Originally uploaded by MarkFe

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The Blue Mosque is one of the most beautiful mosques in the world and one of very few to have six minarets. The cascading domes and six slender minarets of the Sultanahmet Mosque (better known as the “Blue Mosque”) dominate the skyline of Istanbul.

In the 17th century, Sultan Ahmet I wished to build an Islamic place of worship to rival the Hagia Sophia, and the mosque named for him is the impressive result. The two great architectural achievements stand next to each other in Istanbul’s main square, and it is up to visitors to decide which is more impressive.

Construction on the mosque began in 1609 and took seven years. Sultan Ahmet died only a year after the completion of his masterpiece, at the age of 27. He is buried just outside the mosque with his wife and three sons.

One of the most notable features of the Blue Mosque is visible from far away: its six minarets. This is very unique, as most mosques have four, two or just one minaret. According to one account, the Sultan directed his architect to make gold (altin) minarets, which was misunderstood as six (alti) minarets.

Originally uploaded by MarkFe

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Originally uploaded by MarkFe

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There are many varieties of mangoes but this one is also my favorite. We commonly called this as “Indian Mango” in the Philippines. It is kind of strange name, though all mangoes are eventually believed to have originated in or around India. It is smaller than regular mango and mostly eaten raw with salted fish or bagoong, and you can feel its crunchiness and the unique taste. It’s really mouth watering. I took this photo in our backyard sometime in summer and this bunch of fresh Indian Mangoes are almost 3 feet above the ground.

Originally uploaded by MarkFe

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This old and abandoned honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal wax cells built by commercial and wild honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.

When I was still young, I used to go with my father whenever he will  harvest honey in our farm. Of course, we wore some protection to avoid being bitten by honeybees. He remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey and we used the honey for our home (personal, health purposes). Harvesting honey is really adventurous and interesting!