Blue Cave (50 Shades of Blue), Balun, East side of the island of Biševo, Croatian Adriatic, Croatia

The Blue Grotto or Blue Cave (Croatian: Modra špilja), is a waterlogged sea cave located in a small bay called Balun (Ball in the local dialect), on the east side of the island of Biševo and about 4.5 nautical miles (8.3 km) from Komiža, in the Croatian Adriatic. It is situated in the central Dalmatian archipelago, 5 km south-west of the island of Vis. The grotto is one of the best known natural beauty spots on the Adriatic and a popular show cave because of the glowing blue light that appears at certain times of day.

First described and painted by Baron Eugen von Ransonet. It is also thanks to Baron Eugen von Ransonet that the cave entrance above the sea level was created in 1884 allowing small boats to enter it which ultimately gave rise to the popularity of the Blue Cave of Bisevo and more people started to visit the cave and it became a true competitor to the Blue Grotto (Grotta azzura) of Capri for the title of the most beautiful Cave in the World.

Before  1884, the only possible way to entrance to the Blue Cave of Bisevo island was through the underwater entrance which is the only natural entrance to the cave. It is not known who was the first who dived under and discovered the Blue Cave but it was thanks to Baron Eugen von Ransonet of Austria that the cave was first described, painted and presented to the general public to marvel upon.

The natural entrance to the cave, located on its southern side, is said to resemble a vault on the ceiling of a grotto. It is through this submarine-like opening on the ceiling of the cave that sunlight gets in and creates an iridescent blue glowing effect all around the cave. As well, a stone bar, connecting two walls of the cave, is clearly visible just below the waterline, both in above-water photographs and in underwater photos.

Depending on the season, the ideal moment to visit the cave is between 11 AM and 12 noon. At this time of day the sunlight reflects through the water coming from the white floor of the cave and bathes the grotto in aquamarine light, while objects in the water appear to be silver. The Blue Grotto (Italian: Grotta Azzurra) on the island of Capri in Italy is also famous for this type of phenomenon.

The cave receives more than 10,000 tourist visits every year. Blue Cave is at the top of the tourist attraction point of this part of Adriatic and tourist boats often include a visit to another similar cave on the island, the Zelena špilja (English: The Green Grotto), which is bigger in size and appears to be of an emerald-green tone due to a similar effect. 

The cave is made out of two chambers divided by the stone bar visible just below the sea surface. The entire cave is around 25 meters long with the cave ceiling towering some 15 meters above you. The sea depth of the cave varies from 10 to 12 meters depending on the position. Even though it is considerably deep, the silver reflection of the sea bottom makes it look as the cave is much more shallow. While the entrance to it measures 1.5 metres high and 2.5 metres wide.

As you circle around the cave and listen to the stories told by the tour guide you will exit the cave on the same place you have entered it with the feeling of awe and happiness you were lucky enough to experience the beauty nature decided to create just off of Vis island.

The first stop of the Blue Cave tour from Split is a distant island called Biševo whose popularity is mostly due to the presence of the Blue Cave it hides beneath the lime stone rocks forming this small island. Blue Cave,Blue Grotto or as it is locally called Modra Špilja is a Croatian Natural wonder for a good reason. It takes 1,5 hrs to get to Blue Cave from Split or Trogir by speedboat and about an hour from Hvar. The closest more inhabited place from where you could reach the Blue Cave with a taxi boat is Komiža town on Vis island, some 15 minutes by speedboat.

Eremo di San Colombano, Trambileno, Near Rovereto, Italy

Eremo di San Colombano is a hermitage in Trambileno, Italy, notable for its location in the side of a mountain. Some natural caves, halfway up the rock wall of the gorge formed by the stream of Leno Vallarsa were certainly used from 753 (the date inscribed on the rock) from a Monaco hermit. The hermitage is located at Trambileno, near Rovereto. It is carved in the rock and can be reached by climbing a flight of 102 steps cut into the rock ledge one access after crossing the gorge of the river Leno.

Frescoes depict the fight between St. Columba and a dragon (an allegory of the struggle between good and evil), as well as the representation of Paradise, located in the cave. Another fresco with "Madonna and Saints" is the fifteenth-century altar of the church and keeps recordings with prayers and candles dated between 1505 and 1782, witnessed the pilgrimage to the shrine.  

