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| Dawn over the alps Feb 23rd |
Thursday 23 February 2012
Wednesday 22 February 2012
Snowshoe climb in the Jura
Here are some photos of the Mont Rond summit in the Jura, climbed yesterday in my snowshoes - gorgeous weather and great views from the top over Lake Geneva to the Alps to the south, and to the north over the Jura.
Looking NE to the Col de la Faucille (Sickle Col)
Jura to the North
more Jura
Looking SW along the ridge. A little cornice on the left but the snow has all whited out.
Me with the alps - Mont Blanc is just above my left ear.
Summit white out. Cloth cap on sticks - first flat cap to summit Mt Rond.
Summit knoll from just below.
View across to the alps and Mt Blanc.
Mont Rond is an extremely high mountain and a very challenging climb. It took me 3 hours there and back sustained only by a cheese sandwich and flask of tea. But it was worth it for the views...
Tuesday 21 February 2012
Hijaz Railway Station, Damascus
The Hijaz railway is perhaps most famous for being attacked by Lawrence of Arabia during the First World War (because its owners and users, the Ottoman Empire, were allied with Germany). Wrecks of trains blown up by Lawrence and his comrades in arms can apparently still be seen lying by the side of the tracks in Saudi Arabia.
Originally intended to run from Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Mecca, to facilitate pilgrimage (the Haj), the railway never reached further North than Damascus, so this railway station, built in 1913, became its terminus.
The railway is today largely abandoned although there have been periodic initiatives to re-start it, largely derailed by the region's political instability. Apparently some of the trains are still in working order. One of them can be seen outside the station in the main picture.
It's a narrow gauge railway and the trains were made in Switzerland.
These pictures are from my visit in December 2009.
For more detailed info on the Hejaz railway, click here.
Originally intended to run from Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Mecca, to facilitate pilgrimage (the Haj), the railway never reached further North than Damascus, so this railway station, built in 1913, became its terminus.
The railway is today largely abandoned although there have been periodic initiatives to re-start it, largely derailed by the region's political instability. Apparently some of the trains are still in working order. One of them can be seen outside the station in the main picture.
It's a narrow gauge railway and the trains were made in Switzerland.
These pictures are from my visit in December 2009.
For more detailed info on the Hejaz railway, click here.
Ticket Hall (now a bookstall) - wonderful woodwork and colours.
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| Le Guichet |
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| The Ticket Hall |
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