Tel Shimron was at its largest, 19.5 hectares, during the Middle Bronze Age. The site is mentioned in the MB I Execration Texts, and its size and location suggest that it was an important inland city in the interconnected trade network of growing ports and the Jezreel Valley trade route. A cylinder seal found, dating to the MB II, further attests the international nature of Shimron as a site along an important trade route during the MB. In general, Shimron is part of a larger trend of booming urbanism and fortification as well as international trade during the MB.
In the southwest corner of the site, Middle Bronze Age domestic buildings were excavated. Evidence of daily life in the Middle Bronze Age was found in the houses, including craft industries like metal working.
On the acropolis of the site, to the east, monumental Middle Bronze Age remains were discovered. While the pottery in this area is similar chronologically to that of the lower city domestic area, the quality and forms are different. For example, several whole and fragmented Nahariya Lamps were found. The juxtaposition of the domestic activity in the lower city and the monumental buildings on the acropolis provide an interesting case to study status difference in the Middle Bronze age.
The cylinder seal, which dates to the 17th century BCE, or the Middle Bronze Age II, was discovered at Tel Shimron during the 2017 season. Made of hematite in the Old Syrian Classic style, it measures 1.5 cm in length and 8.5 cm in width with a 2.5 mm diameter hole. The seal depicts a sphinx and lion fighting over a human and stag, with two vultures, a sun and crescent shape depicted over the fight. In addition, a hare and a bull’s head are pictured to either side. The depictions draw from influences from Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Northern Syria, showing the international nature of the 17th Century.


While surveys indicate that Shimron shrunk somewhat in the middle of the second millennium, the Amarna Letters attest that it was still an important royal city in Northern Canaan. In EA 225 EA 261, and EA 224, Šammu-Hadi, king of Shimron, is shown as a vassal to Pharaoh. EA 224 seems to indicate that part of the local economy of Shimron is grain production, some of which would go to support nearby Egyptian garrisons; however, EA 8 indicates otherwise. Burraburiyash of Babylon complains to the Pharaoh that Šum-Hadda, most likely the same ruler of Shimron mentioned in the other letters, and Sutana of Acco raided one of his caravans. This text not only indicates the location of Shimron along an important trade route, but its alliances with western powers like Acco, which is supported by Cypriot material found at the site.


Iron Age remains were found in a Silo cut into the Bronze Age fortifications. While the 2019 excavation did not allow for rigorous investigation of the Iron Age remains, the assemblage found in the Silo is similar to that of Megiddo VI, which indicates a “Canaanite” population in the lowlands in the Iron Age I. A bronze bracelet and electrum sheeting were also found here.
The exact political and social orientation of Tel Shimron during the Iron Age is unclear. According to Joshua 11, the king of Shimron was part of an alliance with the king of Hazor, which was defeated by Joshua. Shimron is part of the allotment belonging to the Tribe of Zebulun in Joshua 19:15.
During the 8th Century, it is possible that Shimron was destroyed by Tiglath Pileser III. In a fragment of Tiglath Pileser III’s Annals, different cities taken by the Assyrians are recorded. One such site, although the list is badly broken, has been restored as Samhuna, which Nadav Na’aman and others have associated with Shimron.


Tiglath Pileser III performed massive deportations in the Jezreel and Lower Galilee during the 8th century, and surveys in the area suggest it remained sparsely populated for centuries.  In the Persian period, however, occupation resumed. The 2004 salvage excavation uncovered a Persian Period building that likely served a public function, which could indicate that Shimron had an administrative role in the area.


Finds from the Hellenistic period indicate substantial occupation during both the Ptolemaic and Seleucid eras. It is unclear, however, if the site was occupied after the withdrawal of Seleucid rule in the middle of the second century.
Feig’s 2008 excavation uncovered a coin, which was likely struck in the Ashkelon Mint during the Ptolemaic Period.
Excavations on the western side of the site revealed a hoard of coins from the reign of Antiochus III, just at the moment when this region moved from Ptolemaic to Seleucid rule. There were also coins of Demetrius II; after which the site was abandoned.


The city during the First Jewish–Roman War, and in 66 CE a battle occurred here between the Jewish rebels and the Romans, who besieged the city. Josephus, mentioning the village by name, states that he was attacked there at night by the Roman decurion, Æbutius, who had been entrusted with the charge of the Great Plain and who had one-hundred horse and two-hundred infantry at his disposal. The Roman soldiers, however, were forced to withdraw since their horses were of little use in that terrain (Life of Flavius Josephus, § 24).
During this era, Shimron was referred to as Simonias in Greek and Simonia in Rabbinic Hebrew and Aramaic, but the Palestinian Talmud draws equivalency between the two, declaring “and Shimron is Simonia.”
The surveys by Raban and Feig indicate occupation during the Roman period, but the site was likely part of the orbit of nearby Sepphoris. Part of the Leggio-Sepphoris road was excavated at Shimron in 2004, and proximity to this trade route probably benefitted Shimron. Wall 302, another massive ashlar wall, was also uncovered in 2004, and it dates to the same period.
In the center of the site, several houses, dating to the 1st to 3rd Centuries CE, were excavated in 2017. Both houses had entrance courtyards, and the rooms were divided by stone walls with ‘windows.’ These domestic structures were typical of Jewish Galilean villages in the Roman Period, including a miqveh bath found in one of the houses.


There is little textual evidence of Shimron during the Early Muslim period, so Portugali’s survey provides the best picture of the site during this period to date. Portugali identified two distinct settlements, a 3.9 dunam farmstead, showing a retraction from the 78.3 dunam Byzantine settlement, and a 12.8 dunam Mamluk village, which Portugali hypothesized was built over a crusader occupation.
Later, Shimron is mentioned by Ishtori Haparchi ("Kaftor wa-Feraḥ", ch. xi, written in 1322).
A map from Napoleon's invasion of 1799 by Pierre Jacotin showed a village here, named  Sammouni.  In 1838, Edward Robinson found here a small Arab village called Semunieh,  and he noted it again in 1852.
In 1867, a group of German Templers attempted to establish an early German Templer Colony in Palestine on the site, which failed due to malaria.
In 1875, Victor Guérin visited the place and noted:
"The present village has succeeded a small ancient city, now completely destroyed. East of the site which it occupied rises a round isolated hill, which commands the plain in every direction, and was once surrounded on its summit by a wall, of which a few traces still remain. This hill must probably have been fortified. Scarped towards the east, it slopes gently on the western side towards the town, which covered the lower hillocks at its feet. Among them I found, in the midst of the various debris which cover the soil, the remains of a building in cut stone, completely overthrown, once ornamented by columns, as is attested by two mutilated shafts lying on the spot. This edifice seems to have been constructed from east to west, so that it may have been a Christian church.
"In another place I saw an enclosure measuring thirty-five paces in length by twenty-five in breadth. From a distance it appears ancient. It is, however, of modern date, constructed of stones of all sizes and shapes ; among them pillars of broken sarcophagi".
In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP)  described it as a small village on a knoll with three springs, having probably less than 100 inhabitants. A population list from about 1887 showed that  Semunieh had about  100 inhabitants; all Muslims.
Gottlieb Schumacher, as part of surveying for the construction of the Jezreel Valley railway, noted in 1900 that the village "had not increased [since the 1881 SWP survey]  due to its unhealthy position and bad water. The proprietor, Sursock, built a number of dwellings covered with tile masonry."


In 1965, a 28-dunam nature reserve was declared, preserving the Apple-ring Acacia (syn. Acacia albida) trees that grow on the site. This is the northernmost occurrence of these trees in Israel. The Apple-ring Acacia, native to Africa and the Middle East, is used for nitrogen fixation, erosion control for crops, for food, drink and medicine. It sheds its leaves in the rainy season and is highly valued in agroforestry as it can grow among field crops without shading them.


Shin Kong Life Tower (Chinese: 新光人壽保險摩天大樓; pinyin: Xīnguāng Rénshòu Bǎoxiǎn Mótiān Dàlóu), at 51 stories and a height of 245 meters (803.8 ft), is one of Taiwan's earliest  skyscrapers. The rose-colored tower topped by a pyramid stands in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, and dates from 1993. Its first twelve floors and two underground floors house a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store; the remaining floors provide office space and serve as headquarters for the Shin Kong Life insurance company. The building stands across Zhongxiao Road from Taipei Main Station near the Asiaworld Department Store.
The Shin Kong Life Tower was Taiwan's tallest building when it opened in 1993. The twin towers of the nearby Far Eastern Plaza, built at the same time, approached it in height. In 1997 the Tuntex 85 Sky Tower in the city of Kaohsiung became Taiwan's tallest. New height records were then set by Taipei 101 in 2004.


The site currently occupied by the Shin Kong Life Tower was home to the luxurious Taiwan Railway Hotel from 1908 to 1945 when it was destroyed by allied bombing. The hotel was the most luxurious in Taiwan and mostly served a Japanese and foreign clientele.
The 10,000-square-meter plot of land across from Taipei Main Station was owned by four companies in 1981 when discussions began about ways to develop the site. Agreement on a plan was never reached and ownership of the land passed to two companies in 1985. The company that held the eastern half, Asiaworld International Group, built the Asiaworld Department Store on its parcel; the store opened in 1990. The company that held the western half, Shin Kong Life Insurance Company, hired Kaku Morin Group (KMG) Architects and Engineers of Japan to build a dual-use tower that would house offices and a major department store.
Space limitations and heavy traffic at the site made the task a challenge. KMG created a 1,170-square-meter plaza around the tower by setting the front of the building 31 m back from the street and setting other sides back to allow wide pedestrian walkways. Inspectors from National Taiwan University were consulted to help ensure the building's stability in earthquakes. The design featured an observatory level at the 46th floor. Separate elevators were installed to serve department store customers, office workers, and visitors to the observatory. Mindful of Taiwan's typhoons and tropical sun, designers used aluminum for the exterior so it would weather well. The rose color chosen for the exterior was inspired by the national flowers of both Taiwan and Japan, the plum blossom and cherry blossom, respectively.
Construction of the Shin Kong Life Tower began in 1989. The building was completed at a cost of US$270 million and opened in December 1993.
As a design the Shin Kong Life Tower drew a shrug from architects in and beyond Taiwan. It was generally regarded as a rather plain and old-fashioned design with only height to offer as a distinguishing characteristic. Some saw a design flaw in the placement of retail and office entrances on the same side of the building. Architect Kaku Morin conceded that his design made no novel architectural statement but expressed satisfaction in producing a "healthy" structure. "Construction is as important as design," he told the Taiwan Review in 1995. "A building is like a human body--if it is not healthy, it is nothing no matter how beautiful it is."


