ITALY - Tourism in Italy, travel tips, information, italian regions Director : Eugenio Magnani ENIT - The Italian Government Tourist Board 630 Fifth Avenue - Suite 1965 New York, New York 10111 There Were Giants Upon the Earth The following is excerpted from There Were Giants Upon the Earth: Gods, Demigods, and Human Ancestry: The Evidence of Alien DNA, available from Bear and Company. If you would like to learn more about this book or buy a copy, please do so here. Introduction And It Came to Pass And it came to pass, When men began to multiply on the face of the Earth and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose. There were giants upon the Earth in those days and also thereafter too, When the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men and they bare children to them- the same Mighty Men of old, Men of Renown. The reader, if familiar with the King James English version of the Bible, will recognize these verses in chapter 6 of Genesis as the preamble to the story of the Deluge, the Great Flood in which Noah, huddled in an ark, was saved to repopulate the Earth. The schoolboy was I. Sumer: Where Civilization Began
The Ancient Maya and their origins The Maya were a civilization that devoted much of their time to the worship and study of the cosmos and celestial bodies. A belief in astronomy and cosmology dominated their culture, religion and their every day lives in ways that we are only beginning to understand. The Maya lived their lives by a very complex calendar that was based upon the movements of the stars and planets, and while many of their beliefs and practices may appear to be nothing but superstition, it seems evident that their calendar was based upon real events and real movements in the sky that do in fact have an effect on the Earth. In Mayan society a belief in astronomy and in the importance of the movements of celestial bodies was utterly essential to their culture and to how they conducted their everyday lives, and while some of their practices can certainly fall under the “superstition” banner some of their beliefs and practices can not be easily rejected and definitely had a profound effect on their lives.
New Guidelines for Women’s Stroke Prevention Women have unique risk factors for stroke that they might not be aware of. Pregnancy is one. Read on to learn what you can do to avoid this often-fatal event... Women, pay more attention to your risk for stroke. On Feb. 6, the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association released new guidelines that, for the first time, address stroke prevention in women. Although conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes can raise the likelihood of this potentially fatal event, so can taking birth-control pills or hormone-replacement therapy or becoming pregnant. “I’m thrilled that [these organizations] are finally bringing attention to the fact that more women than men have strokes, [and that] they fare worse afterward and more often die from them,” says cardiologist Holly Andersen, M.D., director of education and outreach at the Ronald O. About 425,000 U.S. women suffer a stroke each year, compared with about 375,000 men, Dr.
A guide to the eateries of France - travel tips and articles - Lonely Planet - StumbleUpon There's a vast number of eateries in France. Most have defined roles, though some definitions are becoming a bit blurred. Here's a quick guide: Auberge 'Auberge' by Ludo29880. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike An auberge (inn), which may also appear as an auberge de campagne or auberge du terroir (country inn), is usually attached to a rural B&B or small hotel and serves traditional country fare. Bar 'la fourmi' by superbez. A bar or bar américain (cocktail bar) is an establishment dedicated to elbow-bending and rarely serves food. Bistro 'P8070034' by philip_sheldrake. A bistro (also spelled bistrot) is not clearly defined in France nowadays. Brasserie 'brasserie' by zoetnet. Unlike the vast majority of restaurants in France, brasseries – which can look very much like cafés – serve full meals, drinks and coffee from morning till 11pm or even later. Buffet A buffet (or buvette) is a kiosk, usually found at train stations and airports, selling drinks, filled baguettes and snacks. Café
The Ancient and Mysterious Gobekli Tepe | Historic Mysteries One of the standing stones of Gobekli Tepe Gobekli Tepe (Gobekli: Belly Tepe: Hill) is a site six miles outside of Urfa, Turkey that contains megalith circles. It was uncovered in 1994 by German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt. Since that time, Klaus and his team have uncovered at least seven large stone circles and they suspect that there are many more left under 22 acres of land yet to be excavated. What are these stones doing in this hill overlooking what must have once been a lush valley? The largest megaliths of Gobekli Tepe are roughly 16 ft. tall and weigh as much as 10 tons. Judging by the animal bones found during digging at Gobekli Tepe, the ancient people who erected the site were nomadic hunter-gatherers. It appears that Gobekli Tepe outdates ancient wonders like the Pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge by thousands of years. Gobekli Tepe was built over the course of hundreds of years, possibly even longer. Sources Curry, Andrew, Gobekli Tepe: The World’s First Temple?
How Old is the Sphinx? | Historic Mysteries The head of the Sphinx emerging from the sand The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of the most recognizable man-made objects in the world. Despite this, it is also one of the most mysterious man-made objects in the world. Even if you accept the general consensus of who built the Sphinx, when and why, you are still left with many questions that have not been, or cannot be, answered. However, not everyone accepts the general consensus and therefore, the Sphinx is even more of enigma to them. One of the mysteries of the Sphinx that has possibly been answered, but the answer is often disputed, is the age of the Sphinx. If you deny the general consensus of the age of the Sphinx, you are left with the question of who built it. According to translations of the “Dream Stela” at the foot of the Sphinx, King Thutmose IV came across the head of the Sphinx when he was still a prince. According to Egypt’s premiere archaeologist, Dr. Dr.