 

According to legend, the hermit San Colombano first arrived there and killed the dragon that caused the death of children baptised in the waters of the river below Leno. More likely, the legend was born as a place from the first hermit monks from the nearby monastery of Bobbio, or the Priory of St. Columban Bardolino. Visitation to the site was prescribed during Lent.

The first settlement was the "Grotta degli Eremiti," or "Cave of the Hermits," in an undefined time. The inscription dated 753, engraved on the rock next to the current tower, dates back, however, the continued practice of the monastic hermitage. Between the late tenth and early eleventh century, records indicate the first construction of a small church dedicated to the saint at the opening of the cave, under a roof of natural rock. The first documentary evidence of the presence of the hermitage and the church is from 1319,

As the legend goes, he took over the cave after killing the dragon who previously inhabited it. Relating to a bequest made to the "Church of St. Columba" on the part of Count William of Castelbarco of the House of Lords of Lizzana and Rovereto, and the other, 1470, is still preserved in Lizzana, attesting to the faith of the inhabitants of the place with celebrations and processions to the Irish saint to avert the long drought.

The hermitage or the "hermit's cave" was used by monks, hermits, who were its guardians, until 1782 when the practice of the hermitage was abolished. Since then the place of worship was later cared for by the inhabitants of the valley. In 1996, the Autonomous Province of Trento had the church refurbished, especially indoor, taking it to its original beauty. There are frescoes depicting the struggle between Saint Columban and the dragon and a representation of Paradise. The main altar features a 15th century Madonna with Saints.

The walls also show numerous graffiti of invocations made by pilgrims through the centuries, as well as ex-votos. Every year an evocative torch-lit procession is held at Christmas after which a mass is celebrated.

Each Christmas, the stairs are lit with torches as a homage to all the pilgrims and their last few steps of a long and hard walk taken in honor of a dragon-slaying saint. However, to visitors, who by the way are more than welcome to come and see the place with their own eyes.

They are only the beginning. Eremo di San Colombano is the starting point of a divine trekking route called “The Treasures of Trambileno.” The trek ends where the Leno River flows in Lago di San Colombano, and right after, as a reward, the trekkers can enjoy a chance to taste the local cuisine at Bosco Dei Pini Neri restaurant in Trambileno.

Castel del Monte, Hill in Andria in the Apulia Region of Southeast, Italy.

Castel del Monte (Italian for "Castle of the Mountain"; Barese: Castìdde du Monte) is a 13th-century citadel and castle situated on a hill in Andria in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It was built during the 1240s by the Emperor Frederick II, who had inherited the lands from his mother Constance of Sicily. In the 18th century, the castle's interior marbles and remaining furnishings were removed. It has neither a moat nor a drawbridge and some considered it never to have been intended as a defensive fortress; however, archaeological work has suggested that it originally had a curtain wall. Described by the Enciclopedia Italiana as "the most fascinating castle built by Frederick II", the site is protected as a World Heritage Site. It also appears on the Italian version of the one cent Euro coin.

Castel del Monte is situated on a small hill close to the monastery of Santa Maria del Monte, at an altitude of 540 m. When the castle was built, the region was famously fertile with a plentiful supply of water and lush vegetation. It lies in the comune of Andria, province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, occupying the site of an earlier fortress of which no structural remains exist. The castle's construction is mentioned in only one contemporary source, a document dating to 1240, in which the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II ordered the governor of Capitanata to finish some works in it. It was never finished and there is no proof that the emperor used it as a hunting lodge as commonly stated. It was later turned into a prison, used as a refuge during a plague, and finally fell into disrepair. It originally had marble walls and columns, but all were stripped by vandals or re-used in constructions nearby.

Because of its relatively small size, it was once considered to be no more than a "hunting lodge", but scholars now believe it originally had a curtain wall and did serve as a citadel. Frederick was responsible for the construction of many castles in Apulia, but Castel del Monte's geometric design was unique.The fortress is an octagonal prism with an octagonal tower at each corner. The towers were originally some 5 m higher than now, and they should perhaps include a third floor. Both floors have eight rooms and an eight-sided courtyard occupies the castle's centre. Each of the main rooms has vaulted ceilings. Three of the corner towers contain staircases. The castle has two entrances, an unobtrusive service entrance and an ornate main entrance. Frederick's main entrance featured elements from classical design, and may have been influenced by Frederick's interest in Greco-Roman architecture.