The Shin Kong Life Tower lived an especially bustling life in the decade after it opened. Its 46th-floor observatory, the highest in Taiwan at the time, opened to the public in 1994 under the management of TopView Taipei Observatory. Over the next twelve years the observatory hosted over four million visitors. The number of guests dropped dramatically after Taipei 101 opened a new observatory at nearly twice the height in January 2005, however, and TopView closed when the company's lease expired in December 2006. Now the 46th-floor observatory is occupied by Naturally-Plus as their headquarters for Taiwan operation and the entrance is free of charge for their members.
Other retailers in the building continue to maintain a busy existence. The location of the tower across from Taipei Main Station ensures heavy pedestrian traffic along the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi and Asiaworld storefronts. Weekdays find the streets filled with students attending 'cram schools' in the area. Weekends find Taipei residents enjoying outdoor concerts in the plaza or on the grounds of the nearby station.


English speakers sometimes refer to the Shin Kong Life Tower as the "Mitsukoshi Building" because that store's name appears on the tower's exterior. This invites confusion, though, as the store operates in more than one location. Taipei 101 has its own Shin Kong Mitsukoshi outlet facing Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Square.


The tower is accessible within walking distance south west of Taipei Railway Station.


The shōgun bequeathed this land to Lord Naitō (daimyō) of Tsuruga in the Edo period who completed a garden here in 1772. After the Meiji Restoration the house and its grounds were converted into an experimental agricultural centre. It then became a botanical garden before becoming an imperial garden in 1879. The current configuration of the garden was completed in 1906. Most of the garden was destroyed by air raids in 1945, during the later stages of World War II. The garden was rebuilt after the war.
The jurisdiction over the Imperial Palace Outer Garden and the Kyoto imperial garden was transferred to the Ministry of Health and Welfare (now the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) in 1947.
On May 21, 1949, the garden became open to the public as a national park. It came under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Environment in January 2001, with the official English name "Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden". The official Japanese name remains Shinjuku Gyoen, where gyoen means "imperial garden".
In 1989, the Shinjuku Gyoen was the site chosen for the funeral rites of Emperor Shōwa before he was buried at the Musashi Imperial Graveyard.


The garden, which is 58.3 hectares in area with a circumference of 3.5 km, blends three distinct styles: a French Formal and English Landscape in the north and to the south a Japanese traditional. A traditional Japanese tea house can be found within the gardens. The garden is a favourite hanami (cherry-blossom viewing) spot, and large crowds can be present  during cherry blossom season.


The garden has three access gates: Shinjuku Gate, Okido Gate and Sendagaya Gate. Shinjuku Gyoen is open from 9:00 until 16:30. On Mondays the garden is closed, except during the cherry blossom and chrysanthemum seasons: late March–late April and early November respectively, when the garden is open seven days a week. The greenhouse is open from 9:30 until 16:00. The last admission is 16:00.


The garden is a short walk from Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station on the Marunouchi Line or Sendagaya Station on the Chūō-Sōbu Line. The garden is on the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line near Shinjuku-sanchōme Station. From that station (exit C1) the garden is a four-minute walk.


In Yasunari Kawabata's The Sound of the Mountain, Shingo declares, "You can stretch out. It's like getting out of Japan - I wouldn't have dreamed that there was a place like this right in the middle of Tokyo."
It is the setting of the 2013 anime film The Garden of Words.


The Memorial Temple of the Birth of Christ (Bulgarian: Храм-паметник „Рождество Христово“, Hram-pametnik „Rozhdestvo Hristovo“), better known as the Shipka Memorial Church or Shipka Monastery is a Bulgarian Orthodox church built near the town of Shipka in Stara Planina between 1885 and 1902 to Antoniy Tomishko's design in the seventeenth-century Muscovite style, under the direction of architect Alexander Pomerantsev. It is, together with the other parts of the Shipka Monument complex, dedicated to the Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian soldiers that died for the liberation of Bulgaria in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78.
The temple was officially opened on  September 28, 1902, in the presence of Russian Army generals and many honourable guests. The opening and consecration of the Shipka Memorial Church coincided with the 25-year anniversary of the Battles of Shipka Pass. In 1970, the temple was proclaimed a national monument of culture.
The church's bell tower reaches a height of 53 m and its bells, the heaviest of which weighs 12 tons, were cast from the cartridges that were collected after the battles. In the temple itself, the names of the Russian regiments and Bulgarian volunteers are inscribed on 34 marble plates. The remains of the perished are laid in 17 stone sarcophagi in the church's crypt.


The Shirabad Waterfall (Persian: آبشار شیرآباد) is a waterfall in the  Alborz mountain range, at the village of Shirabad in the Fenderesk District of Golestan Province, northern Iran.
It is in a forested area, 7 kilometers south of Khanbebin.


Shirabad Waterfall is in the form of a stairway cascade and includes 12 large and small waterfalls. Its largest waterfall is 30 metres (98 ft) high and its plunge pool is 40 to 80 metres (130 to 260 ft) deep.
There are several caves nearby, which are home to the critically endangered Gorgan salamander.


The Allahverdi Khan Bridge (Persian: پل الله‌وردی خان), popularly known as Si-o-se-pol (Persian: سی‌وسه‌پل, lit. '[the] bridge of thirty-three [spans]'), is the largest of the eleven historical bridges on the Zayanderud, the largest river of the Iranian Plateau, in Isfahan, Iran.
The bridge was built in the early 17th century to serve as both a bridge and a dam. It is a popular recreational gathering place, and is one of the most famous examples of Iran's Safavid architecture.


Si-o-se-pol (meaning the bridge of 33 Persian) was built between 1599 and 1602, under the reign of Abbas I, the fifth Safavid king (shah) of Iran. It was constructed under the supervision of Allahverdi Khan Undiladze, the commander-in-chief of the armies, who was of Georgian origin, and was also named after him. The bridge served particularly as a connection between the mansions of the elite, as well as a link to the city's vital Armenian neighborhood of New Julfa.
In years of drought (2000-02 and 2013), the river was dammed upstream to provide water for Yazd province.


The bridge has a total length of 297.76 metres (976.9 ft) and a total width of 14.75 metres (48.4 ft). It is a vaulted arch bridge consisting of two superimposed rows of 33 arches, from whence its popular name of Si-o-se-pol comes, and is made of stone. The longest span is about 5.60 metres (18.4 ft). The interior of Si-o-se-pol was originally decorated with paintings, which were often described by travelers as erotic.
There is a larger base plank at the start of the bridge, under which the Zayanderud flows, supporting a tea house, which is nowadays abandoned.


Built in 1914, Sicamous made daily trips up and down Okanagan Lake until 1936, with her last official voyage in 1937. Throughout her twenty-two years of official service, Sicamous remained an important link within the transportation system of the Okanagan. Sicamous now resides in Penticton where she continues to undergo restoration.
Sicamous had the following dimensions:
Length: 200.5 ft (registered); 228 ft (overall)
Breadth: 40 ft
Height (main deck to pilot house): 53 ft
Gross Tonnage: 1786.65 tons
Net Tonnage: 994.38 tons
Although passengers would board the ship on the cargo deck, their access was limited to the bow. After boarding they would head up either one of the two exterior staircases leading to the saloon deck. The saloon deck was home to the exquisite dining hall featuring an impressive mezzanine balcony and clerestory windows. Located at the bow was the Gentlemen’s Saloon with bar, while the stern housed the Ladies Saloon complete with a beautiful bridal suite. Above the saloon deck was the observation deck or gallery deck. This was where passengers would go to admire the beautiful view of Okanagan Lake and the surrounding area. Much like the saloon deck, ladies and gentlemen each had their own separate observation area with women observing at the bow, and men at the stern. Just beneath the Pilot House was the Texas Deck. This area served as a casual meeting place for the captain and his crew.
The Kettle Valley Railway, which ran along the East side of Okanagan Lake, as well as the construction of the highway along the West side and also the Great Depression in the 1930s contributed to Sicamous losing money for the CPR. As a result, the CPR decided to renovate Sicamous, removing the Texas Deck and two thirds of the observation deck. These changes were designed to reduce wind resistance and weight, decreasing coal consumption and allowing for more cargo to be transported. Despite her decrease in size, Sicamous remained a first-class steamship with the same fine Australian mahogany and Burmese teak finishings.


Sicamous was a steam-driven sternwheeler, consuming an average of fifteen to seventeen tons of coal each day, depending upon weather conditions and the number of stops made along the lake. Today Sicamous remains the largest steam-powered, steel-hulled sternwheeler in Canada.
Twenty-three feet long and made of Carnegie flange steel, the boiler was designed to burn 1720 kilograms of coal each hour. It was important to maintain a large and very hot fire burning within the boiler. Surrounding the fire was a steel chamber containing water pulled from the lake as well as 320 hollow tubes. These tubes would heat rapidly, quickly turning the water to steam. Pressure would build and the temperature would rise. The steam pressure was constantly monitored and maintained at 160 psi by a fireman or an engineer who was responsible for manually releasing steam as needed. This steam would travel from the boiler to the engines via the bulkhead, a large tube attached to the ceiling of the bilge. Sicamous had two engines, each with a low- and high-pressure cylinder. Steam would travel from cylinder to cylinder, moving pistons which were attached to the ships pitman arms. These pitman arms were connected to the wooden stern wheel and moved completely out of phase with one another, distributing power equally to both sides of the stern wheel.


Built in 1914 and retired in 1936, Sicamous dedicated twenty-two years of service to the CPR, the people of the Okanagan and those simply travelling through. Although always a first-class steamship complete with luxurious staterooms and cabins, Sicamous was renovated in 1935 and became primarily a cargo vessel, reducing her total number of berths from 80 to 20. This change was in hopes of serving the people of the valley better while increasing her profits.
Operation:
Construction of Sicamous began September 1913 and continued throughout winter, finishing in the spring of 1914. The hull, engine and boiler were fabricated beforehand in Port Arthur, Ontario (Thunder Bay) and shipped to the construction site at Okanagan Landing. It took seventeen railcars to ship the prefabricated materials out West. Up to 150 men were hired to build both Sicamous and Naramata. The cost to build Sicamous alone was estimated to be $180,000 not including the additional $14,000 spent on fine furnishings.
Sicamous was launched May 19, 1914 at 2:15 in the afternoon, and had its first excursion June 12 of 1914. The first to pilot the ship was Captain George Estabrooks, followed by Captain Otto Estabrooks in 1915, Captain William Kirby in 1916, Captain George Robertson from 1917 to 1921 and lastly Captain Joseph Weeks from 1922 to 1935. To be captain of such a ship was considered to be one of the most prestigious careers in the Okanagan Valley and each captain was held in very high regard.


