Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: turtle

Ohrid became a "polis" under the name Lychnidos after Alexander the Great conquered the area around 335 BC. Around 148 BC, Lychnidos became part of the Roman Republic and thus a "colonia". When the empire was divided in 395, Lychnidos was awarded to the Eastern Roman Empire. Lychnidos became a bishopric under the Byzantines in late antiquity. Lychnidos was destroyed by a devastating earthquake and it is unclear whether the city continued to exist or was re-founded by Slavs. The place was first mentioned under the name Ohrid around 880. Ohrid was developed into a cultural and religious center of the Bulgarian Empire. Today, a citadel, built on the walls of an ancient fortress, towers over the city. When Emperor Basil II incorporated Ohrid into his empire in 1018, he had the fortress demolished. At the end of the 12th century, the Bulgarians regained their independence and reconquered Ohrid in 1198. The Ottomans took possession of Ohrid in the years around 1400. In the following centuries, the city became a supra-regional center of Islam, where mosques and places of the dervish cult were built. The city also remained a center of Christian art until the middle of the 15th century. The conversion of St. Sophia's Church into a mosque took place during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed I (1413–1421). In 1462, the Albanian resistance fighter Skanderbeg conquered the city. But it was recaptured in 1466. Around 1568, the city was badly damaged by an earthquake. The lawns in the old part of Ohrid are a paradise for turtles.

Butrint is a ruined city located around 20 kilometers south of Saranda. It stretches across a peninsula that is surrounded to the north and east by Lake Butrint and by a canal, which flows into the Ionian Sea after around two and a half kilometers. Numerous cultures have left their marks on Butrint. Butrint was originally one of the main towns of the Chaonians, an Epirote tribe. The oldest finds date from the 10th to the 8th century BC. Excavations uncovered pottery from the 7th century BC. Ceramics from the 6th century BC from Corinth and Attica have also been found. A fortification has existed on the Acropolis since the 6th century BC. In the following centuries Butrint was largely Hellenized linguistically and culturally. It was one of the largest cities in the region at this time and had several magnificent buildings. In 228 BC, Butrint became a Roman protectorate and was was part of the part of the province of Macedonia since 146 BC. In 48 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar visited the city and declared it a veterans' colony. Since there was resistance to this, which was discussed (by Cicero) in the Roman Senate, the city only received a small number of colonists. But shortly after the Battle of Actium (31 BC), Emperor Augustus renewed his plans to make Butrint a veterans' colony. The city doubled in size and experienced its heyday in the next few decades. The city was named Colonia Iulia (or Augusta) Buthrotum in honor of the emperor and minted coins as such. With the Christianization, Butrint became the seat of a bishop in the 4th century. Butrint survived the raids during the Migration Period unscathed due to its protected location on a peninsula. At the end of the 6th century Butrint was one of the few towns in Epirus that retained its status as an episcopal see. Colonization by the Byzantine authorities seems to have taken place in the 9th and 10th centuries. It remained an outpost of the Byzantine empire fending off assaults from the Normans until 1204 when following the Fourth Crusade, the Byzantine Empire fragmented. In the following centuries, the area was a site of constant conflicts. In 1267, Charles of Anjou took control of Butrint and Corfu. In 1274, Byzantine forces re-entered Butrint. The Charles of Anjou and the orthodox Nikephoros allied and drove the Byzantines from the area in 1278. From 1284 the Angevin control was limited to Butrint and nearby Corfu. The Republic of Venice purchased the area including Corfu from the Angevins in 1386, however, the Venetian merchants were principally interested in Corfu and Butrint declined. By 1572 the wars between Venice and the Ottoman Empire had left Butrinto ruinous and the acropolis was abandoned. Here are the ruins of a very large temple of Asclepius, the god of medicine. It is believed that there may have been some ancient kind of clinic or rehabilitation center in Butrint. Today only animals relax in the warm (healing) water.

Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, is situated on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. It is only 80 kilometres south of Helsinki. From the 13th century until the first half of the 20th century Tallinn was known as Reval. The first recorded claim over the place was laid by Denmark after a raid in 1219 led by Valdemar II. In 1227, the Order of the Brothers of the Sword conquered Reval and three years later recruited 200 Westphalian and Lower Saxon merchants from Gotland, who settled below the castle and were granted freedom of customs and land. In 1238 Reval fell back to Denmark, Under renewed Danish rule, the city rapidly grew in size and economic importance. In 1248, the Danish king granted it the Lübische Stadtrecht (town charter). Due to the strategic location, its port became a significant trade hub, especially in the 14–16th centuries when Tallinn grew in importance as the northernmost member city of the Hanseatic League. The king of Denmark sold Reval along with other land possessions in northern Estonia to the Teutonic Knights in 1346. The Tallinn Great Guild was founded around 1325. The most influential merchants were united in this guild. Only married rich merchants or goldsmiths who owned a house could become members of the guild. Unmarried merchants could only become members of the Brotherhood of Blackheads. The late Gothic house of the Great Guild was built in 1410. Religious ceremonies, concerts, theatre performances as well as festivities and drinking parties took place here. Since 1952, the Great Guild Hall has been the building of the Estonian History Museum. According to old Hindu mythology, the world is supported on the backs of four elephants, themselves resting on the back of a turtle. This "image" is known in Europe since John Locke and was discussed by German philosophers of the 18th century. Even Goethe wrote about it. In the Discworld series created by Terry Pratchett, the world is said to be a flat plane sitting on top of four elephants astride the shell of a giant turtle named A'Tuin. Here are actually three (instead of four) elephants. I was surprised to find the fine ivory carving in the museum's exhibition about maps.

A turtle in the middle of the road - - I stood on the brakes!! This marginated tortoise was about 30 cms long. The species can only be found in the north eastern part of Sardinia. Here is a swiss/german website about turtles on the island of Sardinia. www.testudo.ch/b_sardinien.aspx

.....yes! yes! The very first turtle I ever saw in Europe. Well, the first wildone at least. Later that day I saw a huge 20feet-Anaconda, but just for a 1/1000 second. Nobody believed me. Maybe it was just too hot that day...