19 August 2019:
Belfast, Northern, Ireland:
Birthplace of a Legend

By Corey Sandler

Belfast, with a population of about 600,000 in the metropolitan area, was a center of the Irish linen, tobacco processing, ropemaking, and shipbuilding industries, a major player in the Industrial Revolution.

In the early 20th century, Harland and Wolff was the biggest and most productive shipyard in the world, employing as many as 35,000 workers, and Belfast was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution.

Harland and Wolff, built a vessel you may have heard of: the RMS Titanic.

The shipyard is now the location of the world’s largest dry dock, where the giant cranes Samson and Goliath stand out against Belfast’s skyline.

Just recently, the current owners called it quits. Workers are protesting, but the yard’s future is uncertain. Samson and Goliath are probably safe as landmarks.

Here are some photos from today:

The flashiest modern attraction is Titanic Belfast, which opened in 2012 to coincide with the centenary of the incomplete maiden voyage of the luxury liner Titanic.

The angular design was intended to evoke the image of ship, or perhaps the iceberg that did her in.

I went with guests to Mount Stewart, the family home of Edith, Lady of Londonderry

It’s a not-at-all modest place, somewhat similar to the grand cottages of Newport, Rhode Island in the United States.

Mount Stewart
The family chapel, with several Order of the Garter banners

You can read more about Belfast by clicking on the tab at the bottom of this blog.

Belfast’s impressive City Hall
SS Nomadic, the last of the White Star Fleet, built as a tender for the Titanic. In the background is the Titanic museum, depending on your point of view resembling either a ship’s prow or an iceberg.

All photos and text Copyright 2019 by Corey Sandler, all rights reserved. See more photos on my website at http://www.coreysandler.com

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