The octagonal plan is unusual in castle design. Historians have debated the purpose of the building and it has been suggested that it was intended as a hunting lodge. Another theory is that the octagon is an intermediate symbol between a square and a circle (representing the sky). Frederick II may have been inspired to build to this shape by either the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which he had seen during the Sixth Crusade, or by the Palatine Chapel of Aachen Cathedral.

In the 18th century, the castle's marbles and other ornamentation were looted. Members of the House of Bourbon took the marble columns and window frames and reused them at their palace in Caserta. What remains now includes fragments of a knight and a re-used Roman relief, while in the Provincial Gallery of Bari there are a head fragment and a cloaked, headless bust, sometimes interpreted as Frederick II. After having been abandoned for a considerable length of time, the castle was purchased in 1876 for the sum of 25,000 lire by the Italian State, which began the process of restoration in 1928.

 

During the Allied occupation of WWII, the United States 15th Army Air Force headquartered a secret navigational aid station called Big Fence at the Castel. In the 1950s, soil around the castle was discovered to contain a bright red compound produced by a strain of the bacterium Streptomyces peucetius. Scientists named the drug daunorubicin and further development identified a related compound doxorubicin that finds use as a chemotherapeutic agent used to treat cancer.

Central to the plot of Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose is an old fortress known as the 'Aedificium'. This was almost certainly inspired by Castel del Monte.t was also the set for the film Tale of Tales.

In 1996 Castel del Monte was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, which described it as "a unique masterpiece of medieval military architecture".

Castel del Monte is depicted on the reverse of the Italian-issue 1 Euro cent coin. The castle has been often mistakenly linked to the Knights Templar and it's been regarded as a "mysterious" construction even by notable historians. Italian historian Raffaele Licinio often condemned those esoteric views and interpretations, stressing that Castel del Monte was just one of the castles of the fortification system developed by Frederick II, and it is not in any way linked to the Templars.

Occasionally used as a hunting lodge under Manfred of Sicily, the castle become a state prison under the latter's victor, Charles I of Anjou: here Manfred's sons Henry, Azzo and Enzo were kept as prisoner after 1266, as well as other Hohenstaufen supporters. The main wall is 25 m high and the eight bastions each 26 m. The sides of the main octagon are 16.5 m long and those of the octagonal towers each 3.1 m. The castle has a diameter of 56 m. Its main entrance faces east. 

Around the castle, Andria is the Italian DOC wine region of Castel del Monte that produces red, white and rose wines. Most of the wines are blends but varietal wines can be produced as long as at least 90% of the wine is composed of the same grape.

The Scala dei Turchi, Coast of Realmonte, Near Porto Empedocle, Southern Sicily, Italy.

The Scala dei Turchi (Italian: "Stair of the Turks") is a rocky cliff on the coast of Realmonte, near Porto Empedocle, southern Sicily, Italy. It has become a tourist attraction, partly due to its mention in Andrea Camilleri's series of detective stories about Commissario Montalbano.

The Scala is formed by marl, a sedimentary rock with a characteristic white color. It lies  between two sandy beaches, and is accessed through a limestone rock formation in the shape of a   staircase, hence the name. The latter part of the name derives from the frequent raids carried on by  Saracen or Barbary pirates.

In August 2007, the municipality of Realmonte applied for the inclusion of the Scala dei Turchi (together with the nearby Roman Villa Aurea) in the UNESCO Heritage List.

This white cliff is located along the stretch of the sea between Realmonte and Porto Empedocle (Agrigento) and its rock is made of a soft, limestone and blinding white marl. Nature, as a great artist, has worked this material over time, making it soft and sinuous, with the help of the sea and the salty breeze, creating terraces and smoothing every corner.

The name Scale of the Turks seems to derive from the fact that in ancient times the ships of marauding Arabs and Turks found shelter in this bay. When visiting Scala dei Turchi, hike down one of a few steep sandy trails that lead to a beach full of locals and tourists covered in wet Marl, hoping to glow from the benefits it supposedly contains for the skin. Beach-goers that are not taking part in the natural mud bath can be seen jumping off of the cliffs and rocks, and into the deep, buoyant water of the warm Mediterranean. Local tourism authorities recommend climbing the steps barefoot. 

The easiest way to reach the Scala dei Turchi is by car. There are some seasonal summer buses from nearby towns, but tracking down the schedules and routes can be complicated.

Agra Fort (World Heritage Monuments), City of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Agra Fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra in India. It was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. Before capture by the British, the last Indian rulers to have occupied it were the Marathas. In 1983, the Agra fort was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled city.

