Soviet Era Locomotive

• HDR Photo

Soviet Era Locomotive, seen at Kiev Polytechnic Institute. As Locomotives go, this is a small one.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Scene from an Old Roman Town

Myra is an ancient town in Lycia, where the small town of Kale (Demre) is situated today in present day Antalya Province of Turkey. It was located on the river Myros (Demre Çay), in the fertile alluvial plain between Alaca Dağ, the Massikytos range and the Aegean Sea.

Myra, from Wikipedia

The Day of a Million Flowers

Today is Victory Day in Ukraine and many of the countries of the former Soviet Union.

The Soviet Victory Day or 9 May marks the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the Second World War (also known as the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and some post-Soviet states). It was first inaugurated in the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union, following the signing of the surrender document late in the evening on 8 May 1945 (9 May by Moscow Time). It happened after the original capitulation that Germany earlier agreed to the joint Allied forces of the Western Front. The Soviet government announced the victory early on 9 May after the signing ceremony in Berlin. Though the official inauguration happened in 1945 (which means it has been celebrated since 1946), the holiday became a non-labour day only in 1965 and only in some of the countries.

This year is likely to be smaller than last year's 65th anniversary of Victory Day, the celebration day of the end of World War 2 in Eastern Europe. But it will still be big enough.

The Battle of the Dnieper Statue

New Section: Contact RLTP!

I'm no doubt late getting around to this, but this website has a new page, "Contact RLTP." You can find it at the very top of the website. It was actually so simple to implement that I'm kicking myself for not doing it earlier. Comments on photos are definitely welcome and should still go in the "Leave a comment" section under each photo. But if you desire to contact me directly, there's a proper contact form now.

The Saturday Archive Series

Ah, monuments, Soviet Style.  Especially if memorializing World War II.  They are just so much bigger than life!  Big!  Bold!  Heroic!

The Battle of the Dnieper Statue is located at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Kiev.  It commemorates a pivotal battle that liberated Kiev from Nazi Germany.  This is just one of the, well, monumental monuments found on the grounds.

This is a modified version of the photo Battle of the Dnieper statue, posted earlier.

War Memorial, Chernigov

As war memorials go in Ukraine and throughout this part of the world, this is a small one.  But the purpose remains the same as always.  Remember the sacrifices defeating Nazi Germany, and never ever forget this war so you can avoid this fate yourself.  May 9th 2011 will be the 66th anniversary of the end of World War 2, known locally as the Great Patriotic War.  This year's anniversary will be smaller than last years, but May 9th, Victory Day, remains the major civic celebration of the year, even though there are many around here that would rather forget, because Victory Day is a "Soviet holiday," not a Ukrainian one.

What you see here is one of a series of five or six similar memorials at this location.

Turkish Countryside

•  HDR Photo

Seen in the Turkish countryside south of Kemer.  Late September 2010.

Palm and Dogtails

• HDR Photo

Seen at the Simena Sun Club, Kemer, Turkey.