The Sunken City on Kekova Island

The Sunken City on Kekova Island

city island kekova sunken Travel

The ancient Lycian city of Simena, often referred to as Kekova-Simena, once straddled the long and narrow island of Kekova in the Mediterranean Sea near the Turkish coastline. In the olden times, Simena was a small fishing village and was later an outpost of the Knights of Rhodes.

Part of the city lies on the mainland, where today stands the charming fishing village of Kaleköy. The mixture of ancient, medieval and modern history on Kaleköy makes it one of the of the most visited places in Turkey today. Worth seeing here is the well-preserved castle built by the Knights of Rhodes, and the Lycian necropolis overlooking the sea and surrounded by ancient olive trees. Across the bay, on Kekova Island, lies Simena’s other half. This part of the city today lies half-submerged in the waters. The land slipped into the ocean when a terrible earthquake struck Turkey in the 2nd century. Half of the houses, now in ruins, are submerged with staircases descending into the water. Some of foundations of buildings and the ancient harbor are totally beneath the water’s surface.



Photo credit: Alessandra Kocman/Flickr

The entire Kekova region was declared a specially protected area in 1990 by Turkish government, and subsequently diving and swimming here was prohibited. Although the prohibition was lifted in later years, the area where the sunken city is is still restricted.



Photo credit: Vladimer Shioshvili/Flickr



Photo credit: Chris Walsh/Flickr



Photo credit: Alessandra Kocman/Flickr



Photo credit: Massimiliano Giani/Flickr



Photo credit: Bengt Flemark/Flickr



Photo credit: JJ Hall/Flickr

Sources: www.traveltofethiye.co.uk / lycianturkey.com / Wikipedia

Subscribe to our Newsletter and get articles like this delieverd straight to your inbox

photofun4ucom

The Round City of Baghdad

The Round City of Baghdad

baghdad city Other round

The city of Baghdad was founded in the 8th century as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, by its caliph al-Mansur. The Caliphate had just defeated the Umayyads, and al-Mansur wanted his own capital to rule from. He chose a site about 30 km to the north of the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon, along the banks of the Tigris, and began to draw up plans for its design and construction.

Mansur wanted Baghdad to be the perfect city, to be the capital of the Islamic empire under the Abbasids. To that end, he brought in thousands of architects, engineers, surveyors, carpenters, blacksmiths and over a hundred thousand laborers from across the Abbasid empire. He consulted astrologers, and according to their advice, laid the first ceremonial brick on 30 July 762.



The round city of Baghdad in the 10th century, the peak of the Abbasid Caliphate. Illustration: Jean Soutif/Science Photo Library

photofun4ucom

Rock in The House, Fountain City

Rock in The House, Fountain City

city fountain house rock Travel Weird

On April 24, 1995, a 55-ton boulder rolled down a hill and crashed into the bedroom of the house of Maxine and Dwight Anderson at 440 North Shore Drive in Fountain City, Wisconsin. No one was killed or injured, but Maxine had just finished remodeling the house and moments ago was in the very bedroom photographing it. Shaken by the incident, the Anderson’s sold the house and moved out within a month.

The house’s new owner, John Burt, a real estate investor, instead of restoring the house, renamed the property “Rock in the House,” hung a sign and turned it into a tourist attraction. Within the first six months some 12,000 people is said to have visited the attraction. The 16-foot tall disk shaped rock is still wedged on the back of the house. Splintered wood, dirt and debris lie scattered inside the bedroom and around the place.



Photo credit: Tripadvisor.com

photofun4ucom