Gurudongmar Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world and in India, located at an altitude of 5,425 m, in the Indian state of Sikkim. It is considered sacred by Buddhists and Hindus; the lake is named after Guru Padmasambhava—also known as Guru Rinpoche—founder of Tibetan Buddhism, who visited in the 8th century. The high altitude lake is located 190 kilometres away from Gangtok, the capital city of Sikkim, about 5 kilometres south of the Tibetan border, in the district of North Sikkim; the lake can be reached by road from Lachen via Thangu. The road from Thangu to Gurudongmar passes through rugged terrain with moraine, which has high alpine pastures covered with many rhododendron trees. While Indian tourists are allowed to visit the lake, foreigners need to get a special permit from the Ministry of Home Affairs in Delhi; the lake, fed by glaciers, is located to the north of the Kangchengyao range, in a high plateau area connected with the Tibetan Plateau. It provides one of the source streams which joins the Tso Lahmu and form the source of the Teesta River.
The lake remains frozen in the winter months, from November to Mid-May. The lake has an area of 118 hectares and its peripheral length is 5.34 kilometres. However, the size of the lake appears small at the place where the devotees offer worship because the larger part of the lake is not visible due to hilly topography obstructing the view; the area surrounding the lake known as Gurudongmar, is inhabited by Yaks, blue sheep and other wildlife of high altitude. The lake is fresh water and used to be clear. Pollution has muddied the waters in recent years, the lake has taken on a white tinge and has obscured visibility. A legend related to the frozen condition of the lake is linked to the visit of Guru Padmasambhava to the lake, on his way back from Tibet; when he saw it, he felt that it was worthy of veneration, as it represented the divine location of Dorje Nyima or Chhoedten Nyima. Because the lake remained frozen most of the year with no possibility of providing for drinking water needs, the people of the area appealed to Padmasambhva to help them.
The guru agreed to help and placed his hands on a small part of the lake area, which stopped freezing during winter, facilitating drinking water to the people. Since the lake has been considered sacred and devotees carry this sacred water in containers. According to another legend, when Padmasambhava visited the lake he saw an auspicious phenomenon and he considered it a good augury to enter the mainland of Sikkim known as Demojong; some stories say that in the 15th century, Sikh Guru Nanak Dev Ji passed through the lake while on his return from Tibet, he was asked by the local people of Gurudongmar Village to help make the frozen lake a source of drinking water during the winter period, he touched part of the lake with his walking stick, making the lake free of snow throughout the year. The stories say that he blessed the lake, announcing to the villagers that "whoever takes the water of this lake will gain virility and strength". According to this story, disputed by the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, the lake and the surrounding hills derive their name from Guru Nanak's visit.
A dispute arose when on the bank of the lake an Indian Army regiment of Sikhs—located at the border with China—considering the lake as the place visited by their saint Guru Nanak, constructed a Gurudwara in 1997–1998. This created anger among the Sikkimese people of the area, who considered the Gurudwara an illegal construction, because their ancient sacred lake had been sanctified by the visit of their Guru Padmasambhava; the government of Sikkim constituted a high level committee to examine the issue and submit a report. Documents furnished to the committee by the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, agreed with the claim of the local people that it was without a doubt a Buddhist religious place; this was accepted by the committee. The building constructed by the Sikh regiment was handed over by the Army to the Lachen Monastery on 6 July 2001, in the presence of the Sub Divisional Magistrate, North Sikkim; the monastery placed a lama as a watchman at the lake, entrusted with the task of maintaining it.
Tourism in North East India Tilicho lake Lake Tsongmo Khecheopalri Lake Gurudongmar lake Travel GuideGurudongmar Lake- Permit Regulations Climate Temperature Height
Santa Trinita is a Roman Catholic church located in front of the Piazza of the same name, traversed by Via de' Tornabuoni, in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. It is the mother church of the Vallumbrosan Order of monks, founded in 1092 by a Florentine nobleman. South on Via de' Tornabuoni is the Ponte Santa Trinita over the river Arno; the church is home to the Sassetti Chapel, containing 15th-century frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio, the Bartolini Salimbeni Chapel, with frescoes by Lorenzo Monaco. Though the modern Italian word for "trinity" is trinità, with an accent indicating stress on the last vowel, the old Florentine pronunciation used to put the stress on the first vowel, the name is therefore written without an accent; the current church was constructed in 1258–1280 at the site of a pre-existing 11th-century church. Multiple reconstructions occurred over the centuries; the Mannerist façade was designed by Bernardo Buontalenti. The bas-relief over the central door of the Trinity was sculpted by Pietro Bernini and Giovanni Battista Caccini.
The 17th-century wooden doors have carved panels depicting Saints of the Vallumbrosan order. The Column of Justice in the Piazza outside, originates from the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, was a gift to Cosimo I de' Medici by Pope Pius IV, it was erected in 1565 to commemorate the Battle of Montemurlo. The Santa Trinita Maestà by Cimabue was once at the high altar of the church, was moved to a side chapel, it is now exhibited at the Uffizi. The church has 20 chapels, many with masterworks; the most significant are the Bartolini Salimbeni chapels. Francesco Sassetti had been a manager of the Medici Bank, some of the Ghirlandaio frescoes capture views of contemporary Florence. Borsook, Eve; the Companion Guide to Florence. New York: HarperCollins. Pp. 187–191. ISBN 0-00-215139-1
Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder was a New York-based investment bank that remained as a fund management company under the control of the Arnhold family until December 2015, when majority ownership was sold to the Blackstone Group LP and Corsair Capital LLC, led by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; the core constituent was of a merger between the banking firm of S. Bleichröder founded by Samuel Bleichröder in 1803 in Berlin, and the banking firm of Gebr. Arnhold founded in Dresden in 1864 which acquired S. Bleichroeder in 1931. In the mid-19th century, S. Bleichröder achieved international prominence under the leadership of Samuel's eldest son, Gerson von Bleichröder. Amongst other activities he managed the private banking transactions of Otto von Bismarck and with the transfer of credits and/or placing of loans on behalf of the Prussian state and the German Empire, he was a partner at the investment bank of the New York investment bank Ladenburg Thalmann. The other component of the current firm was Gebr.
