
In 1979 Miami Beach's Art Deco Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Art Deco District is the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the world and comprises hundreds of hotels, apartments and other structures erected between 1923 and 1943. Mediterranean, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco are all represented in the District. The Historic District is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the East, Lenox Court on the West, 6th Street on the South and Dade Boulevard along the Collins Canal to the North. The movement to preserve the Art Deco District's architectural heritage was led by former interior designer Barbara Capitman, who now has a street in the District named in her honor.

Miami Beach is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city was incorporated on March 26, 1915. It is located on a barrier island between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean; the Bay separates Miami Beach from the city of Miami, Florida. The city is often referred to under the umbrella term of "Miami," despite being a distinct municipality. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 87,933. 55.5% of the population was foreign born. A 2005 population estimate for the city was 87,925. Miami Beach has been one of America's pre-eminent beach resorts for almost a century.
Labels: Florida, Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County, United States

The Dead Sea scrolls consist of about 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Qumran Wadi near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea.
The texts are of great religious and historical significance, as they include some of the only known surviving copies of Biblical documents made before 100 B.C. and preserve evidence of late Second Temple Judaism. They are written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, mostly on parchment, but with some written on papyrus. These manuscripts generally date between 150 BCE to 70 CE. The scrolls are most commonly identified with the ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes, though some recent interpretations have challenged their association with the scrolls. Still, these represent a minority view, as references in ancient texts from Josephus, Philo, and Pliny all discuss the Essenes, with Pliny identifying the center of Essene activity on the west side of the Dead Sea, exactly where the scrolls were found. Moreover, Philo and Josephus both extensively describe the customs and beliefs of the Essenes, in many cases closely matching information found in the scrolls themselves. This is not surprising, since Josephus reports in his Life that at the age of sixteen he became an Essene neophyte for three years.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are traditionally divided into three groups: "Biblical" manuscripts (copies of texts from the Hebrew Bible), which comprise roughly 40% of the identified scrolls; "Apocryphal" or "Pseudepigraphical" manuscripts (known documents from the Second Temple Period like Enoch, Jubilees, Tobit, Sirach, non-canonical psalms, etc., that were not ultimately canonized in the Hebrew Bible), which comprise roughly 30% of the identified scrolls; and "Sectarian" manuscripts (previously unknown documents that speak to the rules and beliefs of a particular group or groups within greater Judaism) like the Community Rule, War Scroll, Pesher on Habakkuk, and the Rule of the Blessing, which comprise roughly 30% of the identified scrolls.
Prior to 1968, most of the known scrolls and fragments were housed in the Rockefeller Museum (formerly known as the Palestine Archaeological Museum) in Jerusalem. After the Six Day War, these scrolls and fragments were moved to the Shrine of the Book, at the Israel Museum.
Publication of the scrolls has taken many decades, and the delay has been a source of academic controversy. As of 2007 two volumes remain to be completed, with the whole series, Discoveries in the Judean Desert, running to thirty-nine volumes in total. Many of the scrolls are now housed in the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem, while others are housed in the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, Princeton Theological Seminary, Azusa Pacific University, and in the hands of private collectors.



This is Spain’s capital of bare bathing. The long wide sandy beach is popular in summer and has a big choice of naturist accommodation. Beach bars, sunbeds, pedalos and yes, if you really want to try the naturist cliché, beach volleyball are all available. Almeria has the hottest and driest climate in the country, so the beach season is almost year-round. Most European nationalities park their bottoms here, giving it a cosmopolitan and friendly atmosphere.
Take the coast road north from Garrucha, through Puerto Rey, and Vera Playa is well signposted after a further 1.5 kms.
We were tempted not to tell you about this one. It is a lovely little beach and so unspoiled. How long can it stay like this?
Also known as Banana Rock Beach, it is in a beautiful location. The beach is fine, white sand although it is a little gravelly higher up towards the tree line. It is in a small bay and ringed by coconut trees. There are rocks at both ends of the beach and a small rock formation in the middle.
There is some decent snorkelling around the rocks at both ends of the beach. The south end is better as there are some nice corals and more fish at this end. As everywhere, there is also a lot of flattened coral from the tsunami.
The seabed is sandy. There are a few rocks dotted around but it is still a nice beach for a swim.
There is a small restaurant at the south end of the beach serving decent Thai food. They also have a handful of sun loungers for 100 baht each. The friendly woman owner assures us the beach is never busy. Most of her customers arrive by longtail boat from other beaches. She says that the tourists passing by on the road above do not realise they

This is Spain’s capital of bare bathing. The long wide sandy beach is popular in summer and has a big choice of naturist accommodation. Beach bars, sunbeds, pedalos and yes, if you really want to try the naturist cliché, beach volleyball are all available. Almeria has the hottest and driest climate in the country, so the beach season is almost year-round. Most European nationalities park their bottoms here, giving it a cosmopolitan and friendly atmosphere.
Take the coast road north from Garrucha, through Puerto Rey, and Vera Playa is well signposted after a further 1.5 kms.
Situated in the south of the ‘Sunshine State’, this bare sandy beach has a huge following of visitors from across the globe. With glorious weather for most of the year and the vibrant city of Miami on the doorstep, it’s not difficult to see why. The bare area is more than 800 yards long and has its own lifeguards and unobtrusive police patrols. Refreshments, sunbeds and umbrellas are available.
The beach is at Haulover Beach Miami-Dade county regional park, on Collins Avenue (A1A), just north of fashionable Bal Harbour. There is a large car park ($5) right by the beach.
Labels: Florida USA, Haulover Beach, north Miam

This wonderful little bare bay has a perfect crescent of fine yellow sand, washed by a sea so transparent it looks more like the Caribbean. There are no beach bars so bring your picnic and drinks. It’s the jewel in the crown of the popular Es Trenc beach area.
The route to the beach is a pleasant 15 minute walk along the shore, heading north from the resort town of Colonia Sant Jordi. Start at the Hotel Marques Del Palmer, and it’s the third bay along. The fourth bay, if you walk further, also happens to be a bare beach, part of the much

