Washington, D.C. is alive with green businesses, from markets and restaurants with locally grown produce to stores with vegan pet food or energy-saving electronics. If you think the nation’s capital is only full of hot air, you might be surprised at the following down-to-earth, environmentally friendly places located throughout the city.

The Green Festival

What: Global Exchange and Green America (formerly Co-Op America) will join together Oct. 23-24 for the Green Festival, a sustainable living festival and celebration of green initiatives in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. The event will feature more than 125 speakers, 350 green businesses, how-to workshops, green films, a Fair Trade pavilion, yoga classes, organic beer, organic cuisine and live music.

Where: Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW, Washington, DC 20001

Greater Goods

What: This green-living store only sells products that help you live a greener life, such as energy-saving electronics, solar phone chargers, composters and recycling bins, or products that provide an eco-friendly alternative for things you use every day, such as low-flow shower heads, rechargeable batteries and chlorine-free diapers. Greater Goods mostly carries products that are certified organic, FSC-certified, non-toxic, BPA-, lead- and phthalate-free and are reusable or recyclable.

Where: 1626 U St. NW, Washington, DC 20009

Green Pets

What: If your pet has a sensitive stomach, you can find raw, natural, organic or wheat- and corn-free foods at Green Pets. The store also has high-quality cat trees, Greenies, toys, natural cat litter and treats and offers grooming and other services. Plus, the staff is knowledgeable and helpful, and the owner is involved with a local Humane Society animal shelter.

Where: 1722 14th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009

Soul Vegetarian Restaurant and Exodus Carry-Out

What: For vegan soul food that won’t break the bank, Soul Vegetarian Restaurant is the place to go. It also offers Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Middle Eastern and African American vegan cuisine, as well as a dose of humanitarianism and humility. Favorites include the macaroni and cheese, wheat loaf, greens and sweet potatoes.

Where: 2606 Georgia Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001

Java Green

What: Feast on organic, vegetarian Korean cuisine and vegan desserts on real china at Java Green, which provides biodegradable serving ware and carry-out bags made from corn, sugar cane fiber and potato starch. Java Green serves Fair Trade coffee, tea, sugar, bananas, cocoa powder and syrups, and is run on wind power to offset its carbon footprint.

Where: 1020 19th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036

Mom’s Organic Market

What: So this organic market isn’t actually in D.C.; it’s in Alexandria, Va. (and four Maryland locations), but it’s worth the drive. Mom’s Organic Market carries organic and local produce, raw and vegan treats, multiple flavors of vegan jerky, and natural toiletries, vitamins, pet food, cleaning products and beauty products. Purchase grains, rice, beans, granola and spices in bulk, and sip on organic, fair-trade, free coffee while you shop. Plus, these stores are operated on 100 percent wind-generated power.

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Of course, truth is sometimes stranger than fiction and the origins of these peculiar rock formations tell a story much older than that provided by the locals.  Far from being the horrific remnant of a Bulgarian folk tale, however, these bizarre rock formations are the result of millennia of weathering.  Although a natural occurrence – and nothing to do with mushrooms either – the severed heads of the sisters are made all the more remarkable by human imagination.  Their own story is, however, just as remarkable.

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The stone mushrooms of Beli Plast are just a little larger than your average shroom.  The biggest is over three meters in height and they were formed thousands of years ago.  They are made from lime stone which can be eroded by water.  Over many centuries the water of a lake or a river can undercut limestone – and sometimes it can have bizarre results, especially when the water responsible for the erosion has disappeared.  Alone like mushroom shaped islands it is little wonder that supernatural tales spring up around them.

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It was not until the nineteenth century that the science behind the mushroom stones – or wave stones as they are sometimes called – was verified.  Then it was discovered that this strange natural phenomenon was the result of huge limestone boulders which have been exposed to water for frequent and prolonged intervals.  It was also discovered at that time that they were what are now known as glacial erratic.  That is they are huge boulders that have been pushed downwards (geographically) by the sheer force of a glacier and so may not even have any similarity to the stone where they eventually remained.

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Where the mushroom head is visible is the actual point of where the water of a lake once reached.  The water never went higher than this point and below it, as the water retreated and flooded over the millennia the strange ‘stalk’ of the mushroom formed.  Once the water had receded completely the mushroom stones are left as a permanent – if odd – reminder of the water that was once there.   Stones like these in Bulgaria are found in many places, with a number of them near to lakes.  These stones in Beli Plast mark a lake which has, however, long since gone.

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Limestone has a very long history – it goes back three hundred and fifty million years to a period of Earth’s history known as the Devonian.  At this point huge swathes of land in Europe were covered by a warm but shallow sea.  Over vast periods of time a thick layer of lime rich sediment was deposited at the bottom of this sea – it was this carbonate which gives the Lower Carboniferous era its name.  The thick layer of sediment would have started out like a mushy liquid but then over millions of years it was compacted by additional layers of material on top of it and it became hard – rock hard.  So it was that it eventually became limestone.

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When shifted by a glacier, a boulder of limestone can end up many miles away from where it formed.  Then, when exposed to the air at last it can find itself at the edge of a lake and covered up to a certain height by water.  As limestone corrodes in water that part of the boulder underneath the lapping waves (abrasively, persistently and tenaciously wearing away the limestone) will remain and become what is known as undercut.  That is the stone beneath it is worn away and eventually the boulder will look like a mushroom.  Think of eating an apple around the middle but not at the top and bottom and what is the resulting shape?  You get the idea.

