Amazing Exciting World

Lion Rock

2007-09-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

Standing tall over the surrounding plains, Sigiriya Rock offers splended views for miles in all directions. Sigiriya Rock lies on a steep mound that rises over the otherwise flat plains, and is itself a further 370 meters tall. The rock is sheer on all sides, and in many parts even overhangs the base. From the top, it is elliptical in plan. Its top is flat, and slopes gradually along the elliptical axis.

Archeological Remains at Sigiriya

The ancient king's Upper Palace is located at the flat top of Sigiriya Rock. On the middle terrace is the Lion Gate and the Mirror Wall, with its frescoes. The king's Lower Palace clings to the slopes below the rock. The moats, walls and gardens of the palace extend for a few hundreds meters from the base of the rock.

The king built his residence here to function not only as a palace, but also as fortress. The engineering ingenuity and creativity required to create this landmark still impress today's visitors. On the Upper Palace, for example, one finds cisterns cut into the rock to retain water.

The History Of Sigiriya

Sigiriya Rock may have been in use since prehistoric times. It was already a rock-shelter monastery from about the 3rd century BC. The caves within it were prepared and donated by devotees. Later King Kasyapa built the garden and palace around it. After King Kasyapa died, Sigiriya reverted to monastic use up till the 14th century, when it was finally abandoned, and was only rediscovered in 1907 by British Explorer John Still.

According to the Mahavamsa, the ancient historical record of Sri Lanka, there was once a king calleed, Kasyapa, the son of King Dhatusena. Kasyapa murdered his father by walling him alive and then usurping the throne which rightfully belonged to his elder brother Mogallana. Mogallana escaped Kasyapa's assassination attempt by fleeing to India. In India Mogallana raised an army with the intention of returning and retaking the throne of Sri Lanka.\n Knowing that Mogallana will return one day, Kasyapa built his palace on the summit of Sigiriya Rock as a fortress as well as a pleasure palace.

The king built his residence here to function not only as a palace, but also as fortress. The engineering ingenuity and creativity required to create this landmark still impress today's visitors. On the Upper Palace, for example, one finds cisterns cut into the rock to retain water.

The History Of Sigiriya

Sigiriya Rock may have been in use since prehistoric times. It was already a rock-shelter monastery from about the 3rd century BC. The caves within it were prepared and donated by devotees. Later King Kasyapa built the garden and palace around it. After King Kasyapa died, Sigiriya reverted to monastic use up till the 14th century, when it was finally abandoned, and was only rediscovered in 1907 by British Explorer John Still.

The Legend of Sigiriya

According to the Mahavamsa, the ancient historical record of Sri Lanka, there was once a king calleed, Kasyapa, the son of King Dhatusena. Kasyapa murdered his father by walling him alive and then usurping the throne which rightfully belonged to his elder brother Mogallana. Mogallana escaped Kasyapa's assassination attempt by fleeing to India. In India Mogallana raised an army with the intention of returning and retaking the throne of Sri Lanka. Knowing that Mogallana will return one day, Kasyapa built his palace on the summit of Sigiriya Rock as a fortress as well as a pleasure palace.

In AD 495, eighteen years afer Kasyapa seized power, Mogallana returned and declared war. At the heat of the battle, Kasyapa's elephant turned aside sensing a hidden swamp. His army though he was retreating, so they backed away, leaving him stranded. Rather than be captured, Kasyapa committed suicide by turning his sword on himself (legend said he beheaded himself). Moggallana returned the capital to Anuradapura and Sigiriya reverted into a monastery complex.

The irony of this story is that had King Kassyapa remained within the high walls of Sigiriya Rock, Mogallana would have never been able to defeat him. Some people believe that the years of waiting for an invasion had driven Kassyapa over the\n edge, or that Kasyapa developed a guilty consoncience over what he had done and wanted to fight his brother on an equal level. Alternative stories have the primary builder of the palace at Sigiriya Rock as King Dhatusena, with Kasyapa finishing the work in honour of his father. Another story have Kasyapa as a playboy king, with Sigiriya Rock being his pleasure palace. Still, Kasyapa's fate was nowhere less tragic. In some versions, he was assassinated by a concubine, in another he cut his own throat when isolated in his final battle.

