Georges Friant Travel Photography

05/11/2022

Malediven ... Bounty eiland met hagelwitte stranden!
De Malediven of Maldiven, officieel de Republiek der Malediven is een eilandengroep bestaande uit 1190 koraaleilanden, gegroepeerd in 26 atollen in de Indische Oceaan ten zuidwesten van India. De eilanden liggen verspreid over een oppervlakte van circa 90.000 km² maar de totale landoppervlakte is slechts een kleine 300 km².
Het grootste eiland is 5 km² groot en er zijn er maar negen die groter zijn dan 2 km². Tweehonderd eilanden zijn bewoond en nog eens 88 vormen toeristenoorden. Er zijn een kleine 400.000 Malediviërs.

02/09/2022

02/09/2022

REITDIEP Haven - GRONINGEN/Nederland
De haven is gelegen aan de staande mastroute van Delfzijl, via de stad Groningen naar Friesland en het Lauwersmeer- en Waddengebied. De kleurrijke bebouwing rond de haven maakt van deze moderne jachthaven een bijzondere plek. Naast passantenhaven is het ook een zeer aantrekkelijke thuishaven voor motorkruisers, zeiljachten en sloepen. Supermarkten, leuke winkels maar ook het wereldrestaurant maken de haven erg aantrekkelijk en gezellig. Het stadscentrum met musea, theaters en bioscopen is gemakkelijk te bereiken.

11/06/2022

SANTORINI.
Santorini was named by the Latin Empire in the thirteenth century, and is a reference to Saint Irene, from the name of the old cathedral in the village of Perissa – the name Santorini is a contraction of the name Santa Irini.
Before then, it was known as Kallístē (Καλλίστη "the most beautiful one") Strongýlē (Στρογγύλη "the circular one") or Thēra.
The name Thera was revived in the nineteenth century as the official name of the island and its main city, but the colloquial name Santorini is still in popular use.

04/12/2021

SUNSET at the VESUVIUS (Calabrië-Italy)
Vesuvius has a long historic and literary tradition.
It was considered a divinity of the Genius type at the time of the eruption of AD 79: it appears under the inscribed name Vesuvius as a serpent in the decorative frescos of many lararia, or household shrines, surviving from Pompeii.
The Romans regarded Mount Vesuvius to be devoted to Hercules.
The historian Diodorus Siculus relates a tradition that Hercules, in the performance of his labors, passed through the country of nearby Cumae on his way to Sicily and found there a place called "the Phlegraean Plain" ("plain of fire"), from a hill which anciently vomited out fire ... now called Vesuvius. It was inhabited by bandits, "the sons of the Earth," who were giants.
With the assistance of the gods, he pacified the region and went on.
The facts behind the tradition, if any, remain unknown, as does whether Herculaneum was named after it. An epigram by the poet Martial in 88 AD suggests that both Venus, patroness of Pompeii, and Hercules were worshipped in the region devastated by the eruption of 79.

20/06/2021

05/03/2020

HONNINGSVAG / Norway
was declared a town in 1996 by the municipal council of Nordkapp. National legislation was passed in 1997 that states that a Norwegian city must have at least 5.000 inhabitants, but since Honningsvåg was declared a city in 1996, it was exempt from this legislation. This makes it one of the smallest cities in Norway.

01/01/2020

Italy / Pustertal

17/11/2019

The month December is the start of the skiing season ... !
"CINQUE TORRI" are a small rock formation belonging to Nuvolao group, in the Dolomiti Ampezzane , part of the Eastern Dolomites, south-west of Cortina d'Ampezzo.
During summer it is possible to do excursions in the woods and on paths, among which it is worth to mention Alta Via 1 of the Dolomites, the "Muraglia di Giau" along the border between comuni of Cortina and San Vito di Cadore, itineraries towards Nuvolau e il Passo Giau and the historical path in the trenches of the World War I.

The towers also provide good and popular rock climbing with various routes at a range of grades up all of the towers.

In winter, Cinque Torri are a very important ski area, whose tracks belong to the wider Dolomiti Superski area. Therefore, they are connected to the nearby mountains Lagazuoi and Col Gallina.

