A Minha Vida

Art Experience at Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

Povo Que Lavas No Rio - Mariza

Amsterdam Trip 2009

Lisbon Story

Are the Azores' Islands the remains of Ancient Atlantis?

So many replies are a good thing. Atlantis is either the mother of all fairy tales by Plato or the biggest historical event ever. No one can be sure but It's a good sign that scientists and teams are starting to conduct studies and tests there in the Azores. I thought they should do so for years now. 

As for the vehement claims that Atlantis could be elsewhere I strongly suggest that anyone who cares about the subject closely read Timaeus and Critias dialogues by Plato. They are both very short. For instance, regardless of which pillars of heracles it was in the story it states that the furthest kingdom on Atlantis was named Gades and it faced the land on Europe with the same name. Gades is only the ancient name for Cadiz in western Spain and directly faces the present day Azores. This combined with other descriptions are to me at least compelling. 

I also believe a super cataclysmic event was possible in the Azores region in fairly recent geological history given the fact that this small underwater region called the Azores Plateau(Atlantis?) is the only spot in the world where three major continents(africa, north america, europe) all diverge onto each other. Very frequently even today with tumultuous results. These conditions in the Azores leave the description in Timaeus and Critias startlingly similar(volcanically active major fault line, hot and cold springs, red and black volcanic dirt, endemic flora in a tropical climate, a low depth large underwater mountain chain north of an underwater plain, large riverbeds formed into this underwater plain) All this to me means this region is worth a major scientific study if not for Atlantis than just to learn more about seismology.

Article Source: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread182617/pg1 

Some food for thought. I came across the following excerpt from Lost Cities of Atlantis, Ancient Europe & the Mediterranean By David Hatcher Childress. 

"One of the unusual facts about the Azores is that they have a strange tree that has survived since prehistoric times. The tree is the criptoméria, a gigantic tree of the Taxodium species. This huge prehistoric remnant is known to exist only in the Azores and in certain remote regions of Japan! 

Says Maurice Abreu in his book Sao Migual, Azores, referring to the name which means something like puzzling-tree." Source: Lost Cities of Atlantic, Ancient Europe & the Mediterranean 

A bit about Taxodium species: "In earth's history Taxodium was widespread. It is known since the Jurassic and can be found as fossil e.g. in layers from Tertiary times." source:en.wikipedia.org... 

With regard to the statue of a man on horseback (found in Ilha do Corvo), pointing west ward to the America's, the following excerpt is also interesting: 

"Braghine in The Shadow of Atlantis reports that a statue of a man on horseback was also found on the western cost of Corvo. The statue was made of stone and had an undecipherable inscription at the base. Unfortunately, the king of Portugal ordered it removed in the 16th century and it was inadvertently broken by the workers sent to remove it. The statue and inscription are now lost. 

Braghine reports that when Portuguese explorers, in search of new lands, reached the Azores and saw the statue, the man on horseback was reportedly pointing westward to the Americas. The inhabitants of Corvo were reported to have called the statue Catés, which has no meaning in either Portuguese or Spanish but curiously resembles the Inco-Quechua word cati which means "go that way" or follow." Source: Lost Cities of Atlantic, Ancient Europe & the Mediterranean 

And to support the point made earlier about, if the Azores was in fact the lost continent of Atlantis, then why is there no land masses or ruins underwater to support this? "Antillia has if anything an even greater claim to historical existence than Atlantis itself. Yet the island is no longer there." Source: Return to Atlantis 

In summary, the ocean is a very mysterious place and there are treasures and clues hidden in it's depths that could perhaps answer many of the questions about human existence. The trouble is that no one has really ventured into the great depths of the Atlantic Ocean. It's very dangerous notwithstanding expensive! 

In any case, I'm interested in your views in relation to the content of my post. 

Evete 

P.S. I am Azorean (Praia da Vitoria, Terceira).

Sources to support this theory:

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/atlantida_mu/esp_atlantida_17.htm

http://www.goldenageproject.org.uk/survey.html 

http://www.returntoatlantis.com/retc/antilles.html

Açores Tourism Trailer

Destinations Rated: Islands

The world's most appealing destinations—islands—are the ones most prone to tourism overkill. Our 522 experts vote on which ones avoid the danger, which are succumbing to it, and which hang in the balance.

ourism is a phenomenon that can cook your food or burn your house down. In other words, we all risk destroying the very places that we love the most. 

Nowhere more so than on islands. Islands symbolize vacation. Escape! Their very insularity makes them more attractive than a comparable piece of real estate on the mainland. They are worlds unto themselves—their own traditions, ecosystems, cultures, landscapes. That's what attracts us. But as micro-worlds, islands are also more vulnerable to population pressure, climate change, storm damage, invasive species, and now, tourism overkill.

To see how the integrity of islands around the world is holding up, Traveler and our National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations conducted this fourth annual Destination Scorecard survey, aided by George Washington University. A panel of 522 experts in sustainable tourism and destination stewardship donated time to review conditions in these 111 selected islands and archipelagos. The scores that follow reflect the experts' opinions. Quoted phrases from their remarks suggest the thinking behind the scores. 

The results show that beach-blessed islands draw sun-and-sand resort tourism development that can get out of hand quickly, although there are exceptions. Multiple cruise-ship crowds can also overwhelm an island, transforming it. 

No surprise, then, that cloudy, beach-poor islands score well. Yet even these cooler islands are sometimes losing traditional families to soaring real estate prices.


Get an illustrated version of this article as it was published in the November/December 2006 issue of National Geographic Traveler. 
Download PDF now. (Requires Adobe Acrobat.) 


All the islands that follow, even the lowest scoring, have great experiences to discover. To protect them, to restore them, we must value them as much as resort developers and cruise companies do. Even more.

