World's Most Beautiful Buildings

Take a tour of the world’s most beautiful buildings, from Kansas City to India

These are the world’s most beautiful buildings? Are you kidding?

A hundred years ago, naming the world’s most beautiful buildings was easy: the Parthenon. Sure. The Taj Mahal. Absolutely. Hagia Sophia. No argument. But now, in part because the whole notion was chewed up and spit out by those troublemaking Modernists, we’re just learning to think about architecture in terms of beauty again. It’s open season.

Certain themes are evident in our choices of the world’s most beautiful buildings. We love buildings surrounded by water; the interaction between water and daylight is always magical. (Why do you think the Lincoln Memorial has a reflecting pool at its doorstep?) And we are head over heels for flamboyant uses of pattern and color. The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, for example, is positively psychedelic.

So are we consistent? Nope. But however capricious our choices may seem, we don’t take beauty lightly. After all, the ongoing search for beauty is what travel is all about. It’s certainly the best reason we know to leave the house.

ICMC at Brandenburg Technical University (Cottbus, Germany)

While many architects prefer the smoothest, clearest glass, Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron specializes in texture. This technologically sophisticated university library, in an obscure corner of Eastern Germany, is clad in frosted glass—and embossed with letters from the world’s alphabets. Shaped like an amoeba, with its central spiral staircase in bright magenta and green, the seven-story building looks like a carnival ride.

Relativity Theory: The free-form building looks especially impressive because it’s surrounded by long, dull, rectilinear buildings of the sort the East Germans were known for.

ICMC at Brandenburg Technical University,
Cottbus, Germany

 Photo: Alex Korting

 

 

Sagrada Família (Barcelona)

Visionary Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí spent more than 40 years of his life on this glorious, chaotically complex, and still unfinished Gothic-Art Nouveau cathedral. After his untimely death in 1926 (he was hit by a streetcar), his associates continued his sculptural masterwork, and despite the fact that the original drawings were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, construction continues today. Completion is scheduled for sometime between 2017 and 2026.

Authenticity Alert: The east-facing Nativity façade was the only one completed by Gaudí himself.

Sagrada Família, Barcelona

Photo: Kelly Kollar

 

 

Burj Al Arab (Dubai, UAE)

This 60-story sail-shaped hotel, which sits on its own private island, was designed to be a national icon. But the interior is where the beauty lies: a nearly 600-foot-tall atrium—the world’s tallest. The undersides of tier after tier of semicircular balconies reveal a spectrum of colors. And the tower’s powerful diagonal braces, like the flying buttresses of the past, inspire awe.

Insider Tip: Non-guests can gain access to the Burj Al Arab’s private island by booking a meal at one of its restaurants; try afternoon tea at the Skyview Bar or a buffet lunch at Junsui.

Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE

Photo: Courtesy of Burj Al Arab

 

 

Institute for Sound and Vision (Hilversum, The Netherlands)

The work of Jaap Drupsteen, the graphic artist responsible for the building-size media collage, used to be everywhere in the Netherlands. This building is his comeback. Along with architecture firm Neutelings Riedijk, he covered the façade of the massive media archive and museum with images from Dutch television, abstracted into a giant four-sided mural and baked directly onto cast glass. The effect is stunning inside and out.

Experiential Beauty: Tour the history of Dutch broadcasting, or simply gaze up at the stained glass from a table at the atrium’s Grand Café.

Institute for Sound and Vision, Hilversum, The Netherlands

Design by Neutelings Riedijk Architecten/Photo 

by Scagliola Brakkee

 

 

The Golden Temple (Amritsar, India)

This most sacred Sikh shrine sits in the middle of what was once a wooded lake. The Buddha came here to meditate, and so did Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith, some 2,000 years later. The Harimandir, or “Temple of God,” was built and destroyed many times before the current version was erected in the late 1700s. The radiance of this gilded building, a mixture of Hindu and Muslim architectural styles, is amplified by reflections in the surrounding water and the devotional music that emanates from the temple day and night.

Night Owls Welcome: The temple is open 20 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, and is illuminated (and especially lovely) at night.