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Many people, though, prefer the story that the Bulgarian locals tell.  They call them ìmantarnayaî which translates as stone mushrooms but the legend, although frightful has resonated for centuries when told to travellers.  At dawn the four daughters of the local charcoal burner, by name of Radoun, left the protection of the fortress of Perpericon.  They were water carriers and their daily task was to go the local river to collect the water needed for their father’s livelihood.

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One of the four daughters, Gyusha, spotted an invading army and the girls were able to run back and give their fortress warning.  However, after a week of siege, traitors opened the gate and let the army of the enemy in.  The four sisters were captured but managed to escape and tried to flee to a local monastery.  However, one of the invading army, Omur, pursued them and with a vicious blow, severed Gyusha’s head.  The miracle happened and she turned in to a beautiful stone mushroom.  Omur killed the remaining three who then, successively, turned to stone as well.

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Convinced the place was cursed, Omur tried to flee.  However he was at the precise moment turned in to rock himself.  Perhaps it could be the morning dew, but older residents of Beli Plast swear that in the mornings, tears can be seen dripping from the stones.  The tears of the four sisters.

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Held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar, the Phuket Vegetarian Festival brings together those who wish to have good fortune in the forthcoming year.  Although held in Phuket it is the local Chinese population which adheres to this religious observation and those who take part in the festival adhere to a strict ten day vegetarian diet (some even go vegan for the duration) in order to cleanse themselves spiritually and to prepare their bodies for a visitor.  At the many Chinese temples in Phuket the celebrants will put on many displays – many of which involve the piercing of the cheeks and the insertion of foreign objects therein.  The displays will not stop at matter of vegetable origin by any means.

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While strange and bizarre to many eyes, the observances held throughout the festival are not for the benefit of the tourists – the ceremonies began long before the island of Phuket became a favoured holiday destination.  Rather it is an invitation to the gods to come and inhabit the bodies of those who celebrate the festival – known as Tesagan Gin Je locally.  Although it is celebrated throughout Thailand there is a greater focus in Phuket where almost forty percent of the population are of Chinese origin.  The vegetarian diet which is adopted for the period, known as gin je, and although many shop vendors sell ‘je’ food it should really be prepared in a temple in order to be properly made sacred.

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It is often thought that the origins of the festival are many centuries old but although it has certainly been going on a long while it is by no means of ancient origin.  In 1825 a travelling opera company arrived on the island in order to perform for the Chinese immigrants who worked in the local tin mines.  While they were there the opera performers all became sick.  To honor two of the emperor gods (and to bring about a recover) they kept to a vegetarian diet, in the belief that it was unspecified meat which had made them sick.  The sickness vanished and the opera company became a source of great interest to the local population.

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When they had been told that it was the vegetarian diet and the associated rituals to honor the gods Kiew Ong Tai The and Yok Ong Sone Teh which had brought about the miraculous recovery then the Chinese inhabitants of the island began to celebrate its memory on an annual basis.  That was in 1825 and the festival has been going from strength to strength ever since.  Once a faith has been embraced it may change with time and so it was with the ways in which the gods were to be honored.

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Some time later one of the immigrants volunteered to go back home to China to invite incense smoke and name plaques to stay in Phuket.  These two had god status and with the addition of holy texts to be used in the ceremonies the festival changed.  On his arrival back in Kathu the people went to greet him and went in a procession down to the pier to welcome him and his most sacred cargo back.  From that time there would be processions every year to remember the arrival of incense smoke, name plaques and holy writings to the island.

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But why do people pierce themselves in such ways?  Patience will bring the answer.  On the day before the festival begins an enormous pole is raised in the local temples.  These are known as ‘Go Teng’ and it is down these that the gods, once invited, will descend.  Yok Ong Hong Tae and Kiew Ong Tai Tae, two very important gods are also asked to come down the poles at the strike of twelve midnight so that they might preside over the entire festival.

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Those who wish to be used as a vehicle by the gods are known as ‘Mah song’.  This literally translates to entranced horses in English.  They are the vehicle for the gods and rather than entering the body of the supplicant, the gods will use them as one rides a horse.  People can only become Mah song if they are considered to be pure – and the men must be unmarried while the women must never have borne children.  They go through rituals at the temples in order to protect them while the festival is happening – in order that the scars from the self mutilation which will invariably occur will heal quickly. Sometimes they cut themselves elsewhere.

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The Mah song will process through the streets wearing colorful and elaborate costumes and will pierce themselves with all sorts of things.  The face is the place – most often – for these piercings but the can be made elsewhere too.  While they are in procession they will be accompanied by a throng of supporters who will help them keep their wounds clean.  In some cases where they have pierced themselves with objects too heavy to carry themselves this responsibility will devolve to their supporters. 

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It is thought that while being used by the gods as Mah song, the adherents will feel no pain whatsoever and they certainly seem entranced and oblivious while the festivities are proceeding.  They will give out candy and pieces of orange cloth that have been blessed in order to bring luck to the people.  The act of torture upon oneself is to shift evil away from individual people in the community and on to themselves.  This cleansing will hopefully bring the entire population good luck in the future.  The Mah song usually commit to the  ceremony if they have had a vision or feeling of impending doom or want to live longer.  The others are considered those who have been chosen by the gods for their high morality and upstanding lives.