While off duty, the twenty-four crew members aboard Sicamous would sleep in the crew’s quarters at the stern of the cargo deck. These rooms consisted of three single bunks and housed up to six men. Crew members would sleep in shifts, sharing bunks where need be. Their quarters were known for having bed bug and cockroach infestations while also being plagued by the many mosquitoes living in the valley. However, a warm place to stay overnight and three meals a day were included in the crew’s wages.
Chief Engineers aboard Sicamous included:
William Jacobs
D. Stephens
D.H. Biggam
John F. McRae
P.H. Pearce
During World War One, many of the Lake and River Service’s skilled engineers left for battle, leaving numerous steamships, including Sicamous, without a Chief Engineer. As a result, Dave Stephens (rumored to be the D. Stephens above) filled in for the younger men who had joined the army. Dave Stephens was the British Columbia Lake and River Services’ Primary Chief Engineer and oversaw operations from Nelson.
Captains aboard Sicamous included:
Captain George Estabrooks (1914)
Captain Otto Estabrooks (1915)
Captain William Kirby (1916)
Captain George Robertson (1917-1921)
Captain Joseph Weeks (1922-1935)
Before he became a captain, Otto Estabrooks (at the age of fifteen) was assigned the task of relieving the night watchman. He was responsible for keeping the fire within the boiler burning strongly throughout the night. This was necessary so that Sicamous could leave on time the next morning. His recollection is included below.
"The first night I fell asleep and did not waken until 5:30 a.m., exactly in time to sound the three whistles to announce that it was a half hour before leaving time-something any kid would have loved to do all by himself.
Rushing to the pilot house and pulling the cord, it didn’t whistle. There wasn’t enough steam. The engineer, a  gentleman  of the first water, said he forgot to tell me to keep steam up. They were kind words from a kind man, even if they were not true."


Sicamous was the largest sternwheeler to sail on Okanagan Lake, and is now the only existing steam-driven, steel-hulled sternwheeler remaining in Canada. Her longevity can be largely attributed to her steel hull. Many of the other steamboats sailing the Okanagan were built using the more cost-effective wooden hull, but they failed to withstand the test of time, and many fell victim to onboard fires or rotten hulls.


Siccar Point was the site of a dun, or small hill fort, in the territory of the ancient Britons.
Siccar Point is now in the parish of Cockburnspath but was formerly in the parish of Old Cambus, from which the ancient parish church of St Helen's Chapel survives as a ruin about one kilometre to the west of the point. The church is built in a Romanesque style, in a mixture of Old Red Sandstone believed to have been quarried from the nearby Greenheugh Bay and of the greywacke rock also used in the drystone dyke forming the field boundaries. It is likely that the medieval village of Old Cambus was nearer to Siccar Point than the extant hamlet of Old Cambus.
To the south of the point twentieth-century quarrying for greywacke to be used as roadstone left a hollow named Old Cambus Quarry which is now occupied by a vegetable distribution warehouse complex.


Siccar Point is notable in the history of geology as a result of a boat trip in 1788 in which geologist James Hutton observed the angular unconformity of the point.
He wrote later that the evidence of the rocks provided conclusive proof of the uniformitarian theory of geological development; that is, that the natural laws and processes which operate in the universe have never changed and apply everywhere.


The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor bandshell performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain on Lithgow Avenue close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment precinct. It was officially opened by the Prime Minister of Australia, Robert Menzies, on 12 February 1959, with an audience of 30,000 people. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.


The businessman and philanthropist Sidney Myer inspired the construction of the building after attending the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. A violinist who enjoyed music, Myer established free open-air concerts with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 1929, which were always well attended by Melburnians. These free concerts continue to this day, now being held at the bowl itself. There are usually three or four concerts a year.
Upon his death in 1934, the Sidney Myer Fund was established to continue the tradition of philanthropy begun by its founder. The design and construction of a music bowl for the people of Melbourne was decided upon and funded by the fund.
The venue was officially opened by the Australian prime minister, Robert Menzies, on 12 February 1959, and was attended by an audience of 30,000. Later that month over 70,000 people attended to hear the American evangelist Billy Graham.
The largest crowd ever for a concert event in Australia was The Seekers 1967 homecoming concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl which an estimated 200,000 people attended. The 2007 Guinness Book of World Records lists it as the greatest attendance at a concert in the Southern Hemisphere in history. This attendance is also included in The Australian Book of Records. Melburnians were celebrating the annual Moomba Festival, a free community festival, and many thousands were enjoying other attractions but are included in the crowd estimate. Since then, international performers have included: ABBA, AC/DC, Metallica, Wings, Blondie, the Beach Boys, Crowded House, Dire Straits, Neil Diamond, Jason Ngam, Bob Dylan, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Merle Haggard, Pearl Jam, the Electric Light Orchestra, Paul McCartney, Midnight Oil, INXS, R.E.M., Kiri Te Kanawa, Daft Punk, Red Hot Chili Peppers and, in more recent times, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, Soundgarden, Tool, Kanye West, Paramore, Neil Young, Lenny Kravitz, Swedish House Mafia, blink-182, the Black Keys, Lorde, Afrojack, KSHMR, Will Sparks, Timmy Trumpet, Carnage, Axwell, The Cat Empire, Guns N' Roses & The Chainsmokers.
In 1980, administration of the bowl was handed over to the Victorian Arts Centre from the Sidney Myer Fund by Ken Myer, Sidney Myer's son. In 1984 a temporary ice-skating rink was created on the bowl's stage for use during winter months. The venue was closed for a major renovation in 2000 to bring the facilities up to an appropriate standard, and was reopened by the Premier of Victoria, Steve Bracks, at Carols by Candlelight on Christmas Eve, 2002. Recent works on the lawns extending from the seating and stage, and the construction of a fence and gates has reduced the total capacity to a little over 12,000.


In 2009, the 50th anniversary of the Sidney Myer Music Bowl was celebrated. The Arts Centre put together a four-day commemorative program of free events. From 12 to 15 February, the festivities featured two concerts from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, including a recreation of their 1959 opening concert of the bowl and a romantic Valentine's Day program; a salute to 50 years of rock and roll at the bowl from RocKwiz and an afternoon picnic of family entertainment. There was also an informative exhibition at the St Kilda Road Foyer Gallery of the Arts Centre and a commemorative website depicting 50 years of the bowl.


The bowl's canopy consists of a thin membrane made out of half an inch of weather-proofed plywood sheeted on both sides with aluminium attached to a cobwebbed frame of steel cables and supported by 21.3 metres (70 ft) masts pivoted to the earth. The total area of the canopy is 4,055 square metres (43,650 sq ft). The main cable at the edge of the canopy comprises 7 ropes, each about 9 cm in diameter and 173 metres (568 ft) long, anchored deep into the ground in concrete blocks. Longitudinal cables hold up the roof and transverse cables hold it down.
Project design was by Yuncken Freeman and Griffiths and Simpson during 1956. The project architect was Barry Patten. Construction commenced in 1958 with an innovative system of cables laced together and covered with aluminium faced plywood sandwich panels. To ensure the structure would be watertight yet aerodynamically stable and flexible, new construction techniques were developed. Ground anchors were required to be corrosion resistant. The shell also needed to be acoustically correct. Construction entailed input from a number of engineering and scientific organisations including the Aeronautical Research Laboratories and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Forest Products Division.
Unlike the Hollywood Bowl's concrete shell structure in Los Angeles which inspired it, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl combined a tensile structural system with a free-form roof. The structural design predates by nearly 10 years noted German architect and engineer Frei Otto and his experiments in using lightweight tensile and membrane structures. Otto's design of Munich's Olympic Park for the 1972 Olympics and the temporary West German pavilion at the 1967 World's Fair in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, were heavily influenced by Patten's design of Melbourne's Myer Music Bowl.
The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is registered on the Victorian Heritage list for its cultural importance to Victoria, its architectural importance as the largest, purpose built, permanent outdoor performance venue in Australia and its engineering experimentation in new forms of construction involving use of membranes and a tensile structural system.


There is a fixed seating area which can hold 2,030 people. Behind this area are sloping lawns which can accommodate up to 10,000. The stage area is 27.4 metres wide by 19.5 metres deep (90 ft × 64 ft).


The bowl holds major events including Vision Australia's Carols by Candlelight, held every year on Christmas Eve, televised each year by the Nine Network.
Past major events held at The Bowl include Piknic Electronik, Music from the Home Front and Midsummer Festival.


The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006. Best Venue was introduced in 2016.


Roubaud began work on the panorama in 1901. Arriving in Sevastopol, he studied the site of the battle and historical documents, talked to participants and eyewitnesses and produced an initial drawing in Saint Petersburg. Shenhena Merten, Frosch and 20 students of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts then created the full-size 14 m by 115 m version. The finished painting was delivered to Sevastopol in summer 1904 and unveiled to the public on 14 May 1905, the fiftieth anniversary of the defence of the city. The first visitors included Russian veterans of the siege.


The building housing the panorama was badly damaged during the 1942 Siege of Sevastopol, its cupola was shattered and the Panorama itself was partly burnt. At the end of the siege, both the Nazi German war flag and the Romanian national flag were hoisted on the building's shattered cupola.
The evacuation of the painting was carried out on the last ship which left Sevastopol, the destroyer leader Tashkent. The ship withstood all the attacks of enemy aircraft, shot down 2 German aircraft and reached the base of Novorossiysk. The whole team for this unprecedented campaign was awarded with orders and medals.


