Showing posts with label Oldest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oldest. Show all posts
10 Oldest Mosques in the World
01. Quba Mosque, Saudi Arabia
First Built: 622
The designation of the oldest mosque in the world requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest mosque congregation. Even here, there is the distinction between old mosque buildings that have been in continuous use as mosques, and those that have been converted to other purposes; and between buildings that have been in continuous use as mosques and those that were shuttered for many decades. In terms of congregations, they are distinguished between early established congregations that have been in continuous existence, and early congregations that ceased to exist (wikipedia). 09 More after the break...
02. Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, Saudi Arabia
First Built: 622
03. Masjid al-Qiblatain, Saudi Arabia
03. Masjid al-Qiblatain, Saudi Arabia
First Built: 623
04. Jawatha Mosque, Saudi Arabia
First Built: 629
05. Masjid al-Haram, Saudi Arabia
First Built: 638
06. Great Mosque of Kufa, Iraq
First Built: 639
07. Mosque of Uqba, Tunisia
First Built: 670
08. Imam Hussain Mosque, Iraq
First Built: 680
09. Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem
First Built: 705
10. Al-Zaytuna Mosque, Tunisia
The Oldest Person Turns 130
Authorities in the former Soviet republic of Georgia claim a woman from a remote mountain village turned 130, making her the oldest person on Earth. Antisa Khvichava from western Georgia was born on July 8, 1880, said Georgiy Meurnishvili, spokesman for the civil registry at the Justice Ministry. The woman, who lives with her 40-year-old grandson in an idyllic vine-covered country house in the mountains, retired from her job as a tea and corn picker in 1965, when she was 85, records say.
Antisa 'the oldest person on Earth' turns 130 (and she doesn't look a day over)
Birthday in bed: Antisa Khvichava rests during her 130th birthday party in the village of Sachino, Georgia. She claims to be the oldest person in the world 'I've always been healthy, and I've worked all my life - at home and at the farm,' Antisa said, in a bright dress and headscarf - and red lipstick. Sitting in the chair and holding her cane, Antisa spoke quietly through an interpreter - since she never went to school to learn Georgian and speaks only the local language, Mingrelian. Her age couldn't immediately be independently verified. Her birth certificate was lost - one of the great number to have disappeared in the past century amid revolutions and a civil war which followed the collapse of the USSR. More Images after the break...
Proof of age: Her age has not been independantly verified but Antisa shows her passport and other documents clearly stating that her date of birth is July 1880 Her 70-year-old son Mikhail, who was also at the party, apparently was born when his mother was 60. She said she also had two children from a previous marriage, but says they died of hunger during World War II. Mikhail said that, although his mother had difficulty walking and had stayed largely in bed during the past seven years, she made a point of hobbling unaided to the outhouse on the other side of the yard, because she hates to be a nuisance.
Make a wish: Antisa blows out candles on a special birthday cake and, despite her advanced age, can still get about with the aid of a walking stick But Meurnishvili showed two Soviet-era documents that he says attest to her age. Scores of officials, neighbors, friends, and descendants backed up her claim as the world's top senior. The Gerontology Research Group currently recognizes 114-year-old Eugenie Blanchard of Saint Barthelemy, France, as the world's oldest person. Antisa would make Eugenie look like a spring chicken - but the research group is yet to examine Antisa's claim. She has a son, 10 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and six great, great grandchidren.
Let's get this party started: A local folk group performs traditional songs for Antisa and her 70-year-old son Mikhail as part of the celebrations Though her body has all but quit on her - her fingers cramped by age mean she can no longer maintain her love of knitting - relatives say her mind remains sharp. 'Grandma has a very clear mind and she hasn't lost an ability to think rationally,' said Khvichava's granddaughter Shorena, who lives in a nearby village. To mark Antisa's birthday, a string ensemble played folk music out on the lawn, while grandchildren offered traditional Mingrelian dishes like corn porridge and spiced chicken with herbs to all guests as the party. Via : Link
Britains Oldest Mother
This is Elizabeth Adeney - Britain's oldest mother-to-be. At 66, she is four years older than the previous record holder. Mrs Adeney, who is around eight months pregnant, is believed to have undergone IVF abroad because most British clinics will not treat women over the age of 50. Friends say that the divorcee, a wealthy businesswoman who is still working a five-day week, is in perfect health and looking forward to the birth of what is thought to be her first child. But her pregnancy will reignite the debate over late motherhood and the ability of science to enable women in their 50s and 60s to become mothers. Mrs Adeney will be just short of her 80th birthday when her child becomes a teenager. A friend said she had been desperate to conceive for years. Last year, she travelled to the Ukraine, where a controversial IVF clinic has helped countless women get pregnant using donor eggs and sperm.The friend added: 'She was desperate for a child. She was over the moon when she learned last year that she was pregnant and has been quite open about it - it's not the sort of thing she can hide. 'Elizabeth has had a pretty good pregnancy. She has been very well, considering her age - I'm amazed how she keeps going. 'She does get up a little later in the mornings than she used to and sometimes spends an hour or two at home before going to work but she is still at her business Monday to Friday.'Mrs Adeney, the managing director of a firm in Mildenhall, Suffolk, which produces plastic and textile products, is described by friends as 'very bright and single-minded'. Yesterday, she declined to discuss her condition. More after the break...
