Wodan's pictures

Ostuni - Italy

2006-08-09T15:09:00.000+02:00

OSTUNI, 40km northwest of the town and just 35 minutes away by train, is one of the most stunning small towns of southern Italy.

Situated on three hills at the southernmost edge of Le Murge, and an important Greco-Roman city in the first century AD, its old centre spreads across the highest of the hills, a gleaming white splash of sun-bleached streets and cobbled alleyways, dominating the plains below.
The maze of well-preserved winding streets makes for a fascinating amble, the town buzzes on summer nights and there are some exceptional views – particularly from Largo Castello over the woods to the north. Bits of cavorting Baroque twist out of unexpected places, including an ornamented eighteenth-century obelisk, 21m high, dedicated to St Oronzo, which stands in Piazza della Libertà (aka Piazza St Oronzo) on the southern edge of the old town.
This is the focal point on summer Saturday nights for hordes of people who drive in from the countryside around, meet up with their friends, pack out the bars and cafés and listen to the music coming from the sound system.

Alberobello - Italy

2006-08-09T15:01:00.000+02:00

These gleaming houses (whitewashed each year) are curious, rounded structures with gray, stone, cone-shaped roofs. They are trulli, common in the province of Bari and Taranto, yet unknown in the rest of the world. A great number of trulli may be found in the town of Alberobello, which is nearly a city.

The town's historical center is on a hilltop, amid the scent of almond and olive trees, and has been declared an International Human Resource by UNESCO. It is made up of a hundred trulli some 5 centuries old.
The origin of their oddly-shaped, stone teepee design is unknown. Although some theories date the Trulli back 5000 years, the favorite story of their creation claims that such buildings were first constructed during the Middle Ages. At the time, anyone who built a dwelling on the King's land was heavily taxed. With this in mind, the Pugliesi cleverly devised the drywall stone Trulli solely for purposes of tax evasion.
As the story goes, upon word of the taxman's arrival (perhaps by means of a smoke signal), the Trulli were rapidly dismantled and moved out of sight. After the visit was over and that gentleman successfully ducked, the homes were re-erected. Nowadays, Trulli are firmly planted and buttressed with stucco. A cone still comprises a single common area and the interiors, though charming, are spartan. With the exception of bathroom doors, the rooms are separated by colorful curtains in sharp contrast to the stark whiteness of the interior walls Mostly handmade furnishing of olive wood, quite beautiful by any standard, are representative of the work of the traditional peasant artisans of the area. The hearth remains the source of heat to this day. Luckily, Puglia is fairly warm and the cool stone Trulli provide relief from the hot summer sun. In spite of its rustic simplicity, the prices here are a bargain (Puglia as a whole is a bargain compared to most of Italy). Alberobello, the Trulli capital, is a fairy-tale city. Fanciful hex signs adorning each home add magic to the already bewitching setting. A wealth of history, art, food and vistas, rivaling anything in Italy, awaits you.
The people, unvaryingly pleasant, are generous to a fault. Maid service, bicycle rental, cooking classes and firewood can be easily arranged. Alberobello, while steeped in the past, does have a train station, and it is only a single hour's drive from Taranto, Bari or the seaside.

Brindisi - Italy

2006-08-09T14:57:00.000+02:00

Brindisi is an ancient city in the Italian region of Puglia, the capital of the province of Brindisi.

Ancient times
There are several traditions concerning its founders; one of them claims that it was founded by the legendary hero Diomedes.
Brindisi was probably an Illyrian settlement predating the Roman expansion. The Latin name Brundisium, through the Greek Brentesion, is a corruption of the Messapian Brention meaning "deer's head" and probably referring to the shape of the natural harbour. As a Messapic centre, Brindisi was in conflict with Taranto and in friendly relations with Thurii. In 267 BCE (245 BCE, according to other sources) it was conquered by the Romans. After the Punic Wars it became In the Social War it received Roman citizenship, and was made a free port by Sulla. It suffered, however, from a siege conducted by Caesar in 49 BCE (Bell. Civ. i.) and was again attacked in 42 and 40 BCE.
The poet Pacuvius was born here about 220 BCE, and here the famous poet Vergil died in 19 BCE. Under the Romans Brundisium, with some 100,000 inhabitants, was an active port, the chief point of embarkation for Greece and the East, via Dyrrachium or Corcyra. It was connected with Rome by the Via Appia and the Via Traiana.

Middle Ages and modern times
Later Brindisi was conquered by Ostrogoths, and reconquered by the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century CE. In 674 it was destroyed by the Lombards led by Romuald I of Benevento. In the 9th century a Saracen settlement existed in the neighourhood of the city, which had been stormed in 836 by pirates. Again a Byzantine possession, it was captured by the Normans in 1070, and subsequently part of the Kingdom of Naples under its various dynasties. Like other Pugliese ports, Brindisi for a short while was ruled by Venice, but was soon reconquered by Spain.
A plague and an earthquake struck the city, in 1348 and 1456, respectively.
Brindisi fell to Austrian rule in 1707-1734, and afterwards to the Bourbons. Between September 1943 and February 1944 the city functioned as the temporary capital of Italy.A Roman column alongside the Via Appia.EnlargeA Roman column alongside the Via Appia.
Brindisi in the 21st century serves as the home base of the San Marco Regiment, a naval brigade originally known as the La Marina Regiment. It was renamed San Marco after its noted defense of Venice at the start of World War I.

