The Kabayan Mummies Caves - Benguet Philippines

In ancient times, when life could be nasty, brutish and short. The doctor’s cures could be almost as deadly as any disease, and death was a constant presence. Since many unable to do much for the terminally ill other than speeding their eventual demise.

Sometimes doing so exceedingly brutally, our ancestors nevertheless set a lot of store on preparing for the afterlife. The death rituals of the Ibaloi tribe of Benguet Province in the Philippines were positively involved and more strikingly since they required the considerable and active participation of the dying, too.

For the Ibaloi, like the ancient Egyptians, mummified their dead, but they used a rather exclusive embalming technique. Their favored method of preservation was essential to cure the corpses with smoke and dry out the bodies until all that was left was a kind of desiccated husk of a human being. After that herb was rubbed onto the body. However, the process of dehydration started well before death.

The terminally ill, accepting their fate with a certain equanimity would drink beverages heavily laced with salt, a fatal poison if ingested in anything other than modest quantities. Once the person was dead, the body was washed down with herbs and tobacco smoke was blown over it.

And then into the mouth of the deceased by mourners before being hung above a smoldering fire for weeks on end. When mummification was complete the dead were ceremoniously laid to rest in oval-shaped wooden coffins carved with decorations and buried deep inside cave tombs.

The Kabayan Mummies are also famous as, Ibaloi Mummies, Benguet Mummies, Fire Mummies can find at Kabayan town in the northern part of the Philippines. Researchers believe that Kabayan Mummies were created by the Ibaloi somewhere 1500 AD in Benguet and buried in Caves.

However, some other Scientifics believe the process of mummification started in 2000 BC, shortly before a person died.  Eventually this brutal practice of that mummification over, since Spaniards colonized the Philippines in the 16th century.

Many mummies were stolen by Westerners as caves were not protected in the early 20^th century. A nonprofit organization (Monument Watch) declared this place one of the 100 most endangered heritage sites in the world. Also, a small museum made in Kabayan, Benguet, where some of the fire mummies display for visitors. Also, more than two hundred caves unearthed here and out of 15 them having fire mummies.

This site is under consideration to declare the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Moreover, the burial caves in Kabayan town will collectively be called the Benguet Mummy Burial Caves or Mummy Burial Caves in Kabayan and Buguias. The locals are still fed fire mummies with chicken and gin, ensuring that they are having a good time life after death.

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No Man’s Land Fort, Portsmouth, England

No Man’s Land Fort is a sea fort as long Shunned Coastal Bulwark the in Solent Portsmouth, England.  The poet John Donne said no man is an island, but No Man’s Land Fort is an island of sorts. One of four iron and granite structures, it is set like tarnished stones in the murky tidal waters of the Solent, a mile or so off the south coast of England.

The main purpose of to build the No Man’s Land Fort is to give protection to Portsmouth and its harbor from French sea attack and bombardment. As perfect examples of robust, self-confident, enduring Victorian engineering as you could possibly find. They nevertheless speak volumes of the geopolitical anxieties of that age.

Like Spitbank, Horse Sand and St Helens, No Man’s Land Fort was erected between 1860 and 1880. It was in direct response to very real fears of a potential threat of invasion from across the English Channel. However, many believe the construction work of No Man’s Land Fort started in 1865 along with Horse-Sands, and St Helen's.

In 1860, the British Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, established a Royal Commission on the Defense of the United Kingdom. Which recommended a substantial expansion of coastal bulwarks to protect naval ports such as Portsmouth.

Squabbles over their cost would delay their completion and by the time No Man’s Land was finally up and operating it was largely irrelevant. Both it and similar forts were popularly dismissed as ‘Palmerston’s Follies’. However, the First and Second World Wars were to dent such naysaying attitudes, as they were re-armed and manned as vital coastal defenses.

Therefore, decommissioned in the 1950s, No Man’s Land sat for years largely in a state of abeyance and used for coastal artillery until 1956. In 1960, it was decided to put on sale, but took 20 years to sold out by the Ministry of Defense in the 1980s and their parts fell into disrepair.

Since 2008, it has since been revamped as a luxury hotel and party venue, with a helipad, a wine bar, billiard room, swimming pool, laser quest arena and guest rooms. Most decorated in a nautical theme, with portraits of Lord Nelson a charming addition to some.

This is also called as “No Man's Fort” is 200 ft in diameter and lies 1.5 miles off the coast of the Isle of Wight, once housed more than 70 soldiers. In a 1972 serial The Sea Devils, many scenes were filmed at this fort. The Solent fort is capable of to accommodate 44 guests and 200 people at parties.

