The worlds largest water wheel, Laxey

The Laxey Wheel (also known as Lady Isabella) is a large waterwheel built in the village of Laxey in the Isle of Man. Designed by Robert Casement, it has a 72-foot-6-inch (22.1 m) diameter, is 6 feet (1.83 m) wide and revolves at approximately three revolutions per minute. It was built in 1854 to pump water from the mineshafts and named "Lady Isabella" after the wife of Lieutenant Governor Charles Hope who was the island's governor at that time. The Laxey Wheel is the largest working waterwheel in the world. The wheel was used to pump water from the Glen Mooar part of the ‘Great Laxey Mines’ industrial complex.

The Laxey Wheel — World's Largest Working Waterwheel. Photo — Link

The 150th anniversary of the Lady Isabella was celebrated by the people of Laxey with a grand Fayre on Saturday 24 September 2004. It is currently maintained by Manx National Heritage as part of the Great Laxey Wheel & Mines Trail. The Wheel features today on the reverse side of the £20 notes issued by the Isle of Man Government.

Victoria Falls Amazing Photos

Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya [Tokaleya Tonga: The Smoke that Thunders] is a waterfall in southern Africa on the Zambezi River at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European to view Victoria Falls on 16 November 1855 from what is now known as Livingstone Island, one of two land masses in the middle of the river, immediately upstream from the falls on the Zambian side. Livingstone named his discovery in honour of Queen Victoria, but the indigenous name, Mosi-oa-Tunya—"the smoke that thunders"—continues in common usage as well. The nearby national park in Zambia, for example, is named Mosi-oa-Tunya, whereas the national park and town on the Zimbabwean shore are both named Victoria Falls. The World Heritage List officially recognizes both names.

Victoria Falls Aerial View Photo — Link

While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is classified as the largest, based on its width of 1,708 metres (5,604 ft) and height of 108 metres (354 ft), resulting in the world's largest sheet of falling water. Victoria Falls is roughly twice the height of North America's Niagara Falls and well over twice the width of its Horseshoe Falls. In height and width Victoria Falls is rivalled only by Argentina and Brazil's Iguazu Falls.

Country Borders Photos

An interesting collection of country borders photos, from which you will learn how to look borders of neighboring countries, The boundary between some countries - it is only a symbolic line separating pedestrian sidewalk cafes, house and among others - is a high fence with barbed wire. 

Germany / Czech Republic

Germany and Czech Republic Country Border

Afghanistan In 2013 Pictures

US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan began in earnest in 2011 with President Obama's announcement in June. 10,000 troops were removed by the end of summer 2011, 23,000 additional troops by the end of summer 2012, and troops continue to come home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move to protect their own country. The mission changes from "combat" to "support." By 2014, that transition will be complete with the Afghans responsible for their own security, but US troops will remain in country. How many is unclear. In this post, we share images from February in country (and a few from January 31st.) -

National Archives Photos Ang Big Pictures

“Searching for the Seventies” takes a new look at the 1970s using remarkable color photographs taken for a Federal photography project called Project DOCUMERICA (1971-1977). Created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), DOCUMERICA was born out of the decade’s environmental awakening, producing striking photographs of many of that era’s environmental problems and achievements. Drawing its inspiration from the depression era Farm Security Administration photography project, project photographers created a portrait of America in the early-and-mid-1970s. They documented small Midwestern towns, barrios in the Southwest, and coal mining communities in Appalachia. Their assignments were as varied as African American life in Chicago, urban renewal in Kansas City, commuters in Washington, DC, and migrant farm workers in Colorado. The exhibit, featuring 90 images from the project opens March 8, 2013 at the National Archives in Washington D.C. It runs through September 8, 2013. What follows is a small sampling of the collection digitized by the National Archives.

Amazing Cultures Lists From Around The World

A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture.

Everybody knows the most famous  monuments in the world, Anyhow, here you will find some if not all most famous monuments around the world as well as some not everybody knows. Each of these cultural icons is a symbol with various meanings, it may represent an epoch, an area, a belief, a culture, a country or a city.

1. The Kaaba (Masjid al-Haram)

The Kaaba (Masjid al-Haram) is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Quran states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic), and his son Ishmael (Ismaeel in Arabic), after the latter had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. This is called facing the Qiblah.

One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime if able to do so. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to walk seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed from above). This circumambulation, the Tawaf, is also performed by pilgrims during the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage). However, the most dramatic times are during the Hajj, when about 6 million pilgrims gather to circle the building on the same day.