After its brief and bizarre spell as council housing, the building was converted into a museum, focusing on Arbroath and the surrounding area. Arbroath, like Dundee was a major jute processor and was home to many world-renowned companies, including Shanks Lawnmowers, Giddings + Lewis-Fraser and Keith & Blackman. The museum holds many items and documents relating to the lawnmower manufacturer Shanks, including a number of lawnmowers produced by the company, as well as a variety of documents, photographs and company insignia from Giddings + Lewis-Fraser and Keith & Blackman.
In addition to the manufacturing exhibits, the Signal Tower Museum also has many exhibits relating to the Bell Rock Lighthouse, a scale model of the Inchcape Rock and the lighthouse upon it, and one of the light mechanisms previously fitted to the lighthouse. There is a wide range of exhibits relating to the fishing industry, with scale models of many fishing vessel types once found in the harbour at Arbroath, along with information on fishing and the fish processing industry in Arbroath.
In addition to the historical exhibits relating to Arbroath, there is also useful information for ramblers with information on the numerous nature trails around Arbroath.


Some of the 60 minerals of the Silberberg, in the museum room of the visitors' mine


Silver Star features no inversions, but many camelback hills:
After the first drop, the train travels leftwards and up onto the first camel back, and then a second.
The train performs a 180 degree return in a Horseshoe-element.
The train then continues onto another camel back followed by a mid-course brake segment.
A 270 degree upwards turn brings the train back under the lift hill and onto one last camel back.
An S-bend brings the train to the on-ride photo and final brake run.
Nearly every camel back is fitted with trim brakes to regulate the train's speed. The original friction-brake trims made the ride uncomfortable for some riders, however these have been refitted with magnetic trims.


The sinkhole is part of a larger park called El Ocote Biosphere Reserve, located in the western part of the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 90 minutes from the state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez. It belongs to the municipality of Ocozocoautla de Espinoza, about 19 km over rough roads from the town center. This part of Chiapas is dominated by the Zoque people, who call the area Coita, a Zoque word that means “place of rabbits.”  The nearest community to the sinkhole is Piedra Parada, which has about 500 residents.
The climate of the area is mostly warm and humid, with a rainy season from June to October, receiving an average of 1,500mm of precipitation per year. It is in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, at an altitude of about 820 meters above sea level. This area gets cold enough in the winter to need a light jacket.
Most of the vegetation of the area has been wiped out or severely degraded by agriculture, forestry and other human activity.


The Sima de las Cotorras belongs to a Karst topography system, based on the folding, fracturing and erosion of limestone. This particular system is defined by its drainage system, with the La Venta River on the surface and the main underground river being El Paraíso. Despite its proximity to the Pacific, drainage is towards the Gulf of Mexico.  Most of this ecological system is covered by the El Ocote Biosphere Reserve.
There are two main forces that shape the landscape. Tectonic forces from the movement of the North American plate over the Farallon and Cocos plates creates anticline folds, with a northeasterly orientation. The folding creates cracks in the relatively soft rock and water running above and below erode in and around these fractures. The two processes have created a number of formations including canyons, arches, caves, waterfalls, small pools of water and sinkholes. These same processes make the soil acidic and strewn with loose rock.
Major formations include the La Venta River Canyon, the Arch of Time (Arco del Tiempo) and El Aguacero Falls. The Sima de las Cotorras is only one of 38 sinkholes in the region and one of eight within 10km2. It is not even the largest of these, being only half the size of the Las Luchas sinkhole.
These sinkholes are vertical depressions formed by the cracking, erosion and collapse of limestone over thousands of years.  The Sima de las Cotorras is 140 metres (460 ft) meters deep, and 160 metres (520 ft) in diameter, with a straight drop of 97 metres (318 ft) meters.  The opening is elliptical, with the north and southwest rims elevated in relation to the rest. The low point of the rim is in the east.  The process reveals the layers of rock, and about 70 metres (230 ft) meters down, stalactites and stalagmites can be seen among the layers from the surface. There are also caves within the sinkhole walls, which have also been produced by erosion. This type of sinkhole is similar to those found in the Yucatán, but in general these do not contain pooled water at the bottom.


Instead the interior of the sinkhole is home to a tropical forest, whose plant and animal life is distinct from that of the surrounding ecosystem.
El Ocote is home to a number of endangered species, especially birds such as Psittacara holochlorus, Amazilia viridifons and Oporornis tolmiei, as well as other receiving special protection such as Eucometis penicillata, Lanio aurantius, Psarocolius montezuma and Colinus virginianus. Numbers and types of birds present depends on the time of year, due to migratory patterns.
The wider reserve serves as a buffer area for the microclimate of the Sima de las Cotorras.  Outside the sinkhole and up to its rim, the climate is drier, mostly grassland/shrub from cattle grazing, and areas called lomería, rocky areas with limited growth, mostly shrubs, due to dense limestone. In some of the higher elevations there are still some forests. Around the sinkhole itself, there are many copal trees, Protium copal (family Burseraceae), which gave the sinkhole its original name of Sima del Copal.
The interior of the sinkhole holds and preserves more moisture. From its bottom grows a tropical deciduous rainforest microsystem with broadleafed species such as cedar, mahogany, Fabaceas espinosa and Burseraceas baja, Manilkara zapota, scrubs of the family Guaiacum and more, with trees reaching as high as 30 meters tall. The plant species here are not found outside the sinkhole.
Common reserve fauna includes owls, foxes and coyotes, rabbits, opossums, badgers, squirrels, armadillos, Penelopina nigra, chachalacas and of course, parakeets. The park has over 80 bird species in 30 families. Eleven of these are migratory and three are endemic to the area. Seven bird species are classified as endangered by the Mexican government. Most of the bird species 35 of them, are found in the low deciduous rainforest of the sinkholes. These include species which are highly sensitive to human intrusion such as Colinus virginianus, Caprimulgus vociferous, Amazilia candida and Ortalis vetula. A number of bird species have been found in the Sima de las Cotorras area but not in the larger El Ocote park, including Bubo virginianus, Amazilia viridifrons, Vireo philadelphicus, Sialia sialis, Passerina versicolor and Cacicus melanicterus.
The Sima's most famous resident is Psittacara holochlorus, the Mexican parrot, which is endangered. Chiapas is home to over 68% of Mexico's parrots (family Psittacidae). And many of Mexico's parrot species are endangered, mostly due to shrinking habitat, along with the illegal pet trade and other exploitation of the animals. There are an estimated 3,000 parrots associated with the sinkhole and they can be found there most of the year, with the exception November to January, when the weather is too cool for them. The forest of the sinkhole is also their nesting site. From the evening until the early morning, the parrots are congregated in the sinkhole forest, where the noise they make can be quite loud.  The parrots’ noise will cease if a predator such as a falcon is seen nearby. The parrots leave the sinkhole to look for food, which includes from mango trees in people's backyards as far away as Tuxtla Gutierrez. They leave the sinkhole in groups, flying in circles on wind currents in order to leave and enter. Inside the sinkhole, the parrots are the most numerous kind of bird. Outside, it is dominated by small birds of the family Tyrannidae.


Evidence of human habitation in the area goes back at least 7,500 years, with evidence of hunter/gatherers. However, there were no major pre-Hispanic settlements in this area. The area of the park was first explored and academically documented in the mid 20th century, noting local caves and archeological finds such as pottery. But documentation still remains sparse especially in comparison to other such sites in Mexico.
The significant archeological find in and around the Sima de las Cotorras are cave paintings, arrowheads, and much later pottery shards, possibly Zoque. The most important of these are the cave paintings, which number about 75.  On a rock outcropping on the north wall, there is a human figure with lance, and with a sun and moon above. One of the side caves has on its roof the outlines of hands made by blowing red ochre onto the wall. Other images include circles, spirals and animals. The appearance of cave painting in such a geological formation and especially so high up the sinkhole walls makes them a rarity, and the site is under consideration by UNESCO for protective status.


The El Ocote Biosphere Reserve was established in 1972, extendingover 8 hectares, protecting over a hundred species of birds, and dozens of mammals, reptiles and insects, some endangered. With the exception of the Sima de la Cotorras, the park has not been developed for tourism, and its formations are almost completely unknown outside of their region. The other sinkholes in the area get no tourism activity at all. The tourism activity based on the flight of the parrots has made the sinkhole relatively famous and it is now better known as the “sinkhole of the parrots” rather than its official name.
Tourism activity here began with the establishment of the Sima de Cotorras Ecotourism Center in 1985 and the building of a road from the town of Ocozocoautla to the site. The center was established to provide alternative work for the local Zoque people. Today it is run by the Tzamanguimó cooperative, which consists of a number of families all from the nearby community of Piedra Parada.
The project is also registered with the federal government as an ecotourism site, with the aim of being sustainable, providing income for local residents with minimal impact. The group welcomes researchers as well as visitors onto the site. The main challenge has been how to take advantage of the site without damaging it. The ground is unstable and highly porous. Many underground cavities are still unknown, making building risky. The largest structure on the premises is the restaurant. Built near the rim, its site was chosen because of the stability of the rock, not because it was the most aesthetically pleasing place to put the structure. Waste disposal is a main issue because of the threat of groundwater contamination, prompting several composting activities. Bringing water, electricity and more are also challenges.
By far the main attraction of the site are the parrots that fly in and out of sinkhole each day, generally leaving in the early morning and returning at night. It is also possible to rappel to the bottom of the sinkhole, as well as explore local caves and hike both in and around the sinkhole.
Where possible constructions are based on local materials to allow them to blend into the local environment. Paving and path construction is based on local rock. Pre Hispanic architecture formed the basis of the buildings on the site, including the rock foundation seen on the restaurant building. The Center has eight cabins for up to five persons each, a camping area and tours with local guides.
It has eight cabins which can house five people each. It currently has a restaurant, several cabins to house multiple people, a camping área, a path around the rim of the sinkhole, rappelling and tours to see the cave paintings and the rainforest that covers the sinkhole's floor.
The Center has provided an alternative source of work other than agriculture and for some, a means for income when before they had none. Despite this, the project has not been claimed as a great success. According to theses done at the Universidad Intercultural de Chiapas, the tourism possibilities here have not been fully exploited. As of 2016, only about 10 to 15 people per day visit the site. Most visitors come by their own cars or through local ecoadventure tourism agencies. Most tourists are between 41–60 years of age, followed by the 31-40 age bracket and those in the 18-30 year bracket. About half come from the state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez, with about 13% from Mexico City, 12.5 from other parts of Mexico. Only about 2 percent are foreigners.
The main problems for the site are the lack of promotion and poor access. The roads leading to the site are very poor, especially the last ten km, and signage is poor or non-existent. The park is difficult to access for those with disabilities. Most visitors learn of the site through word-of-mouth, with some from television and much fewer from other media. The lack of services means that those who do come do not stay for long. Two-thirds come only to see the parrots, some will stay and eat at the restaurant, but very few stay the night.
The project over the years has received intermittent support from various government institutions such as PEMEX, the Secretary of Tourism, SEMARNAT and the Comision Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas, in areas such as finance, customer service and construction. But these interventions have not always been helpful, with functionaries using technical jargon and dismissing local knowledge of the area. Changes in political parties has led to varying attitudes towards the project and its ecological focus, with errors being made such as cutting down trees to make way for cement electrical poles and the construction on non-composting toilets.
At its height, the Center generated about 80 to 100 jobs directly, but since the tourist demand has declined. The project is specifically geared to keep young people in the area, but they have not shown sufficient interest in its continuation. Most members of the cooperative are between 50 and 80 years of age. Only about 30% of the local population recognizes the area's intangible value, but 80% favor efforts to make the area better known. Even with sufficient interest and promotion, the area is not suited for large-scale tourism. One reason is the need to keep ecological concerns first and the other is that alternative and eco-tourism are not major attractions for most Mexicans.


