The medieval fortress in Bač is known as one of the great fortresses of its time in the Pannonian plain. It was built by the town of the same name to the west, on a small island on the river Mostonga. The Fortress in Bač is known as one of the so-called "water towns", because it used to be surrounded by the Mostonga river on all sides, approachable only by the drawbridges. It also meant that it was adapted for defense in the lowland and marshy areas.
The ruins of the fortress in its present state, consist of a base in the form of an irregular pentagon ("trapezoid"). The fort used to have 8 towers, but five are preserved today. There are four lateral towers while the fifth is the 20 m (66 ft) tall keep (donžon). The trapezoidal base covers 5,600 m² (60,000 sq ft), while the entire plateau on which the tower complex is located has 8,700 m² (94,000 sq ft). The ramparts which connect the towers are massive. Three corner towers have round base and are open towards the interior of the fort. The northwest tower and the one with the main gate have a square base.
The most fortified was the eastern side, which included the ''branič'' tower, the keep, residential palace, palace for the knights, water well, cistern and food storage. On the inside, several objects, of different purpose, directly leaned onto the rampart walls. The materials used for the construction is mostly brick, while the stone and terracotta were used for the ornaments.
The Section of Bač below the fortress is called Podgrađe. It consists of 36 houses in the typical lowland Vojvodina style and is protected, together with the fort, as the Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Exceptional Importance. The section is directly accessed via the bridge across the canal and through the gate, which is still being called the "Spike" (Šiljak). The houses were built from the 18th to the 20th century, and residents are not allowed to change façades without prior consent from the institutes in charge of protection.


The structure is a triple-arched gate that makes use of Moorish architectural forms, with pointed horseshoe arches and a crenelated top. Both the inner and outer facades are covered in polychrome tiles featuring arabesques and Moroccan geometric motifs, with the outer facade predominantly blue and the interior facade predominantly green-ish. Strangely, the actual doors of the gate seem to close and lock from the outside; perhaps an indication that the French administration saw it partly as a means of controlling the movement of the inhabitants inside the medina.
Beyond the gate, a small square ringed by shops and restaurants today gives access to both Tala'a Kebira and Tala'a Seghira, the main streets of the city leading towards the Qarawiyyin and the heart of the medina.
The silhouettes of the minarets visible through the main arch when standing outside the gate are those of the Bou Inania Madrasa and the more recent Sidi Lazzaz Mosque.


Bab Sharqi (Arabic: بَابٌ شَرْقِيٌّ, romanized: Bāb Šarqī; "The Eastern Gate"), also known as the Gate of the Sun, is one of the seven ancient city gates of Damascus, Syria. Its modern name comes from its location in the eastern side of the city. The gate also gives its name to the Christian quarter surrounding it. The grand facade of the gate was reconstructed in the 1960s.
In addition to being the only original Roman gate still standing, Bab Sharqi is also the only gate of the eight gates of the Ancient City of Damascus to preserve its original form as a triple passageway, with the large central passageway for caravans and wheel traffic and the two smaller ones flanking the large one for pedestrians.


Bab Zuwaila has survived from 1092 to the present by accepting layers added to it or letting go of layers subtracted from its original entity. Layers added during later periods are usually distinguished from earlier ones, while layers removed tend to leave traces. To "read a wall" is to visually detect these differences. Abrupt changes in a wall such as the unexpected use of different materials, different sizes or types or stone, different mortars or different surface renderings are the visual elements among many that constitute the language of "reading walls". The area between Bab Zuweila and Al-Muayyad Mosque has varied and distinct building layers.


Bab al-Futuh (Arabic: باب الفتوح, lit. 'Conquest Gate') is one of three remaining gates in the city wall of the old city of Cairo, Egypt. It was finished in the year 1087 and faces north. The other two remaining gates are Bab al-Nasr (Victory Gate) in the north and Bab Zuwayla (Gate of Zuwayla) in the south. Bab al-Zuwayla and Bab al-Futuh are located on Muizz Street in Cairo.
The gate was part of a fortification built by the vizier Badr al-Jamali during the reign of the Fatimid imam-caliph Mustansir. Its rounded towers were a stronger defense than the square towers of Bab al-Nasr. They had shafts for pouring boiling water or burning oil on attackers, and arrow slits. The gate is covered in vegetal and geometric motifs.


The gate is notable for its defensive structure as well as for its rich stone-carved decoration which is comparable to other monumental Almohad gates such as Bab Oudaia to the north (also in Rabat) and to Bab Agnaou in Marrakesh. The gate was built in reddish stone but the constant blow of the seaborne winds has changed much of its colour to a duller grey. The gate's exterior entrance is flanked by two bastion towers. The archway of the entrance was partially filled-in with a smaller arch under the Alaouite sultan Muhammad ibn Abdallah in the second half of the 18th century.
The decoration of the gate's outer façade includes three concentric semi-circles carved with polylobed and radiating motifs, which are in turn framed inside a rectangular alfiz. The two ends of the innermost semi-circle, at the spring of the arch, are carved into "S"-like serpentine forms which are also seen at Bab Oudaia but very rarely elsewhere. The spandrels between in the corners within this alfiz are carved with arabesque vegetal motifs in at the center of which is a carved seashell. The frame of the alfiz itself contains an Arabic inscription in Kufic script featuring a Qur'anic verse, translated as the following:
Be a community that calls for what is good, urges what is right, and forbids what is wrong: those who do this are the successful ones. Do not be like those who, after they have been given clear revelation, split into factions and fall into disputes: a terrible punishment awaits such people.
— Qur'an, 3:104-5
The gate's interior passage passes through four chambers and turns 90 degrees four times, constituting a complex bent entrance typical of Almohad military architecture. One of the chambers was originally open from above (but is sheltered by a roof today) so that the defenders could throw projectiles onto any attackers entering the gate. The inner façade of the gate, facing towards the city, is more simply decorated with a single polylobed semi-circle carved around the horseshoe archway, which is framed by a wide band filled with a sebka pattern.


The Church of All Saints was designed by the architect William Butterfield and built in 1868-74 under the aegis of Rev. John Hewett whose initiative it had been to build it. It is in the Neogothic style and has fine polychrome stonework in the font, pulpit and the chancel floor made from Devon marble. All Saints Church belongs to the Anglo-Catholic tradition within the Church of England, and its parish is one of those in the Diocese of Exeter. The first vicar was Fr. John Hewitt, whose ministry began when the church was founded and continued to his retirement in 1910.
Babbacombe has a primary school, All Saints Babbacombe Church of England Primary School.


The building, designed in the English Gothic revival style, was built in two phases over the period 1833–1849. The contract to plan the palace was given to the architects Karl Friedrich Schinkel, who is in charge of the works until his dearth, in 1841, Ludwig Persius and Johann Heinrich Strack.
On 22 September 1862 in the palace and adjoining park the discussion between King William I of Prussia and Otto von Bismarck took place that ended with the nomination of Bismarck as Minister President and Foreign Minister of Prussia.
The architecture of Babelsberg Palace formed the template for the construction of Kittendorf Palace between 1848 and 1853 in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, by Schinkel's pupil, Friedrich Hitzig.


Babughat (also Babooghat, or Baje Kadamtala Ghat, and Baboo Raj Chandra Ghat) is one of the many ghats built during British Raj, along the bank of Hooghly River on Strand Road, Kolkata at B. B. D. Bagh, Kolkata.
The ghat has a tall colonial structure, which is the landing berth of the ghat. It is a fine Doric-Greek style pavilion with huge pillars. The ghat, originally known was Baboo Raj Chandra Ghat, is now only known by first words Baboo-ghat or Babu-ghat. Babu/Baboo in Bengali means Sahib or gentleman. The ghat is named after Babu Raj Chandra Das, husband of Rani Rashmoni and zamindar of Janbazar, who built it in 1830, in memory of her late husband. A marble tablet beneath the pediment implies that some of the credit for the erection of the ghat must go to Lord William Bentinck as he encouraged such spending with a view to improve public amenities. It is second oldest ghat of Kolkata.
The pavilion today is completely encroached by vendors and priests. The old colonial structure and stairs leading to the river are in various stages of decay and derelict. A section of ghat originally meant for bathing of ladies has turned into a garbage point now. Even so, the ghat is bustling with crowds since morning till late evening with people who use it for bathing, puja, religious ceremonies, massage and leisure. During Chhat Puja, a huge crowd can be seen on Babughat performing their puja. The ghat is also used during Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja rather in all festivals for immersion of idols.
Further, Babughat is always bustling with passengers, who use it cross the river to reach Howrah Station just across the river and also other areas of Howrah, ferries for which are available at frequent intervals, which take off from the jetty connected to ghat. The water ferry is run and maintained by Inland Waterways Corporation. Ferry services are available from Babughat to Howrah, Chandpal Ghat, Telkal Ghat and Bally.
Also just outside the ghat is a bus terminus. Babughat is one of the main bus termini in the Kolkata apart from two others located at Esplanade and Howrah station. From there one can find interstate buses going into Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and other cities of West Bengal. Also there is another bus terminus from where one can find buses going in all directions of Kolkata and its neighborhood. These buses also carry the goods and merchandise to other states and people can find hand-carts and cycle-carts carrying merchandise to be loaded on various buses. The Babughat has vantage advantage as the business and commercial hub of city BBD Bagh is near-by. For this reason Babughat is humming with people and activities throughout twenty-four hours of day and night.
Further, Eden Gardens railway station of Kolkata Circular Railway is located just adjacent to Babughat and as such people commuting by train also get off and board trains from here.
The Eden Gardens and Netaji Indoor Stadium, West Bengal State Assembly, Calcutta Swimming Club, Calcutta High Court, Writer's Building, Prinsep Ghat are all located in vicinity of Babughat. Further, Millennium Park, a newly developed amusement park cum picnic spot opened in December 1999, along the Hooghly river stretch is also located just a few minutes walk from Babughat.
As Babughat is a unique junction point of Kolkata where one can find various modes of transport like, bus, ferry and train to go towards various direction, intelligence agencies of India had expressed concern that terrorists are using Babughat as transit point.


