Tag: Win

Meet-Up at the Valley of the Kings for Live Music

Each week we bring you musicians from around the world to perform live in our virtual destinations. Last week, we had three great musicians with a wonderful audience for more then three hours of live music. This week all our live music events will be held in the Valley of the Kings where you can also participate in an amazing contest with an unbeliveable 1,000 worth of travel with our Sponsor Addison Lee the leading car hire company in London . Now that’s a great treat! To learn more about the contest come and join us during one of our events or simply click here to learn more

Escapist Escapism is playing Monday July 5th at 9PM London time

Twinghost Ronas – Thursday 22th July 2010, 12AM London Time (4PM PDT)

Throughout his eclectic 25-years of playing, recording and producing music, Twinghost Ronas has always been a songwriter first. From the city of brotherly love, TwinGhost cut his musical teeth playing in bands spanning across all genres of music. As a signed artist in the 1980’s and 90’s, TwinGhost has released recordings under A&M and MCA records as well as many small independent labels writing, producing, recording and distributing several records and CD’s world wide of original music. His experience has made him a well seasoned artist In search of the perfect pop song.

Escape Unplugged – Friday 23th July 2010, 9PM London Time (1PM PDT)

Escape Unplugged is as much a music project as it is an avatar. A group of musicians or one musician? Played on ancient instruments or tones generated by a computer? Or both? Or all of the above? The truth is, it doesnt matter. What matters is the intent. The intention is that Escape Unplugged makes music to calm, soothe, inspire, uplift and heal the spirit. It’s music to escape to – not in a negative way, but as something to escape TO, an oasis for the spirit to drift on and swim deep into while the stresses and strains are washed away. It’s music that allows you to pause and breathe deeply for a while. Music for meditation and prayer, or to remind you to simply BE for a moment.

Saturday July 28, 2010 2am London time

Terry Lynn plays on Saturday July 10 ,2010 at 2am London time

Terry Lynn is a musician and songwriter who has been featured on National Public Radio, Clear Channel Radio, and Fox Television in Florida. Terry has won numerous awards for my vocals as well as several songwriting contests and is a published writer, and ASCAP member To listen to some of the songs visit http://www.terrylynnsongs.com http://www.myspace.com/terrylynn
What has been written about Terry on the press: Terry Lynn shows a tremendous innate understanding of the essence of compelling song writing. From her heart and mind, lyrics and melodies flow that evoke the most warmly remembered sensibilities of modern American folk. Her songs are finely crafted but have a raw quality that is delivered with intelligence and captivating emotion

“Terry Lynn is one of those gifted artists that lights up the stage….and when you listen to her velvet voice, all seems right at that moment in time.”

“This artists music paints lucid pictures of human nature for her audience. Songs like We Can Be manage to captivate the most minimal details and get to the bottom of things by singing personal, delicate, and expansive music. Conrads joins enthusiasm with a keen sense of phrasing which is something essential for a vocalistsomething she calls genuine. ” … “her two passions, words and music, would fuse together years later and make her one of the most sincere and influential songwriters today.” Yohanna de la Torre Gulf Coast Time Magazine

Meet the Driver Challenge

Meet the Driver Challenge Your chance to win 1,000 in travel with Addison Lee

Travel to Heritage Key’s virtual Valley of the Kings before the 26th of August 2010 and you could win a prize worth 1,000. In the valley, meet up with the virtual Addison Lee driver to be entered in the prize draw for 1,000 with leading car hire service Addison Lee.

But why stop there? Visit King Tut’s treasure-laden tomb, explore ancient rebel city Amarna by the Nile, and discover the wonders of ancient Egypt. King Tut’s Golden Mask is hidden in the Valley of the Kings. The locals hold the clues to the where the mask lies. Once you find it, you will earn your badge to share.

To start your quest head over to Valley of the Kings and click on the Addison Lee Driver. Complete your quest between 12th to the 26th July and get a chance to win a copy of “The Treasures of Tutankhamun“.

As you complete and earn your badge your name will be automatically entered into a draw. We will announce the winner on 27th of July on our website.

To complete the ‘Meet the Driver’ challenge:

STEP 1 – Register a freeaccount with Heritage Key
STEP2 – Choose your avatar
STEP3 – Download and install our software
STEP 4 – Log on to the virtual Valley of the Kings and click the Addison Lee driver you’ll meet there.