Sincil Bank Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as LNER Stadium, is a football stadium in Lincoln, England which has been the home of Lincoln City since 1895. Previously, Lincoln City had played at the nearby John O'Gaunts ground since the club's 1884 inception. The stadium has an overall capacity of 10,120 and is colloquially known to fans as "Sinny Bank". It is overlooked by Lincoln Cathedral. Former Lincoln City chairman John Reames re-purchased the ground from the local council in 2000 at a cost of £175,000. The club had sold it in 1982 for £225,000 in order to fend off the threat of eviction, arranging a 125-year lease.
On 28 November 2008, the stadium hosted England U16s' 2–0 win over Scotland U16s to win the Victory Shield, an annual football competition between the four Home Nations at the Under 16 level. Martin Peters paraded the FIFA World Cup Trophy at the ground in March 2010 as part of its global tour.
On 10 December 2019, London North Eastern Railway (LNER) was confirmed as Lincoln City's new stadium sponsor. Sincil Bank – the Imps' home since 1895 – was renamed to the LNER Stadium in a 3-year partnership agreement. The stadium has previously been renamed in 2012 and 2013.


The largest stand at the stadium holds approximately 5,700 people. It is located on the Sincil Bank street side of the ground and is home to the majority of the Imps' supporters. The block nearest the Bridge McFarland/South Park stand was given to visiting supporters until 2013, but is now used for only home supporters. The lower block closest the South Park Stand has now been made a family seating area as the old family stand now takes visiting fans. This side of the ground was occupied by uncovered terracing ever since the club moved from their first home, the John O'Gaunt's Ground, in 1895. The terracing was cordoned-off in August 1994 and demolition work soon began. The stand was officially opened before Lincoln City's match with Hartlepool United on 4 March 1995. The stand cost around £1 million to build and meant that the stadium had been completely redeveloped from its previous state in the 1980s (at a total cost of £3 million). Over the years the stand has been known under three different guises, depending on sponsorship contracts. It was first known as the Linpave Stand and, in 1998, was sponsored by Simons Construction. It was named the Lincolnshire Co-operative stand in 2001, but is more commonly known as the Co-op stand. It was home to the LCFC band, which was originally put together by former manager John Beck in 1995 in order to increase matchday atmosphere.


This was the traditional home-end up until 2013 but now takes visiting fans who bring large numbers of supporters. Built in 1990, the Stacey-West Stand is named after two lifelong supporters - Bill Stacey and Jim West - who died in the Bradford City stadium fire. It replaced the old Railway End terrace in 1990, which had a goods rail line running behind the enclosure until the line was demolished in the early 1990s. The Stacey-West Stand first had areas of terracing at either end with a large area of seating in between so that supporters had the choice of sitting or standing at games. However, when City were promoted to the old Division Two at the end of the 1997–98 season, the stand was made entirely terraced. This was because a number of large clubs then in Division Two, such as Manchester City, Stoke City and Burnley were expected to bring large travelling support to the ground. This convinced the club that the Stacey-West stand should hold visiting fans, rather than a portion of the Co-op Stand. However, when the club was relegated back to the old Division Three in May 1999, a grant by the Football Trust partially enabled just under 2,000 seats to replace the Stacey-West Stand terracing which meant that, for the first time in the history of Lincoln City, it was an all-seater stadium. The stand continued to house visiting supporters until it was given back to home fans in the 2002 close-season. But at the start of 2013/14 season it was announced that the stand would no longer be housing home supporters but only used as an away-end for large quantities of supporters. As of 2016 the stand is used for home fans on certain games.


Named as part of a two-year sponsorship with GoCar motor dealership in 2009. Previously named the I.M.P.S. Stand since 2003 when local company Industrial Marine Power Services signed a sponsorship agreement with the club. The stand was built in 1992 and houses 17 executive boxes, Strikers bar for supporters and companies using the executive boxes and the Centre Spot, a fans' bar that welcomes both home and away supporters on matchdays. It replaced the old South Park stand, which consisted of a small seated area and a terrace. As of 2013 visiting supporters now sit in half of the Bridge McFarland Stand and the Family Stand. If a large away crowd is expected then the Stacey West Stand is used to accommodate away fans instead.


In 1958 the ground played host to a visit from Queen Elizabeth II. A major rock concert was staged at the ground in May 1966 which featured the Who, the Kinks, the Yardbirds and the Small Faces & many others. The facility has played host to many sports including local cricket finals, boxing, wrestling, athletics, cycling, lawn tennis, and American football.
On the weekend of 19/20 May 2006, the Irish pop band Westlife and other supporting acts, including Liberty X, Blue's Lee Ryan, and Journey South, performed in front of over 13,000 fans, the biggest concert ever to take place in the city of Lincoln. The event was organised by both Lincoln City and the City Council, with funding and profits being shared between the two. The club actually recorded a £44,000 loss but the venue had been put back on the map for future live events. Since a Bonfire Night 2006 live event has been held, and though on a much smaller scale (over 5,000 spectators), it featured several artists such as Lee Ryan again, former Steps star Lisa Scott-Lee's brother Andy Scott-Lee, Icelandic outfit Nylon, and 2ToGo of X-Factor fame.


As of November 2019, the club is evaluating either redevelopment or moving to increase capacity and facilities at the ground.


The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, or China–North Korea Friendship Bridge, is a bridge across the Yalu or Amnok River on the China–North Korea border. It connects the cities of Dandong in China and Sinuiju of North Korea, by railway and roadway but pedestrians are not allowed to cross between either side. The bridge serves as one of the few ways to enter or leave North Korea.
It was renamed to its current name from the Yalu (Amnok) River Bridge in 1990. The bridge was constructed by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) between April 1937 and May 1943 during its occupation of Korea and its puppet state of Manchukuo (now northeast China). Further downstream, construction work on the New Yalu River Bridge began in October 2010.


Approximately 100 m (110 yd) downstream of this bridge are the remains of an older bridge, now known as the Yalu River Broken Bridge, which was opened to traffic between China and Korea in October 1911. This was later supplemented with the more modern bridge which became operational in 1943. Both bridges were attacked and bombed by American military aircraft throughout most of the Korean War. From November 1950 to February 1951, the United States Air Force (USAF) used B-29 heavy bombers and F-80 fighter-bombers to repeatedly attack and destroy the bridges in an attempt to cut off the flow of Chinese military and troop supplies to the badly weakened North Korean armed forces as well as their own forces fighting alongside them there. Despite the serious difficulties present, the bridges were repeatedly repaired (largely by China). The older bridge from 1911 was left in ruins following its destruction at the hands of the USAF (with North Korea allegedly claiming it would serve as a piece of hard evidence of the US military's destruction of the bridge) and only the newer bridge from 1943 was repaired once again and put back into use at the end of the war in 1953.


The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge and the Broken Bridge are flanked on the Chinese side by parks and promenades which make up the Yalu (Amnok) River Scenic Area. This is a major tourist attraction in China and is rated AAAA on China's national tourist scale. Tourist boats leave from the side of the bridge, allowing visitors to view both bridges and the Dandong riverfront, and pass close to the North Korean waterfront.


The Sint Servaasbrug connects pedestrian traffic from the Binnenstad district of Maastricht on the west bank of the Meuse (the most central part of the city) to the Wyck district on the east bank.
The bridge is made of limestone, and in its current configuration it is 160 metres (525 ft) long and 9 metres (30 ft) wide. Its seven arches each span approximately 12 metres (39 ft), and are supported by seven piers. A separate steel drawbridge with a span of 54.5 metres (178 ft 10 in) connects the east end of the bridge to the east bank of the river.


The Romans built a wooden bridge across the Meuse in what is now Maastricht, in approximately AD 50, and the Latin phrase for "crossing of the Meuse", "mosae trajectum", became the name of the city. For many years this remained the only crossing of the lower Meuse. However, the Roman bridge collapsed in the year 1275 from the weight of a large procession, killing 400 people. Its replacement, the present bridge, was built somewhat to the north of the older crossing between 1280 and 1298; The Roman Catholic Church encouraged its construction by providing indulgences to people who helped build it. The bridge was named in honor of Saint Servatius around this time.
The bridge was renovated in 1680, and in 1825 a wooden strutwork section on the east side of the bridge was replaced by a stone arch. In 1850, as part of the construction of the Maastricht-Liège Canal, a channel was cut on the west side of the bridge.
In the early 1930s the construction of the Wilhelmina Bridge, 300 metres (1,000 ft) downstream relieved the bridge of its function as the city's only river crossing. Thereafter major renovation was performed. The arches were reconstructed in concrete, covered with the original stones. Underwater, counter-arches were constructed to prevent erosion of the river bed on which the bridge was built. Two arches on the eastern end of the bridge were removed and replaced by a vertical-lift bridge. Between the two bridges, on the eastern side of the river, a levee was built to separate the navigable eastern channel from the rest of the river.
During World War II the bridge was severely damaged by the German army as they retreated from the city in 1944, and it was rebuilt in 1948. In 1962, the shipping channel to the east of the bridge was spanned by a steel drawbridge attached to the main bridge.
In 1968 a Dutch postage stamp showing the bridge was issued.


Skånela Church (Swedish: Skånela kyrka) is a medieval Lutheran church in the Archdiocese of Uppsala in Stockholm County, Sweden. It is one of the oldest churches in Stockholm County.