Babylon Fortress (Arabic: حصن بابليون; Coptic: ⲡⲁⲃⲓⲗⲱⲛ or Ⲃⲁⲃⲩⲗⲱⲛ) is an Ancient Roman fortress, built around 30 BC with the arrival of emperor Augustus in Egypt, on the eastern bank of the Nile Delta, located in the area known today as Coptic Cairo. It is situated in the former area of the Heliopolite Nome, upon the east bank of the Nile, at latitude 30°N, near the commencement of the Pharaonic Canal (also called Ptolemy's Canal and Trajan's Canal), from the Nile to the Red Sea.
It was at the boundary between Lower and Middle Egypt, where the river craft paid tolls when ascending or descending the Nile. Diodorus ascribes the erection of the first fort to rebel Assyrian captives in the reign of Sesostris, and Ctesias dates it to the time of Semiramis; but Josephus, with greater probability, attributes its structure to some Babylonian followers of Cambyses, in 525 BC. The Romans built a new fortress nearer the river, with typically Roman red and white banded masonry.
Within the fortress's enclosure are the Coptic Museum, a convent, and several churches, including the Church of St. George and the Hanging Church.


The Bacardi Building was designed to be the headquarters for the Bacardi Rum Company; it was nationalized by the Castro government in the early 1960s. In 2001, the building was restored by an Italian construction firm. The interior retains the original decorations in marble and granite. It is regarded as one of the finest Art Deco buildings in Latin America.


The building was the outcome of an architectural design competition. The owners of the Bacardi company invited a number of architects to present their design proposals for a new headquarters building offering 1,000 pesos to the winner. The competition was made up of a panel of judges that included Henri Schueg Chassin, president of Bacardi, and the architects Leonardo Morales y Pedroso, the architect for Colegio Belen, Enrique Gil, Emilio de Soto, and Pedro Martínez Inclán. The first prize was awarded to architects Esteban Rodríguez-Castells and Rafael Fernández Ruenes. José Menéndez Menéndez was the architect-engineer in the project.
Construction of the building started on January 6, 1930, and was completed by the 300-day deadline the company had set for December. Poor conditions of the land required that the foundation use piles of hardwood (jiqui and júcaro negro) and high strength concrete. At the peak of the building (47m) is a bronze sculpture of the company logo, a fruit bat. Its design gives the building a unique chromatic effect and a decorative element of Catalan modernism. At the brim of the building are inflected flat panel sculptures of sirens.
The first floor contained a bar with column archways where patrons of the restaurant in the mezzanine area could overlook the bar while they dined. It was open to the public and known to have many celebrities who frequented. Most of the marble and granite were imported from Europe: Germany, Sweden, Norway, Italy, France, Belgium and Hungary.
With an area of 1,075 sq. meters and 7.25 meters of support, the first floor walls, floor, and ceiling are adorned in pink granite from Bavaria, and the two halls are of green marble from floor to ceiling. The construction work was carried out by the company Grasyma of Wansiedel, Bavaria of Germany, which took great care in the fine details of the work and the time-sensitivity of the project deadline.
The property has a cistern with capacity for 8,700 US gallons (33,000 l; 7,200 imp gal) of water, which pumped into a tank inside the tower with capacity for 4,800 US gallons (18,000 l; 4,000 imp gal). In addition, it has four elevators for different uses: two are used for passengers with a capacity of 10 people each and a speed of 350 feet per minute; another is a cargo elevator for the transportation of furniture, with a capacity of 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg); and the fourth one makes trips between the basement and the first floor to transport goods.
Construction was completed in December 1930 and at the time it was the tallest building in Havana.


This theft of private property led the U.S. into severing diplomatic relations in 1961 and installing the trade embargo and various sanctions against Cuba. "Thousands of Americans and Cuban citizens suffered humiliation and financial distresses of having their private property stolen from them, some of them at gunpoint. Today there has been no justice for that their claims."


The historical Bach House is one of the oldest residential buildings in Eisenach. It originally consisted of two buildings, of which the eastern part was built in 1456 and the western part in 1458. At around 1611, both were joined. As was normal with the Ackerbürgerhäuser (burghers' houses) of that time, the ground floor was used for agricultural purposes: today's instrument hall may have been used as a barn, and the rooms next to the stairs for cattle and horses. In the museum, a cowbell from 1688 found in the Bach House garden reminds of this past. In the first floor of the building, a Renaissance glass window frame and the timber panelling of the living room now decorated as Composing Studio still bear witness of the citizen status of the house's former occupants. At the time of Bach's birth it was owned by Heinrich Börstelmann, headmaster of the Latin School. In 1746, the family of Caroline Amalie Rausch née Bach moved into the building and lived there until 1779. Caroline Amalie was the daughter of Bach's second cousin and friend Johann Bernhard Bach and sister to Johann Ernst Bach, a student of Bach at Leipzig and then court music director at Eisenach.


When the Leipzig-based Bach-Gesellschaft, founded by Robert Schumann and others in 1850 for the sole purpose of editing all of Bach's works, had completed this task in 1900, its members decided it should be reconstituted as Neue Bachgesellschaft (New Bach Society) to now further the popularity and practice of Bach's music. Three 'eternal' projects were approved: the annual edition of a Bach-Jahrbuch (Bach yearbook), biannual (today: annual) Bachfeste (Bach festivals), and finally the founding of a Bach museum. As the desired location of the society's museum the School of St. Thomas at Leipzig was chosen, where Bach had lived with his family and served as cantor and music teacher for 27 years. However, the magistrate of Leipzig decided to demolish the building in 1902, thus thwarting the society's plans. Among other relics, the entrance door to Bach's rooms in the school was saved from destruction by its then music teacher Bernhard Friedrich Richter, son of the former Thomaskantor Ernst Friedrich Richter, and was later dedicated to the Bach House. Today, this door prominently marks the start of the exhibition within the museum.
When news reached the society's members that Bach's (still undisputed) birth house at Eisenach was also under threat by demolition plans, the New Bach Society decided to acquire the building on May 15, 1905, and to open the world's first Bach museum at this site. Among the supporters of this project were the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, the composer and violinist Joseph Joachim, the Cantor of St Thomas Gustav Schreck, the director of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin Georg Schumann, and the Leipzig music publishers Breitkopf & Härtel and C.F. Peters. The Bach House was formally opened on 27 May 1907. The choir of St. Thomas, Leipzig under Cantor of St. Thomas, Gustav Schreck, and the Weimar Hofkapelle conducted by Georg Schumann, sang and played.
In 1928, when the Eisenach hobby historian Fritz Rollberg undertook a research into the city's tax records and discovered that Johann Ambrosius Bach had paid taxes from 1674 until his death in 1695 for a different building in Eisenach, the Bach House was long established as a Bach memorial site throughout the world. When the house underwent complete restoration in 1972–1973, the memorial plate from 1868 was taken down and went into storage. Since visitors kept believing to be visiting Bach's birthplace even without the plate, it was decided in 2007 to restore it as an essential part of the building's history. Today, the historical error is explained in the museum, where one of the tax files discovered by Rollberg is on display.
An air raid on 23 November 1944 and artillery fire by the approaching U.S. troops in the night of 5 April 1945 caused substantial damage to the roof of the Bach House in particular. On 29 April 1945, the U.S. commander of the city, Lt. Col. Knut Hansston, ordered the museum to be repaired immediately, and one year later, on 22 June 1946, the Soviet Military Administration ordered the Johann Sebastian Bach museums in Arnstadt and Eisenach to be re-opened and confirmed the appointment of Bach House Director Conrad Freyse to the post in which he had been working since 1923.
Already in 1911, the museum had expanded into the adjacent building Frauenplan 19. In 1973, the buildings underwent a complete restoration and the exhibition was newly designed with financial aid by the East German (GDR) government. The museum now also included the building Frauenplan 21a to the west of the Bach House. Since the museum's owner was still the New Bach Society, now an international society with over 3,000 members in both parts of politically divided Germany (and throughout West and East Europe, and also in the U.S.), the Bach House – unlike the Leipzig Bach-Archiv – was never incorporated into the GDR's national combine Nationale Forschungs- und Gedenkstätten Johann Sebastian Bach der DDR. Rising visitor numbers (over 130,000 in some years) and the imminent Bach year of 1985 led to a further expansion of the museum into the building Frauenplan 23 further west of the Bach House in 1980.


The collection of baroque musical instruments started with a gift of four instruments by the Dutch collector Paul de Wit in 1907, and a gift of 164 instruments by the heirs of musicologist and conductor Aloys Obrist who had killed both himself and his former lover, the opera singer Anna Sutter, in 1910. String instruments of the collection include a viola da gamba with seven strings, built by Bach's Leipzig friend and collaborator Johann Christian Hoffmann in 1725, a violoncello piccolo with five strings (northern Bohemia, ca. 1750) which Bach demanded for nine cantatas and (according to some views) the cello suite BWV 1012, and a viola d'amore with six 6 gut playing strings and 6 metal resonating strings an octave higher (Vienna, around 1700).
Since 1973, five baroque keyboard instruments are demonstrated in a music performance every hour. These include two chamber organs (Switzerland, ca. 1750, and Thuringia, ca. 1650), a fretted clavichord (around 1770), and a spinet built 1765 in Strasbourg by Johann Heinrich Silbermann, a nephew of Gottfried Silbermann whose instruments Bach helped sell in Leipzig. The Thuringian positive organ's history and Bach's biography overlap: from 1714 on, it served as a church organ in Kleinschwabhausen, about 15 km from Weimar where Bach was court organist at the time. Bach's protégée and family friend, the court organ maker Heinrich Nicolaus Trebs, repaired the organ in 1724 and 1740, and Johann Caspar Vogler, Bach's student and successor as court organist, tested the organ in 1738, 1740 and 1744. Since inspecting the dukedom's organs belonged to the court organist's duties, the museum conjectures that Bach must have known and played this instrument, even though there is no record of it.
The exhibits include the so-called Bach spectacles long believed to have been worn by Bach, and the Bach Goblet. It is still an unsolved riddle who may have been the donor of the goblet, and on what occasion Bach received it. Bach's second, much younger wife Anna Magdalena is remembered with an always fresh bouquet of yellow carnations – she was a große Liebhaberin von der Gärtnerey (a great lover of gardening) and these were her favorite flowers. Three rooms in the upper floor of the historical Bach House present historical living quarters (bedroom, living room, kitchen). Their furnishing is virtually unchanged since the rooms were first decorated by the Weimar Court Antiquary in 1906 with local items from around 1700 (including door handles and fittings).
Since 2017 a room in between the historical living quarters and cladded in black hosts the exhibition space Bach's inner world. Presented here is a reconstruction of Bach's theological library, facilitated by the written estate which lists 52 theological book titles bound in 81 volumes as having been privately owned by Bach.