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While it is not for the squeamish neither is the festival for those who enjoy quietness and solitude.  Throughout the festival fireworks are continually let off and drums sound all the time.  The louder, the better as noise is thought to drive off evil spirits. 

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There are a number of rules that have to be followed closely.  The body must be kept clean throughout the festival.  When in preparation for the festival the adherents must use clean kitchen utensils and not use those used by other people who are not participating.  They must wear white during the festival to show their state of cleanliness and behave themselves at all time.  They must not – obviously – eat any meat but during the festival they must not have sex or drink alcohol at all.

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If people are in mourning they are not allowed to be Mah song or even attend the festival.  If you are pregnant or menstruating then you should not attend the rituals either.  However, as strict as the rules are, unlike some religious festivals which ban cameras, the gods here seem to relish in having their pictures taken – photography is encouraged.

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It is said that the self inflicted wounds heal remarkably quickly.  It is unlikely, however, that the Phuket Vegetarian Festival would (if it were such an attempt) be too successful at claiming that many converts.

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All pictures except the last two courtesy of The Phuket Observer.

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When you first come across the Minack Theater your first impression is that perhaps it was something left behind by the Romans.  After all, four hundred and odd years is a long time to occupy a country without finding some occupation for leisure times.   However, those ideas are soon dispelled when you learn a little about the place and discover that – amazingly – the theatre is less than a hundred years old.  It may not be as old as you first imagine but most people leave the place with the idea that this is definitely one of the coolest theaters in the world.

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Cool is certainly the word for it – freezing might be the better word for at times the Cornish weather is inclement to say the least.  However, the Cornish are hardy folk and the stupendous views to be had from the seating at the theatre is the perfect back drop for performances – especially ones which suit the environment such as Shakespeare’s The Tempest.  The theater was the brainchild of a woman – Rowena Cade – who had made Porthcorno Bay, which the theater overlooks her home.  Stirred no doubt by the breathtaking scenery she started something which survives to this day.

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In fact it was The Tempest which was the first play to be performed at the theater – even though it looked somewhat different then than it does today.  Miss Cade offered her house’s garden next to the sea after the local village theater group had put on two successful performances of Shakespeare’s  A Midsummer Night’s Dream the previous two summers.  She felt that the meadow in which they had staged their production did not have the necessary grandeur for an open air performance.  At the very least the edge of her garden would give any production a backdrop that no theatrical designer could hope to imitate.

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The history of the theater is literally carved in to the rocks.  Visitors are able to see the plays that have been produced their by simply looking at the seating.  Year by year the dates and productions are recorded in to a memorial that will last for hundreds if not thousands of years.  Perhaps in the year five thousand people archaeologists may come here to discover and ponder the culture of our lost civilisation.

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So it was that in the summer of 1932 The Tempest was produced and was a huge success.  The theater itself was still something of a nascent project at this point – Miss Cade had, with the help of her gardener hauled materials from the house and the beach to the place where the fully formed theater was to be.  Over the forthcoming years she would repeat this every winter, improving the theater in a drawn out year by year process.  She was helped in this Herculean task by Billy Rawlings and Charles Angove and the theatrical production went – as did the theater – from strength to strength.

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The Minack Theater grew in reputation and in 1944 it was used as a setting for part of the film Love Story, a vehicle for two huge stars of the day, Margaret Lockwood and Stuart Granger.  The weather unfortunately conspired against them and they were forced to film the scenes due to be shot at the Minack in the studio.  That was not an option for the yearly summer plays – these actors were made of sterner stuff and even did without dressing rooms until they were built in 1955.

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The theater was registered as a Charitable Trust since 1976 and Rowena Cade died in 1983 leaving the theater in the hands of local management team.  The theater still operates during the summer season and it draws actors and audiences from all over the world.  On its seventy fifth anniversary in 2007 the theater staged The Tempest again in a tribute to Cade and those people who had made the theater possible in the first place.

The views from the theater are simply stunning.

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At night the theater can be even more magical than in the daylight.

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It is still going strong.  As well as several pre-season events in May this year the Minack Theater will be home to no less than eighteen productions from the end of May to the middle of September.  As well as the usual staple of Shakespeare  ( this year it is Romeo and Juliet and Love’s Labour’s Lost) the productions include James And The Giant Peach, The Mikado and West Side Story.  Perhaps the production that will thrive the most in the outdoor environment with the sea as a backdrop is the August production of Moby Dick – The Musical.

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The Minack Theater will remain forever a testament to the tenacious, theater loving woman who was inspired by the beauty of Cornwall and the verse of William Shakespeare.

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Cappadocia (Kapadokya in Turkish) is a region of exceptional natural wonders, none more so than the giant monuments left by Mother Nature in Love Valley.  Situated in the very heart of modern day Turkey this natural wonder sits on a high plateau over a thousand meters in altitude.  Rainfall is sparse in this area and the place has hot dry summers and bitterly cold snowy winters.   There is little rainfall and so the region is generally arid.  In this environment these huge phallic natural structures seems like some sort of ancient homage to male fertility.  However, they are far from man-made despite the resemblance to manhood.

