PAPER BAG...

Then and Now

Adorable animal expressions in photos

 

Adorable animal expressions in photos

From a smiley seal to a jaw-dropping polar bear, see some sensational photos captured by 

photographer Sergey Kokinskiy after he got up close and personal with wildlife living in colder climates. 

Warning: The following images are so cute, they could make your heart melt.

 

 

1: Here's looking at you, kid! A baby Adelie penguin is pictured with two elder ones 

during feeding time on Paulet Island, Antarctica. 

The Russian photographer likens his craft to one 

 

2: An Adelie penguin looks bewildered on Paulet Island, Antarctica.

 

3: A sleepy fur seal is pictured catching a few winks on a rock in Stromness, South Georgia Island.

 

4: "I'm so embarrassed. I thought the invitation said 'come as you are' so I wore my birthday suit, 

but everyone else turned up in tuxedos! Where are my glasses?"

 

5: Ice to meet you: A weddell seal literally chills out in Cierva Cove, Antarctic Peninsula. 

Speaking about his breathtaking work, photographer Sergey Kokinskiy said: "If you notice, 

many of the subjects of my photos could have recognisable human emotions transferred onto them: 

love, envy, hatred, greed, malice, cunning, compassion, and more."

 

6: A fur seal looks surprised on Stromness, South Georgia Island.

 

7: Happy feet: This picture of a group of penguins dancing is one of many highlights 

of the wildlife photographer's jaw-dropping work.

 

8: A pensive chinstrape penguin on the South Orkney Islands.

 

9: Open wide: This polar bear could be either yawning or shocked as Sergey snaps the 

furry creature in action on Franz Josef Land, Russia.

World's Highest ' Open Air' Escalator

The Umeda Sky Building is the seventh-tallest building in Osaka City, Japan, and one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. It consists of two 40-story towers that connect at their two uppermost stories, with bridges and an escalator crossing the wide atrium-like space in the center. The escalator ride is an event in itself as it feels like you are floating up into the sky. They lead to the observation area of the twin towers.
Located in the Umeda district of Kita-ku, the building was originally conceived in 1988 as the "City of Air" project, which planned to create four interconnected towers in northern Osaka. Eventually, practical considerations brought the number of towers down to two.
 


















 

Petra - Half as old as Time

Petra - Half as old as Time

Situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Nabatean city of Petra is considered among the Seven Wonders of the World. In the description of the "universal outstanding value" of this World Heritage Site, UNESCO describes the ancient city as a "major caravan centre for the incense of Arabia, the silks of China and the spices of India, a crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia." The poet John William Burgon memorably described the spellbinding ruins of Petra as "a rose-red city half as old as time." Around AD 663, an earthquake destroyed parts of Petra and choked water supply, leading to its abandonment. The city remained lost to the world until the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, in the guise of an Arabic scholar, rediscovered it for the Western world. LAKSHMI SHARATH takes you on a visual tour of the awe-inspiring ruins of Petra.

---

Petra, a world hidden within the mountains of Jordan, was built several centuries ago. This ancient "caravan city" was the capital of the Nabataean Arabs, an ancient Semitic race of people who inhabited Jordan. They were mostly traders and agriculturists.

Tombs, caves, temples, monasteries, amphitheatres, gates, street facades – you need at least a couple of days to explore Petra.

The rock-cut architecture takes your breath away. Animals, deities and mortals, mostly carved in rock, greet you everywhere in this World Heritage Site. The architecture is heavily influenced by Assyrian, Egyptian, Hellenistic and Roman styles.

Perhaps the most stereotyped image of Petra is Al Khazneh or the Treasury. Entry is through the Siq, a long narrow gorge, no more than 3 meters wide in some places, which gives the impression that the mountain has parted ways to allow you to enter it. Back in the day, caravans made their grand entry to Petra via the Siq.

The Treasury or Al Khazneh is one of Petra's most recognizable monuments and one celebrated in Hollywood classics such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Tintin fans will also recognize the monument for its appearance in the Red Sea Sharks.

The Street of Facades in Petra is lined with rock-cut tombs in sandstone. Bodies were interred in chambers carved on the rocks.

The Royal Tombs, much larger in scale, and Urn Tombs lead to a single chamber, which was probably an ancient Byzantine church.

TRAVEL TIPS: Royal Jordanian Airlines flies three times a week (ex Mumbai) and five times a week (ex Delhi) to Amman, Jordan, from where Petra is a three-hour drive. Jordan Express Tourist Transportation (JETT) operates air-conditioned luxury buses to nearby Wadi Musa, where a selection of accommodation is available.

Petra is not just a city of tombs and rock cut temples. Meet the Bedouins here, stay in a cave, ride a horse up to the monastery, or watch craftsmen create sand art in bottles. Petra, as the BBC says, is one of the places you must see before you die.