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Panorama of Constantinople - highly detailed aquatints depict Constantinople in 8 consecutive plates to form one wide-angled view. It is an adapted reproduction of an enormous 360 degree painting which was installed in London’s Leicester Square between 1801 and 1802.
Henry Barker arrived in Constantinople in August 1799 and chose the top of the Galata Tower, on the European side of the Bosphorous, as his viewpoint for the panorama. From there most of the city’s cultural, historic and military sites could be seen.
Henry Aston Barker spent months in Constantinople before his drawings were translated into two paintings. When the painting was finished it measured 10,000 square feet, and was displayed in the lower circle of Robert Barker’s celebrated ‘Panorama’. This was a purpose-built cylindrical building in the heart of Soho where spectators could enjoy the experience of being enveloped in a massive all-embracing view.
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Welcome to Earth! It's a planet having an iron core, with two-thirds of its surface covered by water. Earth orbits a local star called the Sun, the light of which generates the food supply for all the millions of species of life on earth. The dominant species on Earth is the human being, and you're one of the six billion of them! Humans have iron in their blood, and their bodies are composed of two-thirds water, just like the planet they live on. The physical composition of the Earth, its people and everything on it contains an electro-magnetic field which is not yet fully understood. Theories and legends about the origin of Earth, people and life itself abound, however they are not commonly discussed. The bulk of earth's people spend their time immersed in daily activities, leaving the big questions for later. "Who are we? Where did we come from? Where are we going? How will we get there?" Many religions and philosophies have attempted to answer these questions over the years, but so far none has given an answer that everyone on the planet can accept. In contrast to all the disagreement, the similarities among people on earth are far, far greater than any differences. Welcome again to Earth! Enjoy your stay, and try to stay calm.