The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India

Photo: Geetesh Bajaj

 

 

National Congress Hall  (Brasilia, Brazil)

Brasilia probably works better as a Modernist sculpture garden than as a city, but if there is one piece of it that best represents the whole, it’s Congress Hall. Architect Oscar Niemeyer’s colonnaded marvel, with its grand sci-fi entrance ramp, skinny twin towers, and two bowl-shaped meeting halls (one for the Chamber of Deputies and one for the Federal Senate), treats the business of government as a monumental work of art.

Not Just Skin Deep: Go inside and check out the Green Hall (named for the color of the carpet and the Brazilian flag), with its collection of paintings, sculptures, and decorative screens by renowned Brazilian artists.

National Congress Hall, Brasilia, Brazil

Photo: Courtesy of EMBRATUR

 

 

The Guggenheim (Bilbao, Spain)

The Frank Gehry–designed, titanium-clad phenomenon that upstaged the Guggenheim’s Frank Lloyd Wright transformed the way the world understands architecture, art museums, and the strategies for reviving depressed industrial cities. Today, the shiny undulating museum doesn’t look as shocking as it once did, but it does embody a certain kind of late 20th-century thinking—the thrill of formal complexity and high art.

Small Is Beautiful: Alternatively, we could make a case for Frank Gehry’s first major building, the diminutive white Vitra Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany.

 

The Guggenheim, Bilbao, Spain

Photo: Aitor Las Hayas

 

 

The Chrysler Building  (New York City)

Designed by architect William van Alen, the Chrysler’s shiny, filigreed Art Deco spire is the most indispensable piece of the New York City skyline, perfectly balancing the primal thrust of the classic American skyscraper with the desire for a little bling. (It was the world’s tallest for less than a year in 1931 before that zeppelin-masted tower eight blocks south took the spotlight.) Day or night, its stainless-steel crown still dazzles like nothing else.
Icon Alert: This is possibly the only building in the world that is decorated with automotive hood ornaments: the big eagles on the 61st floor were copied from a 1929 Chrysler.

The Chrysler Building, New York City

Photo: Ralph Grunewald

Mont St. Michel (Normandy, France)

Though not as lavish as some landlocked cathedrals, this abbey is certainly the most dramatically situated, enjoying prime real estate just off the coast of Normandy. The first abbey was built in 709, with construction continuing for hundreds of years. Spurning the safety of the causeway (built in 1879 and currently being reconstructed), pilgrims still scamper across the sands at low tide to reach the Mont, and risk being overtaken by fast-moving waters.

Dining Tip: Try the agneau de pré-salé, a local specialty made from meat from the lambs that graze on the nearby salt meadows.

Mont St. Michel, Normandy, France

Photo: Julius Fekete / Alamy

 

 

Nelson-Atkins Museum’s Bloch Building (Kansas City, MO)

Unlike many modern additions to historic museums, Steven Holl’s 21st-century companion doesn’t overwhelm the 1933 Beaux Arts original. His string of iridescent frosted-glass boxes pop out of the grassy lawn—they are absolutely magical at dusk when they begin to glow—and filter sunlight into a series of dramatic underground galleries.

Special Attraction: Check out the Noguchi Sculpture Court, a minimalist space created by the famed Japanese-American artist that cleverly blurs the line between indoors and out.

Nelson-Atkins Museum’s Bloch Building, Kansas City, MO

Photo: Andy Ryan

From : Yahoo.com

NASA spots 54 potentially life-friendly planets

AP – This artist rendering provided by NASA, shows Kepler-11, a sun-like star around which six planets orbit. …