Like the rest of Agra, the history of Agra Fort prior to Mahmud Ghaznavi's invasion is unclear. However in the 15th Century, the Chauhan Rajputs occupied it. Soon after, Agra assumed the status of capital when Sikandar Lodi (A.D. 1487–1517) shifted his capital from Delhi and constructed a few buildings in the pre-existing Fort at Agra. After the first battle of Panipat (A.D. 1526) Mughals captured the fort and ruled from it. In A.D. 1530, Humayun was crowned in it. The Fort got its present appearance during the reign of Akbar (A.D. 1556–1605).

After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, Babur stayed in the fort, in the palace of Ibrahim Lodi. He later built a baoli (step well) in it. His successor, Humayun, was crowned in the fort in 1530. He was defeated at Bilgram in 1540 by Sher Shah Suri. The fort remained with the Suris till 1555, when Humayun recaptured it. Adil Shah Suri's general, Hemu, recaptured Agra in 1556 and pursued its fleeing governor to Delhi where he met the Mughals in the Battle of Tughlaqabad.

Realising the importance of its central situation, Akbar made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558. His historian, Abul Fazl, recorded that this was a brick fort known as 'Badalgarh'. It was in a ruined condition and Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone from Barauli area Dhaulpur district, in Rajasthan. Architects laid the foundation and it was built with bricks in the inner core with sandstone on external surfaces. Some 4,000 builders worked on it daily for eight years, completing it in 1573.

It was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, that the site took on its current state. Shah Jahan built the beautiful Taj Mahal in the memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Unlike his grandfather, Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble. He destroyed some of the earlier buildings inside the fort to make his own.

The fort was under the Jat rulers of Bharatpur for 13 Years. In the fort, they built the Ratan Singh ki haveli. The fort was invaded and captured by the Maratha Empire in the early 18th century. Thereafter, it changed hands between the Marathas and their foes many times. After their catastrophic defeat at Third Battle of Panipat by Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761, Marathas remained out of the region for the next decade. Finally Mahadji Shinde took the fort in 1785. It was lost by the Marathas to the British during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, in 1803. 

The fort was the site of a battle during the Indian rebellion of 1857, which caused the end of the British East India Company's rule in India, and led to a century of direct rule of India by Britain.

The 380,000 m2 (94-acre) fort has a semicircular plan, its chord lies parallel to the river Yamuna and its walls are seventy feet high. Double ramparts have massive circular bastions at intervals, with battlements, embrasures, machicolations and string courses. Four gates were provided on its four sides, one Khizri gate opening on to the river.

Two of the fort's gates are notable: the "Delhi Gate" and the "Lahore Gate." The Lahore Gate is also popularly also known as the "Amar Singh Gate," for Amar Singh Rathore.

The monumental Delhi Gate, which faces the city on the western side of the fort, is considered the grandest of the four gates and a masterpiece of Akbar's time. It was built circa 1568 both to enhance security and as the king's formal gate, and includes features related to both. It is embellished with intricate inlay work in white marble. A wooden drawbridge was used to cross the moat and reach the gate from the mainland; inside, an inner gateway called Hathi Pol ("Elephant Gate") guarded by two life-sized stone elephants with their riders added another layer of security. The drawbridge, slight ascent, and 90-degree turn between the outer and inner gates make the entrance impregnable. During a siege, attackers would employ elephants to crush a fort's gates. Without a level, straight run-up to gather speed, however, that thing is prevented by this layout. Because the Indian military (the Parachute Brigade in particular) is still using the northern portion of the Agra Fort, the Delhi Gate cannot be used by the public. Tourists enter via the Amar Singh Gate.

The site is very important in terms of architectural history. Abul Fazal recorded that five hundred buildings in the beautiful designs of Bengal and Gujarat were built in the fort. Some of them were demolished by Shah Jahan to make way for his white marble palaces. Most of the others were destroyed by the British troops of East India Company between 1803 and 1862 for raising barracks. Hardly thirty Mughal buildings have survived on the south-eastern side, facing the river, such as the Delhi Gate and Akbar Gate and one palace – "Bengali Mahal".

Akbar Darwazza (Akbar Gate) was renamed Amar Singh Gate by Shah Jahan. The gate is similar in design to the Delhi Gate. Both are built of red sandstone. The Bengali Mahal is built of red sandstone and is now split into Akbari Mahal and Jahangiri Mahal.