The skyline of one of the UK's major cities has been reshaped as its Protestants prepare to celebrate a battle in which a Protestant king defeated his Catholic predecessor who wanted his throne back....
Dwarfing houses and trees, these enormous bonfire stacks have completely reshaped Belfast's skyline.
The huge tyre mounds, many of which are more than 100ft tall, have been built as the city nervously prepares for an annual Protestant loyalist celebration.
Hundreds of fires will be set alight at midnight tonight as Protestant loyalists commemorate the Battle of the Boyne.
Massive: The skyline of Belfast has been completely altered by these enormous bonfires which have sprung up across the city in preparation for an annual Protestant loyalist celebration. A young man can be seen at the stop of this one
Huge: This bonfire is more than 100 feet high in the New Mossley area of Belfast. Hundreds of bonfires will be set alight at midnight Thursday as Protestant loyalists celebrate July 12
The annual demonstration sees thousands of Protestant Orange Order members and bandsmen go on parade across Northern Ireland - which has sparked serious rioting and violence in recent years between loyalists and nationalists.
A total of 550 parades are due to take place throughout Northern Ireland on Friday with 43 deemed to be contentious, resulting in hundreds of extra police officers being drafted on to the streets.
In recent years police officers have been battered with bricks, bottles and petrol bombs. Last year shots were also fired and a pipe bomb hurled at police lines in the Ardoyne.
The celebration marks the defeat of the deposed Catholic King James by his nephew, the Dutch Protestant William of Orange, in 1690 (hence the name of the Orange Order), which was one of the major turning points in Irish history.
Taking place in 1690, and known as the Battle of the Boyne, around 36,000 troops commanded by King William III defeated an army of approximately 25,000 troops led by the deposed King James II along the river Boyne near the town of Drogheda.
The victory of Protestant William over the forces of England's Catholic king created a Protestant ascendancy in the Emerald Isle - most notably in the Ulster region (most of which is now Northern Ireland, which decided to stay part of the UK when the rest of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922).
The battle took place on 1 July in the Julian calendar, which is equivalent to 11 July in the Gregorian calendar, and the celebration is held each year on the 12th.
Commemoration: The bonfires celebrate a major turning point in Irish history known as the Battle of the Boyne
Decorative: Union flags adorn this enormous tyre stack which will be set alight as loyalists celebrate July 12, remembering the defeat of the catholic King James, by the Protestant William of Orange in 1690
In Northern Ireland, the Eleventh Night refers to the night before the Twelfth of July, the annual Protestant commemoration of the famous battle.
On this night, large towering bonfires are lit - with flags of the hated Republic of Ireland placed on top - in many Protestant, unionist and loyalist communities where it is also known as 'bonfire night'.
Sometimes stacked by their thousands, the tyres in such bonfires around the region cast a plume of fire - and thick, toxic smoke caused by the burning rubber - high into the night sky
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