In AD 495, eighteen years afer Kasyapa seized power, Mogallana returned and declared war. At the heat of the battle, Kasyapa's elephant turned aside sensing a hidden swamp. His army though he was retreating, so they backed away, leaving him stranded. Rather than be captured, Kasyapa committed suicide by turning his sword on himself (legend said he beheaded himself). Moggallana returned the capital to Anuradapura and Sigiriya reverted into a monastery complex.The irony of this story is that had King Kassyapa remained within the high walls of Sigiriya Rock, Mogallana would have never been able to defeat him. Some people believe that the years of waiting for an invasion had driven Kassyapa over the edge, or that Kasyapa developed a guilty consoncience over what he had done and wanted to fight his brother on an equal level. Alternative stories have the primary builder of the palace at Sigiriya Rock as King Dhatusena, with Kasyapa finishing the work in honour of his father. Another story have Kasyapa as a playboy king, with Sigiriya Rock being his pleasure palace. Still, Kasyapa's fate was nowhere less tragic. In some versions, he was assassinated by a concubine, in another he cut his own throat when isolated in his final battle.

Amazing Light Show

2007-09-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Austria Jail

2007-09-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

Mini World Record

2007-09-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

21 Persons in a Mini World Record

NOKIA Mobile Original Check

2007-09-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

Would like to know if your NOKIA mobile is original or not?!!

Press the following on your mobile
*#06#
and the-international mobile equipment identity number appears.

Check the 7th and 8th numbers

1
2
3
4
5
6
7 th
8 th
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

IF the digit number Seven & Eight is 02 or 20 that mean it was assembled in the Emirates which is very Bad quality

IF the digit number Seven & Eight is 08 or 80 that means it was manufactured in Germany which is not bad

IF the digit number Seven & Eight is 01 or 10 that mean it's manufactured in Finland which is Good

IF the digit number Seven & Eight is 00 that means it was manufactured in original factory which is the best Mobile Quality

...IF the digit number Seven & Eight is 13 that means it was assembled in Azerbaijan which is very poor quality and potentially very dangerous to your health!!!

Amazing Berlin Light Show

2007-09-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

Amazing planes you have never seen before

2007-08-31T10:27:00.000-07:00

Car Accidents

2007-08-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a collection of some of the most amazing and (funny) car accidents.
Please drive carefully or the picture of your car will be on this page of car accidents.

Metro Train Dubai

2007-08-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

Burried Army

2007-08-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

A massive army of ancient Terracotta soldiers that was buried with a Chinese emperor thousands of years ago so that he would have an army in the afterlife.

Out-dated Computers

2007-08-27T01:01:00.000-07:00

Now you know what to do with your out-dated computers!

Green Tea

2007-08-26T01:16:00.000-07:00

25 Reasons Why You Should Start Drinking Green Tea Now

Green tea has increasingly become a very popular drink worldwide because of its immensely powerful health benefits.It is extraordinarily amazing what green tea can do for your health.And if you're not drinking 3 to 4 cups of green tea today, you're definitely NOT doing your health a big favor.Here Are The 25 Reasons Why
You Should Start Drinking Green Tea Right Now:

1. Green Tea and CancerGreen tea helps reduce the risk of cancer. The antioxidant in green tea is 100 times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times better than vitamin E. This helps your body at protecting cells from damage believed to be linked to cancer.

2. Green Tea and Heart DiseaseGreen tea helps prevent heart disease and stroke by lowering the level of cholesterol. Even after the heart attack, it prevents cell deaths and speeds up the recovery of heart cells.

3. Green Tea and Anti-AgingGreen tea contains antioxidant known as polyphenols which fight against free radicals. What this means it helps you fight against aging and promotes longevity.

4. Green Tea and Weight LossGreen tea helps with your body weight loss. Green tea burns fat and boosts your metabolism rate naturally. It can help you burn up to 70 calories in just one day. That translates to 7 pounds in one year.

5. Green Tea and SkinAntioxidant in green tea protects the skin from the harmful effects of free radicals, which cause wrinkling and skin aging. Green tea also helps fight against skin cancer.

6. Green Tea and ArthritisGreen tea can help prevent and reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Green tea has benefit for your health as it protects the cartilage by blocking the enzyme that destroys cartilage.

7. Green Tea and BonesThe very key to this is high fluoride content found in green tea. It helps keep your bones strong. If you drink green tea every day, this will help you preserve your bone density.

8. Green Tea and CholesterolGreen tea can help lower cholesterol level. It also improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol, by reducing bad cholesterol level.

9. Green Tea and ObesityGreen tea prevents obesity by stopping the movement of glucose in fat cells. If you are on a healthy diet, exercise regularly and drink green tea, it is unlikely you'll be obese.

10. Green Tea and DiabetesGreen tea improves lipid and glucose metabolisms, prevents sharp increases in blood sugar level, and balances your metabolism rate.