Bachelor's Walk was named after the developer who built up the street, extending from Ormond Quay from the 1670s. It was recorded as Batchelours Walke in 1728, The Batchelors Walk in 1723 and 1728, and Bachelors Quay in 1766. Before the street that became O'Connell Street was extended to meet the Liffey, Bachelors Walk extended to Eden Quay ending at Union Lane, now Marlborough Street.
The Irish Church Missions - part of the Church of Ireland - are located on Bachelors Walk.
In July 1914, a hostile crowd accosted a column of troops of the King's Own Scottish Borderers on Bachelors Walk. The troops responded to stone throwing with bayonets and rifle fire, resulting in the deaths of several civilians and injuries to dozens more. The event later became known as the Bachelor's Walk massacre.


The Bachkovo Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos   (Bulgarian: Бачковски манастир "Успение Богородично", Bachkovski manastir, Georgian: პეტრიწონის მონასტერი, Petritsonis Monasteri), archaically the Petritsoni Monastery  or Monastery of the Mother of God Petritzonitissa is a major Eastern Orthodox monastery in Southern Bulgaria. It is located on the right bank of the Chepelare River, 189 km from Sofia and 10 km south of Asenovgrad, and is directly subordinate to the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The monastery is known and appreciated for the unique combination of Byzantine, Georgian and Bulgarian culture, united by the common faith.


The Cathedral Church of the Virgin Mary (dating from 1604) is the place where a valuable icon of the Virgin Mary Eleusa from 1310 is kept (brought from Georgia). According to the legend, the icon is wonder-working, attracting many pilgrims. This church was built in the place of the monastery's oldest church destroyed by the Turks. The building has survived to this day in its original structure of a three- aisled, cruciform domed basilica with three pentagonal apses. A silver- gilded cross rising from the dome bears the inscription "Always win!" in Georgian. The murals in the spacious narthex were painted in 1643 and depict a life-size portraits of Georgi and his son Constantine, who were high-ranking notables in Istanbul and donors to the church. The frescoes in the nave were painted much later, in 1850, by Joan Mosch (master Mosko). The two central icons in the iconostasis are exactly dated – 1793. these the icons of The Holy Virgin and Jesus Christ. The woodwork — iconostasis, bishop's throne and the like, dates from the 18th century.


WikiWeb_Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge_0

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Virginia is located in the independent city of Virginia Beach. Established in 1938 in an isolated portion of the former Princess Anne County, it is managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.  The administrative office is located on Sandbridge Road at Sigma between Lago Mar and Sandbridge Beach.  The Visitor Contact Center is accessed via Sandpiper Road from the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach, which is the southernmost area of development on the Atlantic Coast of Virginia.
Most of the 9,062.45-acre (36.6744 km²) fresh water refuge is on the Currituck Banks Peninsula, which borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Back Bay of the Currituck Sound on the west. As part of Virginia's Outer Banks, the refuge's barrier islands feature large sand dunes, maritime forests, fresh water marshes, ponds, ocean beach, and large impoundments for wintering wildfowl. The majority of refuge marshlands are on islands contained within the waters of Back Bay. It is considered by conservationists to be an important link along the Atlantic Flyway for migratory birds such as snow geese.
The refuge adjoins Virginia's False Cape State Park.  Beyond that, the northern edge of North Carolina's Outer Banks lies immediately to the south. A tram runs through the refuge, providing the only public access to False Cape State Park other than by foot, bicycle or boat.  A bicycle/pedestrian trail is planned through the refuge between Sandbridge and Lago Mar.


The modern, Modern Romanesque building has a full seating capacity of 2,000, but as many as 11,000 people (including those standing) can fit inside during Masses. An estimated 120,000 devotees are currently affiliated with the Shrine.
The belfry, which has mosaics of the icon on its four faces, is built closer to Roxas Boulevard some distance from the Shrine. It is topped by a finial in the shape of a simplified Redemptorist coat-of-arms, particularly the Cross, Spear, and sponge on a stick of hyssop. It also hosts the Sinirangan coffee shop at its base.


The Shrine is under the territory of Santa Rita de Cascia Parish, located a few blocks away from the Redemptorist Church. Both are part of the Vicariate of Santa Rita de Cascia in the Diocese of Parañaque. The Shrine is situated along Roxas Boulevard in Baclaran, Parañaque, Metro Manila. It is primarily financed by donations and Mass intention donations from Filipinos in the country as well as Overseas Filipinos, and in turn funds charitable social programs for the poor.
When the early Redemptorists settled at Baclaran, they insisted that the church besides their convent will not become a parish but a mission station in order to free them from sacramental work, except for the Eucharist and Penance. Redemptorists chose this arrangement to concentrate on fostering devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, the administering of Sacrament of Penance, and mission work, particularly with the poor in Manila and wider Tagalog-speaking region.
Canon Law of the Catholic Church defines a shrine as “a church or other sacred place which, with the approval of the local Ordinary, is by reason of special devotion frequented by the faithful as pilgrims (Can. 1230). Canon Law explains the implications of being a shrine: “As shrines the means of salvation are to be more abundantly made available to the faithful:  by sedulous proclamation of the word of God, by suitable encouragement of liturgical life, especially by the celebration of the Eucharist and penance, and by the fostering of approved forms of popular devotion” (Can 1234 §1). “In shrines or in places adjacent to them, votive offerings of popular art and devotion are to be displayed and carefully safeguarded” (Can 1234 §2).


The church entrance is flanked by an arcade leading to the narthex. The entrance to the choir loft and the carosa for the images of saints is found on the right and left side of the narthex respectively. Since the floor inside is lower than the ground outside, a new floor made of wood (particularly molave) was installed in 1852 which was later replaced by brick tiles from 1874 to 1875.
Reddish paintings on wooden panels commissioned by Father Antonio Ubeda from 1856 to 1859 can be found inside the church. These are the Ascension of Our Lord and Pentecost on the doorway; and two portraits of the Doctors of the Church. A third portrait belonging to the set of Doctors of the Church is on the church museum while the fourth portrait is lost. The paintings Agony in the Garden and Crowning of Thorns, also commissioned by Father Úbeda, is currently housed at the San Agustin Museum in Intramuros, Manila. The works of art are done by Liberato Gachalian.
Murals, mostly replaced by monochromatic tin sheets, were also present on the church's ceilings. Though most ceiling paintings were unpreserved, an original work of Max Aya-ay in 1957 can still be seen on portions of the crossing. The walls were originally adorned with wooden images of Stations of the Cross commissioned by Father Ubeda in 1859 which were later replaced by European-made images.
A Baroque and Neoclassical pulpit made in the 1870s is located on the right side (epistle) of the church, facing the altar. Connected to the convent is the tribuna, a private area for guests and visiting priests on the epistle side. A silver sanctuary lamp, dated 1835 and additional details such as sconce added in 1874, is hanged on the crossing.


Baconsthorpe Castle, located north of Baconthorpe village in a valley formed by the River Glaven, is approached on the remains of a raised causeway from the south. The site consists of a moated inner court and a mere to the north, with an outer and an outermost court to the south.
During the 16th century, the surrounding area formed pasture for sheep, although it is now used mainly for arable farming.


The inner court rests on a square earth platform 65 metres (213 ft) across, surrounded by a water-filled moat up to 15 metres (49 ft) wide. The eastern edge of the moat meets with the 16th-century mere, about 90 by 110 metres (300 by 360 ft) across, which is fed by two streams and dammed on the eastern side. Beyond the mere lie the remains of a large, dammed pond, 30 metres (98 ft) across, which may have been designed as a decorative water feature to be viewed from the castle. A bridge on the south side links the inner and outer courts; originally the second part of the bridge formed a protective drawbridge.
The inner court is 55 by 56 metres (180 by 184 ft), surrounded by an external curtain wall up to 5 metres (16 ft) tall in places, protected by seven square and circular mural towers. The main entrance was through the southern bridge and the inner gatehouse, but the central north tower originally held a postern gate leading to another bridge over the northern edge of the moat, of which only the brick pier foundations survive. The castle was protected with gun loops: six double embrasures to the west of the gatehouse, a gun loop in the north-west square tower, and several larger gun loops in the northern section of the curtain wall. Inside the court, gun loops in the cellar beneath the hall covered the entrance itself. The militarily inspired design of the inner court drew on earlier medieval architectural traditions and was intended to reinforce the Heydons' status and symbolise their aspirations to nobility.
The inner gatehouse is three storeys high, and like the rest of the inner court, built of flint rubble and brick faced with knapped flint. It has a gate passage with a two-storey vaulted porch. Two sets of chambers lay on either side of the passage, probably providing living space for the steward and the porter. The rooms above were fitted with fireplaces, garderobes and a small chapel to form a set of high quality, luxurious living space, possibly for the Heydons or their relations. The building could have been defended in case of attack. The south-west corner of the inner court held a courtyard house that was attached to the gatehouse and would have incorporated the castle's great hall. The northern part of the court probably formed a separate, private garden in the later period.
The north-east side of the inner court formed a service court, with kitchens and similar facilities, including a well. The eastern side of the inner court was adapted for the wool industry in the 16th century. This included the construction of a long, two-storey building along the curtain wall, 38 by 8 metres (125 by 26 ft). This was used for processing wool, with a turnstile at the north end for shearing sheep, and space on the first floor for weavers and finishers; the southern end may have held a wooden sink for washing wool, or alternatively been a drying floor and granary for the castle brewhouse and bakehouse. The three-storey north-east tower was also later used for processing wool, including fulling.


Bada Bagh is situated on a small hill. The memorial chhatri cenotaphs have all been carved out of sandstone blocks, but have been built in at least four different sizes - for the ruling kings, their queens, their princes, and other royal family members. Each cenotaph has a marble slab with inscriptions about the deceased royal and a symbolic image of a man on a horse.


Badab Soort's springs are two distinct mineral springs with different natural characteristics, located at 1,840 metres (6,040 ft) above sea level. The first spring contains very salty water that gathers in a small natural pool; its water is considered to have medicinal properties, especially as a cure for rheumatism and some types of skin diseases and skin conditions. The second spring has a sour taste and is predominantly orange mainly due to the large iron oxide sediments at its outlet.
Badab Soort's terraces are made of travertine, a sedimentary rock deposited by flowing water from the two distinct mineral springs; they were formed during Pleistocene and Pliocene geological periods. When the water, supersaturated with calcium carbonate and iron carbonate, reaches the surface, carbon dioxide degases from it, and mineral carbonates are deposited. The depositing continues until the carbon dioxide in the water balances the carbon dioxide in the air. Iron carbonate and calcium carbonate are deposited by the water as soft jellies, but they eventually harden into travertine.
As a result, over the course of thousands of years the water from these two springs emanating from the mountain range have combined and resulted in a number of orange-, red- and yellow-colored pools shaped as a naturally formed staircase. The surrounding vegetation to the north consists of pine forests while to the east it mainly consists of short trees and shrubs; and rock quarries can be seen to the west of the site.


