Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Queen of Sheba

Otranto occupies the site of an ancient Greek city. It gained importance in Roman times, as it was the nearest port to the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. After the end of the Roman Empire, it was in the hands of the Byzantine emperors until it surrendered to the Norman troops of Robert Guiscard in 1068. The Normans fortified the city and built the cathedral, that got consecrated in 1088. When Henry VI., son of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, married Constanze of Sicily in 1186 Otranto came under the rule of the Hohenstaufen and later in the hands of Ferdinand I of Aragón, King of Naples. Between 1480 and 1481 the "Ottoman invasion" took place here. Troops of the Ottoman Empire invaded and laid siege to the city and its citadel. Legends tell that more than 800 inhabitants were beheaded after the city was captured. The "Martyrs of Otranto" are still celebrated in Italy, their skulls are on display in the cathedral. A year later the Ottoman garrison surrendered the city following a siege by Christian forces and the intervention of Papal forces. - Otranto had been one of the last Byzantine strongholds in Apulia, but finally Robert Guiscard could take it. It had probably been such a stronghold, as Otranto had hosted an autocephalous bishopric, only dependent of the patriarchal see of Byzantium since 968. So (Roman) Catholicism had to perform something "convincing" for the so long (Byzantine) Orthodox christians. One was to erect a huge church. The Otranto Cathedral was erected, over ruins of a Paleo-christian church from 1080 on and was consecrated in 1088. It is 54 metres long by 25 metres wide and is built on 42 monolithic granite and marble columns. I had come to Otranto, to see the mosaic. I had planned to stay one night in Otranto, I spent three nights - and still had not seen all the details. I was so overwhelmed, that I took hundreds of photos, but the mosaic is "endless". I will upload only a couple. It was created by a monk named Pantaleon and his workshop between 1163 and 1165. Pantaleon lived at the monastery San Nicola di Casole, located a few kilometres south of Otranto. The mosaic covers the nave, both aisles, the apse and the presbytery. This sums up to a total of 1596 m². About 10 000000 (10 million!) "tesserae" were used. There are scholars, who have counted up to 700 different "stories", that are told here. Though, these "stories" are often disputed, as today's interpretations are mostly very "vague". German historian Carl Arnold Willemsen published the most important book about the mosaic in Italian " L'enigma di Otranto", that since the 1970s is translated in many languages. I followed his theories. As the church is a parish church, there are benches placed on the mosaic floor. Only for the Sunday service, the ropes are open so that the parishioners can reach the benches. I stayed up to Sunday to mix with the locals. There are a couple of royals one can find in Otranto. ALEXANDER THE GREAT was easy to find, unfortunately, I was unable to take a proper photo of REX ARTURUS, the legendary British King Arthur, riding a goat. Sitting on a throne, placed between the Queen of Sheba and a mermaid is King Salomon.

Otranto occupies the site of an ancient Greek city. It gained importance in Roman times, as it was the nearest port to the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. After the end of the Roman Empire, it was in the hands of the Byzantine emperors until it surrendered to the Norman troops of Robert Guiscard in 1068. The Normans fortified the city and built the cathedral, that got consecrated in 1088. When Henry VI., son of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, married Constanze of Sicily in 1186 Otranto came under the rule of the Hohenstaufen and later in the hands of Ferdinand I of Aragón, King of Naples. Between 1480 and 1481 the "Ottoman invasion" took place here. Troops of the Ottoman Empire invaded and laid siege to the city and its citadel. Legends tell that more than 800 inhabitants were beheaded after the city was captured. The "Martyrs of Otranto" are still celebrated in Italy, their skulls are on display in the cathedral. A year later the Ottoman garrison surrendered the city following a siege by Christian forces and the intervention of Papal forces. - Otranto had been one of the last Byzantine strongholds in Apulia, but finally Robert Guiscard could take it. It had probably been such a stronghold, as Otranto had hosted an autocephalous bishopric, only dependent of the patriarchal see of Byzantium since 968. So (Roman) Catholicism had to perform something "convincing" for the so long (Byzantine) Orthodox christians. One was to erect a huge church. The Otranto Cathedral was erected, over ruins of a Paleo-christian church from 1080 on and was consecrated in 1088. It is 54 metres long by 25 metres wide and is built on 42 monolithic granite and marble columns. I had come to Otranto, to see the mosaic. I had planned to stay one night in Otranto, I spent three nights - and still had not seen all the details. I was so overwhelmed, that I took hundreds of photos, but the mosaic is "endless". I will upload only a couple. It was created by a monk named Pantaleon and his workshop between 1163 and 1165. Pantaleon lived at the monastery San Nicola di Casole, located a few kilometres south of Otranto. The mosaic covers the nave, both aisles, the apse and the presbytery. This sums up to a total of 1596 m². About 10 000000 (10 million!) "tesserae" were used. There are scholars, who have counted up to 700 different "stories", that are told here. Though, these "stories" are often disputed, as today's interpretations are mostly very "vague". German historian Carl Arnold Willemsen published the most important book about the mosaic in Italian " L'enigma di Otranto", that since the 1970s is translated in many languages. I followed his theories. As the church is a parish church, there are benches placed on the mosaic floor. Only for the Sunday service, the ropes are open so that the parishioners can reach the benches. I stayed up to Sunday to mix with the locals. There are a couple of royals one can find in Otranto. ALEXANDER THE GREAT was easy to find, unfortunately, I was unable to take a proper photo of REX ARTURUS, the legendary British King Arthur, riding a goat. Seen here, sitting on a small stool, is REGINA AUSTRI, the Queen of the South better knows as Queen of Sheba.

