The depth of snow varied on our drive from Vilnius to Riga. In some places it was just a dusting, a bit of white on top of still green fields. In Northern Lithuania we saw a farmer with a horse … Continue reading Halloween in Riga, Latvia, 2003
In Tallinn, there are architectural rings. Right outside the old town is the “new town” a mix of modern steel and glass and Stalinist “wedding cake” architecture. Beyond that are working class Tallinn neighborhoods that consist of almost all old wooden buildings, single family dwellings, shops, workshops, and wooden apartment houses. Many have carpenter Gothic touches and are painted in different colors. The most famous of these neighborhoods is Kalamaja. I hope that at least some of these neighborhoods can be “protected,” as the old town from the modern “new town” encroachments. More than the German styled Hanseatic League old … Continue reading Wooden Tallinn, Estonia.
Our friends Dave and Carol Lam took us to Baarle when we were working in the Balkans. We wondered about the possibility of ever being able to draw borders that reflected ethnic realities. Dave said he had something he wanted to show us, the municipality of Baarle in Belgium, or is it the Netherlands? The map of Europe has many geographic anomalies. But one of the strangest borders runs through Baarle. The town is divided between the countries, Baarle-Nassau is Dutch and Baarle-Hertog is Belgian. The dividing line is anything but straight, or rational. The border was set in the Treaty … Continue reading Soft Borders, Belgium and the Netherlands at Baarle.
Egyptian pyramids evolved. They did not just pop out of the ground at Giza. A series of mistakes litter the desert. In a short space of miles you can see those mistakes and follow that evolution. Saqqara has a stepped pyramid (and rubble of a step pyramid that didn’t hold up so well.) It was an early incarnation of Pharaonic funeral monuments. Then the builders decided to shift to smooth sided pyramids. The Collapsed Pyramid at Meidum was their first big mistake. The builders made the angle too steep. Instead of the pressure of the weight at the top of … Continue reading The Evolution of Egyptian Pyramids.
The gem of Qatar is the Museum of Islamic Art, with pieces from the time of Mohammad to the beginning of the 21st century. The building, by American Architect I.M. Pei, is designed to allow for the play of sun and shadow on both the outside and inside the atrium. Natural light plays against structural forms, floor patterns, winding staircases, balconies and light fixtures to create massive geometric patterns that move with the sun and complement the micro geometric patterns common in Islamic art. In this building you can get lost in yourself, the art and perhaps infinity. Having lived in … Continue reading Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar,– I.M. Pei’s symphony of geometric light and shadow.
In Eastern France there are several war related “roads” to follow, the “road of the fortified towns,” “The road of the battlefields” linking battlefields of the two world wars, and “The road of the military cemeteries.” Wars happened here with alarming regularity. The road I found most fascinating was the “The Road of the Fortified Churches” celebrating about 65 churches (God’s castles someone called them) built in the Thierache region for the protection of the civilian population. These towns sat on the border between Champagne and Picardy near Flanders. They could not afford to wall themselves. Many did not have … Continue reading “A Mighty Fortress” The fortified churches of Thierache, France.
We decided to come to Chena Hot springs because the resort has built the world’s first year around ice hotel. This takes a little explaining. The resort hauled a high arched Quonset frame surplus from Prudhoe Bay and fit it … Continue reading Chena Ice Hotel and Museum, Chena Hot Springs, Alaska
The Drive from Yerevan to Tbilisi is through the Debed Canyon that runs north from Vanadzor to the border. The canyon has decaying industrial towns at its base and soaring monasteries, surrounded by traditional villages, on its peaks. Armenia has … Continue reading Monasteries and MiGs, Sanahin Side.
Haghpat Monastery looks across the Debed Valley at the Sanahin Monastery. In the valley in the middle sits the industrial town of Alaverdi. The Alaverdi region is famous for its monasteries and its Soviet heroes. It is the home of … Continue reading Monasteries and MiGs, Haghpat Side.
Prizren is the picture perfect Balkan town. It’s cut in two by the Drini River; a graceful Turkish arched bridge unites the two halves of the town. A 15th century Mosque dominates the riverbank. That Mosque is built on Roman foundations. At least 5 other minarets pierce the skyline. The citadel overlooking the town was first built in the 4th century BC by the Illyrians and used, in turn, by the Romans, Byzantines and Turks. Halfway up the hill sits a Byzantine monastery. Another Orthodox church sits near the main town square. Then there is the clock tower and Turkish … Continue reading Prizren, the Picture Perfect Balkan Town
“God made the earth, the Dutch made Holland.” But they didn’t need an environmental impact statement. During my day long layover in Amsterdam my friend Dave Lam drove up from Brussels and we went to visit two old (you could … Continue reading When the Sea Goes Away, Marken and Volendam, Netherlands.
When I was a kid summer vacation meant Wildwood, New Jersey on the south Jersey shore, “Oh those days, those Wild wild Wildwood Days. Every day’s a holiday and every night is a Saturday night.” Occasionally I make trips back … Continue reading Doo Wop, Wildwood, New Jersey
June, 2007 The great sand sea that stretches southward from the Siwa Oasis is like a woman. Her contours are soft and rounded with velvety folds. Her complexion changes with the light. But she’s a harsh woman, with dunes over … Continue reading Siwa Oasis
I rewrote this post from three family letters, written in 2010 from Dubai, 2011 from Doha and 2012 from Zanzibar. People think about Arabs as a desert people, riding camels, “The ships of the desert” as I was taught in school, across waves of sand. But in my travels I learned that Arabs were also master seafarers taking their dhows all around and across the Indian Ocean, carrying trade goods, culture and Islam to East Africa, India, Malaya and Indonesia just as the ships of the desert carried the same across Arabia and North Africa. Along the coast of the … Continue reading Sea Arabs, Oman, Qatar and Zanzibar
Alaska Day in Sitka Alaska Day commemorates the day in 1867 when the United States took possession of Alaska from the Russians. It’s Sitka’s day. Up until that time Sitka ran on the Julian calendar and was west of the International Date Line. Sitka jumped ahead about two weeks in an instant when the American flag hit the top of the pole on Castle Hill. In most Alaska communities Alaska Day is just a substitute for Columbus Day, which is a federal but not a State holiday. In 1980 when I worked at KTOO in Juneau, we did a vox … Continue reading Alaska Day in Sitka, Alaska, 2013