Immediately west of Badbury Rings is the site of a Romano-Celtic temple. It is located within a polygonal boundary bank visible on aerial photographs. It was excavated as early as 1900, and again in 1952. These excavations revealed stone roofing slabs, painted wall-plaster, and over 185 Roman coins, as well as 21 Durotrigian silver and bronze coins. Pottery, glass beads, bronze pins, a bracelet and a brooch were also recovered. Further excavations were conducted in 2000 which showed that the temple was in use from the 1st to 5th centuries.


Badrinath or Badrinarayana Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu which is situated in the town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand, India. The temple is also one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Badrinath—holy shrines for Vaishnavites. It is open for six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November), because of extreme weather conditions in the Himalayan region. The temple is located in Garhwal hill tracks in Chamoli district along the banks of Alaknanda River. It is one of the most visited pilgrimage centers of India, having recorded 2.8 million (28 lakh) visits in just 2 months in 2022.
The image of the presiding deity worshipped in the temple is a 1 ft (0.30 m), the black granite deity of Vishnu in the form of Badrinarayan. The deity is considered by many Hindus to be one of eight swayam vyakta kshetras, or self-manifested deities of Vishnu.
Mata Murti Ka Mela, which commemorates the descent of river Ganges on mother earth, is the most prominent festival celebrated in the Badrinath Temple. Although Badrinath is located in North India, the head priest, or Rawal, is traditionally a Nambudiri Brahmin chosen from the South Indian state of Kerala. The temple was included in the Uttar Pradesh state government Act No. 30/1948 as Act no. 16,1939, which later came to be known as Shri Badarinath and Shri Kedarnath Mandir Act. The committee nominated by the state government administers both the temples and has seventeen members on its board.
The temple is mentioned in ancient religious texts like Vishnu Purana and Skanda Purana. It is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, an early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD.


Char Dham
v
t
e
Puri
Rameswaram
Dwaraka
Badrinath
Devotees of all faiths and all schools of thought of Hinduism visit the Badrinath Temple. All the major monastic institutions like Kashi Math, Jeeyar Mutt (Andhra mutt), Udupi Pejavar and Manthralayam Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutts have their branches and guest houses there.
The Badrinath temple is one of five related shrines called Panch Badri, which are dedicated to the worship of Vishnu. The five temples are Vishal Badri - Badrinath Temple in Badrinath, Yogadhyan Badri located at Pandukeshwar, Bhavishya Badri located 17 km (10.6 mi) from Jyotirmath at Subain, Vridh Badri located 7 km (4.3 mi) from Jyotirmath in Animath and Adi Badri located 17 km (10.6 mi) from Karnaprayag. The temple is considered one of the holiest Hindu Char Dham (four divine) sites, comprising Rameswaram, Badrinath, Puri and Dwarka. Although the temple's origins are not clearly known, the Advaita school of Hinduism established by Adi Shankara attributes the origin of Char Dham to the seer. The four monasteries are located across the four corners of India and their attendant temples are Badrinath Temple at Badrinath in the North, Jagannath Temple at Puri in the East, Dwarakadheesh Temple at Dwarka in the West and Rameshwaram at Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu in the South.
Though ideologically the temples are divided between the sects of Hinduism, namely Saivism and Vaishnavism, the Char Dham pilgrimage is an all-Hindu affair. There are four abodes in the Himalayas called Chota Char Dham (Chota meaning small): Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri—all of which lie in the foothills of the Himalayas. The name Chota was added during the mid of 20th century to differentiate the original Char Dhams. As the number of pilgrims to these places has increased in modern times, it is called Himalayan Char Dham.
The journey across the four cardinal points in India is considered sacred by Hindus, who aspire to visit these temples once in their lifetimes. Traditionally, the pilgrimage starts at the eastern end from Puri, proceeding clockwise in a manner typically followed for circumambulation in Hindu temples.


The most prominent festival held at Badrinath Temple is Mata Murti Ka Mela, which commemorates the descent of the river Ganges on mother earth. The mother of Badrinath, who is believed to have divided the river into twelve channels for the welfare of earthly beings, is worshiped during the festival. The place where the river flowed became the holy land of Badrinath.
The Badri Kedar festival is celebrated during the month of June in both the temple and the Kedarnath temple. The festival lasts for eight days; artists from all over the country perform during the function.
The major religious activities (or pujas) performed every morning are mahabhishek (ablution), abhishek, gitapath and bhagavat puja, while in the evening the pujas include geet govinda and aarti. Recital in vedic scripts like Ashtotram and Sahasranama is practised during all the rituals. After aarti, the decorations are removed from the image of Badrinath and sandalwood paste is applied to it. The paste from the image is given to the devotees the next day as prasad during the nirmalaya darshan. All the rituals are performed in front of the devotees, unlike those in some Hindu temples, where some practices are hidden from them. Sugar balls and dry leaves are the common prasad provided to the devotees. From May 2006, the practise of offering Panchamrit Prasad, prepared locally and packed in local bamboo baskets, was started.
The temple is closed for winter on the auspicious day of bhatridwityia or later during October–November. On the day of closure, Akhanda Jyothi, a lamp is lit filled with ghee to last for six months. Special pujas are performed on the day by the chief priest in the presence of pilgrims and officials of the temple. The image of Badrinath is notionally transferred during the period to the Narasimha temple at Jyotirmath, located 40 mi (64 km) away from the temple. The temple is reopened around April–May on Akshaya tritiya, another auspicious day on the Hindu calendar. Pilgrims gather on the first day of opening of the temple after the winter to witness the Akhanda Jyothi.
The temple is one of the holy places where the Hindus offer oblations to ancestors with the help of the priests. Devotees visit the temple to worship in front of the image of Badrinath in the sanctum and have a holy dip in Alaknanda River. The general belief is that a dip in the tank purifies the soul.


The Badrinath Temple was included in the Uttar Pradesh State Government Act No. 30/1948 as Act no. 16,1939, which was later known as Shri Badarinath and Shri Kedarnath Mandir Act. A committee nominated by the State Government of Uttarakhand administers both the temples. The act was modified in 2002 to appoint additional committee members, including government officials and a Vice-Chairman. There are seventeen members in the board; three selected by the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, one member each selected by the District Councils of Chamoli Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal and Uttarkashi districts, and ten members nominated by the Government of Uttarakhand.
As indicated in the temple records, the priests of the temple were Shiva ascetics called Dandi Sanyasis, who belonged to Nambudiri community, a religious group common in modern Kerala. When the last of the ascetics died without an heir in 1776 AD, the King of Garhwal invited non-ascetic Nambudiris from Kerala for the priesthood, a practice that continues in modern times. Till 1939, all the offerings made by the devotees to the temple went to the Rawal (Chief Priest), but after 1939, his jurisdiction was restricted to religious affairs. The administrative structure of the temple consists of a chief executive officer who executes the orders from the state government, a deputy chief executive officer, two OSDs, an executive officer, an account officer, a temple officer, and a public officer to assist the chief executive officer.
Although Badrinath is located in North India, the head priest, or Rawal, is traditionally a Nambudiri Brahmin chosen from the South Indian state of Kerala. This tradition is believed to have been initiated by Adi Shankara, who was a South Indian philosopher. The Rawal is requested by the Government of Uttarakhand to the Government of Kerala. The candidate should possess a degree of Acharya (Post Graduate) in Sanskrit, be a bachelor, well-versed in reciting mantras (sacred texts) and be from the Vaishnava sect of Hinduism. The erstwhile ruler of Garhwal, who is the tutelary head of Badrinath, approves the candidate sent by the Government of Kerala. A Tilak Ceremony is held to instate the Rawal and he is deputed from April to November when the temple remains open. The Rawal is accorded his holiness status by the Garhwal Rifles and the state government of Uttarakhand. He is also held in high esteem by the Royals of Nepal. From April to November, he performs his duties as a temple priest. Thereafter, he either stays in Jyotirmath or returns to his native village in Kerala. The duties of the Rawal starts at 4 a.m. every day with the Abhisheka. He should not cross the river until Vamana Dwadashi and must adhere to Brahmacharya. The Rawal is assisted by the Garhwali Dimri Brahmins belonging to the village Dimmar of Chamoli district, Naib Rawal, Dharmadikari, Vedpathi, a group of priests, Pandas Samadhi, Bhandari, Rasoiyas (cook), devotional singer, clerk of devashram, Jal Bhariya (water keeper) and temple guards. Badrinath is one of the few temples in North India that follow the ancient Tantra Vidhi of Shrauta tradition more common in the south.
In 2012, the temple administration introduced a token system for visitors to the temple. Tokens indicating the time of visit were provided from three stalls in the taxi stands. Each devotee to visit the presiding deity is allocated 10–20 seconds. Proof of identity is mandatory to enter the temple. The temple is reached from Rishikesh, located 298 km (185 mi) away via Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Nandaprayag, Jyotirmath, Vishnuprayag and Devadarshini. From Kedarnath Temple, visitors can follow the 243 km (151 mi)-long Rudraprayag route or the 230 km (140 mi)-long Ukhimath and Gopeshwar route.


Baekje Cultural Land is a Korean historical theme park located in Buyeo County in South Chungcheong province, South Korea. It is the largest historical theme park in the country, built to preserve the history and culture of the Baekje kingdom (18 BC – 660 AD). The theme park is one of the locations of the annual Baekje Cultural Festival. The location has been used for filming sageuk films and television series, for example Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo was partially shot here, as well as an episode of Running Man.


Baelo Claudia is situated on the northern shore of the Strait of Gibraltar. The town was founded in the end of the 2nd century BC as a result of trade with North Africa (it was a major port for Tangier, in Mauretania Tingitana, for example). It is possible that Baelo Claudia had some functions of governmental administration, but tuna fishing, salting, and the production of garum were the primary sources of wealth. The city was eventually successful enough to be granted the title of municipium by Emperor Claudius.
The life of the inhabitants reached its greatest splendor during the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. In the middle of the 2nd century, however, the town declined, probably as a result of a major earthquake which wiped out a large part. In addition to such natural disasters, by the 3rd century, the town was beset by hordes of pirates, both Germanic and Barbary. Although it experienced a slight renaissance later in the century, by the 6th century, the town had been abandoned.
Excavations have revealed the most comprehensive remains of a Roman town in the whole of the Iberian Peninsula, with extremely interesting monuments such as the basilica, theatre, market, and the temple of Isis. The spectacular setting in El Estrecho Natural Park allows the visitor to see the coast of Morocco. A modern visitors' centre showcases many artefacts and has a comprehensive introduction to the site. It also offers parking, shade, toilets, a shop and good views of the sea. Admission is free to citizens of the European Economic Area (with an ID).


