A few nice niche site platform images I found:
Belem's Tower
Image by pedrosimoes7
Belem, Lisbon, Portugal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Bele´m in Lisbon*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party Portugal
TypeCultural
Criteriaiii, vi
Reference263
Region**Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription1983 (7th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
** Region as classified by UNESCO.
Bele´m Tower (in Portuguese Torre de Bele´m, pron. IPA: ['to?(?) d? b?'l?~i~]) is a fortified tower located in the Bele´m district of Lisbon, Portugal.
It was built in the early 16th century in the Portuguese late Gothic style, the Manueline, to commemorate Vasco da Gama's expedition. This defensive, yet elegant construction has become one of the symbols of the city, a memorial to the Portuguese power during the Age of the Great Discoveries. In 1983 it was classified, together with the nearby Mosteiro dos Jero´nimos, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
[edit]History
The Bele´m Tower was built both as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon and as part of a defense system of the entrance of the Tagus river and the Jero´nimos Monastery, which was necessary to protect Lisbon. The system was initiated by King John II (1455-1495), who built the Fortress of Cascais and the Fortress of Sa~o Sebastia~o of Caparica. The banks of Bele´m were protected by a ship, the Grande Nau, replaced by the Tower of Bele´m during the last five years of the reign of King Manuel I.
Renaissance loggia on the first floor of Bele´m Tower.
The Tower was constructed between 1515 and 1521 by military architect Francisco de Arruda, who had already built several fortresses in Portuguese possessions in Morocco. The influence of the Moorish decorative art is manifest in delicate decorations of the arched windows and balconies and in the ribbed cupolas of the watch towers. Diogo de Boitaca, first architect of the nearby Monastery of the Jero´nimos, probably also participated in decorating the building. The machicolation and the battlements are decorated with the rich sculptural ornamentations of the Manueline style.
Originally, the Tower stood on a little island on the right side of the Tagus, surrounded by water. Opposite the beach at Restelo, with the progressive southward creeping of the shore over the years, it is now practically moored to the bank itself. It was dedicated to the patron saint of Lisbon, St Vincent.
In 1580, when Lisbon was invaded by Spanish troops in the course of a struggle for the Portuguese throne, the Tower fought and surrendered to the Duke of Alba. In the following centuries the Tower was mainly used as a prison (with the underground cellars regularly flooding) and as a custom house. Indeed, given its height and lack of dissimulation in the landscape, some historians believe the Tower was mostly intended to serve as a customs outpost.
In the 1840s, under the impulse of romantic writer Almeida Garrett, the Tower of Bele´m was restored by King Ferdinand II. At this point many neo-manueline decorative elements were added to the building. It was declared a National Monument in 1910.
[edit]Art and architecture
Casemate of the bastion of Bele´m Tower.
The Tower of Bele´m is considered one of the main works of the Portuguese late gothic, the manueline style. Indeed, the tower is decorated with several typical Manueline motifs like the armillary sphere (the symbol of Manuel I), the cross of the Order of Christ (to which Manuel I belonged), twisted ropes, elaborate rib vaulting and other features. However, some of the decoration dates from the renovation of the 1840s, like the shields with the cross of the military Order of Christ, that decorate the crenellations of the walls, and the decoration of the small cloister of the bastion. The part of the tower facing the river displays the richest decorations.
The Tower of Bele´m can be divided into two parts, the bastion, with the shape of an irregular hexagon, and the five-story tower itself, located on the north side of the bastion. The whole ensemble looks like the bow of a caravel.
Crenelated tower with Manueline decorations
The bastion has a vaulted chamber (the casemate), with openings in the 3.5 m-thick walls for the 17 large-calibre breech-loading cannons. The open centre above the casemate made it easier to dispel the fumes and smokes. The bastion platform could also be used for the emplacement of light-calibre guns. This was the first Portuguese fortification with a two-level gun emplacement and it marks a new development in military architecture. The corners of this platform have delicate turrets (guerites) topped by Moorish-looking cupolas. The base of the turrets have images of beasts, including a rhinoceros, considered to be the first sculpture of such an animal in Western European art. This rhinoceros probably depicts the one that Manuel I sent to the Pope in 1515. On the platform, in front of the tower, stands a statue of the Madonna of Bele´m with Child and a bunch of grapes in her left hand in a richly carved niche with a baldachin in Manueline style. The same turrets occur on the upper platform of the tower.
The entrance to the Tower is done through a portal decorated with many Manueline motifs, including Manuel I's badge of honour (an armillary sphere). The whole tower is also decorated with stone twisted ropes, which even tie a knot at the north fac¸ade of the building.
Tower lit up at night
The upper corners of the tower walls have statues of St Vincent and St Michael, as well as many fine windows with arches. The renaissance-style covered loggia, running the full length of the south side of the first floor of the tower, is particularly delicate. It has a Venetian touch. The many shields that decorate the merlons are neo-manueline.
The tower itself, 35 metres high, has four storeys and a terrace that offers wonderful views of the surrounding landscape. The powder magazine is at water level. The next storeys are reached via a narrow spiral staircase. The next storey was the commander's room. The second storey has covered balconies on each side. Of the tower floors, the most interesting is the chapel of the fourth floor, with a magnificent Manueline rib vault decorated with the armillary sphere and the cross of the military Order of Christ, who participated in many Portuguese conquests. The oratory is on the top floor.