Arnhold founded in 1864 in Dresden. This was the banking firm of the Arnhold family, which had major industrial interests in Germany. Gebr. Arnhold established an office in Berlin in 1912, after World War I became active in London and New York. In 1931, Gebr. Arnhold acquired S. Bleichröder. With the rise of Nazi persecution the firm’s activities were moved to New York City in 1937 and conducted business under the name of Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, Inc. In 1939, the firm's name was changed to S. Bleichroeder. In 1967, it launched first offshore fund under the First Eagle name. In 1987 launched first U. S. registered the First Eagle Fund of America. In 2002, Natexis Banques Populaires, the investment banking arm of Banque Populaire, a French mutual bank, purchased the brokerage business of Arnhold & S Bleichroeder for $105 million; the broker's existing shareholders received a 2.6% stake in Natexis, the company was renamed Natexis Bleichroeder. The asset management business, Arnhold & S Bleichroeder Advisors, was not part of the deal and continued to be operated through its parent, A&SB.
Subsequently, Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder Advisers was renamed First Eagle Investment Management, as of Sept 2010, it held US-$45 billion in assets under management according to its web site. In December 2015, Blackstone and Corsair Capital bought majority control of the firm from TA Associates and descendants of the founding family. Henry H. Arnhold worked at and became chairman of the bank in 1960. Jim Rogers, joined the firm in 1970 and left in 1973 to form the Quantum Fund with Soros because new brokerage firm regulation prevented them from getting a percentage of profits. George Soros, worked there from 1963–1973. Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder Advisers Literature on an about Gerson Bleichröder in the catalog of the DDB
The White Nile rift is one of several rifts in central Sudan running in a NW direction and terminating in the Central African Shear Zone. The rift is a Cretaceous/Tertiary structure that has similar tectonic characteristics to the Southern Sudan Rift, Blue Nile rift and Atbara rift; these rifts follow similar trends, terminate in a line at their northwestern ends. This line is an extension of the Central African Shear Zone through the Sudan; the rift basin is formed by the junction of the Umm Rubaba grabens, which extends in a NW direction, the White Nile graben, which extends in a N to NW direction. The basin is filled with sediments and igneous rocks, is a target for oil and gas exploration; the rift basins appear to be hydrologically closed, with no lateral transfer of water. One theory is that the current White Nile may have developed no more than 12,500 years ago when the basins filled and the rivers became connected
Kirchspielslandgemeinde Meldorf-Land was an Amt in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It was situated around Meldorf, the seat of the Amt, but not part of it. On 25 May 2008, it merged with the Amt Kirchspielslandgemeinde Albersdorf and the town Meldorf to form the Amt Mitteldithmarschen; the Amt Kirchspielslandgemeinde Meldorf-Land consisted of the following municipalities: Bargenstedt Barlt Busenwurth Elpersbüttel Epenwöhrden Gudendorf Krumstedt Nindorf Nordermeldorf Odderade Sarzbüttel Windbergen Wolmersdorf
Verticordia fragrans known as hollyhock verticordia, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an branched shrub with egg-shaped leaves and spikes of sweetly scented and white flowers in spring and early summer. Verticordia fragrans is a shrub which grows to a height of 0.45–3 m and a width of 0.45–1 m and has a single branched stem at its base. The leaves are thin, egg-shaped to elliptic or round in shape, 1.5–4 mm long. The flowers are sweetly scented, arranged in spreading spike-like groups, each flower on a stalk about 1.5–3 mm long. The sepals are pink white, 3.5–4 mm long and have 6 to 9 white feathery lobes. The petals are erect, deep to pale pink or white, 4.0–4.5 mm long, about 3 mm wide with a few short hairs around the edge. The style is 5 mm, curved near the top with a few hairs near the tip. Flowering time is from October to December. Verticordia fragrans was first formally described by Alex George in 1991 from specimens collected near Eneabba and the description was published in Nuytsia.
The specific epithet is from the Latin word fragrantia meaning "fragrant" referring to the scented flowers. George placed this species in subgenus Eperephes, section Pennuligera along with V. comosa, V. lepidophylla, V. chrysostachys, V. aereiflora, V. dichroma, V. X eurardyensis, V. muelleriana, V. argentea, V. albida, V. forrestii, V. venusta, V. serotina, V. oculata, V. etheliana and V. grandis. This verticordia grows in sand, sometimes with or over clay, loam or sandstone with other verticordia species in woodland or shrubland, it is found near Coomallo in the Geraldton Sandplains biogeographic region. Verticordia fragrans is classified as "Priority Three" meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat; this is one of the easier verticordias to grow in the garden. Its fragrant flowers, which will appear for a long period if older blooms are removed, make it an attractive garden plant, it is propagated from cuttings and will grow well in full sun or part shade.
It is both drought and frost tolerant and has grown well in Sydney, near the sea as well as inland in Western Australia