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The closest human habitation is the small town of Göreme.  Although you might expect hordes of tourists visiting such a place this is not the case.  The Turkish are gregarious but modest people – you do not get group outings to Love Valley to see the ‘willy shaped’ rocks as you might had they occurred in any number of other countries.  As such the town is small and friendly with little commercialisation as such.  What you will find there, however, is a very genuine and relaxed atmosphere and  a warm welcome.  Although it is unlikely that you will get lost it is considered the right thing to hire a local guide when you head out to see the local geological features.

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If you want to see a unique geological site, then this is certainly it – no run of the mill vague shapes here.  These structures mean business.  And they weren’t made by Mother Nature having a funny five minutes – these strange pinnacles are in fact eroded volcanic ash.  You need to be pretty healthy to take all of this is as generally people will go for hikes around the valley rather than driving.  If you are really not inclined to healthy walking then you are able – at some expense – to hire a hot air balloon and see the whole site from the skies.

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The local people grow apricots and squash for a living and a little from tourism.  This is something more than subsistence the area is still relatively poor in occidental terms.  The whole region is rich, however, in thousands of years of continuous human history.  It is also the most visually stimulating region of Turkey where the erosion has formed not only these sensuous shapes in the volcanic rock but caves and clefts where people have carved out homes from which they conduct their lives and business.  As you can see the structures are not restricted to the ‘Valley of Love’ itself – the town itself boast more than a few.

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The landscape seems foreign – alien almost.  You could almost expect Captain James T round a corner followed by a reptilian adversary.  One can only imagine Kirk’s knowing reaction to the shapes of these rock formations.  Although the landscape looks inhospitable in the extreme the soil is mineral rich.  This makes it an ideal place for growing fruit and vegetables which means the whole area of Kapadokya meets a lot of Turkey’s agricultural needs.  Turkish wine is on the rise in terms of reputation and Kapadokya has many vineyards and wineries – quite a surprise in a Muslim nation.

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When you tire – as well you might – at looking at fifty meter high phallic geology then there are other things to do around the small town of Göreme.  There is an open air museum which can be visited by walking about a mile outside of the town at the edge of Love Valley.  There you are in for something of a surprise – seven hundred year old Christian cave paintings.  They were produced by monks inside the cave churches that they excavated from solid rock.  Altogether it could be said to be one of the world’s more unusual museums.  It is a little expensive but worth every Turkish lira.

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However, it is the strange rock formations outside of the town’s perimeter in Love Valley that people find the most memorable.  Kapadokya means the ‘land of the beautiful horses’ in Turkish (and it is advisable to learn a few words and phrases – the locals will appreciate it greatly).  Of course, no one comes here to see or trade horses but they come to be inspired by the landscape around them – quite like nothing on earth.

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Most tourists come in the summer, so to see these formations in the snow is quite unusual.

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The rock formations are a result of volcanic eruptions in ancient times.  Then, millennia of erosion did its work on the igneous rock.  Igneous rock is formed when magma (the molten stuff!) cools down and becomes solid.  It can – as in the case of Kapadokya – be weathered away and create some rather peculiar – or in this case phallic – geological leftovers.

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It could be suggested that the Cappadocians could have been more forthright in the naming of the valley, but their natural modesty probably forbad it.  Love is a universal word, after all, and there is nothing that could be considered remarkable in its resemblance to the female equivalent of these enormous formations in the area.  Perhaps ‘Willy Valley’ would just have sounded a little bit silly anyway.  After all, hand in hand with Lake Titicaca the world might very well go to hell in an innuendo ridden handbasket.

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Altogether this area of Turkey offers the visitor a variety of different holiday experiences that are – to say the least – that little bit different.  From hiking, biking, to hot air ballooning, Kapadokya offers unusual ways to see the site – and what sites they are.

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We will start in the town of Al Hajjara, so little known that even Wikipedia does not have an entry on it.  Situated at the heart of Yemen in the Al Bayda Governorate of the country, the town boast one of the most simply amazing structures you will ever see.  The residence of the Imam Yahya Muhamamd is perched – precariously or so it seems – atop a rocky outcrop.  Imam Yahya was famous for stabilizing the north of the country and for his benign attitude towards minorities, particularly Yemenite Jewry.  In order for his country to be recognized as independent he made many treaties, most notably the Ital-Yemeni Treaty of 1926 which gave Yemen full sovereignty.  The country joined the United Nations in 1948 – a year before his death.

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The Imam’s residence, grand and ornate belies the poverty in which many of the country’s population exist. The country itself is just over half a million square kilometers.  Although it is on the Arabian Peninsula many would not think of a country like this having island but, in fact, Yemen has over two hundred (more of one later).  It is the only republic in the area – and one of eight in total in the Arab World.  It is thought that around twenty percent of the population live on just over one US dollar a day.  It is, then, a poor country, but not one without its advantages.

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Perhaps surprising to occidental eyes, the town of Al Hajjara is one of multi-story building, hundreds of years old.  Unexpected of course, but not if you consider that the town is built on a precipice of very limited square mileage.  The only was was, indeed, up for the early Yemeni town planners.   The huge care that was taken in decorating these towering structures indicates a sophisticated and advanced civilization – in fact, the oldest copy of the Qur’an has been found in this area.  The engineering that must have gone in to the construction of this beautiful domiciles was advanced enough to rival that of Europe at the time.  Many of the buildings are up to four hundred years old.