01/11/2019

FLAM ... NORWAY
Flåm is a village in Flåmsdalen, at the inner end of the Aurlandsfjorden, a branch of Sognefjorden. The village is located in the municipality of Aurland in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway.
In 2014 its inhabitants numbered only 350.
The village of Flåm has since the late 19th century been a tourist destination. It currently receives almost 450,000 visitors a year. Most ride the 20-kilometre Flåm Line between Flåm and Myrdal, one of the steepest railway tracks in the world. There are also a few spirals.
The harbour of Flåm receives some 160 cruise ships per year.

12/10/2019

SOGNEFJORD, NORWAY
Max. length 205 kilometres (127 mi)
Max. width 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi)
Max. depth 1,308 metres (4,291 ft)
The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden, nicknamed the King of the Fjords, is the largest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Sogn og Fjordane county in Western Norway, it stretches 205 kilometres inland from the ocean to the small village of Skjolden in the municipality of Luster. The fjord takes its name from the traditional district of Sogn, which covers the southern part of the county.

24/09/2019

OSTUNI is one of the white city's and comune, located about 8 km from the coast, in the province of Brindisi, region of Apulia, Italy. The town has a population of about 32.000 during the winter, but can swell to 100.000 inhabitants during summer, being among the main towns attracting tourists in Apulia. It also has a British and German immigrant community and an industrial zone. The region is producer of high quality olive oil and wine.

23/09/2019

ALBEROBELLO by night !

23/09/2019

Picture Above ...

ALBEROBELLO: literally "beautiful tree"; is a small town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. It is famous for its unique trullo buildings. The trulli of Alberobello have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996.

History.
A first occupation of the area started only in the early sixteenth century on the impulse of the Count of Conversano Andrea Matteo III Acquaviva d'Aragona. He allowed about forty peasant families from Noci to settle here and cultuvate the land, with the obligation to give him the tenth of the crops.

In 1635 his successor, Count Giangirolamo II (1600-1665) erected an inn with a tavern and an oratory and started the urbanization of the forest with the construction of few small houses. The expansion of the hurban area was helped by the abundance of limestone, karst and calcareous sedimentary, and by the permission of the count to build houses only with dry walls without the use of mortar, which would become the peculiar trulli. This obligation to have houses built with dry stones was an expedient of the count to avoid paying taxes to the Spanish viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples. The centre of Alberobello was built on the streets of the ancient river Cana, where is now the largo Giuseppe Martelotta.

Alberobello remained a fief of the Acquaviva of Aragon until May 27, 1797, when King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon elevated the small village to the royal city, freeing it from the feudal servitude of the counts. On 22 June 1797, the first mayor Francesco Giuseppe Lippolis was elected.

Alberobello is the only inhabited center with an entire district of trulli. It is therefore considered the cultural capital of the trulli of the Valle d'Itria.

04/09/2019

MALTA - MDINA the old capital city .
Today, Mdina is one of Malta's major tourist attractions, hosting about 750,000 tourists a year. No cars (other than a limited number of residents, emergency vehicles, wedding cars and horses) are allowed in Mdina, partly why it has earned the nickname 'the Silent City'. The city displays an unusual mix of Norman and Baroque architecture, including several palaces, most of which serve as private homes.
An extensive restoration of the city walls was undertaken between 2008 and 2016.

01/09/2019

Moselle Promenade / Cochem

29/08/2019

SUNSET in Tallinn ...
Tallinn-Estonian: is the capital, primate and the most populous city of Estonia. Located in the northern part of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. Tallinn is a major financial, industrial, cultural, educational and research centre of Estonia. Tallinn is located 80 kilometres south of Helsinki, Finland, 320 kilometres west of Saint Petersburg, Russia, and 380 kilometres east of Stockholm, Sweden. It has close historical ties with these three cities.
Due to its strategic location, the city became a major trade hub, especially from the 14th to the 16th century, when it grew in importance as part of the Hanseatic League. Tallinn's Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tallinn has the highest number of startups per person among European countries and is a birthplace of many international high technology companies, including Skype and Transferwise. The city is to house the headquarters of the European Union's IT agency. Providing to the global cybersecurity it is the home to the NATO Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. Tallinn is ranked as a global city and has been listed among the top ten digital cities in the world.