Uploads from © Lucie Debelkova / www.luciedebelkova.com, tagged mediterraneansea

Italy - Sicily - Aci Trezza with the typical volcanic stacks on the shores of Mediterranean sea at Sunrise

nobody@flickr.com (© Lucie Debelkova / www.luciedebelkova.com) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 03:01:11 -0700

Volcanic coast of Sicily has created some really interesting seascapes... just perfect for any landscape photographer.

This old fishermen village is also known with the name of Riviera dei Ciclopi, and it offers to tourists a really unique panorama dominated by Faraglioni dei Ciclopi: eight big, basaltic stacks
that, as the legend goes, were thrown by Polyphemus against Ulysses during his flight. They are also visible from the beach of Aci Trezza, that is placed North to Aci Castello; it is a beautiful beach of sand mixed with gravel and pebbles formed by lava, characterizing a peculiar black cliff of volcanic origin. The sea is very clean, its waters are crystal-clear and uncontaminated; the seabed is wonderful and ideal for scuba diving. There are many species of fish such as groupers, congers, moray eels, whitebaits all swimming among the green algae and Posidonia.

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Lens: 17.00 - 40.00 mm; Focal length: 26.00 mm; Aperture: 22; Exposure time: 4.0 s; ISO: 100

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Italy - Sicily - Salina - Windmills at Stagnone di Marsala in front of Mozia Island - Salt plant in the area of Trapani

nobody@flickr.com (© Lucie Debelkova / www.luciedebelkova.com) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 21:33:06 -0700

Trapani and Marsala are famous for more than wine and seafood. Trapani, in particular, boasts some of Europe's oldest salt marshes, and is still home to some of the windmills once used to drain water from the basins (containing ponds). Drawing salt from water remains a slow process, similar to desalination, something talked about more and more with the serious water supply problems confronting Sicily. The evaporation procedure utilises the flat marshlands of Trapani's coast and the long, dry Sicilian summers. Salt extraction was a technology known to the ancient Egyptians, and in Sicily dates at least from the time of the Greeks and Romans. It has flourished in the Trapani area unto the present day, not for a lack of "dry" salt deposits in Sicily (where there are several mines), but because many cooks prefer sea salt to that harvested from other sources. The windmills, however, were a medieval development.

The port and the coast of Trapani were important as tuna fishing and salt production. It became the principle activities of Trapani and its surrounding areas. Tuna fishing plants sprung up all over the area and many of these evocative, generally crumbling structures can still be seen in San Giuliano, San Cusumano, Isola di Formica, Favignana, Bonagia, San Vito Lo Cap and Scopello. The mattanza (culling) of tuna still takes place off the Egadi Islands and has become something of a tourist event for those brave enough to witness a literally wine-dark sea. The excellent quality of the salt produced in the salt pans was internationally renowned and was exported, amongst other places, to Norway where it was used to cure cod.

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Lens: 24.00 - 105.00 mm; Focal length: 67.00 mm; Aperture: 13; Exposure time: 10.0 s; ISO: 100

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Italy - Sicily - Riposto fishing town under active Etna Volcano during sunset

nobody@flickr.com (© Lucie Debelkova / www.luciedebelkova.com) — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 20:25:50 -0700

There are things we can control (timing, place, etc) but there are things that we cannot... I visited Sicily when Etna volcano had its more active period. I have found this perfect place with lovely church on the sea shore with the Etna volcano in the background. Only waiting for it to start the lava flow... It didnt happen those few days I was there, but just a single day after I left.... well... next time...

btw, if you look carefuly to the top right coner, you'll see it is smoke coming from the volcano, not a cloud.

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Lens: 24.00 - 105.00 mm; Focal length: 92.00 mm; Aperture: 5.0; Exposure time: 1/100 s; ISO: 100

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All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed, written permission of the photographer.

Egypt - Sunset at the Mediterranean sea in Alexandria near Fort Qaitbey

Alexandria (Arabic: الإسكندرية al-Iskandariyya; Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρεια; Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Iskandariyya), with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports. Alexandria is also an important tourist resort. Alexandria extends about 32 km (20 mi) along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in north-central Egypt. It is home to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (the new Library), It is an important industrial centre because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez, another city in Egypt.

In ancient times, Alexandria was one of the most famous cities in the world. It was founded around a small pharaonic town c. 331 BC by Alexander the Great. It remained Egypt's capital for nearly a thousand years, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641 when a new capital was founded at Fustat (Fustat was later absorbed into Cairo). Alexandria was known because of its lighthouse (Pharos), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; its library (the largest library in the ancient world); and the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbour of Alexandria, which began in 1994, is revealing details of Alexandria both before the arrival of Alexander, when a city named Rhacotis existed there, and during the Ptolemaic dynasty.

Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Lens’s focal length: 17.00 - 40.00 mm; Focal length: 24.00 mm; Aperture: 9.0, Exposure time: 1.0 s, ISO: 400

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