The Bagatti Valsecchi Museum is a historic house museum in the Montenapoleone district  of downtown Milan, northern Italy.
The Bagatti Valsecchi Museum's permanent collections principally contain Italian Renaissance decorative arts (such as maiolica, furniture, tapestry, metalwork, leather, glassware and precious table-top coffers made of ivory, or “stucco and pastiglia”), some sculptures (including a Madonna and Child lunette by a follower of Donatello), and many paintings. European Renaissance weapons, armor, clocks and a few textiles and scientific and musical instruments complete the collection assembled by the Barons Bagatti Valsecchi, and displayed in their home, as per their wishes.


Bageshwori Temple (Nepali: बागेश्वरी मन्दिर) is one of the most important Hindu temples in Nepal. It is at the center of Nepalgunj, the biggest city in mid-western development region. It is dedicated to goddess Bageshwori- Durga. The temple area also houses another famous temple- the temple of Shiva with mustache, which is one of the only two such temples in the country.
A miracle at the Bageshwori temple - In 1926 ( Nepali calendar 1983) Padma Kumari Devi Singh (11 yrs) who lived in Kailash Bhawan, Gharbari Tole road (Ward-2), Nepalgunj, went to pray at the Bageshwori temple as on that day she was very sad. The temple was empty and even the 'Bajes' (Brahmins) were not to be seen. She sat at the single open door of the temple closed her eyes and prayed. When she opened her eyes she saw a small child, very poor (like a beggar child) in a long ragged garment standing before her. The child said 'lah' (in nepali lah means take) and put something in Padma's palm and closed it. When Padma opened her hand there was nothing there and when she looked up, the child had disappeared. The incident had occurred in a matter of a second. It was with the blessings of the Goddess Bageshwori that the very next day Thakur Ananda Swarup Singh (father of Padma Kumari Devi) received a proposal for her marriage which he accepted and in 1930 at Singha Durbar,Kathmandu, Padma Kumari Devi was married to Maj-Gen. Mahabir S. J. B. Rana son of Late Shri Col. Maharajkumar Prakash S. J. B. Rana (who was the maker of the Junge Mahadev temple at Nepalgunj) and grandson of Cdg. Gen. Shri Tin Maharaj Sir Bhim Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, Maharaj of Lamjanj and Kaski, who was Prime Minister of Nepal. Since then the number of visitors in the temple has increased at a very high rate. People believe that whatever they would wish for there, would be granted to them. With the blessings of the Goddess Bageswori, Maj. Gen. Mahabir S. J. B. Rana was Gov. of Ilam, Nepal, Gov. Dhankuta (he was the first to modernise the tea estates in the late 1930s & early 1940s), Mbr Advisory Assembly-1951, Minister for Planning & Development: 1951-1955, Mines, Electricity, Forest-1951-1953, Home-Affairs-1953-1954, Industry & Commerce-1953-1955, Agriculture & Food-1953-1955 and Civil Supplies-1953-1954, Nepal. In 1952 Maj. Gen. Mahabir S. J. B. Rana was Special Ambassador at the Funeral of King George VI.

There are several other smaller temples inside the temple area including a temple of Buddha, statue of Ganesha, and the temple of Hanuman. The Bageshwori pond that is situated within the temple area is also famous among the devotees, specially for the reason that the temple of Shiva with mustache stands at the center of it.
Bageshwori temple is known to be one of the oldest in the region, and the oldest temple in Banke District. Every year it attracts a large number of devotees from around the country, as well as from the nearest border cities of India. Especially in the festival of Dasain, the biggest festival in the country, the temple receives a huge crowd of people wishing to pray the goddess and offer animal sacrifices.
Shiva ratri, Teej, Magh sukla purnima on these festivals bageshwori temple gots crowds.
The temple's image can be seen in Nepalese one-rupees coins and postal stamps.


The masonry of Bagha Mosque is made of lime and surki (powdered brick). There are arches and pillars inside and outside the mosque. There are also innumerable terracotta handicrafts which include mango, lily flowers, herbs and thousands of other handicrafts used in the Persian carving industry. Besides, there is a shrine of Shahdaula and his five companions on the north side of the mosque premises.
Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah, son of the independent Sultan of Bengal Alauddin Hussain Shah, dug a dighi (large oblong pond) in front of the mosque for public welfare. Adjacent to the Shahi Mosque, the lake is on 52 bighas of land. There are rows of coconut trees around this tank. Every year during the winter, the area becomes famous for the chirping of innumerable guest birds.
At present four paved banks of the lake have been constructed. Besides, there is a tomb of Jahar Khaki Pir adjacent to this mosque. His grave is on the north side of the main shrine. Besides, Mahal pond was discovered under the ground adjacent to the mosque. Excavations on the west side of the shrine in 1997 found a paved mahal pond measuring 30 feet by 20 feet. This pond was connected to the inner palace by a tunnel. He went down the stairs built from three sides. There are many terracotta plaques inside and outside the mosque. Inside the mosque there is a special prayer room built a little higher in the north-west corner. In the area adjacent to this mosque, 'Baghar Mela' is organized every year from the day of Eid-ul-Fitr for 3 days. This fair has a tradition of 500 years.


Baghdad Tower (Al-Ma'mun) (Arabic: برج بغداد, previously called International Saddam Tower, is a 205 m (673 ft) TV tower in Baghdad, Iraq.  The tower opened in 1994 and replaced a communications tower destroyed in the Gulf War. A revolving restaurant and observation deck are located on the top floor. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the tower was occupied by American soldiers and was renamed as Baghdad Tower.


In mid-April 2003 South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony from the Thula Thula Game Reserve in Zululand, traveled in a hired car with two assistants from Kuwait to bring relief to the Baghdad Zoo, the first civilians to gain entry to Iraq after the invasion. Working with the Baghdad Zoo directors Dr. Adel Salman Mousa and Dr. Husham Mohamed Hussan and a few returning staff they began caring for and feeding the remaining animals, restoring basic hygiene standards, and stabilizing the situation. Anthony's journey to the zoo was delayed by safety and bureaucracy issues in the chaos of the war, and he arrived at the zoo 8 days after the invasion and started to rescue the surviving animals.
U.S. Army Captain William Sumner of the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade was the military officer in charge of the zoo and joined the team improving security and stemming the tide of looters. He appointed Anthony as interim zoo administrator, and remained in charge of the zoo for 14 months. He departed with his brigade in March 2004. Iraqi veteran Farah Murrani joined the rescue effort with Brendan Whittington-Jones of the Thula Thula game reserve. At various times they were joined by other conservation organizations including Wildaid, Care for the Wild International, and IFAW.
The zoo and surrounding park reopened to the public on July 20, 2003, following improvements and renovations by US Army engineers and featured 86 animals, including all 19 surviving lions. Most of these animals were rescued after the invasion from menageries at the Hussein family palaces and private zoos around Baghdad during the ongoing conflict, and included lions, tigers, brown bears, wolves, foxes, jackals, camels, ostriches, badgers, and some primates.
Whittington-Jones and Murrani remained at the zoo for another year during which time they also found homes in the US for over 30 Baghdad street dogs.
The story of the rescue of the Baghdad zoo is recounted in the book Babylon's Ark by authors Lawrence Anthony and Graham Spence. A more recent book for children called Saving the Baghdad Zoo, a True Story of Hope and Heroes, was released on February 9, 2010.


On September 18, 2003, a group of U.S. Army Reserve soldiers and Iraqi police held a party in the zoo after it had closed. Sergeant Keith Mitchell of the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion had his right arm severely mauled by a male Bengal tiger; a soldier, seeing the attack, initially shot and wounded the tiger, when this failed to stop the tiger a final shot fatally wounded the caged animal which bled to death. One report says that Mitchell was trying to feed the tiger a chicken kabob, but Mitchell denied this. The initial reports of drunkenness by the soldiers led to public condemnation, but Mitchell said he had one beer. Tests were not performed until the next morning on a half-dozen of the soldiers which found no evidence of alcohol. Court martial proceedings occurred in Washington, D.C., where Mitchell was exonerated of charges.  Mitchell's rank was restored after a three-month probationary period.  The tiger underwent a necropsy, in which no foreign food was found in its digestive tract, nor was any found around or near the cage. The event inspired a play titled Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, which was staged by the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles in 2009 and 2010.  Mitchell received an honorable medical discharge in 2006, but died from complications of diabetes, something he developed during the 24 reconstructive surgeries on his arm, in April, 2007, leaving a wife and one daughter. The North Carolina-based Conservators' Center, an exotic-wildlife conservation and preservation center, offered to donate two mix-breed tiger cubs to the Baghdad Zoo. After considerable legal and bureaucratic hurdles the tigers were delivered to the zoo on August 4, 2008. They were a male, Riley, and a female, Hope.
In 2009, three wild boars at the zoo were euthanized due to fears that they could get infected with the A/H1N1 flu virus (Swine flu).


In 2008, the zoo had grown to about 800 animals, though most of these were birds. The only large animals at the zoo were two female lions left from the 22 original lions before the invasion. On 4 August 2008, the zoo received two tiger cubs (Hope and Riley) from the Mebane, North Carolina-based Conservators' Center, an exotic-wildlife conservation and preservation center.
By 2009, the zoo reported that they had about 1070 animals. To keep visitors safe, Zawraa Park, in which the zoo is located, is guarded by the special police units that guard other government facilities. Visitors are frisked and bags and baskets are checked for explosives. Although numbers cannot be verified, the director general of parks and gardens, Salah Abu al-Lail, expected close to 8 million visitors to the park in 2009.


Bago Bluff is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, approximately 410 km northeast of Sydney. It is situated south west of Wauchope and includes parts of the former Broken Bago State Forest and a part of Lorne State Forest. The Bago Bluff National Park also includes in the northern section the old Bago Bluff Flora Reserve and Six B Flora Reserve.
Bago Bluff offers splendid views of the Hastings Valley from the top of the bluff which can be accessed via several forest roads from the south, including Bago Road. The park's northern boundary is on southern side of the Oxley Highway where there are two badly washed 4WD tracks into the park.
Quarries in the park have previously yielded leaf and shell fossils.
Birds that may be spotted in the park include: Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen), golden whistlers (Pachycephala pectoralis), green winged pigeons, grey fantails (Rhipidura), kookaburras (genus Dacelo), large-billed scrubwrens (Sericornis magnirostris), spotted pardalotes (Pardalotus punctatus), pied currawongs (Strepera graculina), striated thornbills (Acanthiza lineata) and white-browed scrubwrens (Sericornis frontalis).
Lantana has become a problem in the park where it is almost covering some of the tracks.