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A view from another angle gives us a direct look at the breath-taking achievement of architects hundreds of years ago.  The town literally hangs off the cliff face.  The title of this article may have been a little misleading, of course this and other towns are hardly a secret.  Yet Yemen and its history has so long been overlooked – or possibly even ignored – by Western countries and their media that to a greater extent that is how these places could easily be described. 

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It looks idyllic, but the history of Yemen is far from that.  Argued over by colonial powers for (both European and Ottoman) hundreds of years it took that long for it to gain its independence and emerge as a sovereign power in its own right.  It was not until 1990 that two separate Yemens – North and Sounth came together to form a single country.  Elections over the last ten years have only been judged by international observers to be ‘partly free’.  The Parliamentary elections in 2003, however, saw a marked decrease in the amount of fraud and political violence than in previous years.

SANA’A

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Sana’a is the capital city of Yemen and has a population of just under two million people.  Not a large city by global standard but one which holds a marvellous secret.  The old city – or Old Sana’a as it is called is a hidden jewel of exquisite centuries old architecture that simply has to be seen to be believed.  The Yemeni inclination towards multi-story building persists here.  Many of the buildings date back over four hundred years when European architects were still struggling to construct buildings with more than two storeys.

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The buildings remain as they were when they were built although the addition of satellite dishes give a clue as to the more modern inclinations of their inhabitants. 

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The gardens of Sana’a are lush and verdant.  It says a lot about the ability of the inhabitants to conserve water and use it to its fullest.  Half the rain of the year falls between July and August. Sana’a has a very rare climate – a mild version of that of the desert.  It has around twenty centimeters of rain each year but due to it being high up the temperature is much milder than many others on the Arabian Peninsula – and the city is lucky enough to rarely experience extreme heat or cold.  No wonder the city was built where it is.

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Sana’a must be seen to be believed.  These were the words of Imam Muhammed ibn Idris al-Shafii in the ninth century and the same is true today.  It is renowned for its delicious food as well as its architecture.   Initially the traveller can find the city confusing as it is like a maze – or even a labyrinth.  However, the city allows the traveller to immerse himself in to the full experience of a city hardly touched by Western ways and habits.

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From the ornate and beautiful scripts adorning the buildings to the markets which still operate in age-old ways, Sana’a retains its traditions intact while still acknowledging modernity.  Anything you want to survive can be found in these markets.  The amount of beans on display above give you an idea about the sheer variety of goods on offer.

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AL TAWILA

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This village is astonishingly high up at 2300 meters and it just seems to get higher.  The economy of the company depends on the revenues it receives from its vast oil fields.  However, these are expected to be depleted by the year 2017 and then, perhaps, the Yemeni’s may find themselves in a position where they have to market themselves – as well as their unique architecture – in order to survive.  The country is not visited by many tourists and this could well be the way to the future.

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Certainly, the landscape and the architecture combine to give the visitor a set of unforgettable memories. The three cities featured here are by no means the only centers of population which should be considered when visiting the country.

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As custom dictates, by midday when the sun is almost unbearable everything – including the market – closes down in the village.  The shops will reopen later when it is cooler.  The country generally needs to be re-imagined by many, who, having heard of it as a hotbed of terrorism see it as a hive of training camps and munitions hording.  The country has a unique history and architecture which must not be undervalued.

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A final reason that Yemen should be of more interest is a unique archipelago there..  Socotra consists of four islands and the fact that it has been isolated of the Horn of Africa for so long means that over a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet.  Those who visit the place say that it is a completely other worldly experience.  Nothing weirder than the dragon tree that is found on this archipelago.  Eco tourism has not taken off in Yemen but it seems that it may only be a matter of time.  We will leave the Yemen with a final glance at another village, majestic in its isolation.  This is Manaka in the Hiraz Mountains.  Another breathtaking sight from an altogether misunderstood country.

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The term astronomical clock is one that is used fairly loosely.  Effectively any clock that shows astronomical information – as well as the time – can be so classified.  They can show the location of the sun in the sky, for example.  In addition to that they can show the position of the moon – and further information such as its phase and its age.  Others go further and show the current sign of the zodiac or even go as far as showing a rotating map of the stars.  We will begin with perhaps the most famous example, the Orloj of Prague.

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To say that this clock is astronomical is, perhaps, stating the obvious.  Another word that might describe the Prague Orloj is exquisite.  The first and perhaps most astonishing fact about this astronomical clock is that it was finished and in place in 1410, over eighty years before Columbus made his voyage of discovery to the Americas.  The first thing that draws the eye is the dial at the center of the clock which shows the positions of the moon and the sun.  What makes the Orloj a magnet for visitors to the Czech city is the clockwork show of the figures of the apostles, which on the hour parade themselves.  There are other moving sculptures too – plus a dial which pitted with medallions which represent the months of the years.

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It is said that unless the citizens of Prague look after their Orloj that evil will descend on their city, which may go some way to explain the superb condition of the clock.  There has of course been much restoration over the years.  During the Prague uprising against the Nazis in 1945, incendiary fire was directed at the town square and much of the clock was damaged.  It was only after years of painfully intricate restoration work that the clock came to be what we see today.  For example, the figures shown here of ‘death and the Turk’ were almost completely destroyed in the bombardment.