Start by registering your free account

By entering this competition you agree to the Terms & Conditions: Register by 26/8/10 to be automatically entered into 1,000 Addison Lee prize draw. The winner will be able to add the 1,000 credit to an existing Addison Lee account or the amount will be credited to a new account. Only one registration per user. No cash alternative. Winner will be chosen on 30/9/10. Employees of Rezzable Productions Ltd or Addison Lee and their immediate family are not eligible to win.

Contests in King Tut Virtual

We ha The Locals hold the clues to the missing King Tut Death Mask. d a busy start to the week with the launch of an exciting new contest to give our readers a chance to win 1,000 worth of travel with Addison Lee – Just imagine taking the cab to jet around London whenever you want! As well as wonderful prizes we also now offer the chance to earn badges that you can show off on Facebook and share with your friends. To learn more about our “Meet the Driver” contest which is sponsored by Addison Lee, simply click here and get started .

Whilst the main contest is going on, we will be launching smaller fun quests around the Valley of the Kings where we will offer fun ways of exploring and earning exciting smaller prizes. We have been making mischief and have hidden King Tut’s Golden Mask in the Valley of the Kings. The locals hold the clues to the where the mask lies. Once you find it, you will earn your badge to share. To start your quest head over to Valley of the Kings and click on the Addison Lee Driver. complete your quest between 12th to the 26th July and get a chance to win a copy of “The Treasures of Tutankhamun“.

Learning about the Life by the Nile. You can explore the virtual areas whenever you want to visit, but when the experience is shared with others it becomes more fun and exciting. Keeping this in mind we set up some live tours where I will be in the virtual areas to give you a planned tour of the selected area and also assist you with any questions you may have. I can help you to change your avatar’s look, to take virtual photographs or do something more adventurous while going through many quests together. Bring along a friend and join me at our weekly scheduled hours in Heritage Key Virtual.

Ihave started the first tour in the Nile area talking about the Life by the Nile. This region gives you a chance to see a slice of daily life in the 18th Dynasty at Amarna, Egypt during the reign of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. You can take part in a fun battle on a Nile river raft against each other or challenge the river gods. Have you ever played rock, paper, scissors game in a virtual world? You can even challenge me next time, so watch this space for more tours coming up. Click here to learn more about the Virtual Things To Do. We have also taken some breathtaking photos of the Nile in the Egyptian sunset – check out some of our photos in the Heritage Key Virtual Flickr Group.

Win Points With Our New Virtual Worlds Quiz

Consider yourself an authority on the many ongoing projects to survey and virtually-render famous monuments and heritage sites around the world? In that case, you should score high on the new Virtual Worlds Quiz which weve just launched on Heritage Key ten questions, each pertaining to cutting-edge endeavours to research and/or digitally recreate everything from Egyptian burial chambers to ancient Mayan cities.

Compete now and, as well as bragging rights, you could win a wad of 10 site points. Fear not if you dont know your virtual Qumran from your 3D Forbidden City well give you a sporting chance by recommending some handy sites, programmes and pages on which to do some swotting-up first. Even if you are an expert, remember that only the points from your first go at the quiz count towards your site score, so its worth doing a spot of revision first if you want the full 10/10.

HK VX, Qumran on Your Desktop and French Giza

The Valley of the Kings and Tutankhamuns tomb were the first two ancient world hotspots brought to life on Heritage Key VX, and thus the perfect place to begin your quest for Virtual Worlds Quiz clues. Take a wander through the pixilated Theban landscape and pay close attention to the games you can play there. Next youll need to negotiate a few teleporters and head over first to virtual Stonehenge, followed swiftly by virtual Amarna, where theres oodles more fun to be had, not to mention answers to be found.

“Remember that only the points from your first go at the quiz count towards your site score!”

Back so soon? Well then get straight on with reading Owens fantastic interview with Dr Robert Cargill, the brains behind Virtual Qumran, where important volumes of a certain ancient world must-read were discovered in caves. After that, find out all about French software company Dassault Systemes part in a fascinating project to render in shiny 3D the entire landscape of ancient Giza. Theyve already made a head start with one particular tall, pointy monument that requires no introduction.

NASA Scanners, the Scottish 10 and the Cities Social Networking Built

This blog containing news of an Edinburgh schools pioneering online museum is your next port of call. Follow it up by discovering how NASA laser scanning technology has allowed a team of researchers to gather unprecedented quantities of data about the lost Mayan city of Caracol. While youre at it, move straight onto Marys wonderfully detailed article about the virtual reconstruction of the Forbidden City in Beijing, which has been funded by a certain major computer and technology manufacturer.