Skånela Church is one of the oldest churches in Stockholm County, erected in the 1160s, and located in a cultural landscape with ancient traditions. There are fifteen runestones located in and in the close vicinity of the church.
The architect may have come from nearby Sigtuna, or possibly Lund; both cities with considerable church building activity during this period. The architect was very probably educated abroad and may have come from present-day Germany. Skånela Church subsequently served as a model for later churches in the area, and its details show that considerable skill and effort was spent on its building. The church may have been erected by a local landowner, most probably the owner of nearby Skånelaholm Castle, who possibly fell out of favour with the ruler, Birger Jarl, as the church appears to have been confiscated and is later (1276) mentioned as being sold to the nearby Sko Abbey (today the parish church of Skokloster Castle).
The church was expanded in the 14th century, when a chapel and a vestry were added. In the 15th century the church was decorated internally with frescos depicting the Coronation of the Virgin. At the same time the tower was raised two storeys. During the 18th century, a burial chapel for the Swedish noble family Jennings was added. The church has been devastated by fire on at least two occasions, in 1642 and 1806, but still retains much of its medieval ambience.


The church is mostly Romanesque in appearance, and is unusually meticulously executed. For example, sandstone has been used for several details rather than the locally more commonly used granite, and other stones appear to have been carefully chosen. The exterior of the church is dominated by the tower, which unusually is situated at the eastern end of the church. There are only two other examples of churches with eastern towers in all of Uppland, all of them Romanesque. The apse and the southern portal are other Romanesque details which are still intact. Later additions to the exterior are in the Gothic style, while the large burial chapel for the Jennings family is from the 18th century. Some of the windows date from after 1806 and were remade following that year's fire.
Internally, the church received vaults during the 15th century and, at the same time, the aforementioned frescos. The church also has a few fragments of earlier frescos, discovered and laid bare during a renovation in 1957. The church houses a wooden carved Madonna covered in gold leaf, from the early 16th century.


The castle was probably built in 1639–1643 and is in a German-Dutch late Renaissance style. It is built of brick, but during a renovation in the 1890s the facade was covered in stucco and the building attained its present ornate decoration, as well as its present colour. It lies on a peninsula in a small lake, Lake Fysingen, and is surrounded by a park. The park was probably laid out in the 18th century and transformed into an English landscape garden during the 19th century. The main building is flanked by four low wings, built during the middle of the 18th century.
The castle contains many preserved historical interiors. The first floor was the main representative floor and contains the dining room, a room of 17th-century character, and a Rococo drawing-room with paintings in the style of François Boucher, possibly painted by Guillaume Taraval. The second floor contains the large library and another drawing-room, called the "blue drawing-room". It contains Empire style furniture, possibly made in Venice.


Skaun Church (Norwegian: Skaun kirke, historically: Venn kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Skaun municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Skaun. It is the church for the Skaun parish which is part of the Orkdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros. The white, stone church was built in a long church style in the year 1183 and designed by an unknown architect. The church seats about 250 people.


The earliest existing historical records of the church date back to the year 1533, but the church was built long before that time. The church was likely established in the late 12th century with construction beginning around the year 1170 and work taking about 20 to 30 years to complete. The church was likely completed and in use by the year 1200. The altarpiece of oak dates from the late 1100s. The church is made out of stone with a wooden roof. Sometime during the second half of the 13th century, the roof was replaced or rebuilt. In 1649, a new tower was constructed on the roof. The pulpit was sculpted in 1665. The church bell dates from 1754. In 1855, a church porch was constructed as part of the main entrance to the church. In 1949, the church porch was rebuilt.


Skenfrith Castle (Welsh: Castell Ynysgynwraidd) is a ruined castle in the village of Skenfrith in Monmouthshire, Wales. The fortification was established by the Normans in the wake of the invasion of England in 1066, to protect the route from Wales to Hereford. Possibly commissioned by William fitz Osbern, the Earl of Hereford, the castle comprised earthworks with timber defences. In 1135, a major Welsh revolt took place and in response King Stephen brought together Skenfrith Castle and its sister fortifications of Grosmont and White Castle to form a lordship known as the "Three Castles", which continued to play a role in defending the region from Welsh attack for several centuries.
At the end of the 12th century, Skenfrith was rebuilt in stone. In 1201, King John gave the castle to a powerful royal official, Hubert de Burgh. During the course of the next few decades, it passed back and forth between several owners, including Hubert, the rival de Braose family, and the Crown. Hubert levelled the old castle and built a new rectangular fortification with round towers and a circular keep. In 1267 it was granted to Edmund, the Earl of Lancaster, and remained in the hands of the earldom, and later duchy, of Lancaster until 1825.
Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1282 removed much of Skenfrith Castle's military utility, and by the 16th century it had fallen into disuse and ruin. The castle was placed into the care of the state by the National Trust in 1936, and is now managed by the Cadw heritage agency.


Skenfrith Castle was built in the wake of the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Shortly after the invasion, the Normans pushed up into the Welsh Marches, where William the Conqueror made William fitz Osbern the Earl of Hereford; Earl William added to his new lands by then capturing the towns of Monmouth and Chepstow. The Normans used castles extensively to militarily subdue the Welsh, establish new settlements and exert their claims of lordship over the territories.
Skenfrith Castle was one of a triangle of fortifications built in the Monnow valley around this time, possibly by Earl William himself, to protect the route from Wales to Hereford. The first castle on the site was built from earth and timber.
The earldom's landholdings in the region were slowly broken up after William's son, Roger de Breteuil, rebelled against the King in 1075. In 1135, a major Welsh revolt took place, however, and in response King Stephen restructured the landholdings along this section of the Marches, bringing together Skenfrith Castle and its sister fortifications of Grosmont and White Castle back under the control of the Crown to form a lordship known as the "Three Castles".
Conflict with the Welsh continued, and following a period of détente under Henry II in the 1160s, the de Mortimer and de Braose Marcher families attacked their Welsh rivals during the 1170s, leading to a Welsh assault on nearby Abergavenny Castle in 1182. In response, the Crown readied the castle to face an attack, and in 1186, £43 was spent developing the defences followed by more work in 1190, probably establishing a stone keep and curtain wall.


In 1201, King John gave the Three Castles to Hubert de Burgh. Hubert was a minor landowner who had become John's household chamberlain when he was still a prince, and went on to become an increasingly powerful royal official once John had inherited the throne. Hubert began to upgrade his new castles, starting with Grosmont, but was captured while fighting in France. While Hubert was in captivity, King John took back the Three Castles and gave them to William de Braose, a rival of Hubert's. King John subsequently fell out with William and dispossessed him of his lands in 1207, but de Braose's son, also called William, took the opportunity presented by the First Barons' War to retake the castles.
Once released, Hubert regained his grip on power, becoming the royal justiciar and being made the Earl of Kent, before finally recovering the Three Castles in 1219 during the reign of King Henry III. During Hubert's tenure, Skenfrith was entirely rebuilt; the old castle was levelled and a new rectangular castle with round towers and a central circular keep was constructed in its place.
Hubert fell from power in 1232 and was stripped of the castles, which were placed under the command of Walerund Teutonicus, a royal servant; having been reconciled with the king in 1234, the castles were returned to him briefly but he fell out with King Henry III again in 1239 and they were taken back once again and assigned to Walerund. Walerund built a new chapel at the castle in 1244, and repaired the keep's roof. In 1254, Skenfrith Castle and its sister fortifications were granted to King Henry's eldest son, and later king, Prince Edward.
The Welsh threat persisted, and in 1262 the castle was readied in response to Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd's attack on Abergavenny in 1262; commanded by its constable Gilbert Talbot, Skenfrith was ordered to be garrisoned "by every man, and at whatever cost". The threat passed without incident.
Edmund, the Earl of Lancaster and the capitaneus of the royal forces in Wales, was given the Three Castles in 1267 and for many centuries they were held by the earldom, later duchy, of Lancaster. Little further work was carried out at Skenfrith, although repairs were carried out to the tower and gates under King Henry VI. King Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1282 had removed much of the castle's military utility, although it continued to be used as an administrative centre. By 1538, Skenfrith Castle had fallen into disuse and then into ruin; a 1613 description noted that it was "ruynous and decayed".


In 1825, the Three Castles were sold off to Henry Somerset, the Duke of Beaufort. It was eventually acquired by the lawyer Harold Sands, who carried out some conservation of the site; he went on to give the castle to the National Trust. Skenfrith was placed into the care of the state in 1936, and extensive repair work was carried out. In the 21st century, Skenfirth Castle is managed by Cadw and protected under UK law as a grade II* listed building.


Skenfrith Castle was constructed alongside the River Monnow. The current castle was created by Hubert de Burgh in the early 13th century, when the earthworks of the 11th-century Norman castle were flattened and spread out over the current site to a depth of 12 feet (3.7 m); the 12th-century stone fortifications and buildings were demolished at the same time. Hubert's castle forms a polygon, with four walls approximately 80 metres, 60 metres, 60 metres and 40 metres (260 ft, 200 ft, 200 ft and 130 ft) long respectively, and was built from Old Red Sandstone. It was originally protected by a stone-revetted, water-filled moat, 9 feet (2.7 m) deep and 46 feet (14 m) wide, fed by the river. The moat is now filled in and grassed over. The castle was entered from the north-west side over a bridge and through a gatehouse, both since destroyed.
The curtain wall survives to a height of up to 5 metres (16 ft 5 in), and was probably originally topped by a 6-foot-high (1.8 m) parapet and protective timber hoarding. The castle had circular towers on each corner, probably only used for storage and defence, of which three still survive, the north-west tower having been reduced to its foundations. A watergate on the eastern side of the castle led down to the Monnow.
A two-storey hall range stretched across the south-western inside of the castle, of which only the foundations now survive. Originally the hall range comprised a long room on the northern end, and a smaller chamber to the south, although the northern section was subsequently subdivided. The floor level of the hall range was later raised due to flooding, with the ground floors being filled in with gravel. The main hall would have been on the first floor, above the surviving ground floor fireplace. The south end of the range held a water reservoir for the castle. On the opposite side of the hall range was a kitchen block, of which nothing now survives above ground.
The three-story circular keep in the middle of the castle is 12 metres (39 ft 4 in) high and 10 metres (32 ft 10 in), across with a protruding staircase tower on its south-western side. It closely resembled similar keeps built during this period in France by Philip II and at Pembroke by William Marshal; its staircase tower was similar to others built across the Welsh Marches at the time, including at Caldicot and Longtown. Earth was piled up around the 2-metre (6 ft 7 in) plinth at the base of the keep, probably to defend the base of the walls, with the result closely resembling a motte. Originally it would have been topped with defensive wooden hoarding, with an external wooden staircase reaching up to the entrance on the first floor: the current, ground floor entrance was cut out of its walls at a later date. The basement was accessed by a trapdoor and used as a storeroom. The first floor chamber would have been an antechamber, while the second floor chamber was fitted with windows, a large fireplace and a private latrine, and would have provided living accommodation for the lord.