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Presidio Modelo – Cuba

Panopticon’, is a house of incarceration where the inmates are to be kept under constant surveillance by their goalers. Panopticon is a type of institutional place, where all prisoners to be observe under a single security guard. In its place of a model prison, it soon became notorious for unprecedented levels of corruption, cruelty overcrowding, and torture.

One of most chilling, fascinating and memorable place is five kilometers from Nueva Gerona. Now, almost roofless, fitting have been looted, apart from museum. The flat floor with only a central tower, that is monolithic pillar was a gun tower, here a single armed guard observed all prisoners, but they could not see him, and never knew if they were being watched.

The British philosopher, social theorist and prison reformer Jeremy Bentham first conceived this new type of prison in the 1780s. He was after being inspired by an observation platform at Prince Potemkin’s estate in Russia which allowed foremen to direct gangs of peasant workers. The system Bentham imagined would be both efficient to run, requiring fewer staff. x

Therefore, he believed, to improve the behavior of jailbirds into the bargain, leading them to emerge reformed at their end of their terms. Though it attracted the interest of the British government and the architect Willey Reveley was commissioned to draw up a plan for a building in 1791.

However, Jeremy Bentham hopes of erecting his own “panopticon” on a site beside the Thames in London. That is now occupied by Tate Britain, eventually came to nothing. But the concept of outlived its creator and has ever since shaped the design of prisons and much else besides.

One of the finest examples – however thorny an issue the use of that adjective may be in this context. So, a panopticon prison was Presidio Modelo, itself modelled on the infamously unforgiving Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, Illinois, USA.

Presidio Modelo was inaugurated in 1926 on what was then called the Isla de Pinos – or Isle of Pines – off the southwestern coast of Cuba by Gerardo Machado y Morales. The country’s democratically elected president turned repressive dictator. Hence, it was completed a few years later.

Presidio Modelo was composed of four sixty-storey circular blocks. Each overlooked by a central watchtower, of four sixty-storey circular blocks. Also, each overlooked by a central watchtower, and the facility was accomplished of housing up to 6,000 prisoners.

Two of its most well-known internees were the future Cuban leaders Fidel and Raúl Castro. Who were held there after their attempted revolt against the Moncada Barracks in Santiago in 1953? Therefore, six years later, the revolutionary Fidel Castro, triumphant over the American-supported government of Fulgencio Batista.

Who had himself helped lead the overthrow of Machado, began using the same prison to house his own political opponents? But after episodes of severe overcrowding, hunger strikes and riots. Hence, Presidio Modelo was permanently closed in 1967. Since designated as a national monument, this “panopticon” has, ironically, become an object of interest to sightseers.

The visitors walked along the walls with mouth wide open to see this astonishing, creepy and fascinating building. Currently, this historical prions and museum are in disrepair but still well worth to see abandoned building to dig deep Cuban history. In spite of all facts, this spooky place needs some government attention to revive the precious pieces of history.

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Vilcabamba - Sacred Valley of Longevity

Nestled in a verdant valley tucked away in the Southern Andean highland is a location long revered by indigenous people. Vilcabamba has been termed the “sacred valley of longevity,” whose average inhabitants are said to live 100 years or more. The oldest has reported ages from 120 to 134 years old, yet these claims have not been substantiated scientifically. The native people live a simple, hard-working life and subsist on a diet of non-fatty foods. Vilcabamba is one of five places on earth where people live to 100 on a routine basis. 

The people’s longevity is also attributed to drinking the clustered mineral glacier water that hydrates the human cells. There are two rivers in the valley that flow all year. This mountain water contains valuable minerals and nutrients, and also creates deep and rich topsoil. These reasons, coupled with an excellent local climate, maybe why the local people of Vilcabamba live so long. The sacred valley of Vilcabamba is best known for the good health and longevity of its inhabitants, as well as a rumored lost treasure.

After the Inca Empire was crushed by the Spaniards, one last refugee group settled in an unknown location called Vilcabamba to wage guerrilla warfare against the European invaders. Spanish forces eventually found the refuge city of Vilcabamba and captured its ruler. In 1572, the “Inca problem” was finally put to rest when the Inca rebel Tupac Amaru was taken to Cuzco and executed. The last known flicker of Inca resistance was finally snuffed out. 