11. Green Tea and Alzheimer'sGreen tea helps boost your memory. And although there's no cure for Alzheimer's, it helps slow the process of reduced acetylcholine in the brain, which leads to Alzheimer's.

12. Green Tea and Parkinson'sAntioxidants in green tea helps prevent against cell damage in the brain, which could cause Parkinson's. People drinking green tea also are less likely to progress with Parkinson's.

13. Green Tea and Liver DiseaseGreen tea helps prevent transplant failure in people with liver failure. Researches showed that green tea destroys harmful free radicals in fatty livers.

14. Green Tea and High Blood PressureGreen tea helps prevent high blood pressure. Drinking green tea helps keep your blood pressure down by repressing angiotensin, which leads to high blood pressure.

15. Green Tea and Food PoisoningCatechin found in green tea can kill bacteria which causes food poisoning and kills the toxins produced by those bacteria.

16. Green Tea and Blood SugarBlood sugar tends to increase with age, but polyphenols and polysaccharides in green tea help lower your blood sugar level.

17. Green Tea and ImmunityPolyphenols and flavenoids found in green tea help boost your immune system, making your health stronger in fighting against infections.

18. Green Tea and Cold and FluGreen tea prevents you from getting a cold or flu. Vitamin C in green tea helps you treat the flu and the common cold.

19. Green Tea and AsthmaTheophylline in green tea relaxes the muscles which support the bronchial tubes, reducing the severity of asthma.

20. Green Tea and Ear InfectionGreen tea helps with ear infection problem. For natural ear cleaning, soak a cotton ball in green tea and clean the infected ear.

21. Green Tea and HerpesGreen tea increases the effectiveness of topical interferon treatment of herpes. First green tea compress is applied, and then let the skin dry before the interferon treatment.

22. Green Tea and Tooth DecayGreen tea destroys bacteria and viruses that cause many dental diseases.It also slows the growth of bacteria which leads to bad breath.

23. Green Tea and StressL-theanine, which is a kind of amino acids in green tea, can help relieve stress and anxiety.

24. Green Tea and AllergiesEGCG found in green tea relieves allergies. So, if you have allergies, you should really consider drinking green tea.

25. Green Tea and HIVScientists in Japan have found that EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate) in green tea can stop HIV from binding to healthy immune cells.

What this means is that green tea can help stop the HIV virus from spreading.

Metal Animals II

2007-08-25T03:22:00.000-07:00

Mothers Sacrifice

2007-08-24T03:18:00.000-07:00

My mom only had one eye. I hated her... she was such an embarrassment. My mom ran a small shop at a flea market. She collected little weeds and such to sell... anything for the money we needed she was such an embarrassment. There was this one day during elementary school.I remember that it was field day, and my mom came. I was so embarrassed.How could she do this to me? I threw her a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school..."Your mom only has one eye?!" and they taunted me.

I wished that my mom would just disappear from this world so I said to my mom, "Mom, why don't you have the other eye?! You're only going to make me a laughingstock. Why don't you just die?" My mom did not respond. I guess I felt a little bad, but at the same time, it felt good to think that I had said what I'd wanted to say all this time.
Maybe it was because my mom hadn't punished me, but I didn't think that I had hurt her feelings very badly.

That night...I woke up, and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. My mom was crying there, so quietly, as if she was afraid that she might wake me. I took a look at her, and then turned away. Because of the thing I had said to her earlier, there was something pinching at me in the corner of my heart. Even so, I hated my mother who was crying out of her one eye. So I told myself that I would grow up and become successful, because I hated my one-eyed mom and our desperate poverty.

Then I studied really hard. I left my mother and came to Seoul and studied, and got accepted in the Seoul University with all the confidence I had. Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. Then I had kids, too. Now I'm living happily as a successful man. I like it here because it's a place that doesn't remind me of my mom.

This happiness was getting bigger and bigger, when someone unexpected came to see me "What?! Who's this?!" ...It was my mother...Still with her one eye. It felt as if the whole sky was falling apart on me. My little girl ran away, scared of my mom's eye.

And I asked her, "Who are you? I don't know you!!!" as if I tried to make that real. I screamed at her "How dare you come to my house and scare my daughter! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!" And to this, my mother quietly answered, "oh, I'm so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address," and she disappeared. Thank good ness... she doesn't recognize me. I was quite relieved. I told myself that I wasn't going to care, or think about this for the rest of my life.
Then a wave of relief came upon me...one day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house. I lied to my wife saying that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went down to the old shack, that I used to call a house...just out of curiosity there, I found my mother fallen on the cold ground. But I did not shed a single tear. She had a piece of paper in her hand.... it was a letter to me.