Knight 2009, pp. 3–4
Knight 2009, p. 3
Davies 2006, pp. 41–44
Knight 2009, p. 4
Knight 2009, p. 5; Holden 2008, p. 143
Pounds 1994, p. 147
Knight 2009, p. 5
Knight 2009, p. 7
Knight 2009, p. 7; West, F. J. (2008), "Burgh, Hubert de, earl of Kent (c.1170–1243), justiciar" (Online ed.), Oxford University Press
Radford 1962, p. 4; Knight 2009, p. 7
Knight 2009, pp. 10–11
Knight 2009, p. 11
Knight 2009, p. 12; Taylor 1961, p. 174
Knight 2009, p. 14
Knight 2009, pp. 12–13
Knight 2009, p. 15
Radford 1959, p. 3
Cadw. "Skenfrith Castle (Grade II*) (2083)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
Knight 2009, pp. 27–28
Knight 2009, pp. 27–28
Knight 2009, p. 27
Knight 2009, p. 28
Knight 2009, pp. 28–29
Knight 2009, p. 29
Knight 2009, p. 33
Knight 2009, p. 34
Knight 2009, pp. 34–35
Knight 2009, p. 30
Knight 2009, p. 32; Goodall 2011, p. 181
Knight 2009, p. 30
Knight 2009, p. 30; Radford 1959, p. 6


The Skopje Aqueduct (Macedonian: Скопски аквадукт, Albanian: Akudukti) is an aqueduct and archaeological site located in the neighbourhood of Vizbegovo 2 km (1.2 mi) northwest of central Skopje, North Macedonia. The Skopje Aqueduct is the only aqueduct in Macedonia, and one of three largest and well preserved in the former Yugoslavia along with Diocletianus Aqueduct near Split, Croatia and Bar Aqueduct in Montenegro.


Sky Meadows State Park is a 1,862-acre (754 ha) park in the Virginia state park system. It is located in extreme northwest Fauquier County, Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains, near Paris, Virginia. It is about an hour outside of the Washington, D.C. metro region.
The park was formed when Paul Mellon donated 1,132 acres (458 ha) of land in 1975. The name Sky Meadows came from former owner Sir Robert Hadow, who named the property "Skye Farm" after an island in Scotland. It has expanded its borders twice since then—248 acres (100 ha) were added in 1987, containing the Appalachian Trail, and in 1991 Mellon donated an additional 462 acres (187 ha), bringing the park to its present size.
It is located near Paris, Virginia off US 17, one mile (1.6 km) south of US 50 and seven miles (11 km) north of Interstate 66.
It starts in a valley between the foothills and the Blue Ridge Mountains, then has meadows and forests stretching up to the ridge of the mountain and the Appalachian Trail.
There is a basic walk-in campground, over 12 miles (19 km) of hiking trails and 6 miles (10 km) of bridle paths. The horse trails are east of US 17 and the hiking trails (and most of the park) is west of US 17.
With a combination of meadows, grazed fields, forest, scrub, and streams, it has a wide variety of ecological zones.
Most of the year, there are monthly "astronomy nights" where amateur astronomers bring their telescopes and use them to show attendees various celestial objects. Typically, an astronomer from the Smithsonian Institution is among the leaders.
Sky Meadows is a year-round bird watching site. It is known for a colony of red-headed woodpeckers that live in an oak grove just past the contact station. Depending on the time of the year, it is almost certain that this and the other six species of woodpeckers—downy, hairy, red-bellied, yellow-bellied sapsucker, pileated, and northern flicker—commonly found in this part of Virginia will be present.
Except for "astronomy nights", the park closes at dusk, and campers must be in the park and others out of the park at that time.


Mt. Bleak-Skye Farm is a national historic district located in Sky Meadows State Park. The district encompasses 23 contributing buildings including barns, 1 contributing site, and 3 contributing structures dating between 1780 and 1954. The oldest is the 1+1⁄2-story, Wayside Cottage dated to about 1780. It also includes the Timberlake farmstead (c. 1860), Federal-style Mount Bleak mansion (c. 1843), and the frame Meeting House (c. 1845).
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.


William Sykes (1500–1577) migrated from Cumberland to the West Riding of Yorkshire, where he and his son became wealthy cloth traders. Daniel Sykes (b.1632) was the first member of the family to begin trading in Hull and made a fortune from shipping and finance. Richard Sykes (1678–1726) concentrated on the flourishing Baltic trade in pig iron and the wealth of the family was built on this in the first half of the eighteenth century. His son Sir Richard Sykes (1706–1761) married Mary Kirkby, sister of Mark Kirby, and heiress to the Sledmere estate.
In 1751, Sir Richard Sykes demolished the previous Manor House at Sledmere, which had existed since medieval times, and built a new mansion. He also planted some 20,000 trees on the Wolds about his new home. He left no male heir however and on his death the estate passed to his brother Mark Sykes (1711–1783). Sir Mark's son, Sir Christopher Sykes, 2nd Baronet (1749–1801), MP for Beverley, greatly expanded the estate. He and his wife bought and enclosed huge areas of land for cultivation, built two new wings to the house, and landscaped the grounds, planting 2,500 acres (10 km²) of trees. The entire village of Sledmere was moved. Sir Christopher left a vast estate of nearly 30,000 acres (120 km²) and a large mansion set in its own 200 acres (0.8 km²) of parkland, which survives in the family to the present day. Sir Christopher also employed Joseph Rose, the most celebrated plasterer of his day, to decorate Sledmere. The result has been called among the finest plaster-work in England.
A catastrophic fire in 1911 left the building a shell and destroyed the Adam-style 1790s interiors. It is said that Sir Tatton Sykes, 5th Baronet, was too busy eating one of the milk puddings - to which he was addicted - to pay much attention, but villagers and estate workers loyally rescued pictures, statues and furniture, china and carpets, and even doors and banisters, including the house's 1780 copy of the Apollo Belvedere. The roof fell in a few moments later. The original designs for the interiors had survived however, and the house was then restored. Sir Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet, inherited the estate after his father.
Nowadays, land tied to this manor is used as the festival site for Tribfest, a music festival featuring tribute bands of many famous artists from around the world, alive or dead. This was started in 2007 and has been hosted at the fields surrounding Sledmere House every year since then. The year of 2020 happens to be an exception, where that year's festival was called off due to the Covid-19 pandemic.


Slender West Lake (Chinese: 瘦西湖; pinyin: Shòuxīhú) is a scenic lake and AAAAA Tourist Attraction and national park in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China. Specifically, it is located in Hanjiang District of Yangzhou, just northwest of the city's historic center.
The lake is long and slender, giving it its name.


A long bank planted with weeping willows spans the lake; at its midpoint stands a square terrace with pavilions at each of the corners and one in the center. Around the lake is a park in which are found several attractions: Lotus Flower Pagoda (Lianhua SO, a white structure reminiscent of the White Pagoda (Baita) in Beijing's Beihai Park; Small Gold Mountain (Xiao Jin Shan); and the Fishing Platform (Diaoyutai), a favorite retreat of the Qianlong Emperor. The emperor was so gratified by his luck in fishing at this spot that he ordered additional stipends for the town. As it turns out, his success had been augmented by local swimmers who lurked in the lake busily attaching fish to his hook.


The Slender West Lake's southern end is near the northwestern corner of Yangzhou's historic city center (the former walled city). From this point, the Erdaohe Canal runs south, along the western edge of the former walled city to the Hehuachi ("Lotus Pond") at the old city's southwest corner; the Hehuachi is in its turn connected by the short Erdiaohe Canal with the Old Grand Canal of China.
Another canal, Huchenghe ("the City Moat") runs east from the Slender West Lake's southern end; at its eastern end, it also connect to the Old Grand Canal. A parallel canal farther to the north, the Caohe, connects the Slender West Lake with the Old Grand Canal as well.


Slettnes Lighthouse (Norwegian: Slettnes fyr) is the northernmost mainland lighthouse on Earth.  It is located in Gamvik Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway.  It sits along the Barents Sea approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of the village of Gamvik on the northern coast of the Nordkinn Peninsula, within the Slettnes Nature Reserve.  The 39-metre (128 ft) lighthouse is the only cast iron lighthouse in Finnmark county.
This is the easternmost of the three Nordkapp area lighthouses, and it is often considered the North Cape Light, marking the "top" of Europe. Fruholmen Lighthouse is located about 500 metres (0.31 mi) farther north, on the island of Ingøya, but the Slettnes Lighthouse is the northernmost lighthouse on the mainland of Scandinavia.


This lighthouse was built from 1903 to 1905.  The round cast iron tower is 39 metres (128 ft) tall and it is painted red with two white horizontal bands.  The light on top emits one long (2.5 sec) white flash every 20 seconds.  The light burns from 12 August until 24 April each year.  It doesn't burn during the summer due to the midnight sun.  In 1922 the lighthouse got a foghorn with a siren, which gave a signal every thirty seconds, helping in fog and bad visibility.  The foghorn could be heard in form of a one to two tone signal with a range of 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi). The fog horn was in use until 1985.
The lighthouse was heavily damaged during World War II by German troops, but it was painstakingly restored after the war.  The restored station was designed by architects Blakstad and Munthe-Kaas and it was completed in 1948. The station is owned by the Kystverket and managed by Gamvik Municipality as a tourist center, and overnight accommodations are available in the station buildings. In 1998, the lighthouse was listed as a heritage site. The lighthouse was automated in 2005.


The 1837 Ordnance Survey Ireland 6" map shows no indication of any archaeological features atop the hill, but in 1950, when the Holy Year Cross was raised on the hilltop, skeletal remains were uncovered. This suggests that a passage grave once sat atop the hill.
Passage graves are usually cairns containing a passage leading to a central corbelled-roofed chamber, which is sometimes a cruciform shape. Passage graves are sometimes found in prominent locations, such as on hill-tops. Generally speaking, the less complex the passage tomb the older it is.


