Tallinn Amber Mall

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Amber Mall.

Photographed in Old Town, Tallinn, Estonia.

Image: GrrlScientist, 22 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)

This lovely building reminded me of NYC's Flatiron Building in Manhattan, a triangular-shaped building that once was the tallest building in the world. This building in the Old Town portion of Tallinn, Estonia, is where Baltic amber -- fossilized pine tree resin -- is sold. Baltic amber is the oldest amber in the world, but it is not as likely to have insect "inclusions" as the much younger ambers found in the Dominican Republic (the other large source of amber in the world) and other locales in the New World. Amber has been prized by many cultures since the Stone Age, and magical or supernatural properties were often associated with it.

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