She wrote:My son...I think my life has been long enough now. And... I won't visit Seoul anymore... but would it be too much to ask if I wanted you to come visit me once in a while? I miss you so much. And I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I decided not to go to the school.... For you... I'm sorry that I only have one eye, and I was an embarrassment for you.

You see, when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye. As a mother, I couldn't stand watching you having to grow up with only one eye... so I gave you mine...I was so proud of my son that was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye. I was never upset at you for anything you did. The couple times that you were angry with me. I thought to myself, 'it's because he loves me.' I miss the times when you were still young around me.

I miss you so much. I love you. You mean the world to me.My world shattered!!!
Then I cried for the person who lived for me... My Mother

Cactus Apartments

2007-08-23T04:07:00.000-07:00

Dutch Architects create beautiful apartment complex that looks like a Cactus

Urban Cactus is a housing project on the harbor in Rotterdam

There are 98 residential units on 19 floors, using the pattern of outdoor spaces to determine the overall appearance of the project. Form follows function which leaves ample room from the interior living spaces for much greenery.
The whole effect creates a building which appears to be living and growing with its inhabitants - A waterfront cactus.

The slightly irregular pattern alternates these outdoor spaces to create more sunlight than a typical stacked composition and a beautiful design that has originality and adds vitality to citylife.

Weird Keyboards

2007-08-22T03:34:00.000-07:00

Metal Animals

2007-08-21T03:29:00.000-07:00

Mountain Home

2007-08-20T21:28:00.000-07:00

Tired Babies

2007-08-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

Money Facts

2007-08-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

The word millionaire was first used by Benjamin Disraeli in his 1826 novel Vivian Grey.

If you stack one million US$1 bills, it would be 110m (361 ft) high and weight exactly 1 ton.

A million dollars' worth of $100 bills weighs only 10 kg (22 lb).

One million dollars' worth of once-cent coins (100 million coins) weigh 246 tons.

TIP is the acronym for "To Insure Promptness."

The term "Blue Chip" comes from the colour of the poker chip with the highest value, blue.

Nessie, the Loch Ness monster is protected by the 1912 Protection of Animals Acts of Scotland.
With good reason - Nessie is worth $40 million annually to Scottish tourism.

Of the more than $50 billion worth of diet products sold every year, almost $20 billion are spent on imitation fats and sugar substitutes.

Annual global spending on education is $80 billion.

US and European expenditure on pet food is $17 billion per year.

The global expenditure on healthcare and nutrition is $13 billion.

Money notes are not made from paper, it is made mostly from a special blend of cotton and linen.

In 1932, when a shortage of cash occurred in Tenino, Washington, USA, notes were made out of wood for a brief period. The wood notes came in $1, $5 and $10 values.

The world's largest coins, in size and standard value, were copper plates used in Alaska around 1850. They were about a metre (3 ft) long, half-a-metre (about 2 ft) wide, weighed 40 kg (90 lb), and were worth $2,500.

The first credit card was issued by American Express in 1951.

About 30% of consumers use their credit card as their main means of buying Christmas goodies, 70% do not save to buy Christmas gifts and 86% of consumers do their Christmas shopping during December.

Excessive use of credit is cited as a major cause of non-business b@nkruptcy, second only to unemployment.

Statistics show that people with high, medium and low income groups spend about the same amount on Christmas gifts.

In the 1400s, global income rose only 0,1% per year; today it often tops 5%.

The average age of Forbes's 400 wealthiest individuals is 63.
In 1955 the richest woman in the world was Mrs Hetty Green Wilks, who left an estate of $95 million in a will that was found in a tin box with four pieces of soap.

In 2001 the richest woman was Liliane Bettencourt, the daughter of L'Oreal's founder. She has a net worth of $14 billion (depending on how the stock market did today).

In 2000, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands is the second wealthiest woman, with $5,2 billion.

Queen Elizabeth II is one of the 10th wealthiest women in the world.

The $ sign was designed in 1788 by Oliver Pollock.

The term "smart money" refers to g@mblers who have inside information or have arranged a fix, the g@mbling term for insuring the outcome of an event by illegal methods.

Small-time g@mblers who place small bet in order to prolong the excitement of a game are called "dead fish" by game operators because the longer the playing time, the greater the chances of losing.

In g@mbling language, for a g@mbling house a "sure-thing" is a wager that a player has little chance of winning; "easy money" is their profit from an inexperienced bettor, an unlucky player is called a "stiff."

Australians are the heaviest g@mblers in the world; an estimated 82% of Australians bet. That is twice as much per capita as Europeans or Americans. Yet, Australia, with less than 1% of the world population, has 20% of the world's poker machines.

