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Take this tour and see some AMAZING architecture. What did you notice about the buildings? Are they like ours here in the USA? What did you like best about the building in this city? Make sure to read the article so that you can learn the history behind this magical place.

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Long time ago, in December 2012 we applied for the Russian Geographical Society (RGS) grant to develop AirPano.ru project. Quite surprisingly, we were invited to attend a meeting of the expert committee, and the project was approved after we had given our presentation. The ceremonial presentation of the RGS grants was held in April 2013 at the meeting of the RGS Board of Trustees under the chairmanship of President Vladimir Putin.

During his presentation at the meeting our colleague Sergey Semyonov asked V. Putin for his assistance in granting the permit to shoot Moscow Kremlin from the air. The President supported his idea and now we've completed several photo shootings over the territory of Kremlin.

Today AirPano project has decided to show all spherical photo panoramas we managed to do over the Kremlin.

And now we want to tell you a few historical facts about this unique architectural monument.

The name "Kremlin" was given to a fortified complex found in various historic Russian cities. There are numerous kremlins in Russia that managed to survive up to this day: the Novgorod Kremlin, the Kazan Kremlin, the Pskov Kremlin, the Kolomna Kremlin. But only one Kremlin speaks for itself - the world-famous Moscow Kremlin in the capital of the Russian Federation. It's the largest fortress in Europe preserved and functioning up to this day. The Kremlin is a major tourist attraction, a Russian president's residence, and Russia's most famous landmark.

The first settlements on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin were established during the Bronze Age in 2000 BC, but the first fortifications appeared here much later in 1156. A 850-meter long wooden fortification with a total area of about 3 hectares was surrounded by a 16-18-meter long and 5-meter deep moat.

During the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the Kremlin was destroyed and then rebuilt. But only in the middle of the 14th century, during the rule of the Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy, the Kremlin's wooden walls and towers were replaced by structures from local white stone. It was from that moment on that Moscow was referred to as "Moscow made of white stone" ("Moskva belokamennaya").

However, in the 15th century, during the rule of Ivan the Great, they had to rebuild it because its walls were falling apart. Italian architects were invited for the Kremlin's restoration, and because of this reason it is combined the best features of both Russian and Italian architecture. Thus, the impregnable fortress followed the example of the famous Sforza Castle in Milan, while its temples' architectural style strictly followed the Russian tradition.

Brick was chosen as a base material for the construction. The central part of the Kremlin is occupied by Cathedral Square with the Cathedral of the Annunciation, the Cathedral of the Dormition, the Hall of Facets, and the Cathedral of the Archangel, the burial place of Russian princes and kings, and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower.

Another major reconstruction of the Kremlin took place at the turn of the 16th century, and since then its appearance remained almost unchanged, except for the color.

According to historical records and pictures, the walls of the fortress remained white for many centuries. To preserve the brickwork, as well as the memory of the "white Kremlin of Dmitry Donskoy," burnt bricks were carefully whitewashed. It is believed that the permission to paint the Kremlin in red color was given by Stalin in 1947 to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Moscow. And before that, during World War II, the Kremlin had a unique disguise. A breakthrough project (for that time) was developed by a group under the leadership of academician Boris Iofan: the Kremlin's white walls were painted with house walls and black windows, fake streets were built on Red Square, and they even put a dome with a picture of a house above Lenin's Mausoleum. It was that disguise that protected the greatest Russian monument from being bombed and helped its survival to this day.

It is worth mentioning that there were some buildings on the Kremlin's territory that didn't stand the test of time. For example, the Palace of Queen Natalia was taken apart by the decision of the famous architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, and they made a parade area where Athanasius monastery used to be.

However, since the 15th century the Kremlin's towers and walls with their characteristic design have been and continue to be a symbol of Moscow and Russia.

