Tuesday, March 31, 2009

ABC Wednesday--K is for...

I've used mostly old travel photos for this round of ABC Wednesday. There were lots of choices for this week's K. Travels have taken us to many K places--several cities in Russia, some locations in India, some spots in the American Southwest and some in Alaska come to mind.
Looking at these onion domes, you will know that I have chosen pictures from Russia for my K, but you might not guess what the word is.

The name of the place has a most unchurchy meaning to most of us. But its long history involves churches and chapels, palaces, grand dukes, tsars, and Napoleonic invasions. The site was in use more than three thousand years ago, and its current name was first used in the fourteenth century.
Although the origin of the name is disputed, its root meaning indicates "a separate place".
It is not all chapel towers and domes. This modern wing is definitely offices and meeting rooms.
And the yellow portion seen on the left is the back of one of its palaces.

This bridge takes you across the Moscow River through the Spasskaya Tower's gate to enter the courtyard.
Here you can catch a glimpse of four of its five chapels from beyond the walls... ...the fortified walls of this historic Moscow landmark.
K is for Kremlin.

Historical and cultural information about the Kremlin can be found in this Wikipedia article.
Other K posts can be found linked at the ABC Wednesday site.
Mrs. Nesbitt started ABC Wednesday.
Little did she know how long it would go or how large it would grow.

19 comments:

PERBS said...

I could not think of Kremlin for anything! Neat photos. All I could think of was Kruschef and don't even know if tht is spelled correctly. lol

imac said...

Yup - I guessed it, did'nt know how beautiful the building was tho.
Thanks for showing this beauty.

Michele said...

Wow... awesome photos... you have definitely done a lot of travel, haven't you? These are all really good!

Don Mills Diva said...

Wonderful photos - I'm guessing that not too mnay people get a chance to visit the Kremlin - I'm envious!

Rune Eide said...

You have done the city proud. The glitter from the golden roofs is amazing. An architecture that not many cities can match.

Vicky said...

Thanks for sharing those beautiful photos of Moscow. I like the onion domes.

Liz Hinds said...

It took me a while to guess that! I've never seen it before nor imagined it would look like that. Amazing.

Carolina said...

I wouldn't want to have the job of polishing the onions ;-)

Daryl said...

Klever!

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Janie said...

Beautiful photos and interesting history. I never would have associated the Kremlin with churches!

Dragonstar said...

You really managed to string that one out! I was very good, and I read carefully to the end in spite of wanting to be sure I'd guessed right. The photos are excellent!

Lew said...

Great post of an unusual and significant place! We don't associate the Kremlin with religion now, but there was a time when the Russian Orthodox Church wielded much influence in Russia.

Tumblewords: said...

Absolutely superb photos and narration!

photowannabe said...

Perfect, original post for the letter K. thanks for all the information.

Unknown said...

Wondeful photos of historical building..Thska for the visit of my K.
***(strange shape in my K)
That is the roof of the chapel hall made of belian wood***.

jay said...

I guessed it was Kremlin, but I had no idea it was so beautiful! Thanks for the pictures. I know of it mostly from news reports ...

mrsnesbitt said...

Now I am thinking of Kiev...chicken kiev! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! My favourite.

pictureeachday said...

Oh, wow! I never realized the Kremlin is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing these :D

I popped over to your beautiful Yakima Valley photos, too.. I will definitely be back for another visit soon ;)