There are more than 7 million millionaires in the world.

80% of millionaires drive second-hand cars.

In 1900, the price of gold was less than $40 per ounce. It reached $600 in 1930, now struggling to reach $400 per ounce.

If Los Angeles County was a country, it would be the 19th largest economy in the world.

If California was a country, it would be the 5th largest economy in the world.

Tobacc0 is a $200 billion industry, producing six trillion cig@rettes a year - about 1,000 cig@rettes for each person on earth.

In 1965, CEOs earned on average 44 times more than factory workers. In 1998, CEOs earned on average 326 times more than factory workers and in 1999, they earned 419 times more than factory workers.

The income gap between the richest fifth of the world's people and the poorest measured by average national income per head increased from 30 to one in 1960, to 74 to one in 1998.

A third of the world's people live on less than $2 a day, with 1,2 billion people living on less than $1 a day.

In the 17th century, wool fabrics accounted for about two-thirds of England's foreign trade.

Today, the leading wool producers are Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and China.

The NASDAQ stock exchange was totally disabled in on day in December 1987 when a squirrel burrowed through a telephone line.

In 1990, the word "recession" appeared in 1,583 articles in The Wall Street Journal.

Global sales of pre-recorded music total more than $40 billion.

Tourism is the world's biggest industry, affecting 240 million jobs.

In 1865, Frederik Idestam founded a wood-pulp mill in southern Finland, naming it Nokia. It rapidly gained worldwide recognition, attracting a large number of workforce and the town Nokia was born. In 1898, the Finnish Rubber Works company opened in Nokia, taking on the town name in the 1920s. After WWII, the rubber company took a majority shareholding in the Finnish Cable Work. In 1967, the companies consolidated to become the Nokia Group. The recession of the 1990s led the group to focus on the mobile phone market.

Super Dad

2007-08-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

A one-legged father-of-78 is preparing for his next two marriages as he closes in on his target of having 100 children by 2015. UAE national Daad Mohammed Murad Abdul Rahman , 60, has already had 15 brides, though he divorces wives to make way for new ones in order to stay within the legal limit of four. His youngest child, Tariq, is 20 days old and his oldest, Ayoob, is 36. And he has more babies on the way from two of his three current wives.

Daad Mohammed lost a leg in a road accident and plans to have an artificial limb fitted in Jaipur in India – and while there he hopes to find one of his new brides. One more has already been lined up in Baluchistan , Pakistan .

“In 2015 I will be 68 years old and will have 100 children,” he said. “After that I will stop marrying. I have to have at least three more marriages to hit the century.

“Two of my wives are pregnant and they will give birth within two months.Tariq was delivered by my wife Mariam. He is healthy and happy and will have two more brothers or sisters soon. And I am also happy because Allah is giving me more children.”

The retired truck-driver, policeman and soldier has two other babies – fourmonth-old Alma and eightmonth-old Sara. Two other children, Adnan and Sulaiman, are under two years old. His wives and exwives include Bedouins from the UAE plus women from India , Pakistan , Bangladesh , Iran and Oman . They live in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Daad Mohammed, whose home is in Al Bustan, Ajman , spends time with each of them and has a family gettogether every Friday. He is head of possibly the largest single UAE dynasty with 127 members, including 49 grandchildren, and has 15 houses. Two of his wives have died.

Now he is going to have the same type of artificial limb – known as the Jaipur foot – that Indian dancer Sudha Chandran uses. “After Ramadan, I will go to Jaipur to get an artificial leg and marry a beautiful Rajasthani girl,” he told Emirates Today. “I have had seven Indian brides. “At present I use a crutch to move around. I am told that the Jaipur foot works better than other artificial limbs.”

Daad Mohammed said he received generous support from the Ajman Government, including houses and cash. He was paid a military pension of Dh24,000 a month by the Abu Dhabi Government. “Even though my family is big, I don’t have any problem managing the budget,” he said. “If I buy fish for the entire family I have to spend a minimum of Dh500 per day. If the menu includes mutton at least Dh1,000 per day is required, and that’s just for the meat.” And despite having so many offspring he does not overlook the vital duty of any dad. He added: “I take care of their requirements – and pay pocket money to each and every child.”

Happy Family

2007-08-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

In this picture, just look at their condition.. no place to sleep, still they have made some space for the cat and the dog... water pouring from the roof but still each one of them have a peaceful smile on their face........simply amazing!!!!!

The happiest people in the world are not those who have no problems,
but those who learn to live with things that are less than perfect.

Amazing Photography

2007-08-15T21:45:00.000-07:00