WASHINGTON – An orbiting NASA telescope is finding whole new worlds of possibilities in the search for alien life, spotting more than 50 potential planets that appear to be in the habitable zone.
In just a year of peering out at a small slice of the galaxy, the Kepler telescope has discovered 1,235 possible planets outside our solar system. Amazingly, 54 of them are seemingly in the zone that could be hospitable to life — that is, not too hot or too cold, Kepler chief scientist William Borucki said.
Until now, only two planets outside our solar system were even thought to be in the "Goldilocks zone." And both those discoveries are highly disputed.
Fifty-four possibilities is "an enormous amount, an inconceivable amount," Borucki said. "It's amazing to see this huge number because up to now, we've had zero."
The more than 1,200 newfound celestial bodies are not confirmed as planets yet, but Borucki estimates 80 percent of them will eventually be verified. At least one other astronomer believes Kepler could be 90 percent accurate.
After that, it's another big step in proving that a confirmed planet has some of the basic conditions needed to support life, such as the proper size, composition, temperature and distance from its star. More advanced aspects of habitability such as atmospheric conditions and the presence of water and carbon require telescopes that aren't built yet.
Just because a planet is in the habitable zone doesn't mean it has life. Mars is a good example of that. And even if some these planets are found to contain life, it may not be intelligent life; it could be bacteria or mold or some kind of life form people can't even imagine.
All the celestial bodies Kepler looks at are in our Milky Way galaxy, but they are so far away that traveling there is not a realistic option. In some cases it would take many millions of years with current technology.
But what Kepler is finding in distant parts of the galaxy could be applied to exploring closer stars, astronomers say.
"Our grandchildren will have to decide what's the next step," Borucki said at a NASA news conference. "Do they want to go there? Do they want to send a robot?"
Before Wednesday, the count of confirmed planets outside the solar system stood at 519. That means Kepler could triple the number. And those findings are from Kepler's scanning of just one four-hundredth of the night sky, so the actual number of planets out there is presumably hundreds of times greater, Borucki said.
That is exciting to astronomers, since the more planets there are, the greater the odds that life exists elsewhere in the universe.
Yale University astronomer Debra Fischer, who wasn't part of the Kepler team but serves as an outside expert for NASA, said the new information "gives us a much firmer footing" to hope for worlds that could harbor life.
"I feel different today, knowing these new Kepler results, than I did a week ago," Fischer said. She said Kepler "has blown the lid off of everything we know about extrasolar planets."
Another outside astronomer, Lisa Kaltenegger of Harvard University, called the findings "exciting good news."
Kepler also found that there are many more relatively small planets than there are giant planets. That is encouraging, too: Astronomers think a planet needs to be solid — rocky like Earth or Mars — for life to develop. And very large planets are unlikely to be solid; they are more prone to be gas behemoths like Jupiter.
Sixty-eight of the planet candidates Kepler found are considered Earth-sized, including the first ones ever discovered to be smaller than Earth. An additional 288 planets were less than twice the size of Earth, which is still in that optimum zone for life.
Only five of the 54 potentially habitable celestial bodies are close to the size of Earth, while the rest approach the gassy girths of Neptune or Jupiter, Borucki said.
To be in the habitable zone, a planet has to be the proper distance from its star so that it could have liquid water on its surface, at least sometimes. NASA considers habitable-zone temperatures to be roughly between 0 degrees and 200 degrees Fahrenheit. The proper distance varies by star; smaller, weaker stars, for example, would require planets to be closer to be habitable.
Because of the various factors that could make planets more prone to life, University of California Santa Cruz astronomer Greg Laughlin created a formula that puts a dollar value on these far-off planets with the idea that the first planet that is incredibly similar to Earth would have a value of $1 million.
Until Wednesday, the highest value Laughlin assigned to an exoplanet, which is what astronomers call a planet outside our solar system, was a measly $158. One of Kepler's new discoveries is worth nearly a quarter-million dollars, Laughlin figures.
Kepler was launched in 2009 and orbits the sun between Earth and Mars. It needs time to find planets, identifying them by watching them repeatedly move past the star they orbit.
Kepler scientists are strict about calling candidate planets confirmed. Of 400 candidate planets announced last year, only nine of Kepler's discoveries had been confirmed before Wednesday.
Of the more than 800 new candidates, both in and out of the habitable zone, only six are confirmed, all way too hot for life. And they are strange — all densely packed and circling a single star. Five of them are closer to their star than Mercury is to our sun, and they move in precise circular and stable orbits.
That strange star system is 2,000 light years from Earth, according to a separate study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. A light year is nearly 6 trillion miles.