The divorcee is expected to give birth by elective Caesarean 'I am a private person and while I appreciate there may be some publicity I will just ignore it,' she said. 'This has been a very personal decision and I do not feel I have to give interviews or talk to anyone in the media about what I have decided to do and where I have done it.' Mrs Adeney is divorced from Robert Adeney, a former chairman of upmarket riding and leather goods firm Swaine Adeney Brigg, which was founded in 1750. Like most older mothers-to-be, she is expected to give birth by elective Caesarean. She has hired a live-in nanny, who will help her to cope after the birth. A room in her £600,000 detached house in Lidgate, a picturesque village a few miles outside Newmarket, has already been converted into a nursery.
The news of Mrs Adeney's pregnancy has led critics to question once more whether IVF should be given to women who are past the age where they could naturally conceive. The NHS will only consider women under the age of 40.
A spokesman for the Church of England said: 'A child is a gift not a right. 'For those who have never received that gift we can well understand their desire to have children but it is always important to think in those circumstances about what is really in the child's best interests.' However, Laurence Shaw, a consultant in reproductive medicine at London Bridge Fertility Centre, said: 'The truth is, anybody might not survive to raise their children. 'Until 100 years ago, our life expectancy was 50 or so, so if you had a baby at 30 you had 20 years with your child. Now life expectancy is 80, so is it not reasonable for someone to go through a process of fitness screening to decide whether they should have a child?'
The news of Mrs Adeney's pregnancy has led critics to question once more whether IVF should be given to women who are past the age where they could naturally conceive. The NHS will only consider women under the age of 40.
A spokesman for the Church of England said: 'A child is a gift not a right. 'For those who have never received that gift we can well understand their desire to have children but it is always important to think in those circumstances about what is really in the child's best interests.' However, Laurence Shaw, a consultant in reproductive medicine at London Bridge Fertility Centre, said: 'The truth is, anybody might not survive to raise their children. 'Until 100 years ago, our life expectancy was 50 or so, so if you had a baby at 30 you had 20 years with your child. Now life expectancy is 80, so is it not reasonable for someone to go through a process of fitness screening to decide whether they should have a child?'
One of the chief health risks to older mothers is pre-eclampsia, which can lead to blood clots and serious complications, or even death. However, the condition, which causes high blood pressure, can be detected by regular checks. Mrs Adeney is one of a growing number of older women who have sought IVF treatment abroad in the last few years. These include Patti Farrant, who was the previous oldest woman in Britain to give birth. The psychiatrist, who uses the professional name Dr Patricia Rashbrook, was 62 when she had a son in 2006 using a donated egg from Russia.
A shortage of women willing to donate eggs in Britain - where they cannot be paid - has also driven increasing numbers of younger childless couples into travelling for treatment. The Daily Mail has investigated the growing trade in 'fertility tourism' in countries such as the Ukraine. An undercover female reporter visited one of the best-known clinics, the Isida in Kiev, where women can receive IVF treatment for around £6,000. The 43-year-old was expecting 'a general chat' about IVF but instead the clinic's medical director, Victor Zinchenko, offered to start treatment straight away. Unlike clinics in Britain, the Isida does not impose an age limit for women who are prepared to use donor eggs. The clinic refused to say how much the egg donors were paid - it is thought to be a few hundred pounds - but simply said they were 'very well rewarded' for their trouble. Fertility experts in Britain have warned that donors in other countries are not always warned of the risks of egg donation, which can even cause infertility. The oldest woman in the world to give birth was 70-year-old Omkari Panwar from India, who had a twin boy and girl last year.