Your next destination is this interview with Historic Scotland director David Mitchell, all about the Scottish 10 teams mission to laser-scan a decade of heritage sites around the world, in their own back garden as well as such far flung locales as the United States of America. Speaking of the US of A, some enterprising technology experts there have pioneered a nifty computer programme already applied to the likes of Rome, Venice and Dubrovnik which can render entire cities simply by gathering information from a certain popular social networking website. Heres the link, you know what to do with it.

Play the Virtual Worlds Quiz and all of our other quizzes by clicking here.

AWiL Video Series: Highlights of the Ancient World in London

It’s the end of the Ancient World in London video series! We’ve travelled up and down the country getting the inside line on London’s impressive history, and we’ve seen no small number of ancient wonders along the way. So here’s a video of our best bits and what we thought of them – from the rebellion of Boudicca to the fearsome Maunsell Sea Forts.

The series has been much more than the videos, though: we’ve been running bloggers’ challenges, real-world and virtual events, a pub quiz and even a special concert. Of course you can still see Stonehenge, the Valley of the Kings and latest addition Amarna by visting our virtual experience, and you can read a round-up of the Ancient World in London’s many highlights right here.

During the video series we’ve been digging up London’s history, and found there’s an entire world beneath our feet (or above if you’re on the tube). Take our trip round Roman London with Ian Smith, for example, when we learnt how amazing ancient artefacts like the Battersea Shield are being found on the banks of the Thames all the time – or that there’s a layer of burnt earth up to a metre thick, left by Boudicca and her bloodthirsty hoards almost two thousand years ago.

But if some of our videos were eye-openers, others were truly spectacular – like our video from the Illuminations at Hadrian’s Wall, the frostbitten tip of the Roman Empire. The size and beauty of the wall gripped us more as each lamp sparked into life in the distance. Finally the chain was complete, and we got a breathtaking look at the wall, a floodlit harness around Roman Britain. See how Hadrian’s Wall and London Wall face up here.

Another fantastic adventure was our video from Stonehenge at this year’s Spring Equinox. Not only did we get to step inside the stone circle, one of only four times a year it’s possible, we got to meet Druids and pagans as they saw in the summer in style. Nicole even joined in!

Fast forward almost four thousand years and we were sent into the heart of the Second World War effort at some of London’s strangest landmarks: the Maunsell Sea Forts: six spidery towers sticking out of the Thames Estuary like rusty Triffids. The water may have been choppy but Jamie was in his element, and saw how the city has relied on the river since time began.

But while we’ve already given away tons of great prizes, our main prize is still to be won. For those of you who managed to reach the heady heights of 1066 points, visit this URLto find out if you’ve bagged an amazing seven-night holiday for two to the stunning shores of Dalaman, Turkey, where you’ll embark on a two-day tour of the region’s ancient Lycian sites.

HD Video: Episode 13 – Recap Vlog

(Transcription of this video.)

It may be the end of our video series, but don’t forget we’ve got a whole host of other videos, from King Tut’s treasures to the landscape of Stonehenge, on our dedicated video page. What did you think of the Ancient World in London? To let us know, and to have your say on the world’s hottest heritage topics, or email us direct. You can also follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and iTunes. Heritage Key – Unlock the Wonders.

Love and War in Ancient Lycia – Antony and Cleopatra’s Romantic Turkish Getaway

Maybe its because Antony and Cleopatra did much of their romancing there, or perhaps its the azure sea, sandy beaches, traditional villages and lazy pace of life which make the Lycian coast in south west Turkey the ideal place for a romantic holiday – an experience that you can win in our Ancient World in London competition.

But the history of the Lycian Way is peppered as much with war as it is with romance, and its tumultous history helps make Lycia a fascinating area of Turkey to visit.

The mountainous, rugged territory behind the idyllic coastal scenery isolated Lycia from the rest of Anatolia, making the ancient Lycians fiercely independent and giving them a distinctive place in ancient Anatolian history. This independence caused the inhabitants of the chief city, Xanthos to make a funeral pyre of their own city and burn themselves alive rather than be conquered; first by the Persians circa 540 BC and the second time during the Roman civil war circa 42 BC when the inhabitants of Xanthos refused to assist Brutus.

