Wiki Categories: Map Features

Blue Lotus

  • The Blue Lotus is the Blue Lotus Flower of Egypt and is also known as the Blue Egyptian Water Lily. It is found only in the Nile Delta.
  • The Lotus was used as the Symbol of Ra, the Sun God of Ancient Egypt, and also used to make perfume and as a mild sedative.

History

  • It is thought to have originated along the Nile in East Africa, and then spread to India and Thailand.
  • Along with the White Lotus, the flower often appears in Art from Ancient Egypt, including the walls of the Temple of Amun at Karnak and the Mummy of Tutankhamun.

Symbol of Ra the Sun God

  • The flowers rise to the surface over two or three days, then open in the morning and close in the afternoon.
  • For this reason the Blue Lotus came to symbolise the Sun God Ra to the Ancient Egyptians, who believed Ra emerged from the Lotus each morning and then returned to it at the end of the day.

 

Nile Delta, Egypt

Hindu Kush

  • The Hindu Kush Mountains are a 500 mile (800 km) range of mountains extending from Afghanistan, through Northern Pakistan into Tajikistan.
  • The highest mountain is Tirich Mir with an elevation of 12,822 feet (3,908m).

Wakhan Corridor

  • The Wakhan Corridor is a series of valleys through the Hindu Kush Range that connect Afghanistan with China through the Wakhjir Pass.

Roof of the World

  • Chitral District is known as ‘The roof of the world’, with 40 peaks over 20,00 ft (6,100 m) in height.

Highest Peak

  • Tirich Mir is the highest peak with an elevation of 25,230 feet (7,690m).

The Main Passes

  • There are Four Passes into the Chitral District of Northern Pakistan across the Hindu Kush.
    1. Dorah Pass: Afghanistan – Pakistan
    2. Broghol Pass: Afghanistan – Pakistan
    3. Shandur Pass: Pakistan – Pakistan
    4. Lowari Pass: Pakistan – Pakistan
  • Other Passes are only accessible on foot.

 

Tirich Mir, Hindu Kush

Pearl Diving

  • A Pearl Mania seized Rome during the first century BCE. Pliny the Elder wrote in his Natural History, published in 77 CE, that the Pearl was the most valuable commodity, prized above all others. Clothing and furniture were adorned with Pearls.
  • Pearl Diving took place in three main areas for oyster beds in the Indian Ocean. Divers held their breath for a few minutes whilst using weights to sink to the ocean floor before being hauled up by a line.

Freediving

  • In the Ancient World, the only aids to diving were hollow tubes made from reeds or inflated leather bladders.
  • In Ancient Greece, sponges and red coral were harvested by divers using weights to take them down to depths of up to 100 feet (30m)
  • A Diver can hold his breath for 3 minutes, but experienced Divers could manage up to 10 minutes, and reach a safe depth of 40 feet (12m).
  • The dangers of freediving are attacks by marine animals, pressure from depths below 60 feet (18m), the cold, passing out before reaching the surface, and what we now know as the ‘bends’, nitrogen bubbles forming in the bloodstream during too fast an ascent.
  • Oyster beds are usually found at a depth between 40 to 125 feet (12-36m)
  • Often, over a ton of oysters had to be opened on the deck of the ship, in order to find a few quality pearls.

The Three Main Oyster Bed Areas

Other Types of Diving

  • Shipwrecks
    • Divers were also used to recover items from shipwrecks
  • Navy Divers
    • Divers were used by Navies to sever anchor cables, dismantle underwater barricades in front of enemy harbours and pass messages.

 

Dhalak Archipelago, Red Sea

Straits of Malacca

  • The Straits of Malacca is a 500 nautical mile (926 km) southeasterly sea passage located between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsular, which allows access between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
  • It is an important sea lane for world trade. The island State of Singapore is located at the southern mouth of the Straits.

Singapore Strait

  • The Singapore Strait lies between the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. It is 71 miles (114km) long and 10 miles (16km) wide.
  • Singapore lies on the north of the Channel and the Riau Islands of Indonesia lie to the south.

Rondo Island

  • Rondo Island is located 31 miles (50km) north of the Indonesian Island of Sumatra.
  • To the north of Rondo lies an International Sea Lane for vessels passing between the Indian Ocean and the Straits of Malacca.

 

 

Straits of Malacca

Temple of Vesta

  • The Temple of Vesta was a circular building located in the Forum Romanum, just in front of the Atrium Vestae, the ‘House of the Vestals’, where the Vestal Virgins lived.
  • Inside the Temple was the sacred fire of Vesta. The Temple was built by Rome’s second King, Numa Pompilius (715-673 BCE).

Getting There

  • Location: The Ruins of the Temple of Vesta are located in the Forum Romanum.
  • Nearest Metro Station: Colosseo, Line B.

 

Temple of Vesta, Rome

Atrium Vestae

  • The Atrium Vestae was the ‘House of the Vestals’, a 50 room Palace where the Vestal Virgins lived.
  • In front of it was the Temple of Vesta where they kept the sacred fire dedicated to Vesta.

Roman Site

  • The Atrium Vestae is today just an open plan area, but it is surrounded by statues of the Vestal Virgins.

 

House of the Vestals

Castra Misenatium

  • The Castra Misenatium was a fort in Rome where sailors from the Imperial Navy were housed.
  • The sailors manned the Velarium in the Colosseum, which was a giant awning that protected the spectators from the sun and rain.

Description

  • The fort was probably built at the same time as the Colosseum, in 80 CE.
  • The fort was located just to the east of the Colosseum, somewhere between the Baths of Trajan and the Via Labicana at the base of the Oppian Hill.
  • The exact location has yet to be resolved.

 

Baths of Trajan

Basilica Aemilia

  • The Basilica Aemilia was a colonnaded two storey building in Rome, with both floors housing shops and acting as a place of business.
  • Built between 210-191 BCE, it was located on the north side of the Forum Romanum.

The Site

  • Today, only the outline of the floorplan and some restored columns are visible.

History

  • It is named after Marcus Aemilius Lepidus who completed the building for a colleague, and who’s family maintained it.
  • The Basilica was 328 ft (100m) long by 98 ft (30m) wide, was three stories high with colonnades on the lower two levels.
  • It had a central court surrounded by shops, and was used for business.
  • The Basilica was considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the Forum Romanum.

 

Basilica Aemilia