Author: Rich McClear

South Sudan, Winds of Change, AfricaLeave a comment

Juba Letter 1, First Impressions

Rich McClear

April 1, 2012 Juba, South Sudan Dear Friends. At the bar Saturday night (anti-malarial gin and tonics or Stony Ginger Beer) an American raised as a missionary son now working for a USAID funded fish farming project building ponds along both the Nile and Congo said, “Welcome to Africa.  Kenya and Uganda are just ‘Africa lite.’ This is the ‘real’ Africa.  You’re not in Nairobi anymore.” I’m staying at the Jebel Lodge, a fenced compound of metal pre-fab buildings.  I have my own cabin near the fence on the far side of the compound from Rock City, which is a … Continue reading Juba Letter 1, First Impressions

Letters from the Transition, South Sudan, Winds of Change, Africa2 Comments

South Sudan

Rich McClear

When it comes to media in South Sudan — radio is king.  Radio plays to the country’s oral tradition.  Further, there is limited electric power distribution.  The country is poor and TVs are expensive.  Finally TV coverage has not reached much of the country.  Radio is perfet for a country like this.  Radio sets don’t require much infrastructure.  Radios can be powered by batteries, solar cells or hand cranks. South Sudan had just become the world’s newest nation after decades of civil war with the North.  The infrastructure was ruined and radio is playing a central role in nation building, … Continue reading South Sudan

EgyptLeave a comment

Undersea gardens at Sharm el-Sheikh

Rich McClear

In Sharm el-Sheikh the talk was of sharks.  A few weeks earlier four tourists were attacked and the beaches and reefs closed.  They were reopened and a German woman was killed in 2 feet of water off the Hyatt hotel, very close to where we were staying.  A satirical website is Serbia reported that a cannonballing fat Serbian tourist landed on, and killed, the shark.  Croat and Russian papers picked it up and published it as fact, much to the delight of Serbs.  When I got back to Belgrade a staffer asked me if I had met the Serbian “Hero … Continue reading Undersea gardens at Sharm el-Sheikh

Boardwalk Towns, Egypt1 Comment

Egyptian “Boardwalk” Towns, Sharm and Dahab.

Rich McClear

It was not the boardwalk at Keansburg or Wildwood.  On the boardwalks in those Jersey Shore towns you won’t see a sign in the window of a hole in the wall shop that says “special, buy two bottles of Viagra, get one free. Genuine — illegally imported from the States.” Of course it’s called the corniche, and not boardwalk, on Naama Bay at Sharm el Sheikh.  It’s a bit more upscale than the boardwalk at Wildwood or Keansburg, but it has its share of shore dinners, pizza, postcards, and sunglasses.  Along the streets leading to the corniche you can find … Continue reading Egyptian “Boardwalk” Towns, Sharm and Dahab.

Religious, SpainLeave a comment

Barcelona Nouveau and Gaudi

Rich McClear

I became interested in Art Nouveau living in Bratislava and within an hour of Vienna where Nouveau and Secession buildings captured my fancy.  Having seen them I needed to see some of the buildings of Antoni Gaudí .  The first 8 pics here are Gaudi buildings, including the Holy Family Cathedral, Sagrada Família, a must see in Barcelona and Casa Batilo and Casa Mila. I took these pictures in 1999 on a very early digital camera that had limited storage capacity.  I find it hard to imagine that I can shoot thousands of pictures now on one card.  Early digital cameras … Continue reading Barcelona Nouveau and Gaudi

Baltic States1 Comment

Riga Nouveau

Rich McClear

We arrived in Riga Monday night and walked through a snowy city. By Tuesday it had warmed up, morning fog hid the steeple tops and we walked through slush. The embassy district of Riga has one of the best collections of Art Nouveau buildings in Europe, built for the German merchants who ran the economic life of Riga around 1900. Michael Eisenstein, father of the Soviet filmmaker, was the architect of many of them. In Riga it’s easy to see Art Nouveau as the bridge between the empire style and art deco.  The district centers around Alberta St.  The district … Continue reading Riga Nouveau

France, Religious4 Comments

St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Metz

Rich McClear

Modernist Marc Chagall, cubist Jacques Villon, and tachist Roger Bissière are all there, mixed with art from the Gothic, Renaissance and Romantic periods.  It’s the play of light on the works that I find so fascinating.  They are the stained glass windows in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Metz.  Gothic does away with the need for structural walls, allowing artists to work in walls of glass.  The cathedral soars with light coming through colored glass, creating shadows and shafts.   Outside the light plays against the exposed structural members, the flying buttresses.  At night the outside is floodlit to stunning effect. Pictures from … Continue reading St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Metz

Morocco, ReligiousLeave a comment

King Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco

Rich McClear

The only way to get into the King Hassan II Mosque, if you are not a Moslem, is on a guided tour.  It’s worth it.   The mosque is more than two football fields long and one wide.  I think St. Peters in Rome could easily fit inside if the roof were retracted for the dome.  It has a carved wooden roof of cyprus that is retractable so in good weather you can pray outside.  There is a glass floor under part of the mosque, which is built on and, in parts, over the Atlantic.  The floor gives us a glimpse … Continue reading King Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco

SitkaLeave a comment

Sitka Sea Walk

Rich McClear

On Thursday we had 1.7 inches of rain, it was dark and wet.  I had the feeling that the season had changed.  We were finally going to get payback for our beautiful summer and fall.  On Friday I woke up to blue skies and sunrise alpenglow on Mt. Edgecumbe.  This morning (Saturday) I woke up to — snow. Friday was a good day for walking.  I took my usual turn through the National Park and then walked Sitka’s new Sea Walk.  The Sea Walk opened on Alaska Day.  I have never driven by without seeing people enjoying the walk and … Continue reading Sitka Sea Walk

EgyptLeave a comment

Bibliotheca Alexandrina, The Great Library at Alexandria redux

Rich McClear

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, or “New Library of Alexandria,” is an attempt to recreate the tradition of the first “Great Library of Alexandria” built by Ptolemy in the third century BC.   It is either a stunning triumph of modern architecture or “The Rotten Oyster” depending on your point of view.  It is a stunning building, designed by a Norwegian firm incorporating types of natural wood never seen in Egypt.  Some Egyptians wonder “why a Norwegian, why Norwegian wood?”   I like it.  The outer wall has carvings of letters from most of the world’s alphabets reflected in a blue moat that surrounds … Continue reading Bibliotheca Alexandrina, The Great Library at Alexandria redux

Holy Land, Jordan, ReligiousLeave a comment

Mt. Nebo, Jordan

Rich McClear

When Moses got to Mt. Nebo he could see the Promised Land, but he could not enter. The mountain has a commanding view down into the Jordan Valley and across.  It is more than 2.600 feet above sea level and the Dead Sea at the foot of the Jordan Valley is more than 1,400 feet below sea level.  That’s quite a drop and quite a view.  You can just see the gold glint of dome from the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. You can also see Jericho, the Dead Sea and practically all of modern Palestine and Israel.  I … Continue reading Mt. Nebo, Jordan

Poland, ReligiousLeave a comment

Salt Pope, Krakow, Poland

Rich McClear

I’m not sure of the theological meaning, but Pope John Paul II has been turned into a pillar of salt.  In Genesis it was Lot’s wife who became a saline pillar.  Her sin was looking back at Sodom, the home from which she was being evacuated by angels before its destruction. The Wieliczka mines in Krakow Poland are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We took a bus to the salt mines and went on the tour.  We went down about 438 feet, although the mines go down much further than that, and walked for about three kilometers underground.  The wondrous … Continue reading Salt Pope, Krakow, Poland