Photo and text by Sergey Semenov, Stas Sedov

Virtual tour has been created with support of Russian Geographical Society

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Today we would like to show all spherical photo panoramas we managed to create over the Moscow Kremlin in the past several years. The Kremlin is a major tourist attraction, a Russian president's residence, and Russia's most famous landmark. Enjoy this virtual tour

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Ship Cemetery in Truk Lagoon, Micronesia

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Ship Cemetery in Truk Lagoon, Micronesia

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Watch this video tour and use your mouse to see different angles. Read the article to learn more about what happened at this place. What ship would you like to explore?

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In the southwestern Pacific Ocean, there is a widely scattered archipelago of the Caroline Islands, which belongs to the Federated States of Micronesia. The most recognised place of this archipelago is Truk Lagoon (also known as Chuuk): the waters of this atoll is considered to be the world's largest ship cemetery.

All the ship remnants belong to the 20th century, namely to the period of World War II. At that time Truk Lagoon was the Empire of Japan's most formidable base with a sole main airbase within the territory of the Marshall Islands. It played a key role in the support of Japanese garrisons in the South Pacific theatre. Historic experts describe the Truk Islands as Japan's equivalent of the Americans' Pearl Harbor.

On February 17-18, 1944, the naval base was destroyed by the US army. Having anticipated this attack, the Japanese had withdrawn their larger warships: heavy cruisers, battleships and aircraft carriers. However, many smaller warships were left here, as well as hundreds of aircraft on the atoll's airbases.

The attack was called Operation Hailstone and was a devastating blow: it lasted for two days, all days and nights long, with the American warships and submarines not allowing the Japanese forces to flee. The attack resulted in destroying three light cruisers, four destroyers, three auxiliaries, two submarine bases, three small warships, some aviation transport and thirty-two merchant ships. Over 250 aircraft were destroyed, mainly on the ground as they were under construction. The American forces, in their turn, lost 25 aircraft.

The evidence of this historic event is still on the ocean's bottom. Our colleague Alexey Tishchenko has dived here several times to create a 360°-video showing the remnants of different objects that sank during Operation Hailstone.

Each one has its own story. The Kiyosumi Maru auxiliary was damaged even earlier, in January 1944, then she was tugged to the Truk Islands for further reconstruction, but didn't happen to serve again. Now her remnants are scattered on the depth of 12-33 meters. A similar fate befell the Yamagiri Maru, a merchant ship under reconstruction. Her ruined hold still contains artillery shells.

The Fumitsuki destroyer was another ship that arrived in Truk for repairs. During World War II she actively participated in the Philippines invasion forces, the Western Java invasion force and other countries of the region. On February 17, 1944, four bombs were dropped on the destroyer and she had sunk by the following morning.

The Shinkoku Maru was a naval tanker built in 1940 and was used for importing oil from the United States to Japan for only one year, and afterwards, she was requisitioned by the Japanese Navy. Serving for military purposes, the ship was repeatedly under fire. So the time chosen for maintenance was a failure: the tanker had arrived at Truk Lagoon 4 days before the attack. But now divers consider it to be one of the brightest objects, literary: the ship is fully covered by corals, making her a colourful artificial reef and a home for hundreds of marine animals.

The Heian Maru was constructed in 1929 as an ocean liner cruising to the USA, but during the war was modernised to become a submarine base. It took two days to destroy this ship: the damage of the first day was repaired, but the following day the Heian Maru was again on fire and sank.

The Fujikawa Maru that is now covered by corals initially was a cargo ship, then requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II for use as an armed aircraft transport. Having sunk, she took a lot of aircraft to the bottom, and some parts of them are still visible. Many diving experts consider the Fujikawa Maru to be one of the world's most interesting diving places in the world.

And, finally, a new 360°-video by AirPano also demonstrates one of the aircraft - Betty Bomber. The crush of this aeroplane is a mystery - it is possible that it had crushed on its own just before Operation Hailstone. Comparing to ships, the aircraft had aluminium coating, so that corals don't cover the surface of the plane, allowing to examine it in details.

Have a tour with AirPano to the world's largest ship cemetery!