The Smíchov Synagogue is the only functionalist synagogue in Prague; it was reconstructed to this style in 1931. After the World War II, the building was used for secular purposes because the Smíchov Jewish community ceased to exist in the Shoah. In the present, the building is used for an archive of the Jewish Museum in Prague.


The first synagogue of the Smíchov Jewish community was in ruins and dangerous for its visitors after only three years of use. The Jewish Community, indebted since the original building project and totally unprepared for another expense, gained financial means to replace the ruin with a new synagogue from Franz Ringhoffer II, Smíchov mayor, businessman (founder of the important Smíchov railway car factory) and surprisingly enough, a gentile.
The building was finished on 30 August 1863. Its outside was built in Romanesque Revival style while the inner space was formed in Moorish Revival style. The Smíchov Jewish Community belonged to reform rite; therefore there was a pump organ in the synagogue, yet later it was replaced by more representative organ. Capacity of the synagogue was more than 180 seats for men and about 140 seats for women. As for size, the synagogue was much smaller than synagogues in traditional areas of Jewish settlement – for instance, the Spanish Synagogue in Josefov, former Prague Jewish ghetto, has about 800 seats and seats of the Smíchov Synagogue would fill only the women section of this synagogue. The reason is plain enough – development of Jewish community in Smíchov was tightly interconnected with a boom of industry in Smíchov in the 19th century.
In 1897, the central government of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire failed to enforce a law that would guarantee equal rights to Czech- and German-speaking people. This unwelcome result caused riots in numerous Czech towns and cities including Prague and its vicinity. The violence was aimed against the considerable German population of the Czech lands and also against Jews who were considered pro-German at large. Before the rampages were suppressed, also by the aid of martial law, the Smíchov synagogue had been severely damaged. The situation was apparently so grave that also The New York Times informed about it.


Since the 1920s the Smíchov Jewish Community had looked for a site to build a new synagogue but because they did not succeed, they decided to rebuild the existing one. A modern purist design of 1930–31 by Leopold Ehrmann gave the synagogue a functionalist outside; the inner space was probably designed in Art Nouveau style. However, the renovated synagogue served religious purposes for only a decade.
In 1941, Nazi administrative of the country decided to use the building for storage of confiscated properties. After the World War II, the Smíchov Jewish Community was not re-established and the building passed to hands of a near factory Tatra, which used it as a warehouse. Some structural interventions were made (new concrete floor, change of storey disposition and construction of elevator), they caused damage to the synagogue and in 1986 it was proposed that it be demolished. This decision was not carried out, only because the synagogue was enlisted among historical architectural monuments.
After the Velvet Revolution, in 1990, the synagogue became a property of the Prague Jewish Community, which hired it to Jewish Museum in Prague in 1998. During following five years the synagogue was completely reconstructed. Nowadays, the Museum uses the building as an archive and a reading room. Self-supported structure provides space for this purpose, while the original disposition and decoration remains intact.


Quotation over the arcade attracts much attention. At the northern side there is "Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near" (Isaiah 57,19) in Czech, and at the western side "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 4,6) in Hebrew. Gematrical value of the Hebrew inscription hints at date of reconstruction of the synagogue (5)691/1931.


CHRASTILOVÁ, Jiřina, Zlomky z židovské Prahy, Praha: Havran, 2014, s. 206–208.
KIEVAL, Hillel J., The making of Czech Jewry: National Conflict and Jewish Society in Bohemia, 1870–1918, New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
pořad Českého rozhlasu Vltava Synagogy Čech, Moravy a Slezska (5. část), jenž připravila Vladimíra LUKAŘOVÁ (odvysíláno v roce 2010).
Kieval, Hillel J. (1988). The making of Czech Jewry: National Conflict and Jewish Society in Bohemia, 1870–1918. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 72.
"Prague. Dec. 2.—Partial law has been declared" (PDF). The New York Times. 2 December 1897.
Frank Forrest (19 June 2003). "Smichov's historical holdout". The Prague Post. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016.


The Small Basilica of Philippopolis (Bulgarian: Малка базилика на Филипопол, Malka bazilika na Filipopol) is one of Plovdiv's most distinctive landmarks. The basilica is located on Maria Louisa Blvd in the central part of Bulgaria's second-largest city. The ruins of the early Christian church were found during construction works in the area in 1988. The three-nave basilica is an example of the exceptional skill of mosaic builders in ancient Philippopolis.


The basilica was built in the second half of the 5th century AD and contained rich architectural decoration including a marble colonnade between the naves, a marble altar screen, a pulpit, and a synthronon in the altar apse. The total length of the building is 20 m and its width is 13 m. Originally, it was built as a three-nave basilica with one apse and a narthex. The floors are covered with colorful Roman mosaics with geometrical motifs. A small chapel is built against the south end of the basilica and a baptistery is attached to the northern part of the building. The total length of the church is 20 m and its width is 13 m. The baptistery has a square plan, and contains a cruciform baptizing pool and polychromatic mosaics. Deers, pigeons, and other Christian symbols were depicted on them.


1988 - The ruins of the early Christian basilica were accidentally discovered during the construction of an apartment block in the area.
1993-1994 -  A team from the National Monuments of Culture Institute removed and put in storage about half of the mosaics, leaving and conserving the rest in situ.
1995 - The basilica and the adjacent remains of ancient fortification wall were declared a national monument of culture.
2000 - Some of the mosaics were restored by the archeologist Mina Bospachieva and the restorationist Elena Kantareva-Decheva.
2010 - A thorough conservation and restoration project was initiated with the financial support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria, and the Plovdiv Municipality.
2013 - The restored small basilica was inaugurated.
2014 - The small basilica opened to the public on 1 May.


Snapper Rocks is a small rocky outcrop on the northern side of Point Danger at the southern end of Rainbow Bay on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is a famous surf break and today the start of the large sand bank known to surfers as the Superbank.


It is believed that Snapper Rocks were named by W.L. Edwardson, captain of HM Colonial Cutter Snapper which passed by Point Danger in July 1822.


Snapper is a point break, which as of 2007, forms the first part of the man-made "Superbank" surf break.
Since 1995 the Tweed River sand bypass system has pumped sand from the Tweed River mouth to beaches to the north to ensure the river mouth is safe for shipping, and to stabilise coastal erosion north of the river. This has resulted in a large build-up of sand between Snapper Rocks to Kirra, which as of 2007, has extended the beaches in this area seawards around 100-200m, and created a new, world-class sandbar surf break called "the Superbank".
The Superbank extends from Snapper Rocks Point, through Rainbow Bay, Greenmount Point, Coolangatta Beach, and Kirra, for a distance of around 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). Multiple barrel sections can now occur at any point along this length. The quality of the surf in the first 4 of these sections has markedly improved since the 1990s, creating one of the longest, hollowest and best waves in the world. However, the quality of the last section, Kirra, which has long been regarded as one of the world's best waves prior to the formation of the Superbank, has suffered. There have been calls to modify aspects of the sand bypass system to attempt to restore Kirra to its former quality, although exactly how this is to be done is not clear. It is possible that an optimum, medium build-up of sand (such as was reportedly the state in the early 2000s) may create the longest and best waves over the entire length, including Kirra.
The sheer quality of the man-made wave has greatly increased the level of surf tourism in the region, which has also resulted in extreme crowding of the wave. On a good day, over 500 surfers can be counted over the 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) distance, with multiple drop-ins.


In 1956 Jack Evans built the Snapper Rocks Sea Baths, with an adjacent shark pool for public viewing.  Later that year the Boyd brothers, local fishermen, caught two bottlenose dolphins in the Terranora Creek which Evans took and put in the pool for the Jack Evans Porpoise Pool show. The pools moved to the mouth of the Tweed River near to Duranbah beach in 1961. Only remnants of the pools remain today.


Soap Lake is a meromictic soda lake in the town of Soap Lake, Washington formed by the Missoula Floods at the foot of the Grand Coulee. The lake gets its name from the naturally occurring foam that gives its water a soapy appearance, and because the lake's mineral-rich waters have a slick, soapy feel. The lake is approximately 2 square miles (5.2 km²) in area and 70 feet (21 m) deep.


Soap Lake's mineral-rich waters have long been thought to have medicinal value. In fact, it is said that rival Indian tribes would call a truce when they came to Soap Lake to relax and heal themselves and their animals. This is verified by recorded history and the number of Indian artifacts found in the area over the years. Washington State tourist guides in the 1920s referred to Soap Lake as the "world's greatest mineral sea" and people afflicted with Buerger's disease said that bathing in the lake cured their illness. The city of Soap Lake bills itself as "Washington's Health Resort".
There are 23 different minerals in Soap Lake water. Water quality assays conducted since 1910 to test the mineral content of Soap Lake water have shown that the mineral content of the lake has declined. Although it is not known what causes the foam, its quantity has declined since the construction of canals linking Soap Lake to upstream lakes and the Grand Coulee Dam. It is now rare to see any foam except on windy days.
However, compared to the ocean and other known naturally occurring mineral resources in the world, Soap Lake still has the highest diverse mineral content of any body of water on the planet. Soap Lake water also contains ichthyols, an oil-like substance sold over the counter in Europe to treat infections and abrasions. The ichthyol in Soap Lake water most likely come from decomposition of tiny brine-like red shrimp that flourish in the water from late spring to mid-summer. Like the Dead Sea, the high mineral content of the lake makes the water very buoyant.
The alkalinity of the lake is similar to that found on the moons of Jupiter. Because of this, in 2002 the National Science Foundation awarded a grant to researchers from Central Washington University to study the lake to learn about the possibility of life on Mars.


As of 2000:
Less than 0.01 mg/l of aluminum, iron, copper, rubidium, lithium, strontium, barium, chromium, lead, manganese, titanium, vanadium, and boron.


Sobroso Castle (Spanish: Castillo de Sobroso, Galician: Castelo de Sobroso) is a medieval castle in the village of Vilasobroso in Galicia, Spain.


The castle is located in Vilasobroso, a village in the municipality of Mondariz, belonging to the comarca of O Condado. It sits on Landín Hill, overlooking the Condado valley, right up to the Portuguese border. Due to its strategic position, the castle was known as "the key of the Kingdom of Galicia".