The West Zone Cultural Centre planned to renovate the haveli into a museum. Originally, the idea was to represent the culture of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Rajasthan, the West Zone States, in the proposed museum. However, seeing that the Haveli was an architectural museum by itself, owing to typical and charming architectural style, it was decided that it would be preserved as a museum of Mewar’s aristocratic culture.
To provide the same royal look, experts and members of the Royal family were consulted. The Haveli was restored primarily using local and traditional skills and materials including lakhori bricks and lime mortar. Several murals done in araish in the 18th and 19th century were uncovered, and many doors, windows and perforated screens were repaired or replaced.


There are 138 rooms, as well as numerous corridors & balconies, courtyards and terraces.  The interiors of the Haveli are embellished with intricate and fine mirror work. While strolling in the Haveli, you can also see the private quarters of the royal ladies, their bath rooms, dressing rooms, bed rooms, living rooms, worship rooms and recreation rooms.
The Chambers of the Royal Ladies still bear fine frescoes of the Mewari style and there are glorious coloured-glass windows in some of the rooms as well as two peacocks made with coloured glass mosaics that display the superb skills of the finest craftsmanship.
Unique symbols of the Rajput clan, such as jewellery boxes, dice-games, hukkas, pan boxes, nut crackers, hand fans, rose water sprinklers, copper vessels and other items are also on display here.
In the evening, the haveli lightens and stages enjoyable performance of traditional dance and music of Rajasthan. The haveli looks marvelous with glowing lights in the night. Bagore Ki Haveli is a perfect place to explore the ancient architecture and life style of the royal family.


Bagrati Cathedral was built in the early years of the 11th century, during the reign of King Bagrat III, due to which it was called "Bagrati", i.e., Bagrat’s cathedral. An inscription on the north wall reveals that the floor was laid in "chronicon 223", i.e., 1003. In 1692, it was devastated in an explosion by Ottoman troops who had invaded the Kingdom of Imereti. The incident caused the cupola and ceiling to collapse.
Conservation and restoration works, as well as archaeological studies at the Cathedral began in the 1950s under the leadership of a Georgian architect Vakhtang Tsintsadze. The restoration works headed by Tsintsadze were divided into six stages and continued for several decades through 1994. That same year in 1994 Bagrati Cathedral, together with the Gelati Monastery, was included in UNESCO's World Heritage Site list as a single entity. In 2001, ownership of the cathedral was transferred from the Georgian state to the Georgian Orthodox Church. It is presently of limited use for religious services, but attracts many pilgrims and tourists. It is also frequently used as a symbol of the city of Kutaisi, being one of its main tourist attractions.


WikiWeb_Baháʼí House of Worship (Wilmette, Illinois)_5

Features
The "Greatest Name" in the center of the dome ceiling.
One of the nine pillars.
A garden surrounds the structure.
The top of the dome is covered in intricate lace-style detail.
The House of Worship is a domed structure surrounded by gardens and fountains on a 6.97-acre (2.82 ha) plot of land.  The space between the floor of the auditorium and the ceiling of the dome measures 138 feet (42 m) high, and the interior of the dome is 72 feet (22 m) in diameter. The auditorium seats 1,191 people.
Since nine is the last number in the decimal system, Baháʼís believe it symbolizes perfection and completion. Nine is also the value of the word Bahá (Arabic for "glory") in Abjad numerology. Thus, many elements of the building occur in groups of nine. For example, there are nine entrances to the auditorium, nine interior alcoves, nine dome sections, and nine fountains in the garden area.
The cladding of the building is composed of a concrete mixture of portland cement and two types of quartz. Many intricate details are carved into the concrete. Various writings of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, are inscribed above the building entrances and inside the interior alcoves. Symbols of many religions, such as the Christian cross, the Star of David, and the star and crescent, can be found in each exterior pillar. The pillars are also decorated with a symbol used by Hindus, and Buddhists in the form of a swastika. At the top of each pillar is a nine-pointed star, symbolizing the Baháʼí Faith.
Inside the center of the dome ceiling, one can see an Arabic inscription. This is a Baháʼí symbol called the "Greatest Name"; the script translates as "O Thou Glory of Glories". The secretary of Shoghi Effendi writing on his behalf explained, "By 'Greatest Name' is meant that Baháʼu'lláh has appeared in God's greatest name, in other words, that he is the supreme Manifestation of God."
Architect Louis Bourgeois' former studio sits across the street from the House of Worship at 536 Sheridan Road.


Preservation attempt in 1995 was found to be a renovation not a restoration because the aim of the remodeling was to make the fort look new. This renovation began without prior archaeological, topographic, architectural or technical surveys.
Original building was mud-brick and mortar and plaster. Restoration unjustifiably used stone and cement to cover the walls so severely that the original walls couldnt be seen at all
Irrigation is an issue, as there have not been any recent efforts to conserve this system. Parts of the ancient wall surrounding the fort have been destroyed or altered because of nearby building construction.


The Bahrain World Trade Center (also called Bahrain WTC or BWTC) is a 240-metre-high (787 ft), 50-floor, twin tower complex located in Manama, Bahrain. Designed by the multi-national architectural firm Atkins, construction on the towers was completed in 2008. It is the first skyscraper in the world to integrate wind turbines into its design. The wind turbines were developed, built and installed by the Danish company Norwin A/S.
The structure is constructed close to the King Faisal Highway, near popular landmarks such as the towers of Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH), NBB and Abraj Al Lulu. It currently ranks as the second-tallest building in Bahrain, after the twin towers of the Bahrain Financial Harbour. The project has received several awards for sustainability, including:
The 2006 LEAF Award for Best Use of Technology within a Large Scheme.
The Arab Construction World for Sustainable Design Award.


The earliest historical recorded link to the fort is that of Raja Jambu Lochan and his brother Bahu Lochan, sons of a powerful ruler Agnigarbha II of the Jammu dynasty of Suryavanshi kings. Bahu, the eldest of Agnigarbha's 18 sons, is credited with establishing the Jammu city and building the fort. The earlier fort structure was modified over the years to a stronger fortified structure. The present fort was rebuilt, probably at the same location as the ancient fort, by Autar Dev, the grandson of King Kapoor Dev in 1585. Over the years the fort underwent demolitions and reconstructions from time to time, until during Sikh Empire the then new Governor/Raja of Jammu Maharaja Gulab Singh reconstructed the present fort in the 19th century, which was further refurbished during the rule of Maharaja Ranbir Singh. They first established temples for their tutelary deities; the image of Mahakali deity in the temple in the fort was brought from Ayodhya.


The fort structure is located at an elevation of 325 metres (1,066 ft), opposite to the old town of Jammu. The fortified structure has thick walls made of sandstones built with lime and brick mortar. It has eight octagonal towers or turrets connected by thick walls. The towers have enclosures to house guards. The main entry is fit to allow passage of elephants into the fort. A water tank with access for pilgrims to take bath is located on the left entry into the fort. This tank or pond is 6.1× in size and has a water depth of 4.6 metres (15 ft). A pyramidal structure is on the right flank (with very thick walls to withstand any gun attack) of the fort was an ammunition store. An underground chamber here was used a prison. This chamber has a secret exit to escape from the fort in case of any emergencies. The first floor is lavishly built with arches and decorated with floral designs like a Baradari or a palace.
To the right of the temple, there are a few halls which were used in the past as assembly halls and offices of the Quiledar (master of the fort). However, they are not maintained at all. The royal stables were also located within this fort. Substantial renovation and additions to attract visitors have been added during recent years.
Mahakali temple
It is a renowned Shakti temple built within the fort during the 8th century. It has been built in white marble on a raised platform of 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) height. While it is claimed that it was built during 8th or 9th century, the temple as built looks modern. It is a small temple which can accommodate only a few worshippers at a time at the Mandapa, outside the sanctum sanctorum. In the past, animal sacrifice was practiced at this temple, which has since been discontinued. Today, a priest performs a few rites uttering some religious incantations and sprinkles holy water over the animal (usually a sheep or goat) and then lets it go free. Other food offering made by devotees is a sweet dish called Kadah (pudding), after their wishes placed before the deity are fulfilled.
Another special feature seen in the temple precincts is the presence of a large group of Rhesus monkeys, the largest such group in Jammu and Kashmir State. The monkeys are fed by devotees with sweets, gram etc.


A popular Hindu festival is known as "Bahu Mela"  is held during the Navaratras in the fort area, twice a year, during March–April and September–October. This attracts a very large number of pilgrims to the fort and the temple located within it. Every week, Tuesday and Sunday are special days of worship at the temple. During the main festival time, special stalls are opened near the fort area selling paraphernalia such as sweets, flowers, incense, coconuts, red cloth and so forth, to make special offerings to the deity in the temple.


The 1897 Electric Fountain replaced the 1873 fountain and was controlled by 2 operators during scheduled night exhibitions on Wednesdays and Saturdays with audiences up to 30,000. A Brooklyn Park Commissioner's initial plan for a single spout was superseded by Fredric W. Darlington's design, which was presented in May 1897 to the Park Commission.  Wilson & Baillie Manufacturing built the fountain, and the commission's "consulting engineer" was C. C. Martin.  Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted placed the fountain at the intersection of two broad paths arranged as a Georgian cross within grassy, treeless plots at the quadrants. The "first exhibition" contracted for July 4, 1897, was delayed until August 7 and attended by "fully 100,000 people".
The 6,000 candela "automatic focusing arc lamps" were wired in 3 series circuits for dimming, could each be moved 2 ft (0.61 m) within "silver parabolic reflectors" to narrow or widen the 19 beams, and were positioned in concentric rings around a central light.  The lights extended into glass cylinders protruding through the underwater ceiling and were each beamed through switchable disks of colored gels into water jets (there was also a lighted central geyser).  The ~2,000 nozzles included umbrellas, ball sprays, wheat sheaves, rings, fans, funnels and whirligigs; with many of the nozzles around the lamp housings.  An underground control room on the south of the basin allowed the lighting and hydraulics operators to view through three closely spaced windows in the basin wall 6 in (0.15 m) above the pool surface. A pump recirculated up to 100,000 gallons per hour from the pool in the 120-foot-diameter (37 m) basin.  The fountain also had 88 incandescent lamps on the inner edge of the basin's concrete coping, and the Brooklyn Heights and the Nassau Electric railroads donated the electricity.

