© www.anniewrightphotography
Photographing Portals
According to physicist Jack Scudder, portals do exist. "They're places where the magnetic field of Earth connects to the magnetic field of the Sun, creating an uninterrupted path leading from…
© www.anniewrightphotography.com
Here lies Samuel Palache
Here lies Samuel Palache (c. 1550-1622) at the Jewish Cemetery in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, the Netherlands. Born in Fes (Morocco) to a family that came from Islamic Spain, Palache…
Photo: Arti
Delighted to be a member of Arti et Amicitiae
I'm delighted to have been chosen as a member of the visual arts club Arti et Amicitiae. The name means art and friendship, which neatly encompasses the flavour of the…
© www.anniewrightphotography.com
The Kingdom of Heaven at St Magnus Cathedral
A crown, the enticing offer of the Kingdom of Heaven adorning a 17th century tomb at St Magnus Cathedral on Orkney. What I particularly like about this is the tomb’s three dimensional realism where the extended arm neatly balances the crown on its dainty finger tips. Naturally there is a Christian message here, which aims to cajole the viewer into sticking to the straight and narrow rather than succumbing to devilish delights.
St. Magnus Cathedral – the red cathedral – dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the largest town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is also the most northerly cathedral in Britain, a fine example of Romanesque architecture built for bishops when the islands were ruled by the Norse Earls of Orkney. It is owned not by the church, but by the burgh of Kirkwall as a result of an act of King James III of Scotland following Orkney’s annexation by the Scottish Crown in 1468. It has also its own dungeon, presumably for those indulging in sinful practices. (more…)
© www.anniewrightphotography.com
Sad Jesus and the Great Hunger
Sad Jesus by the holy well at the Deserted Village on Achill Island in Ireland. The Deserted Village consists of some 80 to 100 ruined stone cottages located along a mile long stretch of road on the southern slopes of the Slievemore mountain. Its atmosphere is unique: a feeling of almost intruding on those who lived there and the overall air of mystery of why did they leave? The answer is that the village was gradually abandoned during the mid-19th century because of the many evictions for non-payment of rent to the local landlord, the Great Hunger and the emigration throughout the successive years. (more…)
© www.anniewrightphotography.com
Inside the Broch of Gurness
Inside the Broch of Gurness is an elegantly curved staircase dating from somewhere between 500 BC and 100 AD. People lived here and fought off attacks on the remote island of Mainland (Orkney), where the known world mainly comprised Norway to the north and Scotland and England to the south. (more…)
© www.anniewrightphotography.com - Betty Corrigall's Grave
Betty Corrigall’s Grave
Betty Corrigall’s grave is possibly the loneliest place in the world. As a young woman in the late 18th century, she was abandoned by her lover when he discovered she was pregnant.
Shunned by the local community and with no way out, Betty killed both herself and her unborn child. Their grave is located on wild and unconsecrated moorland on the Orcadian island of Hoy. (more…)
Glendalough
If I Could, Glendalough Is Where I Would Be
If I could, Glendalough is where I would be. Away from the internet and its terrifying news…
Delicate as a Fra Angelico fresco, part of a ruined hunting lodge in Ireland.
Delicate as a Fra Angelico Fresco
Delicate as a Fra Angelico fresco, part of a ruined hunting lodge in County Mayo, Ireland.
© www.anniewrightphotography.com
The Ibn Talun Mosque in Cairo, Egypt
The Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo
![The Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo. An oasis of peace in the midst of one of the craziest cities in the world. ©www.anniewrightphotography.com Read more: The Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Ţūlūn (Arabic: مسجد أحمد بن طولون) is located in Cairo, Egypt. It is arguably the oldest mosque in the city surviving in its original form, and is the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area. The mosque was commissioned by Ahmad ibn Ţūlūn, the Abbassid governor of Egypt from 868–884 whose rule was characterized by de facto independence. The historian al-Maqrizi lists the mosque's construction start date as 876 AD,[1] and the mosque's original inscription slab identifies the date of completion as 265 AH, or 879 AD. The mosque was constructed on a small hill called Gebel Yashkur, "The Hill of Thanksgiving." One local legend says that it is here that Noah's Ark came to rest after the Deluge, instead of at Mount Ararat.[2] The grand ceremonial mosque was intended as the focal point of Ibn Ţūlūn's capital, al-Qatta'i, which served as the center of administration for the Tulunid dynasty. The mosque originally was backed by ibn Ţūlūn's palace, and a door adjacent to the minbar allowed him direct entry to the mosque. Al-Qatta'i was razed in the early 10th century, AD, and the mosque is the only surviving structure. The mosque was constructed in the Samarran style common with Abbasid constructions. The mosque is constructed around a courtyard, with one covered hall on each of the four sides, the largest being on the side of the qibla, or direction to Mecca. The original mosque had its ablution fountain (sabil) in the area between the inner and outer walls. A distinctive sabil with a high drum dome was added in the central courtyard at the end of the thirteenth century by the Sultan Lajīn. There is significant controversy over the date of construction of the minaret, which features a helical outer staircase similar to that of the famous minaret in Samarra. It is also told that using these stairs one can climb up on a horse. Legend has it that ibn Ţūlūn himself was accidentally responsible for the design of the structure: supposedly while sitting with his officials, he absentmindedly wound a piece of parchment around his finger. When someone asked him what he was doing, he responded, embarrassed, that he was designing his minaret. Many of the architectural features, however, point to a later construction, in particular the way in which the minaret does not connect well with the main mosque structure, something that would have been averted had the minaret and mosque been built at the same time. Architectural historian Doris Behrens-Abouseifasserts that Sultan Lajīn, who restored the mosque in 1296, was responsible for the construction of the current minaret.[3] The mosque has been restored several times. The first known restoration was in 1177 under orders of the Fatimid wazir Badr al-Jamālī, who left a second inscription slab on the mosque, which is noted for containing the Shī'ī version of the shahada, adding the phrase "And Ali is the wali of God" after acknowledging the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad. Sultan Lajīn's restoration of 1296 added several improvements. The mosque was most recently restored by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities in 2004. During the medieval period, several houses were built up against the outside walls of the mosque. Most were demolished in 1928 by the Committee for the Conservation of Arab Monuments, however, two of the oldest and best-preserved homes were left intact. The "house of the Cretan woman" (Bayt al-Kritliyya) and the Beit Amna bint Salim, were originally two separate structures, but a bridge at the third floor level was added at some point, combining them into a single structure. The house, accessible through the outer walls of the mosque, is open to the public as the Gayer-Anderson Museum, named after the British general R.G. 'John' Gayer-Anderson, who lived there until 1942. Parts of the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me were filmed at the Mosque of Ibn Tulun and in the Gayer-Anderson Museum. The mosque is also featured in the game Serious Sam 3: BFE, forming a significant part of the game's third level.](http://www.anniewrightphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Ibn-Tulun.100-225x300.jpg)
The Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo. An oasis of peace in the midst of one of the craziest cities in the world. ©www.anniewrightphotography.com