The foundation stone of the Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) was laid on 15 August 1248. The eastern arm was completed and got consecrated in 1322. In 1473 the works came to a halt, leaving the south tower complete up to the belfry level and crowned with a huge crane for the next 400 years. After the original plans for the façade had been found in Darmstadt and Paris 1814/1816 it was decided to complete the cathedral. Two thirds of the costs were raised by civic efforts, while the remaining costs were covered by the Prussian state. The state saw this as a way to improve its relations with the large number of Catholic subjects it had gained in 1815, when the Catholic Rhineland was added to the Protestant Prussian Kingdom. In 1842 Frederick William IV of Prussia and Johannes von Geissel, later archbishop of Cologne, laid the foundation stone for the completion. In 1880, 632 years after construction had begun, the Cologne Cathedral was completed. The celebration was attended by Emperor Wilhelm I. The design of Cologne Cathedral was based quite closely on that of Amiens Cathedral. As it is a Gothic cathedral, the plan is in the shape of a Latin Cross with two aisles on either side. The window surface area is about 10.000m², About 1.500m² of these are medieval. One of the windows, named the "Later Bible window"(see prev upload for "Earlier Bible window") was created in 1280. It was originally not produced for the Cologne Cathedral but for Cologne´s Dominican Church. It was donated by famous Albertus Magnus and the archbishop of Cologne, Siegfried of Westerburg. During the period of secularization this church got demolished - and the "Later Bible window" came into the possession of the cathedral. Here is a detail - actually the same as just seen at the "Earlier Bible window": Seen on the left ("Old Testament") is the "Visit of the Queen of Sheba" to King Solomon. Seen on the right ("New Testament") is "The Adoration of the Magi". ------------- www.koelner-dom.de/index.php?id=home&L=1

The foundation stone of the Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) was laid on 15 August 1248. The eastern arm was completed and got consecrated in 1322. In 1473 the works came to a halt, leaving the south tower complete up to the belfry level and crowned with a huge crane for the next 400 years. After the original plans for the façade had been found in Darmstadt and Paris 1814/1816 it was decided to complete the cathedral. Two thirds of the costs were raised by civic efforts, while the remaining costs were covered by the Prussian state. The state saw this as a way to improve its relations with the large number of Catholic subjects it had gained in 1815, when the Catholic Rhineland was added to the Protestant Prussian Kingdom. In 1842 Frederick William IV of Prussia and Johannes von Geissel, later archbishop of Cologne, laid the foundation stone for the completion. In 1880, 632 years after construction had begun, the Cologne Cathedral was completed. The celebration was attended by Emperor Wilhelm I. The design of Cologne Cathedral was based quite closely on that of Amiens Cathedral. As it is a Gothic cathedral, the plan is in the shape of a Latin Cross with two aisles on either side. The window surface area is about 10.000m², About 1.500m² of these are medieval. The oldest - from 1260 - is named "Aelteres Bibelfenster" ("Earlier Bible window"). It is the axial window, the highest ranking window in the cathedral. Here are details of that window. Seen on the left ("Old Testament") is the "Visit of the Queen of Sheba" to King Solomon. Seen on the right ("New Testament") is "The Adoration of the Magi". ------------- www.koelner-dom.de/index.php?id=home&L=1