A shortage of women willing to donate eggs in Britain - where they cannot be paid - has also driven increasing numbers of younger childless couples into travelling for treatment. The Daily Mail has investigated the growing trade in 'fertility tourism' in countries such as the Ukraine. An undercover female reporter visited one of the best-known clinics, the Isida in Kiev, where women can receive IVF treatment for around £6,000. The 43-year-old was expecting 'a general chat' about IVF but instead the clinic's medical director, Victor Zinchenko, offered to start treatment straight away. Unlike clinics in Britain, the Isida does not impose an age limit for women who are prepared to use donor eggs. The clinic refused to say how much the egg donors were paid - it is thought to be a few hundred pounds - but simply said they were 'very well rewarded' for their trouble. Fertility experts in Britain have warned that donors in other countries are not always warned of the risks of egg donation, which can even cause infertility. The oldest woman in the world to give birth was 70-year-old Omkari Panwar from India, who had a twin boy and girl last year.
Via : Link
World Oldest And Largest Egg up for Sale
Its mother has long since departed the scene. As, indeed, has its entire species.But this giant egg is a great survivor. It was laid around 400 years ago by one of the great elephant birds of Madagascar.Before becoming extinct in the 17th century, the flightless creature was the world's largest bird, standing 10ft tall and weighing half a ton.World.
Duncan Phillips holds a Giant Elephant Bird of Madagascar egg, which went on sale in London todayThe egg, which is more than 3ft in circumference, was discovered by Victorian explorers and has since been held in private collections.Its current owner is antiques dealer John Shepherd, of Ashford in Kent, who bought the egg after seeing David Attenborough discover one while filming in Madagascar.Mr Shepherd, a trained palaeontologist, has decided to sell the egg, which is on display at the Chelsea Antiques Fair, which runs until Sunday.World. More after the break...
The egg is larger than a rugby ball and measures more than 3ft in diameterIt is expected to fetch at least £5,000. He said: 'The egg is a talking point. It's very eye-catching and it has a wonderful simplicity about it. It stands on its own.'It has a great social history. The Madagascan elephant bird was the only giant bird to exist with man and man caused its extinction.'It's nice to be able to show children today about environmental issues that have been going on for hundreds of years.'
Elephant birds became extinct after being hunted by the natives of Madagascar.Even though the bird weighed about half a ton, it also suffered at the hands of other predators such as pigs who ate their chicks and destroyed their eggs.The flightless bird, the largest to have ever lived, resembled a heavily-built ostrich. It had long legs, talons and stood at more than 10ft tall.But despite its fearsome appearance, it was a herbivore.World Largest Egg.
The bird as it would have looked 400 years ago, and right its skeleton reveals how much larger it was compared to its giant eggs.
Via : Link
World's Oldest Animals
Jonathan the tortoise and Mischief the cat may have hit the headlines for their longevity, but there are plenty of other creatures giving them a run for their money in the age stakes.
Mischief, the world's oldest cat, is 100 Photo: SWNS.COM Jonathan the tortoise was already well into his 60s at the end of the 19th ceremony Photo: EPA
Read more after the break...
Mischief, the world's oldest cat, is 100 Photo: SWNS.COM Jonathan the tortoise was already well into his 60s at the end of the 19th ceremony Photo: EPA
Read more after the break...
- Rabbit: Fourteen-year-old George, from Tewksbury, Massachusetts in the US, was recognised as the oldest rabbit in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records earlier this year.
The average life expectancy of a rabbit is six to eight years, making George an estimated 160 years old in human terms. His owners met at college and fed their pet Doritos.
- Cat: Spike, a ginger and white tom, died two months after his 31st birthday in July 2001 - making him the world's oldest cat.
He was bought for two shillings and sixpence in London's Brick Lane market in 1970 and nearly died at the age of 19 when he was attacked by a dog.
Spike's owners, from Bridport in Devon, used to put aloe vera gel into his cat food. - Spider: The world's oldest spider is thought to have been a female from the Theraphosidae family, which lived up to the age of 28. The bird-eating arachnid was captured in Mexico in 1935.
Dog: At 29, black Labrador Bella was thought to be the oldest dog in the UK until her death in September.
She was bought from an RSPCA sanctuary 26 years ago and lived out her long life in Derbyshire. - Guinea Pig: The average age for a guinea pig may be between five and eight years, but the official record is 14 years and 10 and a half months.
Monkey: Bueno, a black spider monkey, died in 2005 at the age of 53 and was thought to be the world's eldest monkey.
She lived a "stress-free" life at the Japan Monkey Centre in Aichi, 150 miles west of Tokyo. The average black spider monkey lives for between 30 and 33 years. - Goldfish: Tish beat all the records by living to a ripe old age of 43 after being won a funfair in Doncaster in 1956.
As he aged, his scales faded from orange to silver but his owner Hilda Hand said the key to his longevity was not feeding him too much and placing him in the sun every now and then. - Clam: An ocean qahog clam dredged up off the coast of Iceland last year is thought to have been around 410 years old.
Via : Link
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)




















