Divers in Cyprus are currently mapping the island’s underwater sites, with the aim of creating immersive digital tours that promote tourism and raise awareness about biodiversity.
Among the five sites being captured are the Lef 1 shipwreck, a 16-metre vessel that sits 10 metres below the surface off the southern coast of the island. The project aims to build digital 3D models of the sites using photos and videos.
The tours will be available on an online platform by the end of the year, as part of a project called Larnaca Virtual Underwater Routes, a joint venture between the Cyprus Maritime and Marine Institution and the Larnaca Tourism Board.
visual designer
"We're taking quite a lot of info through photography of the seabed and then we're stitching it together through programming on the computer to create a video that gives you a 360º tour," says visual designer Marios Constantinides.
He says the tours and mapping of dive routes will allow divers "to understand the potential dangers or points of reference”.
The project will cover two natural reefs and three wrecks, including Cyprus’s best-known dive site, the MS Zenobia, a Swedish-built ferry that capsized and sank off the coast of the Cypriot port city of Larnaca in 1979. The iron-and-steel ship's final resting place is 40 metres beneath the surface, a 10-minute boat ride from Larnaca.
While authorities are hoping the mapping project will stimulate tourism, it also aims to promote environmental awareness. Artificial reefs, such as the sunken boats, can boost the biodiversity of nearby natural reefs by creating new havens for marine life.
"With new media and new technologies, recording these dive sites and being able to project (them) to the rest of the world, hopefully more and more sites will be discovered and more and more people will be interested,” Constantinides says.
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Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
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3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
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Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
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Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
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