Guide to the Scores:
0-25: Catastrophic: all criteria very negative, outlook grim.
26-49: In serious trouble.
50-65: In moderate trouble: all criteria medium-negative or a mix of negatives and positives.
66-85: Minor difficulties.
86-95: Authentic, unspoiled, and likely to remain so.
96-100: Enhanced.  
 
Meet our Panelists
 
About the Survey
 
Click on a part of the world below to read a sample of our panelists' comments.

Africa
Caribbean Region
East & Southeast Asia
Indian Ocean Region
Mediterranean
North & West Europe
North America
Pacific/Australia/NZ
South America

The list, by score

87     Faroe Islands, Denmark
84     Azores, Portugal
82     Lofoten, Norway
82     Shetland Islands, Scotland
82     Chiloé, Chile
81     Isle of Skye, Scotland
80     Kangaroo Island, South Australia
80     Mackinac Island, Michigan
80     Iceland
79     Molokai, Hawaii
78     Aran Islands, Ireland
78     Texel, Netherlands
77     Dominica
77     Grenadines
76     Tasmania
76     Bora Bora, French Polynesia
76     Fraser Island, Australia
76     Bornholm, Denmark
76     Hydra (Ídra), Greece
76     Falkland Islands (U.K.)
75     Corsica, France
75     Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
74     Vanuatu, Melanesia
74     Santa Catalina Island, California
73     Upolu and Savai'i, Samoa
73     Isle of Man (U.K.)
72     Palawan, Philippines
72     Moorea, French Polynesia
72     Block Island, Rhode Island
71     Ilha Grande, Brazil
71     Sardinia, Italy
71     Hvar, Croatia
71     Jersey and Guernsey (U.K.)
70     San Juan Islands, Washington State
70     St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
70     Seychelles
70     Anguilla  (U.K.)
70     Nevis
69     Palau, Micronesia
69     Cook Islands
69     Prince Edward Island, Canada
69     Salt Spring Island, Gulf Islands, British Columbia
69     Mount Desert Island, Maine
69     Réunion (France)
68     Bonaire
68     Sicily, Italy
68     St. Vincent
68     Yasawa group, Fiji
67     Pemba, Tanzania
67     Hawaii (Big Island)
66     Out Islands, Bahamas
66     Bermuda, North Atlantic
66     Tobago
66     São Tomé and Príncipe
65     Cyprus, Turkish side
65     Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique
65     Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
64     Solomon Islands
64     Jeju/Cheju, South Korea
64     Ocracoke, Outer Banks, North Carolina
64     Kauai, Hawaii
64     St. Lucia
63     Nantucket, Massachusetts
62     Martinique (France)
62     Corfu, Greece
62     Crete, Greece
62     Lombok, Indonesia
62     Barbados
61     Tonga, Polynesia
61     Madeira Islands, Portugal
61     Tortola, British Virgin Islands
61     Islands of Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia
61     Sanibel, Florida
61     Santorini, Greece
61     Maldives (except Malé)
59     Grenada
59     Capri, Italy
59     Tahiti, French Polynesia
59     St. Kitts
58     Viti Levu, Fiji
57     Maui, Hawaii
57     Bali, Indonesia
57     Cape Verde Islands
57     Curaçao 
55     Isla Mujeres, Mexico
55     Malta (all islands)
55     Guadeloupe
55     Mauritius
54     Mykonos, Greece
54     Federated States of Micronesia
54     Mallorca, Spain
53     St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
53     Zanzibar, Tanzania
52     Canary Islands, Spain
51     Puerto Rico
51     Cyprus, Greek side
50     Antigua
49     Hatteras Island, Outer Banks, North Carolina
48     Aruba (Netherlands)
47     Grand Cayman
47     Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras
47     St. Martin (Netherlands/France)
47     Cozumel, Mexico
46     Oahu, Hawaii
46     Key West, Florida
46     Phuket, Thailand
45     Hilton Head, South Carolina
44     Jamaica
44     Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
37     Ibiza, Spain
37     St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Source: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/features/islandsrated0711/islands.html 

Povo Que Lavas No Rio - Amália Rodrigues

Amália da Piedade Rebordão Rodrigues, GCSE, GCIH, pron. IPA: [ɐ'maliɐ ʁu'dɾigɨʃ], (July 23, 1920 – October 6, 1999) was a Portuguese singer and actress. Born in Lisbon, official documents give her date of birth as July 23, but Rodrigues always said her birthday was July 1, 1920. She was born in the rua Martim Vaz (Martim Vaz Street), freguesia of Pena, Lisbon. Her father was a trumpet player and cobbler from Fundão who returned there when Amália was just over a year old, leaving her to live in Lisbon with her maternal grandmother in a deeply Catholic environment until she was 14, when her parents returned to the capital and she moved back in with them. 

She was known as the "Rainha do Fado" ("Queen of Fado") and was most influential in popularizing the fado worldwide. She was unquestionably the most important figure in the genre’s development[citation needed], by virtue of an innate interpretive talent carefully nurtured throughout a 40-year recording and stage career. Rodrigues' performances and choice of repertoire pushed Fado’s boundaries and helped redefine it and reconfigure it for her and subsequent generations. In effect, Rodrigues wrote the rulebook on what fado could be and on how a female singer—or Fadista—should perform it, to the extent that she remains an unsurpassable model and an unending source of repertoire for all those who came afterwards. Rodrigues also remains the sole truly international star to have ever come out of Portugal[citation needed], with an extensive international career between the 1950s and the 1970s, although in an era where such efforts were not as easily quantified as today. Other well-known international fado artists such as Madredeus, Dulce Pontes and Mariza have come close, however.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalia_Rodrigues