Lund, Sweden

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A slightly later example of the astronomical clock can be found in Lund Cathedral in Sweden.  It is generally thought that the clock here was completed and working by 1424, perhaps a little later than Prague but a significant achievement nonetheless.  Its full name is the Horologium mirabile Lundense and again major restoration work had to be done to get it fully functioning again.  It was put in to storage in 1827 and it took almost a century to get it back to its rightful place.  The clock plays music from the smallest organ in the church twice a day and when this happens the three wise men and their servants pass by the figures of Jesus and Mary. Below you can see them in action.  To think that this sort of mechanics was created in the fifteenth century is almost mind boggling.

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Two knights at the top of the clock mark the hours and the astronomical part of the clock show the phases of the moon – and where and when the sun will set – among other things.  The lower third is the calendar.  Our medieval ancestors could, with this, work out when religious holidays would fall.  It can still be done today as the board of the clock has to be replaced every one hundred years.  The present board, shown below, will run out in the year 2123.  Some calendars do not end in 2012, after all.

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Strasbourg, France

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Strasbourg Cathedral has, over the centuries, been home to no less than three astronomical clocks.  The first was erected in 1352 and worked for over two centuries when the second and more ambitious clock was installed in 1547.  That itself stopped working in 1788.  The third and present clock was installed in 1838 and was the culmination of a life’s ambition for its creator.  If only the average household had clocks that only had to be replaced twice in six hundred years.

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Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué started the build the current clock in 1838.  He himself was born in 1766 and had, since a child, wanted to build a new clock for the cathedral.  It was a dream that was to be realized fifty years in to his life – a life time, but that is what it took to familiarize himself with the mechanics, mathematics and clock making skills that were necessary to undertake the task.  Before starting work on the clock he and his team of thirty took a year in preparatory design.  It paid off because the new clock was completed in less than five years.  The clock itself was inaugurated in 1842.

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Olomouc, Czech Republic

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Back to the Czech Republic for the astronomical clock of Olomouc.  Of course, when the clock was first built in 1420 there was no republic.  The town was the ancient capital of the country called Moravia which sounds like somewhere characters from the TV series Dynasty might get married.  The main town square is home to this amazing exterior astronomical clock.  Again, as the centuries have progressed the clock has been remodeled and this has taken place in Olomouc about once a century. 

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The Czechs took a lot of serious damage from retreating Nazi troops in the final days of the Second World War and in 1945 they found themselves on the run from the Russians in Olomouc.  In a fit of desecratory petulance they opened fire on the clock and pretty much destroyed it – the remains can be seen in the local museum.  Czechoslovakia, as it was in the late 1940s, became a puppet of the former USSR.  When the clock was rebuilt it was done with the usual care and attention – of course.  However, the religious and royal figures that once adorned the clock were replaced.  In their stead came athletes and workers, representatives of the soviet ideals in place at the time.

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From a distance the clock looks as ancient as its history suggests.  It is only when you get up close that the realization dawns that the figures are representative of a regime that lasted only half as long as it usually took the good citizens of Olumouc to get around to a once a century restoration.  The irony is, of course, not lost on the locals.

Wells England

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So far we have looked at astronomical clocks that are either in or outside of buildings.  The good people of Wells in the West of England decided in the fourteenth century that they would build one that was both.  So the astrological clock is shown on the interior of the cathedral (above).  There is a model of the universe (or a least of proposal of one!) on the dial.  The sun moves in a full circle against a background of stars.  The twenty four hour analog dial goes from one to twelve and then the same again with noon at the top of the dial.  Superb design from centuries ago.

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However the same mechanism drives the clock which is on the outside of the cathedral, meaning that the people of the town did not have to enter the place of worship in order to ascertain the correct time of day. 

Berne, Switzerland

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Although the Swiss are more famous for clocks that contain a representation of a certain bird that lays its eggs in the nests of others, the most immediately recognizable landmark in Berne, Switzerland is the Zytglogge tower.  The tower itself was built in the thirteenth century with the astronomical clock joining it in the fifteenth.  The dial takes the form of an astrolabe which was an instrument used to locate the positions of celestial objects such as the sun, moon, planet and the stars.  Given the local latitude it can also work out local time – and vice versa.

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The dial itself is gorgeously colored and – as with all other clocks in this collection – has undergone significant restoration over the centuries.  Switzerland did not become involved in either of the major European conflicts of the twentieth century but time and entropy have their own rules and as such great care has been taken the keep the clock in pristine condition.  If you are not sure what each part does then perhaps the picture below will help explain it.

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Cremona, Italy

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It is a matter of opinion whether the best has been saved for last, but fact that it is the largest astronomical clock in the world rests in Cremona, Italy.  As well as being the largest astronomical clock on the planet it is situated in the second highest red brick bell tower in the world. The tower itself dates from the early thirteenth century but proud locals often boast that it was started in the eight.  It is certainly true that archaeologists have discovered older Roman remains at its base.

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The clock itself was built by a father and son team – Francesco and Giovan Battista Divizioli.  Typically of many astronomical clocks the exterior shows the zodiac constellations, with the sun making its way through them. 

So, there you have some of the most remarkable astronomical clocks in the world.  Apologies if your favorite has been omitted.  Please tell us if it has in the comments section below and we will endeavor to include them.