Thought to be an indigenous pre-Hittite race, the Lycians had their own distinctive language and script and Herodotus wrote they reckon their lineage not by their fathers but by their mothers side.

The Lukkas of Lycia

Ancient Egyptian records referred to the race as Lukka and indicate the Lycians were allies of the Hittites. When the Hittite Empire collapsed, they emerged as an independent Neo-Hittite kingdom.

The Lycians were mentioned in the Iliad as allies of the Trojans, but in the 6th century BC, Lycia succumbed to the Persian Empire. After a little spat with Athens in 429BC, it was mostly left to rule itself during this time.

As an area Lycia organised itself to form the Lycian Federation. This was a democratic grouping, which consisted of 23 voting units and was charged with electing national officials and municipal authorities. These democratic principles are said to have influenced the United States constitution.

Lycia remained officially under Persian rule until it was conquered by Alexander the Great in 334-333BC. After his death, the Ptolemies ruled Lycia and Greek gradually replaced the Lycian language and Greek constitutions were adopted. Antiochus III defeated the Ptolemies in 197BC and he gave the kingdom to the Rhodians. This was bitterly disputed by the Lycians who succeeded in 167BC in having the relegation revoked.

The Lycians enjoyed a couple of centuries of semi-independence and the Lycian Federation came back into prominence.

In the Roman civil wars, after refusing to assist Brutus and gaining favour with Rome, Anthony reconfirmed Lycias autonomy and in 43AD the region was joined to Pamphylia. During this time, Lycias population reached around 200,000.

Legend has it that the Lycian Federation prepared the island of Cedre (Sedir Adasi, also known as Cleopatras isle, situated off Marmaris) for the arrival of Cleopatra. To make Cleopatra feel at home, galleys full of sand was transported from Egypt to be strewn on the shore of Cedra. Analysis has since shown the sand isnt from local strata.

Decline started to set in when the province was divided by Diocletian in the 4th century AD which deteriorated further with Arab raids in the 7th and 8th centuries.

The Chimera and Other Myths

The area enters into many Greek myths. Lycia is linked to Crete as it was ruled by King Minoss brother, Sarpedon, a Cretan exile.

The natural burning flames near Olympos, known as the eternal fires of Chimera, are also thought to be the root of the Chimera legend. This fire-breathing monster, with the head of a lion, body of a goat and tail of a snake terrorised the area and was eventually killed by Bellerophon.

As an aside, the silhouette of the Chimera is the logo for the state-run Petrol Ofisi Turkish filling stations.

Rock Cut Tombs

Much of the Lycian architecture has been overlaid with buildings from the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The most recognisable structures from Lycia are the rock-cut tombs in the side of cliffs throughout the area, such as the ones at Dalyan. Other ‘free standing’ Lycian tombs are said to depict an upturned boat.

There is also the Harpy Tomb which was found at Xanthos. Dating from circa 5th century BC, the marble-reliefed tomb was set on a thick pillar standing over 7m high.

As the original is now in the British Museum, a replica has been placed at the site. It should also be noted, the Trilingual Stele found at Letoon, the spiritual centre of Lycia, had instructions in Greek, Lycian and Aramaic and was crucial in deciphering the Lycian language (read more about trilingual texts and their role in decipherment here).

Lycia is a stunning area of Turkey and is steeped in an amazing, but bloody history. The Lycian Way is a popular destination for walkers who will receive a traditional warm Turkish welcome from locals as they travel the ancient route.
My advice is to stay away from the resorts, and wherever possible find a secluded olive grove to contemplate the past of this rugged, but beautiful area.

To be in with a chance of winning a holiday in ancient Lycia, dive into our Ancient World in London series, and start earning points.

Tweet to Win a Holiday in Turkey: Bonus Points up For Grabs This Week Only!

The grand finale of the Ancient World in London series is approaching and one lucky explorer will be walking away with the grand prize – a holiday in Fethiye, Ovacik, Turkey, courtesy of HolidayMate. To be in with a chance, you will need 1066 points. To thank all you AWiL participants for your tireless explorations, we’re offering special bonus points this week to increase your chance of scooping this amazing holiday.