Video by Alexey Tishchenko. Stitching by Ivan Roslyakov

23 February 2018

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Ship Cemetery in Truk Lagoon, Micronesia

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In the southwestern Pacific Ocean, there is a widely scattered archipelago of the Caroline Islands, which belongs to the Federated States of Micronesia. The most recognised place of this archipelago is Truk Lagoon: the waters of this atoll is considered to be the world's largest ship cemetery

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Take this virtual tour- is this a place you would like to visit? Why or why not? Write one fact that you learned by reading the article.

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Ireland is the third-largest island in Europe. Politically, it is divided between two states: Ireland in the south and the United Kingdom in the north. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful places in the world with its emerald green meadows, severe mountains, crystal clear lakes and the picturesque coast that are glorified in poetry, cinema, music and other arts.

New AirPano panoramas will make you acquainted with this wonderful corner of the earth. Although it is impossible to show all the natural and historical landmarks of Northern Ireland, even several chosen places will fully reveal the grandeur of the local landscapes.

One of the best-known places is the Giant's Causeway. It is the area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt and andesite columns up to 12 meters high. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven or eight sides.

The columns were formed as the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. But locals tell their own story. According to legend, the Celtic mythical hero giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool) decided to fight the one-eyed monster Benandonner, but he did not want to get his feet wet, so he built a bridge in the Irish Sea. While he was having rest, the enemy got close to him, but Fionn's wife saved him. Having pointed at her sleeping husband, she lied that it was her baby. She also treated Benandonner to flatbreads with iron pans inside them, so that he broke his teeth on them. To her husband, however, she gave a normal flatbread so he ate it with pleasure. Having imagined the power of the father of this "child", Benandonner fled in horror and partially destroyed the bridge that eventually became the Giant's Causeway.

In 1986, this place was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has become a national nature reserve.

Another famous Irish bridge is Carrick-a-Rede stretching at a height of 30 meters. It links the mainland to the tiny island of Carrick. The bridge spans 20 meters with a width of only 1 meter making it swing at a faint breath of wind.

Its creation does not connect to mythology, but it reflects the history of these lands. The first rope bridge was built in the middle of the 17th century by fishermen so that during the salmon season in between June and September they could easily reach the island. But they had to rebuild it every single year as the ropes were getting rotten. Centuries later, very few salmon had left so now the fishing is over. But a modern version of the bridge was built as a tourist attraction. It was created using high endurance ropes and water-resistant wood, so it can carry the weight of up to 10,000 tons and cost 16,000 pounds.

All this area is marked with outstanding natural beauty. There are huge caves that served as houses for boat builders and as a refuge during storms. And Carrick island itself is a good example of the volcanic activity in Northern Ireland, as it was a part of the ancient volcano.

The village of Carnlough is of great interest, too. It is located on the coast of Carnlough Bay, in the north-eastern part of the island surrounded by majestic mountains, forests and waterfalls. Its ancient harbour attracts yachts that, in their turn, add some charm to the landscape.

The name of the village means "place of cairns": there is a lot of silicon in this area and the first people settled here 6,000 years BC. The long history of Carnlough is linked to Vikings and Scottish warriors. One of the local hotels was owned by Winston Churchill and this area served as a scene for Game of Thrones series.

The series creators also paid attention to another Irish village named Cushendun and being one of the top-10 most beautiful villages of Northern Ireland. This village is relatively young: at the beginning of the 20th century, it was designed by the famous British architect Clough Williams-Ellis. He was guided by the heritage of the Cornish people, who are a Celtic ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall and have created their unique architectural style. In 1980, the whole village with the surroundings was designated as a conservation area.

Get acquainted with Northern Ireland and its natural and cultural treasure!

Photos by Sergey Semenov

14 August 2019

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One of the best-known places of the Northern Ireland is the Giant\'s Causeway. It is the area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt and andesite columns up to 12 meters high. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven or eight sides...