From: Yahoo.com

Divers: 1811 wreck of Perry ship discovered off RI

AP – This Nov. 10, 2006 photo provided on Jan. 6, 2011 by Charles Buffum, shows a submerged cannon that a …

• Slideshow:1811 wreck of Perry ship discovered off RI

By MICHELLE R. SMITH, Associated Press Michelle R. Smith, Associated Press – Fri Jan 7, 6:19 pm ET

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A team of divers say they've discovered the remains of the USS Revenge, a ship commanded by U.S. Navy hero Oliver Hazard Perry and wrecked off Rhode Island in 1811. Perry is known for defeating the British in the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie off the shores of Ohio, Michigan and Ontario in the War of 1812 and for the line "I have met the enemy and they are ours." His battle flag bore the phrase "Don't give up the ship," and to this day is a symbol of the Navy.
The divers, Charles Buffum, a brewery owner from Stonington, Conn., and Craig Harger, a carbon dioxide salesman from Colchester, Conn., say the wreck changed the course of history because Perry likely would not have been sent to Lake Erie otherwise. Sunday is the 200th anniversary of the wreck.
Buffum said he's been interested in finding the remains of the Revenge ever since his mother several years ago gave him the book "Shipwrecks on the Shores of Westerly." The book includes Perry's account of the wreck, which happened when it hit a reef in a storm in heavy fog off Watch Hill in Westerly as Perry was bringing the ship from Newport to New London, Conn.
"I always thought to myself we ought to go out and have a look and just see if there's anything left," Buffum said.
The two, along with a third man, Mike Fournier, set out to find it with the aid of a metal detector. After several dives, they came across a cannon, then another.
"It was just thrilling," Harger said.
They made their first discovery in August 2005, and kept it secret as they continued to explore the area and make additional discoveries. Since then, they have found four more 42-inch-long cannons, an anchor, canister shot, and other metal objects that they say they're 99 percent sure were from the Revenge.
Buffum and Harger say the items fit into the time period that the Revenge sank, the anchor appears to be the main one that is known to have been cut loose from the ship, and that no other military ships with cannons have been recorded as sinking in the area.

Click image to see photos of the Perry ship wreck

AP

They have not discovered a ship's bell or anything else that identifies it as the Revenge, and all the wood has disappeared, which is not unusual for a wreck that old, they said.
The Navy has a right to salvage its shipwrecks, and the two say they've contacted the Naval History & Heritage Command, which oversees such operations, in hopes the Navy will salvage the remains. A spokesman for the command did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
If the Navy does not, they said they hope to raise the money for a salvage operation so the artifacts can be displayed at a historical society.
They say they are concerned now that they are going public that other divers might try to remove objects from the site, which is a violation of the law. Many of the objects they found are in only 15 feet of water, although the area is difficult to dive because of currents, they said.
As for whether the wreck of the Revenge changed the course of history, David Skaggs, a professor emeritus of history at Bowling Green State University, said Perry might not put it that way. Skaggs has written two books on Perry, "A Signal Victory," about the Lake Erie campaign, which he co-authored, and a biography, "Oliver Hazard Perry: Honor, Courage, and Patriotism in the Early U.S Navy."
While Harger and Buffum say Perry was effectively demoted by being sent to the Great Lakes rather than getting another high seas command, Skaggs said the Great Lakes commission still gave Perry great prestige. Perry, a Rhode Island native, became known as the "Hero of Lake Erie" after he defeated a British squadron, becoming the first U.S. commander to do so.
"Whether or not there is another officer that could have done as well as Perry did is one of those 'might-have-beens' that historians are not prone to ask," Skaggs said.
Still, Skaggs said he was intrigued by the discovery.
"It is certainly an interesting new find on the eve of the bicentennial of the War of 1812," he said.
(This version CORRECTS Corrects title of Perry biography in 14th paragraph.)

(From Yahoo.com)

Celebrity Cities on the Rise

Los Angeles and New York are the go-to galaxies for stars to cluster in America. But consider how many famous people don't need to be in L.A. or New York often for work, or those who like more privacy, or who are loyal to whatever place they feel at home. All those celebrities have to live somewhere, too, so we've compiled a list of cities and towns that aren't as obvious, but still host their share of recognizable faces, and where (if you have enough scratch) you can move into one of their former homes.