The Spaniards had hoped to discover even more vast treasures of the Inca Empire upon capturing Vilcabamba, but this was not to be. Few of the precious relics, en route to free the captured Inca ruler Atahuallpa, have ever been recovered. Much of the treasures of the Inca Empire are still rumored to be buried somewhere in the Andes. It was to find the lost city of Vilcabamba that Hiram Bingham set out on his famous expedition in 1911. He discovered Machu Picchu instead.

Getting to Vilcabamba

Bus transportation is excellent in Ecuador, and several buses per day run from the neighboring cities of Loja and Zumba to Vilcabamba. The town of Vilcabamba is located in the province of Loja, only 30 miles (42 km) south of Loja city. The drive from Vilcabamba to the disputed border of Peru is beautiful all 78 miles (125 km) of the way, but the border is impossible to cross. Visitors must return the way they came.

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Morro Rock, California

Morroc Rock is one of 13 volcanic plugs lie between Morro Bay and Islay Hill in California. The Morrow Rock in Morrow Bay is one of biggest attractions in that area. The 581ft rock is protected as the Morro Rock State Preserve. The rock is composed of dacite, volcanic and petrified bird feces. Morro Rock considered a mysterious place to Salinan and Chumash tribes. In Spanish, Morro means “Crown Shaped Hill”.

It is believed that explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo find the Morro Rock in 1542 and named it “El Morro”. The time goes on, and it becomes a favorite place for birds, made a nest on them, including gull species, cormorant, peregrine falcons. Sea otters and sea lions are commonly seen at Morro Rock. Also, one can see hermit crabs, coral, starfish, small fishes, sea cucumbers, bivalve mollusks, mussels, and much more.

On the surrounding of the bay, kelp plant forest, sea grass, tide pool plants, mosses, weeds, and lichens are surviving. So, it is an affordable place to spend some time there and observe the close-by nature. In winter, it is a popular place for bird watching, kayakers, kite flying, hiking, ocean-side golf, fishing, and surfers.

One of the most popular hikes in Sequoia National Park composed of classic 350 steps hike. You cannot climb to this granite dome as it is protected to falcons who made nest over there.  One of nine sisters of rocks extended from Morrow Bay to San Luis Obispo hills came into existence from volcanic activity. A causeway was built in 1933 with material blasted from rock slope to make all of them accessible.

Morro Rock Beach, or Morro Rock formed somewhere 23 million years ago from long volcanic plug extinct. The gorgeous natural setting offers picturesque scenes for photography. Almost 3.5 Southside round trip is a great opportunity to satisfying your day with a scenic view.

Many benches are available along the way to sit and relax for a while. The sunset view is so amazing, hard to miss if you are anywhere in the area. Moreover, one entertaining aspect of this area to find numerous squirrels approaching you without any problem.

The Famous Concrete Bunkers in Albania

Nothing sums up Albania’s bizarre 20th-century history was more than its famous bunkers. When you will be arrived at the country’s only airport, these remnants of Communist-era paranoia was everywhere, dotting the landscape like naturally occurring life form. Their domed concrete roofs and narrow eye slits crouched suggestively on either side of the road to Tirana, ready for an invasion that never came.

Getting to see one up close would prove far trickier than you would be thought. During Albania’s difficult times the bunkers had been repurposed in various ways – as makeshift toilets, winter stables for goats, and as secluded spots favored by unmarried couples. Some were even inhabited during Albania’s darkest days.

On top of that, the bunkers weren’t built-in towns but in remote, hillside locations, and so you won’t get close to one on that. It is extremely fascinating to see how many had disappeared. They were no longer ubiquitous and, while not rare, were not the semi-geological feature they had been.

Those that had survived were generally in terrible condition: roofs collapsed, covered in graffiti and long forgotten. Some perfect bunker inside is amazing to watch. You would be stunned to find it in mint condition, defending a bridge over a wide gorge on a backwater road in southern Albania. With not even a village nearby, this beauty had weathered the storms of Albania’s various political incarnations since the 1970s almost totally untouched.

The slid in through the narrow sniper hole and found the interior pristine, save for evidence of a few birds that had nested there. That was damp inside, a cool refuge from the summer heat, though I didn’t find myself envying the soldier who had been billeted there. Legend has it that Albania’s Communist dictator Enver Hoxha made the order to the designer (Josif Zagali) of the bunker and stand inside the prototype while a tank drove over it.