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Devil’s Town or Djavolja Varos as it is known in Serbian, can be found on the southern slopes of the Radan Mountains.  The area is steeped in European folklore and it is little surprise that for centuries these naturally occurring erosions were looked upon with fear and suspicion.  The Devil’s Town is a series of hundreds of stone pyramids and is located in the watershed between the equally frighteningly named Devil’s Gully and Hell’s Gully.

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Over the years the water erosion has shaped the andesiste and volcanic tufa (a terrestrial sedimentary rock) in to over two hundred pyramids.  These range in size hugely – some are a mere two meters in height while others tower at fifteen meters.  What makes the towers (or pyramids as they are sometimes known) stand the test of time are the andesite blocks (the most common volcanic rock after basalt) which help to make the structures.  This solid stone forms a protective cap and the earth below it erodes slowly – that which is not protected by andesite is washed away leaving behind the towers.

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Even with the andesite blocks protecting them, however, the life of the pyramids is never too long.  They disintegrate fairly quickly (that, however, can be hundreds of years) but also – because of the water erosion – they are formed very quickly.  Hundreds of years may seem like a long time but geologically speaking it is the blink of an eye.  The changing landscape is how the place gets its name – the locals believed that devil’s were fighting it out. 

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One local legend has it that many centuries ago the area was inhabited by a humble but religious people.  Their presence annoyed the devil so he created the waters around the town to make the people forget their immediate ancestry.  They drank the water and sure enough, soon a marriage between a brother and sister had been arranged.  The plan was interrupted by a fairy who – so it is said – still keeps the area under her protection.  She tried to reason with the wedding party but they would not have any of it.  So, the fairy prayed to god who answered her prayer and turned bride, groom and all of the wedding guests to stone.

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The spookiness of the place does not stop there, however.  The place creates it own acoustic phenomena – the wind which whistles between the pyramids creates howls, cries and squeaks which have perturbed the local Serbs for centuries.  Imagine spending a night in this place and hearing the weird noises created by the pyramids – this was surely a place to be avoided over the centuries. The wedding guests were possibly thought to be attempting escape from their stony prison.

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To compound things even further the Devil’s Town is situated near the weirdly named village of Djake.  The name itself comes from the Turkish ‘gjak’ – blood.  Even the creators of the Hammer Horror films would surely have hesitated before putting such macabre back stories in to one of their films. 

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Many of the pyramids have a longer life span because of an accident of nature.  They have larger blocks of andesite in their makeup and in these cases the pyramid lasts a lot longer.  The local water, as well, has its own peculiarities.  In one local well the water is naturally mineralized (some minerals are present up to a thousand times more than normal) and is used in the traditional medicines of the area.  Another, the Devil’s Well, is mineralized to the extent that its waters are red.  This color is naturally associated with blood and is something else that has added to the mythology of the area.

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The pyramids themselves are often colored remarkably differently, which gives the entire scene a wholly surreal look.  With the moldering remains of two medieval churches also in the area it is something of a surprise that this place has never appeared as the location for a horror movie.  The Devil’s Town has undoubtedly contributed to the rich folklore of the area and it is little wonder that the myths of the Serbs are so full of nightmarish devils fighting it out.

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Perhaps it is to simply good luck or perhaps people believe that by leaving a coin in the bark of the tree they may have it returned to them many times over.  Whatever the origins of this strange habit, there are a number of trees in the United Kingdom that bear the financial hopes of many.  Perhaps they found it difficult to reconcile their gross habits with their net income.

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The people of Yorkshire, in the north of England are renowned for being careful with their money.  While this localized stereotype may not always be fair there is evidence that on occasion they are willing to throw caution to the wind and hammer their low denomination coinage in to trees.  The good folk of Ingleton in North Yorkshire have some of the most stunning woodlands in the country and the local waterfalls trail has something other to offer than the sight of the wet stuff cascading in a picturesque way.

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Close up it seems as if the coins have almost merged with the wood, but that is the effect of the weather upon the metal.  Some suggest that the reason money is pushed in to the bark is more than just a desire to increase one’s wealth.  It is thought that the amount of coins pushed in by an individual may result in them producing the same amount of children when their natural fecundity discovers a partner.  The tree itself, though long since alive, has come to bear a marked resemblance to the torso of some sort of lizard, the coins becoming its scales.  It is almost Arthurian in its strangeness.

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You do not even have to leave the county to see another tree which is pitted with hundreds of coins.  Bolton Abbey, famous for the wonderful ruins of a twelfth century priory also has its own money tree.  The fact that two trees of the same kind are found in the same county may well say something about its inhabitants.  If perhaps you are of the opinion that money can do anything, you might after all be accused of doing anything for money.  Perhaps those visiting these trees would have been better off simply putting a little money away in a savings account each month.  In a year they would be surprised at how little they have.

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It is said that if all the rich people in the world divided their money up between themselves then there almost certainly would not be enough to go around.  Perhaps wishing for money is one thing, but getting it is another.  As they say, when the gods wish to punish us, then they give us what we want.  Cicero, way back before the Christian era said that endless money created the sinews of war – and nothing is truer than that two thousand years later.

