2012 Summer Olympics-London 2012

Games of the XXX Olympiad

The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad, and also more generally known as London 2012, was a major international multi-sport event, celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that took place in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The first event, the group stages in women's football, began two days earlier, on 25 July. More than 10,000 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated.

Following a bid headed by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe and then-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, London was selected as the host city on 6 July 2005 during the 117th IOC Session in Singapore, defeating bids from Moscow, New York City, Madrid and Paris. London was the first city to officially host the modern Olympic Games three times, having previously done so in 1908 and in 1948.

A London 2012 Olympics banner at the Monument in London

Construction in preparation for the Games involved considerable redevelopment, particularly themed towards sustainability. The main focus was a new 200-hectare (490-acre) Olympic Park, constructed on a former industrial site at Stratford, East London. The Games also made use of venues which were already in place before the bid.

Olympic rings marked on a street, indicating that the lane was reserved for the use of Olympic athletes and staff.

The Games received widespread acclaim for their organisation, with the volunteers, the British military, and public enthusiasm praised particularly highly. The opening ceremony, directed by Danny Boyle, also received near-universal acclaim. During the Games, Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, winning his 22nd medal. Great Britain achieved its highest tally of gold medals since 1908, finishing third in the medal table. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei entered female athletes for the first time, meaning every currently eligible country has sent a female competitor to at least one Olympic Games. With women's boxing included, the Games became the first at which every sport had female competitors.

Read more

Information and Image Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hospicio Cabañas, Guadalajara

Card No. 157

Card from Irma Draz Facebook Friend

The Hospicio Cabañas in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, a World Heritage Site, is one of the oldest and largest hospital complexes in the Americas.

The complex was founded in 1791 by the Bishop of Guadalajara in order to combine the functions of a workhouse, hospital, orphanage, and almshouse. It owes its name to Juan Ruiz de Cabañas who was appointed to the see of Guadalajara in 1796 and engaged Manuel Tolsá, a renowned architect from Mexico City, to design the structure.

Tolsá's design was based on classic examples such as Les Invalides in Paris and El Escorial near Madrid. The buildings form a rectangle measuring 164 m by 145 m. These are single-storey structures which are 7.5 m in height. The chapel is twice as high and has a dome rising to 32.5 m. The complex is erected on one level, "so as to facilitate the movement of the sick, the aged, and children. Following the death of Cabañas in 1823, construction continued until 1829. Although it served for a time as a barracks in the mid-19th century, the hospital lasted well into the 20th century and continued to function until 1980, when the Cabañas Cultural Institute, with affiliated schools for arts and crafts, moved in. The highlight of the interior decoration is a series of monumental frescoes by José Clemente Orozco, including one of his most famed creations, the allegory of The Man of Fire (1936–39).

Information Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija

Card No. 156

Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija is a joint UNESCO’s World Heritage site in Almadén, Spain, and Idrija, Slovenia.

The property encompasses two mercury mining sites. In Almadén mercury has been extracted since Antiquity, while in Idrija it was first found in 1490 A.D. The Almadén site includes buildings relating to its mining history, including Retamar Castle, religious buildings and traditional dwellings. The site in Idrija notably features mercury stores and infrastructure, as well as miners’ living quarters, and a miners’ theatre. The sites bear testimony to the intercontinental trade in mercury which generated important exchanges between Europe and America over the centuries. The two sites represent the two largest mercury mines in the world and were operational until recent times.

Information Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila

Card No 155

Card from Irma Draz Facebook Friend

The domestication of wild agave seems to have begun around 3,500 years ago. The wild plant may have originated in the Rio Grande canyon. The agave plant is ideally suited to the poor soil and rough terrain of the Tequila area.

Agave was extensively cultivated by the Teuchitlans and served to provide many basis necessities: its fibres were used for fabric, rope and paper, the flower stem provided wood for construction, the fleshy leaves were used as roof tiles and fuel, the spines for needles and arrow heads, the sap produced a type of honey and its juices were used for medicinal balm and fermented to produce an alcoholic drink. The leaders of the complex, stratified, Teuchitlan society created wealth from their apparent monopoly of the agave resources.

To transform the starches in the plant to sugar, for eating and fermenting into alcohol, the pineapples need cooking. There is archaeological evidence from nearby Lake Sayula (outside the nominated area) that the practice of cooking agave pineapples in open, conical ovens, made of volcanic stone, existed around 400 BC. These ovens were preheated with wood and the pineapples covered with branches and clay.

The Spanish priest, Friar Francisco Ximenez, wrote in 1615 how juice from the cooked plant was fermented to make wine flavoured with orange and melon rinds.

In the 16th century the area was conquered by the Spanish who established the town of Santiago de Tequila. The Caxcanes who were living in the areas gradually assimilated with the Spanish. In order to mitigate shortages of spirits from Europe, the Spanish experimented with local beverages and begun to distil the agave fermented juice to make vino de mezcal. At the same time rum was being developed in the Antilles and so the necessary equipment for the new agave spirit was introduced from the rum making areas.

The taxes levied on the new spirit produced a significant income for the Spanish government of Guadalajara. It funded a water supply and the government palace of Jalisco in Guadalajara. Read more

Information Obtained from unesco.org

Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg

Card No 154

Card from Katrin Fraenkler Facebook Friend

Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as the hometown of Martin Luther, hence its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. As of 2005, Eisleben had a population of 24,552. It lies on the Halle–Kassel railway.

Eisleben is divided into old and new towns (Altstadt and Neustadt); the latter of which was created for Eisleben's miners in the 14th century.

Eisleben was first mentioned in 997 as a market called Islebia and in 1180 as a town. It belonged to the counts of Mansfeld until it passed to the Electorate of Saxony in 1780. It was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815 and was administered within the Prussian Province of Saxony. It became part of the new state of Saxony-Anhalt after World War II. Read More

Information Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia