Friday, July 24, 2009

Compass Rose


The pavement next to the Monument to the Discoveries at Belém, western Lisbon, is decorated with a mosaic representing a compass. The central map, depicting galleons and mermaids, shows the routes of the portuguese discoverers in the 15th and 16th centuries.

20 comments:

B SQUARED said...

They sure managed to go just about everywhere.

Dina said...

Seriously impressive!
All those explorer names the we learned as kids in school in the USA.

Leif Hagen said...

Oh my gosh it's HUGE and intricate and cool! Did you take the picture from your private helicopter??

Joan Elizabeth said...

That mosaic must be huge. When I enlarged it I discovered the 'ants' are people.

Unknown said...

Leif Hagen, LOL! I took the shot from the belvedere on top of the Discoveries Monument.

Joan Elizabeth, the compass has a 50m diameter.

brattcat said...

What an amazing image, JM. I love the way you let us discover the enormity of it. A beautiful mosaic of this scale is so impressive!

Sharon said...

I didn't realize how big this was until I enlarged it and recognized the people down there. Very impressive and very beautiful.

Lowell said...

That's a beautiful mosaic. And fitting, as the Portuguese did find their way around the world!

Anya said...

The mosaic is AMAZING :)
Its sooooo big ^__^
Great shot !!

henny said...

This explains much to me ;).
Look at those people, some must have got lost in this compass.

Jane Hards Photography said...

The detail is just so intricate.

Cezar and Léia said...

wow this is so fabulous!
Thanks for sharing,
ahhh a comunidade portuguesa aqui em Lux é imensa!!!!
Conseguimos ouvir Portugues andando pelas ruas!
Espero mesmo é conseguir aprender frances!
Abraços e bom final de semana!
Léia

joo said...

It's really impressive. I hadn't realized how big it is until I enlarged the photo.
Great shot:)

Anonymous said...

Looks pretty neat...reminds me of something that I have seen in Chicago, but I can't remember exactly where...

AB said...

A tradição navegadora dos portugueses e impressionante. Boa mosaica, boa foto.

Sarah said...

That's very fantastic!

marley said...

That is very impressive. You must have been high up to squeeze it all in.

crocrodyl said...

Beautiful:)

Anonymous said...

interesting

Francisca said...

This is both a fantastic monument to the brave Portuguese explorers and superb urban art, JM... I love how it gets the viewers involved...