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If you are ever taken on a jaunt to Cumbria then you should not forget to visit Ambleside over the Kirkstone Pass.  Aira Force, again the site of a beautiful waterfall – one of the best known waterfalls in the Lake District in fact – is home to yet another money tree.  If Poirot was around today he would perhaps be profiling those people who use trees for this sort of decoration.  Firstly, the north of England, secondly they generally seem to be close to waterfalls.  Throw in a good murder mystery and you might well have the basis of a Christie-esque novel.

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Dovedale in Derbyshire is the home of the one above – so the plot thickens.  Owned by the National Trust in the UK, it annually attracts over a million visitors to its beautiful scenery.  And strangely enough, a river runs through it.  The plot thickens.  If you happen to go there in hunt of the money tree, don’t forget that you can also see the famous caves known as the Dove Holes, which sound something like a SM heavy metal band, but there you go.

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Teesdale is a somewhat colder place than the rest of those which have money trees.  It is in a valley on the east side of the Pennine mountains in England.  It is an official AONB in the UK – an Area Of Outstanding Beauty.  The River Tees rises below the highest river, Cross Fell and although within England the local climate is classified as sub-arctic.  Snow has been known to fall there in June.  Whatever the reasons people have stuck coins in these trees, one can only hope that the wish they made when they did it come true.  One can only hope it was not for wealth as that has been seen to fail to make people happy as readily as poverty.

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One almost expects to turn a corner and run in to a group of Vulcans performing one of their weirder ceremonies.  Pointed ears aside, however, this place is very much down to earth and is one of the most visited slot canyons in the world.  It is easy to see why.  Its out of this world beauty is capable of transforming the visitor, as it were, to another planet.  Split in two parts, the Upper and Lower canyons have their origins in pre-history.  It is little wonder that the Navajo revere them so greatly.

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Light somehow manages to find a way through the walls of the canyon, despite its narrowness.  The color of the rock is a giveaway to those in the know – the walls of the canyon is made of sandstone.  One thing that sandstone is susceptible to is water.  The medieval cathedrals of Europe will slowly weather away under the aqueous precipitation of the millennia.  So it is with the Antelope Canyon – in fact it owes its existence, in one of the driest places on earth, to the erosive qualities of life sustaining H20.

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With a leap of the imagination, this gorgeous view upwards of twin light tubes allows us to believe we are privy to the blueprints that Mother Nature surreptitiously provides for the continuous evolution of the canyons.  The spirals show us where the water has slowly but persistently eroded the sandstone through the ages.  Can any man-made structure match the sheer grace of this canyon below the ground?

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So how exactly was this beautiful canyon formed?  Although you might hesitate before accepting the fact, for the most part it is due to flash flooding.  There are other sub-aerial processes involved as well but rainwater during the monsoon season is the primary culprit (if one were to assign anything like blame for this marvel of nature).  There are large basins above both parts of the Antelope Canyon and the rain gathers here until it reaches a kind of critical mass.

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When this happens it gushes in to the canyon.  Over the thousands of millennia it took to create the full effect the water slowly but inexorably made the corridors of the canyons deeper and steeper.  The hard edges of the rock were inevitably worn down and formed the flowing shapes on the rock face.  So it was not the work of mighty and ancient Navajo spirits (perhaps…) but of the sheer tenacious persistence of the elements.  Flooding still happens to this day – as recently as 2006 a thirty six hour flood forced the tribal authorities to close the lower part of the canyon for half a year. The sand arising form the erosion gets everywhere.

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As can be imagined, this natural phenomenon attracts photographers (and more casual tourists) like bears to honey.  However, a permit must be obtained nowadays as it was announced a Navajo Tribal Park in 1997.  Although it may for some spoil the picture, as it were, to get an idea of the sheer scale and depth of the canyon it is perhaps a good idea to place someone down there – just to get a sense of perspective. 

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Although these pictures belie the fact, photography is pretty difficult to get right here due to the necessarily wide exposure range needed to get the picture right.  This is due to the fact that light reflects of the wall of the canyons like a ball on a table tennis board.  Ping pong, ping pong.

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The upper canyon is known by the Navajo as ‘the place where water runs through the rocks’ and the lower as ‘spiral rock arches’.  The former is the most visited as its entrance is at ground level, as is its entire length.  Thus the tourist does not need to climb – and the famous beams of light are more prevalent in the upper canyon.  They can be seen at their best in the summer months when the sun is at its highest in the sky.  Between March and October each year the canyon gives the visitor the feeling of being on a beautifully shot Hollywood set – is that Indiana Jones disappearing around the corner?

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The lower canyon has stairways to facilitate human travel to its base.  Even with these aids to the tourist it is a much more difficult proposition than the upper, situated a few kilometers away.  It is quite easy to stumble as the footing is never quite even but this should not deter the visitor even though, unsurprisingly, casual visitors are rarer in the lower.

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Due to the danger of rain in the monsoon period, visitors are not allowed to visit the canyon on their own – they must take a tour guide with them.  Flash floods can happen, well, in a flash and there was a tragedy in 1997 when eleven tourists were killed by a flood.  The only survivor, without irony, was the tour guide who had had training in dealing with swift flowing water.  As a result of this the stairways were fully bolted in to place and there are even cargo nets at the top of the canyon which can be deployed to ‘catch’ people in the event of a flood.

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So, like so many other things in nature, Antelope Canyon is beautiful but can be deadly too.  They remain, however, a superlative example of the inexorable power of nature and a reminder to us that there are many things more powerful on this planet than the human race.

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