The prize is a breathtaking holiday for 2 people for 7 nights on the sunny shores of Ovacik, Turkey. The lucky winners will be treated to 4 star bed and breakfast accommodation at Green Anatolia Hotel, Fethiye – Ovacik. All flights from the UK to Dalaman are included, along with airport transfers. Your stay will also cover a two day tour of ancient Lycian sites around Dalyan. The flights are out of the UK airports only but if you are living outside of the UK don’t worry – you can either travel to London or give the holiday prize to a friend to enjoy who is actually living in the UK.

Climb up the Points Leaderboard:

Every day I will be in Heritage Key Virtual, doing quests and tours and helping you with basic skills from 3pm till 6pm London time (GMT). If you join me, you will earn 100 points instantly. Log in and find me in Heritage Key Virtual and earn your 100 points.
Take a photo of Heritage Key Virtual or Ancient World in London group.Upload it to our Flickr Groupor to Ancient World In London Flickr group and you can earn 100 points for each photo uploaded (click here for more details of this competition)
Tell us in 140 characters why you would like to win our holiday in Turkey and tweet your reason using the hashtag #awil – we will grant you 250 points just for tweeting, and the most creative tweet of the lot will earn a whopping 500 points!

There are the other ways to earn extra points this week. In fact, all the usual ways in which you can earn points have been given a boost, making this the best time ever to participate in Heritage Key.

How to Earn Bonus Points This Week:

Registering on Heritage Key. Do you know what year London was founded? That is the number of points you’ll get just for registering. Start here.
Asking your friends to join us. Share your favourite locations with them and see who can make it to 1066 first. You get10 points for each friend you invite, and a dashing 100 points when they sign up. There is a limit to the number of friends you can invite to the site, so we suggest you choose the 20 most fun ones.
Sharing your opinion.Some people are shy about commenting on history. To help you overcome your fear of commenting, we’ll grant you 10 points for each comment. Have you seen a good film (Avatar comes to mind) or read a good book?Your opinion and rating on a publication gets you 20 points.
Correcting us. We admit we sometimes make mistakes. Point out an obvious flaw – one that cannot be debated – in an article or blogpost, and be rewarded with our eternal gratitude and 50 points.
Not abandoning us!Once a week, for logging in to Heritage Key, we will reward you with 10 users points.

You have until midnight on 30th April to take advantage of this points giveaway.

Check out our things to do page regularly to follow what we are doing and what’s planned.

Winner Announced! Ancient World Spotted Photography Contest

Photographers – thank you for getting your cameras out in support of our photography competition ‘Ancient Spotted Photo Contest‘.

There were a lot of really great photos submitted, and it has been incredibly hard to choose a winner. But after a lot of consideration we have decided on the winner of the first photo competition of the Ancient World in London series of quests.

We are delighted to announce that the winner of Ancient World Spotted is David Merrigan, for his photo of London’s Sphinx. There are actually two of these Sphinxes, set either side of Cleopatra’s Needle in Westminster, and together are amongst the iconic ancient world sights of the city. We particularly love the amazing quality of light in David’s image.

David has a great eye for a picture, and a strong interest in London. If you look through his Flickr Stream you can see his takes on several other London landmarks. He is a Londoner himself, and obviously knows his city well. David will choose his prize from the selection of Ancient History Books from Thames & Hudson (see our pick of the current catalogue here). Well done David!

More Chances to Win!

David may have scooped the first Ancient World inLondon photography prize, but the opportunities to win do not stop here. Help Recreate the British Museum is currently running and finishing in couple of weeks, so make sure you get your entry in soon.

Remember, you need 1066 points to be in with a chance of winning the grand prize – an amazing holiday for two near the ancient rock tombs of Dalyan in Turkey

Rest assured there will be more of these photo contests to be announced over the coming weeks. Keep visiting our Things To Do Page on the Ancient World inLondon microsite for all the new and on-going events, quests, and contests. Remember, you need 1066 points to be in with a chance of winning the grand prize – an amazing holiday for two near the ancient rock tombs of Dalyan in Turkey.

Through these photo contests we invite Londoners and tourists from around the world – as well as the online community – to take a close look at the wonderful ancient artefacts that make up our history in London. There is so much to learn about and see in London, both inside museums and at sites scattered across the city.

Places that may look like nothing but ruins could actually be our links back to moments in time that have shaped our world and lives today. You probably pass by many ruins in your day-to-day life in the city without realising their incredible histories. But these places become part of your daily life, and this is your chance to get to know them better.

We would like to thank all the participants in this first Spotted contest. Here are some of your great snaps from all over London: