Mar 13, 2014
Florence, Saturday, January 18, 2014
Florence, the home of Dante (father of the Italian language), the city of the Medici (patrons of the arts and literature) and a melting pot of humanist art, Florence occupies a magnificent setting best viewed from the Fiesole or San Miniato hills. The panorama takes in the red cupola of the Duomo, the white and green marble Giotto campanile and the stone bell tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, as well as the Arno river, the medieval Ponte Vecchio and the ochre- and grey-coloured palaces of the city.'
We were staying at Hotel Crocini, situated in an old Palazzo, in walking distance from the center.
At the first morning of our visit, we walked along the Arno to the city center.
Ponto Vecchio
Ponto Vecchio
Ponte Santa Trinita
A Ponto Vecchio jeweller outside his shop. The houses on the bridge were initially used as workshops and a diverse array of shopkeepers such as butchers and tanners did business here. In 1593 duke Ferdinand I decided to replace them with goldsmiths, reportedly because the shops produced too much garbage and caused a foul stench – also at this time pollution was a problem.
Placa Signiori with Palazzo Vecchio
Cosimo I at Placa Signiori
The entrance to Palazzo Vecchio
Loggia dei Lanzi
The town hall
The rooms of Palazzo Vecchio was decorated with frescos
Palazzo Vecchio has a collection of old maps, on one of these Lisbeth found the island where we live: Lange Landt (Langeland – The Long Island) – also at that time the centre of the world
We went up the many stairs to the viewing platform of the Campanile of the Palazzo
Arno in the foreground Oltrarno (on the other side of Arno) and the San Miniato al Monte church in the background
View towards the Arno
Duomo
Loggia dei Lanzi
Giotto's Duomo Campanile
Duomo - The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (English: Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower)
The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery
Inside the Duomo
Scooters are a favourite for transportation
Feb 3, 2014
Hiking at Kruja, Albania, Saturday, 14 December 2013
We walked from Kruje to Mount Krujë.
Krujë is at an altitude of 600 mon the foot of Mount Krujë (Albanian: Mali i Krujës) of the Krujë Gorge, while south and west of the town is found the plain of the Ishëm River.
Inhabited by the Illyrian tribe of the Albani, in 1190 Krujë became the capital of the first autonomous Albanian state in the middle ages. Later it was the capital of the Kingdom of Albania, while in the early 15th century Krujë was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, but then recaptured in 1443 by Skanderbeg, leader of the League of Lezhë, who successfully defended it against three Ottoman sieges until his death in 1468.
The Ottomans took control of the town after the fourth siege in 1478, and incorporated it in their territories.
Albania’s No 1 hero is George Kastrioti Skanderbeg; 1405 –1468
Skanderbeg was born in 1405to the noble Kastrioti family, in a village in Dibra. Sultan Murad II took him hostage in 1423 and he served the Ottoman Empire during the next twenty years. He was appointed as the governor of the Sanjak of Dibra by the Ottomans in 1440. In 1443, he deserted the Ottomans during the Battle of Niš and became the ruler of Krujë, Svetigrad and Modrič. In 1444, he initiated and organized the League of Lezhë, which proclaimed him Chief of the League of the Albanian people, and defended the region of Albania against the Ottoman Empire for more than two decades. Skanderbeg's rebellion was not a general uprising of Albanians. People from the big cities in Albania on the Ottoman-controlled south and Venetian-controlled north did not support him while his followers were of different ethnicity including Albanians, Slavs, Vlachs and Greeks-
Skanderbeg's military skills presented a major obstacle to Ottoman expansion, and he was considered by many in western Europe to be a model of Christian resistance against the Ottoman Muslims. Skanderbeg is Albania's most important national hero and a key figure of the Albanian National Awakening.
The castle of Kruje – Skanderbeg’s Kastle
Endrit was asked to take a photo a family on their way hiking down to Kruja
The Family on their way down the track
Sari Saltik is a 13th-century semi-legendary Turkish dervish, venerated as a saint by the Bektashis in the Balkans and parts of Middle East.
On the top of the mountain was a sacred place of the Bektashi Order
The Bektashi Order, or the ideology of Bektashism, is an Islamic Sufi order founded in the 13th century by the Wali (saint) Haji Bektash Veli. The order is particularly found throughout Anatolia and the Balkans.
The mystical practices and rituals of the Bektashi order were systematized and structured by Balim Sultan in the 16th century after which many of the order's distinct practices and beliefs took shape.
A large number of academics consider Bektashism to have fused a number of Sunni, Shia and Sufi concepts, although the order contains rituals and doctrines that are distinct unto itself. Throughout its history Bektashis have always had wide appeal and influence among both the Ottoman intellectual elite as well as the peasantry.
The Bektashi order was widespread in the Ottoman Empire. The order had close ties with the Janissary corps, the bulk of the Ottoman Army. With the abolition of Janissaries, the Bektashi order was banned throughout Ottoman Empire by Sultan Mahmud II in 1826. This decision was supported by the Sunni religious elite
After the foundation of republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk banned all Sufi orders and shut down the lodges in 1925. Consequently, the Bektashi leadership moved to Albania and established their headquarters in the city of Tirana.
Top of the mountain was a plateau
View over the landscape on the other side
Back in Kruja we took a walk to the bazar and the castle
The bazar street from the castle
View from the castle
View over Kruja from the castle
Albania’s No 1 hero is George Kastrioti Skanderbeg; 1405 –1468
Skanderbeg was born in 1405to the noble Kastrioti family, in a village in Dibra. Sultan Murad II took him hostage in 1423 and he served the Ottoman Empire during the next twenty years. He was appointed as the governor of the Sanjak of Dibra by the Ottomans in 1440. In 1443, he deserted the Ottomans during the Battle of Niš and became the ruler of Krujë, Svetigrad and Modrič. In 1444, he initiated and organized the League of Lezhë, which proclaimed him Chief of the League of the Albanian people, and defended the region of Albania against the Ottoman Empire for more than two decades. Skanderbeg's rebellion was not a general uprising of Albanians. People from the big cities in Albania on the Ottoman-controlled south and Venetian-controlled north did not support him while his followers were of different ethnicity including Albanians, Slavs, Vlachs and Greeks-
Skanderbeg's military skills presented a major obstacle to Ottoman expansion, and he was considered by many in western Europe to be a model of Christian resistance against the Ottoman Muslims. Skanderbeg is Albania's most important national hero and a key figure of the Albanian National Awakening.
The castle of Kruje – Skanderbeg’s Kastle
Endrit was asked to take a photo a family on their way hiking down to Kruja
The Family on their way down the track
Sari Saltik is a 13th-century semi-legendary Turkish dervish, venerated as a saint by the Bektashis in the Balkans and parts of Middle East.
On the top of the mountain was a sacred place of the Bektashi Order
The Bektashi Order, or the ideology of Bektashism, is an Islamic Sufi order founded in the 13th century by the Wali (saint) Haji Bektash Veli. The order is particularly found throughout Anatolia and the Balkans.
The mystical practices and rituals of the Bektashi order were systematized and structured by Balim Sultan in the 16th century after which many of the order's distinct practices and beliefs took shape.
A large number of academics consider Bektashism to have fused a number of Sunni, Shia and Sufi concepts, although the order contains rituals and doctrines that are distinct unto itself. Throughout its history Bektashis have always had wide appeal and influence among both the Ottoman intellectual elite as well as the peasantry.
The Bektashi order was widespread in the Ottoman Empire. The order had close ties with the Janissary corps, the bulk of the Ottoman Army. With the abolition of Janissaries, the Bektashi order was banned throughout Ottoman Empire by Sultan Mahmud II in 1826. This decision was supported by the Sunni religious elite
After the foundation of republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk banned all Sufi orders and shut down the lodges in 1925. Consequently, the Bektashi leadership moved to Albania and established their headquarters in the city of Tirana.
Top of the mountain was a plateau
View over the landscape on the other side
Back in Kruja we took a walk to the bazar and the castle
The bazar street from the castle
View from the castle
View over Kruja from the castle
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