We looked at the up-and-coming cities where stars are hanging their hats. Incidentally, Oprah has a house in enough of them that the alternate title for this slideshow could be Mrs. Winfrey's Neighborhoods.

Austin, Tex.

Austin is the state capital of Texas, but thanks to the presence of the University of Texas and a thriving music and arts community, it's also the cultural capital of Texas.

Photo: Jeremy Woodhouse, Getty Images; Dan Katz

Earlier this year, part of 2nd Street was re-christened for hometown legend Willie Nelson, and a statue of the red-headed stranger will soon stand in front of the new Austin City Limits studio. Austin is also where Matthew McConaughey used park his Airstream trailer, play his bongos in the nude, and where he has been known to show up to a UT game or two.
Sandra Bullock keeps a home there and owns several businesses including the restaurant Bess Bistro and Walton's Fancy and Staple floral shop/deli/coffee shop. Lance Armstrong has been spotted training in the hills of the Jollyville section of town, and he's got his own local bike trail named for him.
It may be deep in the heart of the Lone Star state, but for over a week every March, Austinbecomes star-studded for the South by Southwest music, film and interactive conference, complete with A-list actors at red carpet premieres. Just this year when promoting his film "Get Low," Bill Murray strolled off the red carpet into the 6th Street nightlife, drinking with the locals and out-of-towners, and even tending bar.

Alpine, N.J.

Photo: Ww2censor, wikipedia.org; Jason Merritt, Getty Images

A block party in the North Jersey town Alpine would give Dave Chappelle's Brooklyn bash a run for its money. Located across the George Washington Bridge from upper Manhattan is an exclusive enclave that might well get touched by the hand of Oprah, who recently toured a $68 million mansion for sale on the former Frick Estate.
Eddie Murphy was one of the first stars in the area when he moved to his estate Bubble Hill in nearby Englewood (a gold nugget's throw from CNBC World Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs). Since then, Alpine has become a who's who of hip-hop artists and other prominent African Americans: P. Diddy, Jay-Z (pictured above), Lil Kim, Fabolos, Cam'ron, the late Biggie Smalls, Chris Rock, Wesley Snipes, and Stevie Wonder.
Also among the residents are music execs like Damon Dash, Andre Harrell, and Producer/DJ Eddie F, formerly of Heavy D and the Boyz, who has recorded 50 Cent, TLC, and Mary J Blige (the last whom lives in nearby Cresskill) in his home studio.

New Orleans, La.

Photo: Don Klumpp,Getty Images; Bryan Bedder, Getty Images

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are the celebrity king and queen of New Orleans, and have done their part to help their adopted city recover from Hurricane Katrina, as with Pitt's charity Make it Right. Sandra Bullock recently joined the pair when she bought a $2,250,000 Victorian home and adopted a local baby, and she also donated to a struggling NOLA school and other local educational causes.
Since Louisiana began offering tax breaks for film and television productions, New Orleans has added to its nicknames "Hollywood South." But although these Hollywood types are bringing new attention to an old city, they certainly didn't invent NOLA: musicians like Harry Connick, Fats Domino, Lil Wayne (who for most of 2010 left the Big Easy for the big house) and a host of other musicians have long made this troubled romantic city their home. The annual Jazz Fest, Voodoo Fest, and the Essence Music Festival bring even more famous musicians to town.
Lenny Kravitz is selling his French Quarter 1-bedroom 2-bath home for $775,000, which looks like a humble, traditional stucco cottage from the shuttered street view, but the interior combines sleek and rustic elements and like many NOLA hideaways, it conceals a courtyard.

Atlanta, Ga.