When the bunker’s roof survived the maneuver intact, the dictator gave the order to cover the entire country in them. They may be becoming rarer and rarer these days. However, they were built in such sheer numbers that they will arguably never be entirely absent from Albania’s rugged hillsides. By the end of 1983, there are approximately 173,371 concrete bunkers had been constructed around the country. These bunkers were made from the 1960s to the 1980s.

These bunkers have even become a symbol in Albania. These have become one of the country's most popular tourist souvenirs with a promotional message "Greetings to the land of the bunkers”. The construction cost equivalent to two-room apartments or a kilometer of roads. The weaker economy of Albania cannot afford such a heavy cost of bunkers.

The Historical Fátima Shrines in Portugal

As World War I was devastating Europe, three illiterate children in a poor village started experiencing multiple visions of the Virgin Mary in an isolated ravine called Cova da Iria. As the news spread quickly from Portuguese village to village, soon thousands of townspeople also experienced aspects of the apparition and the legend of Fátima started. 

Notwithstanding only three children as direct witnesses, thousands of others experienced a variety of miracles and strange sightings. Probably the most amazing was when 70,000 people filled the valley for the sixth apparition during a heavy downpour. 

And became astoundingly dry as the sun suddenly burst through the clouds concluding the sightings. After this event the three youngsters became world-renowned and the atmosphere of their peasant village would never be the same.

The story begins early in 1916 when nine-year-old Lúcia Santos was sent by her parents to tend the family’s sheep in the hills near the village of Fátima. Her cousins Francisco Marto aged just eight, and his six-year-old sister, “Jacinta”, also accompanied her. The children were walking along a hillside when they saw a vision of a human figure. Writing many years later of the event, Lúcia remembers, “It was a figure like a statue … a young man, about fourteen or fifteen, whiter than snow.”

The figure spoke to the children, directing them to pray three times with him, “My God, I believe, I adore.” Yet the children kept their first encounter a secret. The next year, in 1917, the Marian series of apparitions appeared to the children near the same place. The children first saw two flashes of lightning and then a “Lady, brighter than the sun, shedding rays of light” who said she was from heaven.

Lúcia the only one of the three children whoever spoke to the visions directly asked, “What do you want of me?” The Lady answered, “I want you to come here for six months in succession. Then I will tell you who I am and what I want.” The Lady also directed the children to pray every day for peace before she departed in a blinding light.

The children, uncertain of what had happened to them again. But they promised to keep quiet as they had before. However, later Jacinta let the subject slip to her parents. Soon the entire village knew of the supposed apparitions and started making fun of the children. Yet the children knew the apparitions were to continue through October, always on the 13th day of each month.

The second vision came to the children again on the prophesied date in front of 60 onlookers. After the second sighting, the apparitions were reported widely. Fátima is among the most visited shrines in the world devoted to the Virgin Mary. The site draws more than eight million visitors a year, putting it on par with Lourdes in southern France.

The information Mary conveyed to Lúcia during the apparitions remains a mystery. The three secrets of Fátima came during the July appearance when the lady prefigured the coming of World War II, another identified Russia’s “rejection of God,” and the final secret became a “sealed message” recorded by Lúcia, for the pope’s eyes only.

However, the officials opened the third secret in 1960, but only the pope knows the letter in its entirety. Part of the third message describes the 1981 assassination attempt on the pope. 

Also prophesied by Mary, both Francisco and Jacinta died soon after the apparitions ended during the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918–1920. One of the final requests of the Virgin Mary was to have a place of worship devoted to her in the valley.

A small chapel built at Cova da Iris to commemorate the apparitions was destroyed by skeptics in 1922, only to be replaced by a massive square and towering church. Uncomfortable with all the attention, Lúcia left Fátima to become a nun in 1926, and in 1948 joined a Carmelite monastery in Spain where she still lives. She has only returned to the shrine a few times since it was built. In 1930, after thoroughly investigating the events of 1917, the Vatican authenticated the apparitions.

Getting to Fátima Sanctuary,

The Sanctuary of Fátima is also famous as Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima is a Catholic religious buildings and structures in Cova da Iria, in the civil parish of Fátima, in the municipality of Ourém, in Portugal. It is located in west-central Portugal, in the region of Leiria and approximately 87 miles (140 km) north-northeast of Lisbon.

Fátima is a small rural village in a rocky region whose main export product is olive oil. A train runs daily from Lisbon to Chão de Maças, 12.5 miles (20 km) outside Fátima. From there a 30-minute bus ride takes passengers from Chão de Maças into Fátima.