Megalithic statue at Tiwanaku
Image by wallygrom
From www.sacred-destinations.com/bolivia/tiwanaku
Located near the southern shore of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, the city of Tiwanaku (also spelled Tiahuanaco) was the capital of a powerful pre-Inca civilization that dominated the Andean region between 500 and 900 AD. The monumental remains of this great culture include several temples, a pyramid, symbolic gates, monoliths and mysterious carvings of alien-like faces. Arriving later, the Incas regarded Tiahuanaco as the site of creation by their god Viracoca, who rose from the depths of Lake Titicaca.
The civilization that eventually became the Tiahuanaco people is believed to have dawned around 600 BC. Construction on their great city and ceremonial site began around 700 AD and flourished for several centuries.
At its height, the city was home to 20,000 inhabitants and covered 2.6 sq km of land. By 1200 AD, the Tiwanaku people had faded into obscurity, but the culture lived on through its strong religious influence on the Incas.
Archaeologists have divided the history of Tiwanaku into five periods, as follows:
1. Advent of Tiahuanaco civilization to mid-5th-century BC. Finds from this period include multicolored pottery and human or animal effigies made of painted clay.
2. 5th-century BC to 1st century BC. Artifacts include ceramic vessels with horizontal handles.
3. 1-300 AD. Tricolor pottery in geometric designs, decorated with images of stylized animals.
4. The Classic Period, 300-700 AD. This period produced the large stone structures seen today, and the use of bronze and gold indicates trade constacts. Pottery includes human heads and faces with bulging cheeks, indicating the coca leaf was in use by this time.
5. The Expansive Period, 700-1200 AD. A period of decline, with less elaborate pottery and few construction projects.
The Incas, who later moved to the region, believed the city was built not by an earlier civilization, but by the god Viracocha himself. For the Incas, Tiahuanaco was the place where the first humans were created and the capital from which Viracocha reigned over the civilization.
Since the arrival of the Spanish, the treasures of Tiahuanaco have been scattered all over the world. Its gold was looted by the Spanish, of course, and some artifacts were destroyed by Catholic zealots who considered them pagan idols.
Other statues were kept by the church or sold by the church as curiosities. Larger stones were used for Spanish colonial construction projects, including the bed of the railway that passes near the site.
Fortunately, some of the artwork made its way to museums and a portion still remains in Bolivia. The largest stone statues have been left on site, while other artifacts can be seen at the on-site Museo Litico Monumental and the Museo National de Arqueologia in La Paz.
What to See
As with many ancient megalithic sites around the world, the builders of Tiwanaku went to great lengths to construct their monumental temples. The basalt and sandstone slabs that lay around the site weigh as much as 25 tons each. And the nearest quarries that could have produced the basalt stones are on the Copacabana peninsula, 40km away. The sandstone blocks came from more than 5km away.
Perhaps the most outstanding structure at Tiwanaku is the Akapana pyramid, built over an existing geological formation. Roughly square in shape, it covers 16 sq m at its base. In the center of the flat summit is a sunken oval area, generally attributed to the digging of early Spanish looters. Some archaeologists believe instead that it was used for water storage. A great deal of the pyramid's stones were looted for use in local homes and churches, so overall the pyramid is no longer very impressive.
North of the pyramid the Kalasasaya Temple, a ritual platform 130m by 120m in size. The walls are made of huge blocks of red sandstone and andesite. The blocks are precisely fitted to form a platform base 3m high. The massive entrance steps are flanked by two monolithic uprights. The restored portico leads to an interior courtyard and the ruins of priests' quarters.
Secondary platforms within Kalasasaya contain other monoliths, including El Fraile (the Priest). At the far northwest corner of the temple is the Puerta del Sol (Gateway of the Sun). Constructed of a single block of andesite, it is estimated to weight at least 44 tons. Archaeologists believe it was associated in some way with the sun god, and was perhaps used as a calendar.
The surface is decorated with bas-relief designs and a sculpture of a deity on one side and a row of four deep niches, perhaps to hold offerings, on the other. Near the western end of Kalasasaya is a similar but smaller gateway carved with animal designs, which has been dubbed the Puerta de la Luna (Gateway of the Moon).
East of the main entrance to Kalasasaya is the Templete Semisubterraneo, or the Semi-subterranean Temple. Some think this temple represents the Underworld, while Kalasasaya symbolizes the Earth. Made of red sandstone, the Subterranean Temple measures 26m by 28m in area and includes a rectangular sunken courtyard. Its walls are decorated with 175 intriguing sculptures of human faces. Some of the faces strongly resemble modern depictions of aliens, which naturally has led to some interesting speculations.
West of Kalasasaya Temple is a large rectangular area known as Putuni or Palacio de los Sarcofagos, which is still being excavated. At the eastern end of the site is a heap of rubble known as Kantatayita. Archaeologists have not yet been able to piece together what sort of structure was made from the pieces, but they are intriguingly carved with geometrical designs.
Across the railroad tracks south of the main site is the archaeological site of Puma Punku (Gateway of the Puma). This temple complex contains megaliths weighing more than 440 tons.
Festivals and Events
On June 21, the winter soltice for the southern hemisphere, the great festival of Aymara New Year (Machaj Mara) is celebrated at Tiwanaku. The festival draws as many as 5,000 people, including many followers of New Age religion, from around the world. The main event is sunrise, when the rays of the rising sun shine through the temple entrance on the eastern side of the complex.
Locals wear colorful ceremonial clothing for the event, and visitors are welcomed to join the party, which includes drinking singani, chewing coca, sacrificing llamas, and dancing until dawn. Local artisans hold a fair to coincide with the celebration.
Special buses leave La Paz around 4am to arrive in time for sunrise. More committed participants arrive to camp outside the ruins a few days before the event. Smaller and less touristy celebrations are held for the other solstice and equinoxes.
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