Photo: Walter Bibikow, Getty Images; Charley Gallay, Getty Images

Atlanta has been expanding since the 1970s and today is known as the home of Turner Broadcasting, and all that entails, like CNN, Cartoon Network, HLN, TruTV, Turner Classic Movies, TBS, and Tyler Perry Studios.
Atlanta also has many hip-hop recording studios and artists, such as rapper T.I. (when he's not in jail), and Ludacris, who wrote in the song "Georgia" of his "five Georgia homes, where I rest my Georgia bones." Other Atlanta celebs include Usher, Jeff Foxworthy, Janet Jackson, and Elton John.
Those in the upper reaches of the Atlanta homebuying market can even purchase the home of the former first lady of Atlanta: Jane Fonda's Atlanta North loft is on the market for $1,950,000 (down from $4.5 million this spring). The two-story contemporary space features three bedrooms, three baths, his and her closets, and two fireplaces.

Miami, Fla.

Photo: Maremagnum; Getty Images; Matt Szwajkos, Getty Images

Miami is swimming with musical celebrities: Gloria Estefan is practically synonymous with the city (lest we forget, her band is the Miami Sound Machine), and Ricky Martin has been photographed by many a paparazzo when working out on the beaches.
Other local big name musicians include Julio Iglesias, Lenny Kravitz, Billy Joel (pictured), Jennifer Lopez, and Whitney Houston. Oh, and Oprah has a residence (just a modest little one, no doubt) on Fisher Island.
LeBron James just bought a 6 bedroom, 8.5 bath beachfront residence for $9 million, and Jim Clark, founder of Netscape, has a beachfront condo apartment in a Miami Beach high-rise on the market for $27 million. What does that buy? The Asian-themed penthouse has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a 4-car garage, and spectacular ocean views.

Chicago, Ill.

Photo: Getty Images; Nicholas Kamm,AFP, Getty Images

Oprah has a home on Lake Shore Drive, and until the end of this final television season, her eponymous talk show tapes in Chicago as well. The Obamas still maintain their Windy City residence, and other luminaries include Vince Vaughn, Michael Jordan, Jerry Springer, Joan Cusack, and newscaster Giuliana Rancic and her Apprentice-winning husband, Bill.
Some say Chicago's real celebrities are its skyscrapers and other distinctive architectural treasures, and one famous structure is for sale-although this one isn't known for its design. The former Playboy Mansion is for sale for the reduced price of $2,700,000. Dodgers pitcher Ted Lilly's 2 million-dollar house is also on the market.

Montecito, Calif.

Photo: Panaromic Images; Getty Images; Jason Merritt, Getty Images

Located on the California coast north of Los Angeles, Montecito naturally has a celebrity past, this one involving The Montecito Inn, which was built by Charlie Chaplain and Fatty Arbuckle to host getaways for their famous friends. Unfortunately, it opened right before the Great Depression hit, so all did not go as planned.
The small town with a population of about 10,000 caught on with Hollywood types nonetheless, and is now one of the priciest zip codes nationwide. Notable residents include Jane Russell, Rob Lowe, Steve Martin, Michael Douglas, Kirk Douglas, Al Gore, Christopher Lloyd, and Jeff Bridges. Guess who else lives here? Oprah's estate, "The Promised Land," sits on 42 acres with mountain and ocean views, and legend has it she first visited to attend a party then was so captivated that she bought the house, which was not on the market.
Paul Hogan has a 5-bedroom, 7-bath home for sale in Montecito with an asking price of $2,252,499.

Westlake Village, Calif.

Photo: CityofWestlakeVillage.org; Vince Bucci, Getty Images

Westlake Village is a planned community located northwest of Los Angeles, close enough to be considered a bedroom community, although more than half the area is located within the city limits of Thousand Oaks.
It's home to many celebrities like Pete Sampras, Heather Locklear, Hulk Hogan, Mickey Rooney, Will Smith, and longtime residents Wayne Gretzky and Frankie Avalon, the latter who has lived there since his "Back to the Beach" days in 1987.
Maureen McCormick, TV's Marcia Brady, has compared her town to a "Leave it to Beaver" setting and to Andy Griffith's Mayberry. If that sounds enticing, "Newlywed Game" host Bob Eubanks currently has his 4 whoopie-room, 4.5 bathroom home on the market in the gated community Hidden Valley Estates for $2,495,000.

Jupiter, Fla.

Photo: Mark Lewis, Getty Images; Timothy A. Clary, AFP, Getty Images

Jupiter is located on Florida's east coast, north of Palm Beach, with a population that surged in the aught years from around 40,000 to around 50,000. Residents that may look familiar include Celine Dion, Bryant Gumbel, Tori Amos, and Burt Reynolds.
Tiger Woods just built a $50 million estate on Jupiter Island that includes an oxygen therapy room, a diving pool and a lap pool. His neighbor Michael Jordan recently built a 12.4 million, 11-bedroom 38,000 square foot mega mansion in a gated golf community with a course designed by Jack Nicklaus.
By comparison, baseball hall of famer Mike Schmidt's house for sale, a waterfront property featuring 5 bedrooms and 6.5 baths, is a modest purchase at $4.5 million.

(Provided by CNBC)

The Most Amazing Hidden Sites In The World

When it comes to travel--especially to ancient sites, which are big business for the tourism industry--very little stays secret.
That said, some ancient destinations have slipped through the cracks. And with the help of history travel website Historvius.com, we'd like to share 10 of them with you.

Talk about hidden: Jordan's Qasr Bashir sits amidst miles of desert with nary a tourist trail in site. The site was built in the 4th century A.D., and functioned as a base for Roman soldiers.

No list of ancient sites would be complete without The Great Wall of China. Think not much is hidden about it? Think again. Certain parts still remain unknown, such as the stunning Mutianyu, which rests approximately 90 kilometers outside Beijing and can be accessed using public transportation.

If old cemeteries are your thing, Kerameikos, an ancient burial site of the Athens elite, contains graves dating back to the third millennium B.C. through the sixth century A.D.

Travel to north Ethiopia to visit The Yeha Temple. It's believed to date back to 700 A.D. Later used as a church, this may be the country's oldest surviving building.
And we're just getting started. Check out the full gallery.
In Photos: See The 10 Most Amazing Hidden Sites In The World


(From Yahoo.com)

Why Do Hawks Hunt Chicks

One upon time, a hawk fell in love with a hen. The hawk flew down from the sky and asked the hen, “Will you marry me?”

The hen loved the brave, strong hawk and wished to marry him. But she said, “I can not fly as hight as you can. If you give me time, I may learn to fly as hight as you. Then we can fly together.”

The hawk agreed. Before he went away, he gave the hen a ring. “This is to show that you have promised to marry me,” said the hawk.

It so happened that the hen had already promised to marry a rooster. So, when the rooster saw the ring, he became very angry. “Throw that ring away at once!” shouted the rooster. The hen was so fightened at the rppster’s anger that she threw away the ring immediately.

When the hawk came a few months later, the hen told him the truth. The hawk was so furious that he cursed the hen, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Now, you’ll always be scratching the earth, and I’ll always be flying above to catch your children,” said the hawk.

The story is a tale that often appear in various parts of the world. From anank children to adults never heard it. In Indonesia, these tales evolved mostly in the area around Sumatra and Sulawesi. From these stories we can take the values that we should not make promises that can not be kept and do not make false promises. And in making promises we have to think first what the risks and Can we keep to it. And the last Love it takes sacrifice.

Cleopatra and Mark Antony

Who is Cleopatra

Cleopatra full name is Cleopatra VII Philopator (Late 69 BC[1] – August 12, 30 BC) was an ancient Greek queen and the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. She was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Greek royal family which ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period. The Ptolemies, throughout their dynasty, spoke Greek and refused to learn Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents like the Rosetta Stone. By contrast, Cleopatra learned Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess Isis. Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father Ptolemy XII Auletes and later with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she married as per Egyptian custom, but eventually she became sole ruler. As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevated her son with Caesar, Caesarion, to co-ruler in name. After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar's legal heir, Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus (later known as Augustus). With Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus. Her unions with her brothers produced no children. After losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian's forces, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra followed suit, according to tradition killing herself by means of an asp bite on August 12, 30 BC. She was briefly outlived by Caesarion, who was declared pharaoh, but he was soon killed on Octavian's orders. Egypt became the Roman province of Aegyptus. To this day, Cleopatra remains a popular figure in Western culture. Her legacy survives in numerous works of art and the many dramatizations of her story in literature and other media, including William Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra, Jules Massenet's opera Cléopâtre and the 1963 film Cleopatra. In most depictions, Cleopatra is put forward as a great beauty and her successive conquests of the world's most powerful men are taken to be proof of her aesthetic and sexual appeal. In his Pensées, philosopher Blaise Pascal contends that Cleopatra's classically beautiful profile changed world history: "Cleopatra's nose, had it been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed."


