purplicious*'s photostream  

Here's two loving members of our growing Nisse family..

The “Nisse” is thought of as short and stocky with a long grey or white beard and a knitted red cap. He wears dark knickers and a shirt and vest or a sweater. He brings children Christmas gifts. But this was not always the role of the nisse.

Decades ago, he was though of as the protector of the family farm. Stories about the nisse have been passed down for generations. Scandinavians in the old days believed in stories about the “netherworld” figures. The Nisse was powerful. He seemed to like humans, if he was treated with the respect he felt he deserved.

On the farm, he helped with the work in mysterious ways. For example, because he enjoyed helping horses more than cows, he would steal hay from the cows to give an extra portion to a favorite horse. His trickery could contribute to crop failure and sickness for both animals and people if he was not treated well. The Nisse also leave sweets in the slippers of children on the nights of advent (the 24 days of December up to Christmas)

The Nisse expected being served a large wooden bowl filled with sour cream porridge, with a big "eye of butter" in the middle, on Christmas Eve. Today, he prefers rice porridge. When the people on the farm went to find the bowls the next morning, the dishes would be empty and clean. That was proof enough that the nisse really existed!

Here`s a song about a grumpy Nisse who doesn`t want to share his porridge På loftet sidder Nissen (:

scandinavian xmas traditions
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This photo was taken on our spectacular trip from Svolvær to Harstad as we were cruising the northern coast of Norway on Norwegian Coastal Express line Hurtigruten (if you repeat it 8 times, you'll start giggling) on an absolutely fantastic and gigantic ship called MS Trollfjord. Hence the name, we cruised into Trollfjord, where the ship entered the fjord and turned around where it was only 80mt wide - fantastic tight turn that makes your eyes pop and your heart skips a couple of beats!

This was a journey we'll probably never forget (and hopefully do again) not only because we enjoyed a truly spectacular scenery especially at midnight sun, and also this was only a couple of minutes before we heard about the 22/7 bomb attacks and Utøya massacre on tv ): We will always remember the innocent victims of massacres and atrocities in Norway..

Camera: Canon EOS-400D DSLR
Lens: Sigma 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DG Macro
Exposure time: 1/125 secs
Aperture: f/10
ISO speed: 400
Focal Length: 58mm

Processed with Adobe Camera RAW6 and Photoshop CS5
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Masjid-e Vakil / Vakil Mosque / Regent's Mosque - Shiraz, Iran

Vakil Mosque is situated west of the famous Vakil Bazaar. It was built in 1187 (AH) during Zand Dynasty. It covers an area of 8,660 square meters. On the two sides of the entrance gate there are magnificent tile-works and arches.

The left and right corridors of the entrance gate are connected to the main room. Alongside the altar there is a 14-step tall platform made of green marbles where the speaker has to climb a number of stairs to reach the top to address the audience. On the inscription of the entrance gate there are Quranic verses engraved in Sols and Nosakh scripts.

Its nocturnal area or Shabestan (night prayer hall) with an area of 2700 sq.m. contains 48 similar tall pillars of stone with a beautiful ceiling and a marble altar that is considered to be one of the master pieces of the Zandieh era.

The historic building was registered as national heritage about 76 years ago.

Vakil means regent which was the title used by Karim Khan the Zand ruler of Persia. Shiraz was the seat of Karim Khan’s government and he endowed many buildings, including this Mosque.

According to Fars Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department, the stones of the floor and tile-works were renovated, lighting system of the interior was improved, exterior of the nocturnal prayer rooms were renovated and the plasterworks were upgraded.
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Cappadocia is a region of exceptional natural wonders in central Turkey. The history of Cappadocia has to begin with the geological background to the remarkable landscape here. A long, long time ago a series of eruptions from the cones of Mt. Erciyes and Mt. Hasan covered the area in a thick layer of volcanic ash which solidified to form the soft tufa that characterises the surface strata here and together with the erosion of the Kizilirmak river and wind over ten thousands of years there appeared the chimney rocks which are a wonder of the nature. Both these volcanic mountains are still extant and dominate the landscape.

In the old Bronze Age the Cappadocia which was the population zone of the Assyrian civilization later has hosted the Hittites from 1800 BC to 1200 BC, after which smaller kingdoms held power. Then came the Frigs, Persians. After bringing the Persian Empire to an end, Alexander the Great met with great resistance in Cappadocia. He tried to rule the area but a Persian aristocrat was declared as king. Ariarthes I was a successful ruler, and extended the borders of the Cappadocian Kingdom as far as the Black Sea. The kingdom of Cappadocia lived in peace until the death of Alexander. From then until 17AD, when it became a Roman province, it fought wars with the Macedonians, the Galatians and the Pontus nation. Romans established the capital of Caesarea. During the Roman and Byzantine periods, for early Christians who escaped from the persecution of the Roman Empire Cappadocia became a refuge from the 4th to the 11th century. In the 4th century, when Kayseri was a flourishing religious centre, the rocky landscape of Göreme was discovered. Adopting the teachings of St. Basil, Bishop of Caesarea (Kayseri), the Christians began to lead a monastic life in the carved out rocks of Cappadocia. Most churches, monasteries and underground cities date from this period. Later, Seljuk and Ottoman civilizations ruled the region.

Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985. Cappadocia is a unique region with absolutely surreal sceneries in Turkey. Hope you all get to see this fabulous place one day..
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The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of the Cultures of the World) in Berlin is Germany's national centre for contemporary non-European art. It presents art exhibitions, theater and dance performances, concerts, author readings, films and academic conferences on non-European Visual Art and culture.

The building is located in the Tiergarten park and a direct neighbour of the Carillon and the new German Chancellery. It was formerly known as the Kongresshalle (Conference hall) a gift from the United States, designed in 1957 by the American architect Hugh Stubbins Jr. as a part of the Interbau exhibition. John F. Kennedy spoke here during his June 1963 visit to West Berlin. To Berliners it is also known as the Schwangere Auster (Pregnant Oyster). - To me it's the Guitar Building! (:

Here's some info for Henry Moore fans;
Henry Moore’s heaviest bronze sculpture, Large Divided Oval: Butterfly, stands in the middle of a circular basin, outside the entrance to Berlin’s House of World Cultures. Weighing nearly nine tons, it was his final major work, completed just before he died in 1986. -Will post a photo with Butterfly sculpture later.

Camera: Canon EOS-400D DSLR
Lens: EF-S17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Exposure time: 20 secs
Aperture: f/16
ISO speed: 100
Focal Length: 17mm

Processed with Adobe Camera RAW6 and Photoshop CS5
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