The 1915 construction of the New York City Subway's IRT Eastern Parkway Line (2, 3, 4, and 5 trains) and BMT Brighton Line (B and Q trains) under the plaza left no room for the required infrastructure for the Electric Fountain, which was removed.


In June 1972 the system was electrified, with a 1,500 watt bulb in a rotating lens, producing a flash every 20 seconds that can be seen at a range of 26 nautical miles (48 km). In 1973, additional dwellings for Supernumerary Assistant Lighthouse Keepers were built, as the Baily lighthouse became a training facility for Supernumerary Assistant Lighthouse Keepers who would then transfer to other lighthouses.
Modern technology made light a secondary warning system, and a radio beacon became the primary method of warning ships. Starting in 1978, the light was operated only in poor visibility, along with the fog signal. The fog signal was finally discontinued in 1995.
In late 1996, the lighthouse was converted to automatic operation, and the last of the Keepers left on 24 March 1997, making Baily the last Irish lighthouse to go automatic. The radio beacon service was discontinued in 1999, and at the same time, radar and additional communications equipment was installed. Although officially an automatic station, an attendant still lives in the Principal Keeper's residence.
Part of the original lighthouse structure and the adjoining buildings have now been reconditioned as offices for D4H Technologies which appropriately provide software for the readiness, response and re-evaluation of emergencies and incidents worldwide.


The optic which was in use from 1902 to 1972 is now on display in the National Maritime Museum of Ireland.
In 2000, a small museum was established in the reworked buildings by the Commissioners of Irish Lights, including small artefacts gathered from retired staff. This museum is not open routinely but by arrangement for staff and former staff, and their families, and small interest groups.


Baitun Nasr Mosque (Norwegian: Baitun Nasr moské) also known as the Furuset Mosque is an Ahmadi Muslim mosque in Furuset in the borough of Alna, northeast of Oslo, Norway. The mosque is the largest in the country, and can accommodate up to 5,000 people. The mosque has one dome and one minaret on the south side and the complex is located near E6, the country's main north–south highway.


Baiturrahman Grand Mosque (Indonesian: Masjid Raya Baiturrahman; Acehnese: Meuseujid Raya Baiturrahman)
is a Mosque located in the center of Banda Aceh city, Aceh Province, Indonesia. The Baiturrahman Grand Mosque is a symbol of religion, culture, spirit, strength, struggle and nationalism of the Acehnese people. The mosque is a landmark of Banda Aceh and has survived the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.


Out  of  former  more  than  200 mosques  and  many  small  Islamic places  of  worship  the  so  called  mesdzid,  the  Bajrakli  Mosque  in 11,  Gospodar  Jevremova  Street  is the  only  remaining and  active  example  of  Islamic  religious  architecture  in  Belgrade. It is situated on a slope towards the Danube River, near the junction with Kralja Petra Street. Once it dominated in the atmosphere of  mostly  ground  floor  houses  in  the  busy  commercial  and  craft town district of Belgrade, the so-called Zerek.
Descriptions of Belgrade of the 17th century were preserved by Ottoman travel writer Evliya Celebi in which he vividly described the  appearance  of  the  town  in  the  period  of  Turkish  rule,  with various  buildings  of  Islamic  architecture.  In  the  second  half  of the 19th century the Bajrakli Mosque was described by historians and travel writers Konstantin Jireček, Giuseppe Barbanti Brodano,as  well  as  by  archaeologist  and  ethnologist Felix Kanitz. It  is  assumed  that  today's  Bajrakli  Mosque was  built  on  the  place  of  an  older  mesdzid,  probably in the second half of the 17th century, as the endowment of the Turkish ruler Sultan Suleiman II (1687—1691). It was originally named after former renewers, Čohadži-Hajji Alija's and  later Hussein Ćehaja's mosque, while the current name was given in the late 18th  or in the early 19th century. In it, as in the main mosque, there was the muvekit, the man  who  calculated  the  exact  time  of  AH  according  to  the  Islamic  calendar  (which  began  in  622, i.e.  in  the  year  of  Hijra,  the  year  during  which  the emigration of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca  to  Medina) occurred  to  determine  sacred  days, regulated clock mechanism and put the flag on the minaret,  to  signal  the  simultaneous  beginning  of the prayer to other Islamic places of worship in the town of Belgrade. Between 1717 and 1739, during the Austrian rule, it served as a cathedral Catholic church,  but  its  original  function  was  renewed  in 1741  when  the  Ottomans  returned  to  Belgrade. The  mosque  was  renewed  in  the  19th  century  by the rulers of the Obrenovic dynasty, Prince Mihailo and King Aleksandar Obrenović.
In  1868,  The  Minister  of  Education  and  Church Affairs  was  ordered  by  Prince  Mihailo  Obrenovic to choose one of the existing mosques and enable it  for  the  performance  of  Muslim  religious  rites, when  besides  the  mosque  was  repaired  even  the courtyard  building  next  to  it. The  Minister  of  Education and Church Affairs sent to the State Council of the Principality of Serbia a document dated May 10, 1868, with the following content: "In order for Mohammedans, who are on their business in Belgrade, not to be without religious consolation, His Excellency ordered the one of the local mosques to be repaired for their place of  worship.  Due  to  this  high  order, "Bajrak"  mosque  was  chosen as  the  most  appropriate  one  and  the  Minister  of Construction  as at my request sent the professional people to examine the same mosque, and a house next to it, where the mullahs will reside...."
By the Decree of Prince Mihailo Obrenović from May 1868, The Minister of Education and Church Affairs was authorized to "give to khoja  240,  and  a  muezzin  120  talirs  a  year",  and  the  servants of the mosque had even income from real estate - waqf property. The first imam and the muezzin at the Bajrakli Mosque were appointed in 1868.
Between the two world wars, the mosque was restored even by the  Municipality  of  Belgrade, when  in 1935  it  was  protected  for the first time by the Regulation on the Protection of Antiquities in
Belgrade. The restoration was performed several times and after the Second World War  by  the  National  Committee  of  the  City  of Belgrade and by the Cultural Heritage Preservation and Scientific Research  Institute  and,  from  the  mid  sixties  of  the 20th century even by the Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute of Belgrade. After  the  recent  damage  in  2004  conservation  works  on  rehabilitation and restoration of stone facades with the restoration of window openings were carried out.


The  architecture  of  the  mosque  belongs  to  the  type  of  one-storey cubic building with a  dome  and minaret.  With  massive  walls  and small  openings,  it  was  built  of  stone,  and  some  segments  were  carried out in brick and stone. The building has the square plan, while the octagonal  dome  is  supported  by  oriental  domed  arches  and  niches -trompes,  with  modest  decoration  of consoles. The  number  of  windows on the facades is uneven, while the one is located on each side of the tambour of the dome. Dome supporting elements and all the openings  on  the  building  end  in  characteristic  ogee  oriental  arches. Minaret - a thin tower with conical roof, with a circular terrace at the top,  from  which  the  faithful  are  called  to  prayer  by  the muezzin -  is located on the northwest exterior side. Opposite the entrance, in the interior of the mosque, there is the most sacred space - the mihrab, a shallow niche with elaborate vault decoration, set in the direction of the holy city of Mecca to the southeast, while the raised wooden pulpit (minber or mimbar) is set to the right of the mihrab, in the south-west  corner.  Above  the  entrance,  there  is  a  wooden  gallery (mahfil) from which one can come to the serefa, terrace on the minaret.
Interior decoration of the mosque is very modest. The walls are without  plaster  with  shallow  moldings,  rare  stylized  floral  and geometrical motifs and calligraphic inscriptions of verses from the
Muslim  holy  book  Koran,  then  with  the  names  of  the  first  righteous  religious  leaders caliphs,  as  well  as  of  the  God's  i.e. Allah's magnificent properties and names written in Arabic letters on a specially decorated carved panels levhas. At the entrance to the mosque there was an  arched  arcade  porch  with  three  small  domes. There is a fountain for prayer washing in the yard, as  well  as  uncompleated  religious  school  (madrassa)  with  the  library.  The  Bajrakli  Mosque  is the  main  Islamic  cultural  center  in  Belgrade. Today  is  a  bit  hidden  in  the  environment  of  higher housing units in Gospodar Jevremova Street.
Because  of  its  antiquity,  rarity,  preservation  of the  original  purpose  and  representativeness  of religious architecture and Islamic culture, in 1946 was  placed  under  state  protection  as a  cultural monument,  and  in  1979  was  declared  cultural monument  of  great  value  (Decision, "Official  Gazette of SRS" No. 14/79).


The Baker Block Museum is a local history and genealogy museum located in Baker, Florida, focused on the history of the Florida panhandle with emphasis on Okaloosa County.
The museum's purpose is to preserve and display artifacts and documents of the early development of the Florida panhandle, particularly Okaloosa County; to educate the public on technology, history, and impact of historic events including early culture of Spanish, French, Dutch, and Native Americans, the naval stores industry, the rail transportation industry and military installations in the State of Florida, and more specifically along the Yellow and Shoal Rivers, timber industries, pioneer communities, and fisheries.
Its exhibits include antiques, tools, period displays, and a heritage park consisting of a post office, mill, log cabin, blacksmith shop, corn crib, and outhouse. It is located at the corner of State Roads 189 and 4 in Baker.
The museum, a 501-3(c) non-profit organization, operates under the auspices of the North Okaloosa Historical Association, Inc. (NOHA), founded in 1992 by Jeanette and Charles Henderson. The board of directors meets monthly to recommend, approve, establish policy, and receive input on the operation of the museum. The museum depends on state and county funding, sponsors, and volunteers to provide necessary operating funds.
Admission to the museum is free and is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 pm, and every third Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m


WikiWeb_Baker Hotel (Mineral Wells, Texas)_3

The Baker Hotel opened to the public on November 9, 1929, and celebrated with a grand-opening celebration gala two weeks later on November 22. It boasted extravagant creature comforts such as an advanced hydraulic system that circulated ice water to all 450 guest rooms, lighting and fans controlled by the door locks that shut off and on automatically when the guest left or arrived in their rooms, and a valet compartment where guests could deposit soiled laundry that was accessible by hotel staff without them ever even having to enter the guest's room.
The hotel was fully air conditioned by the 1940s, which added to its appeal as a top-notch convention attraction, offering a meeting capacity of 2,500 attendees, a remarkable number considering that Mineral Wells was home to only about 6,000 residents in 1929. Though it opened mere days after the 1929 stock market crash, the Baker enjoyed immense success throughout the 1930s, largely due to Mineral Wells's growing reputation as a top-tier health spa destination.
Several notable celebrities made the Baker a temporary home during their visits to the city's health spas; the star-studded guest list included Glenn Miller, Lawrence Welk, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, future U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, and even The Three Stooges. It is even rumored by local historians that legendary outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow may have spent a night or two at the Baker.


