Middle East Redrawn

This map, by Ralph Peters, shows some interesting features:

• Baluchistan, which is at present divided between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• Iraq dived into a shia and a sunni nation.
• A state inlcuding the holy cities of Mekka and Medina.

It forgets to add some area to Armenia. This is a bit strange since the Kurds assisted the Ottomans in their (how should we call it) 'final solution' of the Armenians.

Maude Fealy - Quo Vadis (1899)

Maude as Eunice from "Quo Vadis" (1899/1900).

London Illustrated News

"Miss Fealy . . . acquired distinction on the other side of the Atlantic by her very effective impersonation of the heroine in Quo Vadis."

Chicago Democrat"Maude Fealy, a most beautiful girl, not yet sixteen years of age, won especial favor from the audience for her sympathetic playing in the role of Eunice, the loving slave of Petronius. This young woman shows marvelous talent, and, with her refined beauty, is sure to make fame for herself before many years elapse."

see: http://www.maudefealy.vispa.com/index.html

Lieut. Col.l Hallewell his days work over

Lieutenant Colonel Halliwell being poured a drink at an army camp in Russia, during the Crimean War. Roger Fenton's work from the Crimea totalled more than 350 photographs made from wet-collodion negatives.

Vegetatie 23

"Vegetation 23" by the Dutch painter Bas Kloens. A secret silence, the growing force of plants.

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Frances Farmer

Born in Seattle, Frances Farmer studied journalism and drama at the University of Washington, Seattle. In 1935, after winning a trip to Russia to see the Moscow Art Theater, she went to Hollywood where she secured a seven-year contract with Paramount. By the end of 1936, she was one of Paramount's most talked-about new stars.

City Wall Madrid

 (photos by RfA, 2007)

The only remaining part of Arab city wall. They are one of the rare remnants of Islamic 9th century Madrid. These fortifications were built to protect the Moorish settlement of Magerit or Mayrit.

Alphonse Mucha - Printemps

Alfons Mucha: 'Printemps' ('Spring'), 1900. 

"The poster craze of the 1890s, called the Belle Epoque, witnessed the rapid evolution and spread of the poster to all of Europe and America. By World War I, Art Nouveau had become a naive anachronism in a world of industrial complexities and destructive force."

Airport & Bridge

There are plans to create islands for the coast of The Netherlands. Such an island could be used for a new international airport (the present airport creates much nuisance for nearby residents).

This can serve as a bridgehead for a bridge between The Netherlands and England!

Hardships in the camp

'Hardships in the Camp'. Captain Brown, Colonel Lowe and Captain George (by Roger Fenton, 1856)

On the 23 October 1853 the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia. Five months later France and England came into the war on the side of the Turks. Very quickly, the main hostilities became concentrated in the Crimea, around the town of Sebastopol, defended by the Russians. In an attempt to change English public opinion, which was then hostile to the war, Queen Victoria asked Roger Fenton, a friend of the royal family, to make a photographic account of the conflict. Fenton disembarked in the port of Balaclava, and then went on to Sebastopol in March 1855. He took a number of photographs of the siege but concealed the violence of the fighting. The reasons for this were as much technical – the pose had to be held for between 10 and 20 seconds – as ideological. So most of his work consisted of posed scenes, and deserted battlefields, before or after the action.

Vegetatie 82

Bas Kloens - "Vegetation 82" (2007). A lost paradise, a lost dreamworld.

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Queen Victoria & Offspring

February 8, 1854. By Roger Fenton. The Prince of Wales, Princess Royal, Princess Alice, the Queen and Prince Alfred.

Königsberg City Centre

aerial view, 1930s.

present situation

The devastating effect of WWII on the city centre of Königsberg (present day Kaliningrad).

City Wall Istanbul

The 6,5 km long walls date back to the 5th century, the Roman era. It has 96 towers. Most of the original gates have survived to our day.

Macedonia

Macedonia was divided between its neighbours (Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania) after the first Balkan War (1913). Only the Serbian part gained its independence in 1991. The map shows the original area of Macedonia before its partition.

Jean Harlow - Riff Raff

Movie Poster (1935)..

Jean Harlow (1911-1937) was the first blond sex symbol. At age 26 she died due to urine poisoning, a side effect of kidney failure.

Suzanne Vega and David Grohl

Here is one of my favorite artists, Suzanne Vega, with a Riff Raff t-shirt (where and how did she get it?).

Kay Francis

Kay Francis
She achieved her greatest success between 1930 and 1936, when she was the highest paid American film actress.

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Cantinière

Two portraits of a French cantinière wearing Zouave regiment dress. Photographs by Roger Fenton, 1855.

Vegetatie 27

"Vegetation 27" by the Dutch painter Bas Kloens. A painted no one’s land between dream and reality.

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Anne Baxter

Anne Baxter (1923–1985) co-starred with Gene Tierney in 1946's The Razor's Edge, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

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City Wall Berlin

 (photos by RfA, 2008)

The only remaining piece of medieval city wall in Berlin.

Maude Fealy

Maude Fealy was a American actress who during the early twentieth century was one of the leading ladies of the American stage.

Treaty of Sykes-Picot

The Sykes-Picot(-Sazonov) Agreement of 1916 defined the spheres of influence of the UK, France, and Russia, after the downfall of the Ottoman Empire during WW I.

Captain Ponsonby, Pearson & Markham

Crimean War (1853-1856): The photo shows Captain Ponsonby, full-length, facing left, standing; Captain Pearson, full-length, facing forward, leaning in doorway; and Captain Markham, full-length, facing right, sitting in chair; all are in front of a building. Roger Fenton, 1855.