The Stories of Cleopatra and Mark Antony

In 41 BC, Mark Antony, one of the triumvirs who ruled Rome in the power vacuum following Caesar's death, sent his intimate friend Quintus Dellius to Egypt. Dellius had to summon Cleopatra to Tarsus to meet Antony and answer questions about her loyalty. During the Roman civil war she allegedly had paid much money to Cassius. It seems that in reality Antony wanted Cleopatra’s promise to support his intended war against the Parthians. Cleopatra arrived in great state, and so charmed Antony that he chose to spend the winter of 41 BC–40 BC with her in Alexandria. To safeguard herself and Caesarion, she had Antony order the death of her sister Arsinoe, who was living at the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, which was under Roman control. The execution was carried out in 41 BC on the steps of the temple, and this violation of temple sanctuary scandalised Rome. Cleopatra had also executed her strategos of Cyprus, Serapion, who had supported Cassius against her wishes. On 25 December 40 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to twins fathered by Antony, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II. Four years later, Antony visited Alexandria again en route to make war with the Parthians. He renewed his relationship with Cleopatra, and from this point on Alexandria would be his home. He married Cleopatra according to the Egyptian rite (a letter quoted in Suetonius suggests this), although he was at the time married to Octavia Minor, sister of his fellow triumvir Octavian. He and Cleopatra had another child, Ptolemy Philadelphus. At the Donations of Alexandria in late 34 BC, following Antony's conquest of Armenia, Cleopatra and Caesarion were crowned co-rulers of Egypt and Cyprus; Alexander Helios was crowned ruler of Armenia, Media, and Parthia; Cleopatra Selene II was crowned ruler of Cyrenaica and Libya; and Ptolemy Philadelphus was crowned ruler of Phoenicia, Syria, and Cilicia. Cleopatra was also given the title of "Queen of Kings" by Antonius.[26] Her enemies in Rome feared that Cleopatra "was planning a war of revenge that was to array all the East against Rome, establish herself as empress of the world at Rome, cast justice from Capitolium, and inaugurate a new universal kingdom." Caesarion was not only elevated having coregency with Cleopatra, but also proclaimed with many titles, including god, son of god and king of kings, and was depicted as Horus.[citation needed] Egyptians thought Cleopatra to be a reincarnation of the goddess Isis, as she called herself Nea Isis. Relations between Antony and Octavian, disintegrating for several years, finally broke down in 33 BC, and Octavian convinced the Senate to levy war against Egypt. In 31 BC Antony's forces faced the Romans in a naval action off the coast of Actium. Cleopatra was present with a fleet of her own. Popular legend states that when she saw that Antony's poorly equipped and manned ships were losing to the Romans' superior vessels, she took flight and that Antony abandoned the battle to follow her, but no contemporary evidence states this was the case. Following the Battle of Actium, Octavian invaded Egypt. As he approached Alexandria, Antony's armies deserted to Octavian on August 1, 30 BC. There are a number of unverifiable stories about Cleopatra, of which one of the best known is that, at one of the lavish dinners she shared with Antony, she playfully bet him that she could spend ten million sesterces on a dinner. He accepted the bet. The next night, she had a conventional, unspectacular meal served; he was ridiculing this, when she ordered the second course — only a cup of strong vinegar. She then removed one of her priceless pearl earrings, dropped it into the vinegar, allowed it to dissolve, and drank the mixture. The earliest report of this story comes from Pliny the Elder and dates to about 100 years after the banquet described would have happened. The calcium carbonate in pearls does dissolve in vinegar, but slowly unless the pearl is first crushed.