London, England

Have you ever been to the London Eye? The huge ferris wheel on the Thames? Rex and Max are about to embark on their first ride.

The Merlin Entertainments London Eye (commonly the London Eye, or Millennium Wheel, formerly the British Airways London Eye) is a giant 135-metre (443 ft) tall Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames in the British capital.
It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually. When erected in 1999, it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, until surpassed first by the 160 m (520 ft) Star of Nanchang in 2006, and then the 165 m (541 ft) Singapore Flyer in 2008. It is still described by its operators as "the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel" (as the wheel is supported by an A-frame on one side only, unlike the Nanchang and Singapore wheels).
The London Eye is located at the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Lambeth in England, between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge. The site is adjacent to that of the former Dome of Discovery, which was built for the Festival of Britain in 1951.

Switzerland

Here is Rex Ibama at the United National Headquarters in Geneva. Max is making arrangements for the twins to fly off to London, England. This is the last stop for the Ibamas on the Continent.  And after London they will pop over to New York City. Back in the good ol' US of A.

Croatia/ Slovenia

An elderly Croat shows the Dragonja river valley in Istria which is the last stretch of border between Croatia and Slovenia.  The Ibama Twins don't know much about Croatia and Slovenia so they thought they would visit and see what there is to see and learn.

Bled Castle a very popular tourist attraction in Slovenia. Max and Rex will stop there next.
 

Croatian-Slovenia relations are foreign relations between Croatia and Slovenia. Before 1991, both countries were part of Yugoslavia. On June 26, 1991, a mutual recognition agreement was signed by both countries. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established on February 6, 1992. Croatia has an embassy in Ljubljana and 2 honorary consulates in Maribor and Koper. Slovenia has an embassy in Zagreb and an honorary consulate in Split. Both countries share 670 km of common border.
Relations between Slovenia and Croatia have been friendly, but burdened with constant disputes, including several unresolved minor border disputes, namely:

• the division of former Yugoslav territorial waters, particularly in the Gulf of Piran;
• the hamlets of Bužini, Mlini, Škodelini and Škrile located to the south of river Dragonja in Istria, which were administered by Croatia from 1954, and which Slovenia claims as part of cadaster municipality Sečovlje;
• the Sveta Gera (Trdinov vrh) peak in the Žumberak/Gorjanci, with the Slovenian Army occupying barracks that lay partially in Croatian territory;
• the changing meanders of the river Mura, near Hotiza and Sveti Martin na Muri, where the situation in nature differs from the descriptions in official maps and documents.

Dona Nobis Pacem

The Ibama Twins joins all the blogblasters in celebrating Blogblast for Peace! It's their first year!

Acropolis, Greece

The Ibama Twins flew from Cyprus late last night and were up early this morning to go visit the Acropolis, the most popular tourist attraction in Greece.

The Acropolis of Athens or Citadel of Athens is the best known acropolis (Gr. akros, akron edge, extremity + polis, city, pl. acropoleis) in the world. Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification. The Acropolis was formally proclaimed as the pre-eminent monument on the European Cultural Heritage list of monuments on 26 March 2007 The Acropolis is a flat-topped rock that rises 150 m (490 ft) above sea level in the city of Athens, with a surface area of about 3 hectares. It was also known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the first Athenian king.

Short Stop at Aphrodite's Ruins in Cyprus

 

Max climbs up to see the beautiful Mediterranean from the Aphrodite ruins above on Cyprus.

Rex is taking the picture.

Aphrodite (Greek Ἀφροδίτη) is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality. Her Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus. Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia.
According to Hesiod's Theogony, she was born when Cronus cut off Uranus' genitals and threw them into the sea, and from the sea foam (aphros) arose Aphrodite.
Because of her beauty other gods feared that jealousy would interrupt the peace among them and lead to war, and so Zeus married her to Hephaestus, who was not viewed as a threat. Aphrodite had many lovers, both gods like Ares, and men like Anchises. Aphrodite also became instrumental in the Eros and Psyche legend, and later was both Adonis' lover and his surrogate mother. Many lesser beings were said to be children of Aphrodite.

Pamukkale, Turkey

Rex and Max hopped a plane from India to Turkey to visit Pamukkale, the premier tourist attraction in the country. The have to get out of their clothes and into their swim togs quickly because they are not allowed to wear shoes in these waters. To learn about these hot springs and carbonate deposits read below:

Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli Province in south-western Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. It is located in Turkey's Inner Aegean region, in the River Menderes valley, which has a temperate climate for most of the year.
The ancient city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white "castle" which is in total about 2,700 metres (8,860 ft) long, 600 m (1,970 ft) wide and 160 m (525 ft) high. It can be seen from the hills on the opposite side of the valley in the town of Denizli, 20 km away.
Tourism is and has been a major industry. People have bathed in its pools for thousands of years. As recently as the mid 20th century, hotels were built over the ruins of Heropolis, causing considerable damage. An approach road was built from the valley over the terraces, and motor bikes were allowed to go up and down the slopes. When the area was declared a world heritage site, the hotels were demolished and the road removed and replaced with artificial pools. Wearing shoes in the water is prohibited to protect the deposits.