous and form a solid wall very similar to fortified citadels of medieval times. Three ramps, located on the northern, eastern and southern slopes of the mound, lead up to gates in the outer ring of houses. Originally, there was only one ramp – the southern slope that led to a huge and arched gateway. The gate led to a small open square which, in turn, led to four main alleyways which branched out in all directions like a tree.

The World's Fastest Records

Amazingly fantastic feats all collected into one video for your enjoyment.

Mountain hut (mountain shelter) On Various Mountains

A mountain hut (also known as alpine hut, mountain shelter, and mountain hostel) is a building located in the mountains intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization dedicated to hiking or mountain recreation. Mountain huts usually provide simple sleeping berths, and personnel may prepare meals and drinks for mountaineers. Mountain huts usually allow anybody to access their facilities. Some huts in more remote areas have no personnel, but mountaineers are still allowed to access them. Mountain huts have been built for many years, some as early as the 1880s.Huts used as Forest Service guard shacks and sheep herding shelters were built in Colorado in the 1940s. These huts cut through now what is the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. In the United States, New Hampshire, the Carter Notch Hut was built in 1904 and is still in use today.

Pleisenhütte (1,757 m) in the KarwendelMountains, Tyrol region, Austria

Chinese Human Snail Carries His Home on His Back Wherever He Goes

38-year-old Liu Lingchao is a real-life human snail who carries his 60-kg-heavy house on his back wherever he goes. Made of bamboo poles and plastic sheets, the portable home provides shelter on Liu’s long travels through China.

Liu Lingchao makes a living selling plastic bottle and metal cans he picks up from the streets of various Chinese cities. The man from Rong’an, Guangdong Province, built his first mobile home five years ago, as a way to save money on his long journeys, and for protection against rain and cold weather. Liu found life as a snail to his liking, and has since then worn out three bamboo huts. His newest one is 1.5 meters wide and and 2.2 meters tall, offering him just enough room for a modest bedding and his travel necessities. Its 60 kg weight is not exactly easy for one man to carry, so Liu really is moving at the pace of a snail along China’s roads, but it beats having to look for shelter wherever he goes, and says the fact that he can settle down virtually anywhere he wants is worth the effort. The human snail left Wuzhou City several months ago, and is now just 20 miles away from completing an epic 270-mile walk and returning to his home town.