Accueil - Wiksign Ancient underwater cities being found that are 10,000 years old Lost city 'could rewrite history' By BBC News Online's Tom Housden The remains of what has been described as a huge lost city may force historians and archaeologists to radically reconsider their view of ancient human history. Marine scientists say archaeological remains discovered 36 meters (120 feet) underwater in the Gulf of Cambay off the western coast of India could be over 9,000 years old. The vast city - which is five miles long and two miles wide - is believed to predate the oldest known remains in the subcontinent by more than 5,000 years. Using sidescan sonar - which sends a beam of sound waves down to the bottom of the ocean they identified huge geometrical structures at a depth of 120ft. Debris recovered from the site - including construction material, pottery, sections of walls, beads, sculpture and human bones and teeth has been carbon dated and found to be nearly 9,500 years old. Lost civilization "Nothing else on the scale of the underwater cities of Cambay is known.
Who Built Great Pyramid? - Hall of Gods Egyptologists would have us believe that the Great Pyramid and its two sister pyramids were built in the early dynastic period of the Old Kingdom, about 4,600 years ago. Looking at the evidence objectively, however, their case is far from clear cut. In his book ‘The Phoenix Solution’ (1998), Alan Alsford claimed that much of the evidence for the 4th dynasty origin of the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx actually pointed to an adoption scenario, rather than construction of the monuments during that time period. Thus, according to this theory, the Egyptian pharaohs Khufu and Khafre adopted the Great Pyramid, the Second Pyramid and the Sphinx, rather than built them. In addition to renovating these structures, they and their successors built the causeways which ran between the mortuary and valley temples, and the smaller pyramids and masteba. The authenticity of the workmen's graffiti in the Great Pyramid is questionable. Article continues: Legends and Records
World powers rush in to rebuild Libya - Africa As the endgame of the Muammar Gaddafi regime plays out in Libya, members of the international community - from world powers to oil companies - are gathering to discuss their respective roles in the country's future. Decades of partial isolation imposed by Gaddafi have left the oil-rich country's economy reeling from a raft of sanctions and its government in a diplomatic no man's land. The rebel government, or National Transitional Council (NTC), has said it intends to change all that. In comments published on Wednesday in an Italian newspaper, NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil said the "new" Libya would build "strong relations with other countries, based on mutual respect and co-operation". Going by Wednesday's flurry of diplomatic action, foreign countries appeared eager to reciprocate. Unlocking assets Britain has said it will ask the UN to release all or part of the $20bn of Libyan assets frozen in the United Kingdom to aid the rebels, a government source said on Wednesday. China weighs in
Lost World under the North Sea It also serves as a warning for the scale of impact that climate change can cause, Professor Gaffney says. Human communities would have lost their homelands as the rising water began to encroach upon the wide, low-lying plains. "At times this change would have been insidious and slow - but at times, it could have been terrifyingly fast. It would have been very traumatic for these people," he says. [Some of the advances by the sea would have been similar to the widespread flooding of the English East Coast in 1953. That happened overnight as a result of strong winds and a particularly high tide, but in the case of the North Sea plains the floodwaters would not have receded - at least not completely, and not permanently.] "It would be a mistake to think that these people were unsophisticated or without culture... they would have had names for the rivers and hills and spiritual associations - it would have been a catastrophic loss," says Professor Gaffney.
Mystery at Abydos - Hall of Gods In 1848, an archaeological expedition working in Egypt discovered strange hieroglyphs on a ceiling beam at an ancient temple in Abydos, several hundred miles south of Cairo. The hieroglyphs were carefully copied and brought back to Europe. The mysterious images gave rise to heated debate amongst Egyptologists. Eventually, however, they were dismissed as bizarre objects that nobody could adequately explain and were forgotten. In the mid 1990's photographs and videos, taken primarily by tourists who had visited Abydos, began to appear on the internet. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the ancient high-tech machinery glyphs have been dismissed out of hand by modern Egyptologists. Re-carving of inscriptions was a common phenomenon in ancient Egypt. Recently, the respected Arab newspaper 'Al-Sharq Al-Awsat' published several photographs taken at another Egyptian temple, the Amon Ra Temple in Karnak. See also: Who Built the Great Pyramid?
LIBYA - News | Peter Clifford Online [tweetthis] TIMELINE – 18th JULY 2012 10.14 GMT: In Libya’s first elections since 1965 (but no political parties allowed) and first totally free elections since 1952, a liberal, secular union, the National Forces Alliance, won 39 out of the 80 seats reserved for political parties. A Happy Voter in Libya’s Elections The National Forces Alliance is led by Mahmoud Jibril, who acted as Libya’s first interim Prime Minister after the fall of Gaddafi. However, the final outcome and who has the majority of seats remains to be seen. 120 seats in the 200 seat parliament are reserved for independent candidates and where their allegiances lie has not yet been revealed. The Muslim Brotherhood’s religious Justice and Construction Party gained only 17 seats but claims that it has a bigger following among the independent candidates. Many observers thought Libya would go the way of Tunisia and Egypt where the Muslim Brotherhood has gained a majority hold. Mahmoud Jibril – Election Front-Runner