WikiWeb_Baker Hotel (Mineral Wells, Texas)_5

After the war ended in 1945, Fort Wolters was closed and business suffered. A smaller renaissance came in 1951 when the Wolters facility was reopened as a helicopter base, and the Baker hosted the Texas Republican Party conventions in 1952 and 1955, and the Texas Democratic Party held their convention at the Baker in 1954.
Aside from these successes, business declined steadily through the 1950s and the proverbial final nail was driven by Earl Baker himself when he announced that he would be closing the hotel after the passing of his 70th birthday in 1963. True to his word, Baker shuttered the building on April 30 of that year, bringing an end to 30 years of service to Mineral Wells and surrounding areas.
The hotel reopened in 1965 when a group of local investors leased the structure from the Baker family, but the revival was brief and marred by the death of Earl Baker of a heart attack in 1967 after he was found unconscious on the floor of the cavernous Baker Suite.
In 1972, the Baker closed its doors for the last time. Although several groups had made offers to rehabilitate the structure, the building remained abandoned until 2019, when it was announced that the Baker Hotel would finally be renovated and restored.


The 1927 building was designed in the Georgian Revival style by McKim, Mead & White. The 2005 expansion was designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects.


In 1835, the first wax museum of Madame Tussauds was opened on Baker Street. The museum moved, just around the corner, to Marylebone Road in 1884.
Also in 1835 the sculptor James Fillans came to live and work from 82 Baker Street.
Thomas Charles Druce ran the Baker Street Bazaar (which would become Druce & Co. furniture manufacturers) until his death in 1864, and was later subject of the Druce Portland Case.


Residents of the prestigious mansion block, Chiltern Court on the Regent's Park end of Baker Street include the novelists Arnold Bennett and H. G. Wells who are commemorated with a blue plaque.
In 1940 the headquarters of the Special Operations Executive moved to 64 Baker Street, they were often called the "Baker Street Irregulars" after Sherlock Holmes' gang of street urchins of the same name.
The Beatles' Apple Boutique was based at 94 Baker Street from 1967 to 1968.
A significant robbery of a branch of Lloyds Bank took place on Baker Street in 1971.
For many years the head office of Marks & Spencer, formerly the United Kingdom's largest retailer, was at "Michael House" (named in parallel with the group's "St Michael" brand), 55 Baker Street, until the company relocated to the Paddington Basin in 2004. This was one of the best known corporate buildings in the United Kingdom, and has since been redeveloped as a modern office complex by London & Regional Properties to a design by Make Architects and Expedition Engineering.
A London County Council blue plaque commemorates Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger who lived at 120 Baker Street from 1803 to 1804. British singer Dusty Springfield lived on Baker Street in the 1960s.


In fiction, Sherlock Holmes, Basil of Baker Street (The Great Mouse Detective), Sherlock Hound, Danger Mouse, Sexton Blake, Carland Cross and James Black of Case Closed have all resided along the road.
"Baker Street" is a song by Gerry Rafferty, released in 1978. The song was a major worldwide hit, reaching Number 3 in the UK and Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also released an album entitled Baker Street.
"Baker St. Muse" is a song from Jethro Tull's album Minstrel in the Gallery, which was released in 1975.  (Baker Street is frequently mentioned in the lyrics of Jethro Tull songs.)
The 2008 film, The Bank Job was based on the 1971 robbery of Lloyds Bank in Baker Street.


Melnikov also designed workshops and office buildings on the same lot, filling the irregular voids made by placing a parallelogram-shaped garage on a larger, rectangular lot.


In 1990, the aging garage was listed as an architectural memorial. In 2001, the bus company vacated the building and the City Hall donated it to the Moscow Hasidic Jewish Community Center for redevelopment, on condition that the Community Center build a public school on the same lot and return it to the City. The Community Center approached architect Alexey Vorontsov to design the whole project. Before the drafts were completed in 2001, the builders removed the roofing and began disassembling the roof trusses, destroying eight spans. Public intervention suspended further destruction; Vorontsov persuaded the client to hire a professional restoration bureau to assess the extent and cost of preservation. Eventually, in 2003, the Community Center and the authorities agreed upon a compromise development plan by Vorontsov that would retain the original exterior walls. A public school, however, was to be completed next to Melnikov's garage, leaving the Jewish community with an opportunity to build another cultural institution that incorporated the facade of Melnikov's 1928 building.
After years of neglect, work accelerated in the second half of 2007. The garage was fully restored externally in the first half of 2008 complete with 1920-s style lettering on the eastern (entrance) facade; interior work was completed by Jamie Fobert Architects in September 2008. The building was reopened to the public in September as the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture (abbreviated in Russian as CCC), featuring an exhibition of Ilya and Emilia Kabakov. A new gallery provides 8,500 square meters of exhibition space. The Center is managed by Daria Zhukova; the speed and expense of the 2007–2008 restoration project is attributed to the sponsorship of Roman Abramovich, who chairs the board of trustees for the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia.
On the day of inauguration of the art gallery Alexander Boroda, president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, announced plans to convert the garage into a "Jewish Museum of Tolerance" to open in 2011. The museum will share space with the art gallery. The Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center opened on November 10, 2012 and is since 2013 home of about five hundred books as part of the Schneersohn-Library confiscated by the Soviet Union in the 1920s.


The boulevard was established to connect the oilfields in Bibi Heybet as part of the urban development projects by Municipal Horticultural Commission.
In 1900, the Municipal Horticultural Commission decided to plant trees and shrubs along the seafront. Kazimierz Skurewicz, a Polish engineer, designed a 20-meter-wide embankment, using vegetation that would survive Baku's extremely hot, dry and gusty climate.
In 1909, Mammad Hassan Hajinski, Head of Baku's Municipal Construction Department improved the park by spending 60,000 rubles after Duma passed his resolution. The park was intended to provide for the continued expansion of the city to the north, providing relaxation and recreation opportunities for the new middle class to the west, and an escape from the rapid slumming of the city centre for those left behind. To select the best design for the Boulevard, Hajinski organized a contest among the architects in Baku. However, since most of the city's 30 architects were busy designing mansions for oil barons, only three submitted plans for it. The winning design was titled "Zvezda" (Star) and featured a bathing house, luxurious restaurant and a dozen pavilions. The design specified that wastewater would be collected in a separate manifold instead of being discharged directly into the Caspian (which is the case today). Work was completed in 1911.
Until the early 20th century, the avenue had mansions on one side and seafront on the other. There were no trees. Tons and tons of fertile soil were imported to enrich the soil quality. Baku's Mayor, R. R. Hoven, supported by the richest industrialists, passed a decree in the 1880s saying that all ships entering Baku harbors from Iran had to bring fertile soil with them. In reality, this was a kind of "tax" or "duty" imposed for the right to use the harbor and load up with oil. Within a very short time, enough soil was deposited, and the parks that characterize the city's seafront today were developed.
At the new Baku Bathing House, visitors could take a swim while visiting the Boulevard. This bathing house was closed in the late 1950s due to poor maintenance and the bay's polluted water.
The improved Boulevard stretched from what is now the SOCAR Circle to the luxurious cinema, restaurant and the casino that was called "Phenomenon", designed by Polish architect Józef Plośko in 1912.


In 1999, the boulevard was proclaimed a National Park by Heydar Aliyev, former president of Azerbaijan. This status also helped to mitigate the environmental concerns such as cleanup of oil pollution from Caspian Sea oilfields. Until 2009, there were 28 entertainment attractions in boulevard's amusement park. However, due to safety reasons, old attractions were replaced by new carousels and rides from Italy and Germany.
In 2008 the Parachute Tower was reconstructed and started to display wind speed, time, date, air and sea water temperature.
The boulevard contains an amusement park, yacht club and musical fountain, and various statues and monuments. The park is popular with dog-walkers and joggers, and is convenient for tourists, being adjacent to newly built International Center of Mugham and musical fountain.
The boulevard marked it is 100th anniversary in 2009 as the specific date of it is creation is still unknown.


In 2010, a multi-story shopping mall Park Bulvar, Baku Business Centre and 5D cinema were opened in this promenade as part of Government's regeneration policy to boost shopping and leisure in Baku.
In 2012, after Azerbaijan's victory in Eurovision Song Contest 2011, the boulevard extended towards Bayil settlement, where National Flag Square unveiled. Confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records, the flag flies on a pole 162 meters high and measures 70 by 35 meters which makes it the world's highest flag. Baku Crystal Hall, which hosted Eurovision Song Contest 2012, is located next to it.
In 2014, the 60-metre (197 ft) tall Baku Ferris Wheel opened in the new section of the Boulevard.
In 2014, the new building of the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum was constructed at the Boulevard.
In 2015, Stone Chronicle Museum, “XX-XXI Century Azerbaijani painting” Museum and "Yarat" Contemporary Art Center were opened at the Boulevard. Additionally, opening ceremonies of Water Sports Palace and White City Boulevard were held in 2015.
In 2016, the new section of the Boulevard saw the opening of Baku's first open-air cinema.


It has a prayer room for each of the winter and the summer. The first is located inside the cubic building, with an iwan outside and richly decorated interior mosaics inside. The winter room is adorned with frescoes, mosaics, gilding with floral themes. The ceiling is covered with ornate planks. A hexagonal frieze with golden inscriptions runs up the walls under the ceiling. The iwan serves as a summer prayer room. The columns of the iwan are adorned with decor of muqarnas made of wood. The ceiling and columns of the iwan date from the 19th century.


The Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach, Orange County, California, is a California Historical Landmark and a National Historic Place.  Established on July 1, 1906, the Balboa Pavilion played a prominent role in the development of Newport Beach by attracting real estate buyers to an area formerly designated as "swamp and overflow" land.
The Balboa Pavilion is one of California's last surviving waterfront recreational pavilions from the turn of the century.  The Pavilion continues to serve the public today as a marine recreational facility and is Newport Beach's most famous landmark, as well as its oldest standing building.


Currently, the Balboa Pavilion is used as a marine recreation facility, with sportfishing boats, the transportation terminal for the Catalina Flyer to Catalina Island, small boat (skiff) and (duffy) rentals, whale watching, sunset cruises, a restaurant and upstairs ballroom for banquets, receptions and conferences.