2005-09-01T13:29:00.004+02:00

Turkey - Ephesus

2005-09-01T13:29:00.003+02:00

Turkey - Ephesus

2005-09-01T13:29:00.002+02:00

Turkey - Ephesus

2005-09-01T13:29:00.001+02:00

Turkey - Ephesus

2005-09-01T13:29:00.000+02:00

Turkey - Ephesus

2005-09-01T13:28:00.002+02:00

Turkey - Ephesus

2005-09-01T13:28:00.001+02:00

Turkey - Ephesus

2005-09-01T13:28:00.000+02:00

Turkey - Ephesus

2005-09-01T13:27:00.001+02:00

Ephesus (Greek: Έφεσσος) was one of the great cities of the Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor, located in Lydia where the Cayster river flows into the Aegean Sea (in modern day Turkey). It was founded by colonists principally from Athens. The ruins of Ephesus are a major tourist attraction, especially for people travelling to Turkey by cruise ship via the port of Kusadasi.

Beginning in the Roman Republic, Ephesus was the capital of proconsular Asia, which covered the western part of Asia Minor. The city bore the title of "the first and greatest metropolis of Asia." It was distinguished for the Temple of Artemis (Diana), who had her chief shrine there, for its library, and for its theatre, which was the largest in the world, capable of holding 25,000 spectators. It was, like all ancient theatres, open to the sky. Here were exhibited the fights of wild beasts and of men with beasts. The population of Ephesus has been estimated to be in the range of 400,000 to 500,000 inhabitants in the year 100 CE, making it one of the largest cities of the day. Also built in Ephesus around this time were the Roman Baths, of interest is what is believed to be the first instance of indoor plumbed toilets.

Ephesus was an important center for early Christianity. Paul used it as a base. He became embroiled in a dispute with artisans, whose livelihood depended on the Temple of Artemis there (Acts 19:23-41), and wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus. Later Paul wrote to the Christian community at Ephesus. It was one of the seven cities addressed in Revelation (2:1-7). There is also a letter written by Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians in the early 2nd century CE.

2005-09-01T13:27:00.000+02:00

Turkey - Ephesus

2005-09-01T13:26:00.000+02:00

Turkey - Pamukkale

2005-09-01T13:25:00.000+02:00

Turkey - Pamukkale

2005-09-01T13:24:00.000+02:00

Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site and attraction in Turkey. Water from the ancient city of Hierapolis flows down a mountainside and collects in a series of pools surrounded by limestone formations. As the warm water travels through limestone, it releases carbon dioxide and precipitates calcium carbonate. The effect of this natural phenomenon leaves thick white layers of limestone cascading down the mountain slope, making the area look like a fortress of cotton or a frozen waterfall.

It is one of the World Heritage Sites in Turkey together with Hierapolis.

2005-09-01T13:19:00.002+02:00

Turkey - Aphrodisias

2005-09-01T13:19:00.001+02:00

Turkey - Aphrodisias

2005-09-01T13:19:00.000+02:00

Turkey - Aphrodisias

2005-09-01T13:18:00.002+02:00

Turkey - Aphrodisias

2005-09-01T13:18:00.001+02:00

Turkey - Aphrodisias

2005-09-01T13:18:00.000+02:00

Turkey - Aphrodisias

2005-09-01T13:17:00.000+02:00

Turkey - Aphrodisias

2005-09-01T13:16:00.000+02:00

Aphrodisias was a town in Caria, now part of modern Turkey, about 230 km (142.5 miles) from Izmir. As its name implies, it was named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.

This was not its original name; it had three others before that. Excavations began here in the early 1960s and are ongoing. The site is in an earthquake zone and has suffered a great deal of damage at various times, especially in the 4th and 7th centuries. An added complication was that one of the 4th century earthquakes altered the water table, making parts of the town prone to flooding.

Evidence can be seen of emergency plumbing installed to combat this problem. Aphrodisias never fully recovered from the 7th century earthquake, and fell into disrepair. Part of the town was covered by the modern village of Geyre; some of the cottages were removed in the 20th century to reveal the older city. A new Geyre has been built a short distance away.

The Temple of Aphrodite was and still is a focal point of the town, but the character of the building was altered when it became a Christian basilica. The Aphrodisian sculptors became renowned and the school of sculpture was very productive; a lot of their work can be seen around the site and in the museum. Many full-length statues were discovered in the region of the agora, and trial and unfinished pieces pointing to a true school are in evidence. Sarcophagi were recovered in various locations, most frequently decorated with designs consisting of garland and columns. Pilasters have been, found showing what are described as "peopled scrolls" with figures of people, birds and animals entwined in acanthus leaves. The sculptors benefitted from a plentiful supply of marble close at hand.

2005-09-01T13:15:00.001+02:00

Turkey - Kusadasi