Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar,– I.M. Pei’s symphony of geometric light and shadow.
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.
“A Mighty Fortress” The fortified churches of Thierache, France.
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.
Chena Ice Hotel and Museum, Chena Hot Springs, Alaska
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
Monasteries and MiGs, Sanahin Side.
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.
Monasteries and MiGs, Haghpat 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, the Picture Perfect Balkan Town
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
When the Sea Goes Away, Marken and Volendam, Netherlands.
“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.
Doo Wop, Wildwood, New Jersey
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
Siwa Oasis
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
Sea Arabs, Oman, Qatar and Zanzibar
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, 2013
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
Harbor Mountain Redux, Sept 2013
The weather obliged with rain during “Running of the Boots” this morning but the clouds broke and the sun broke through a dramatic sky mid-afternoon. Suzi and I decided to run up to the top of Harbor Mountain for much of the afternoon. The autumn has progressed, the colors are a little more vivid than they were earlier in the week when I posted. Continue reading Harbor Mountain Redux, Sept 2013
Running of the Boots, Sitka, Alaska, Sept, 2013
Today Sitka celebrated the “End of the Season” with 19th annual “The Running of the Boots.” Why not? San Fermin, Spain has its running of the bulls. We don’t have bulls on our island, or even bull moose, but we … Continue reading Running of the Boots, Sitka, Alaska, Sept, 2013
Harbor Mountain, Autumn 2013
Our trees do not turn to the colors of the hardwood forests in the East, but alder leaves do turn yellow and the alpine tundra in the mountains above Sitka turns red, gold and brown while the spruce, hemlock and cedar lower on the slopes retain their different shades of green. On Tuesday the skies unexpectedly cleared, the weather bureau was caught off guard, and we had sun through Wednesday afternoon. I got in the jeep and drove 2,000 feet up Harbor Mountain both to watch the new weather front come in from the Gulf of Alaska and walk through … Continue reading Harbor Mountain, Autumn 2013
Fall in Sitka, 2013
Fall has come to Sitka. I arrived in a storm, typical for the season. Holland America canceled the last two cruise ships of the season because winds and seas made it difficult to put a pilot on or take a … Continue reading Fall in Sitka, 2013
College Fjord, Glaciers in Prince William Sound.
Visitors to Anchorage who come by cruise ship dock in Whittier. Whittier was a secret port on Prince William Sound built during World War II. It was almost always covered with clouds so the Japanese planes could not see it most days. It worked. It was on no Japanese charts or maps. One of the town’s unofficial slogans is “It’s Sh!@#ier in Whittier.” Whittier is connected to Anchorage by rail through a long tunnel that goes from Whittier to Portage Lake where Portage near Portage Glacier. The tunnel is now open to cars and Whittier is where many people from … Continue reading College Fjord, Glaciers in Prince William Sound.
See Alaska before it melts! Portage Glacier
In 1991 I took my mother to visit the Portage Glacier an hour drive south of Anchorage. We went to a program at the visitors’ center, heard the lecture and saw the movie on glaciers. At the end of the performance the ranger opened the curtain behind her and there was a close up view of Portage Glacier including a lake filled with little ice burgs. By the time Kevin was married in 2007 and we brought the wedding party to Portage Glacier the glacier was no where to be seen in the vicinity of the visitors’ center. … Continue reading See Alaska before it melts! Portage Glacier
Denali Flightseeing.
In 2008 Suzi, Kevin and I took a flightseeing tour of Denali. We flew on a K2 Aviation Otter from Talkeetna and landed on a glacier. It turned out that this was the last day of the season where the planes could land on a glacier because as the summer progressed landing became unsafe. This is another post from the archives. Continue reading Denali Flightseeing.
Autumn on the Alaska Railroad
When I posted the Autumn pictures from the MatSu valley and the archive pictures from the Alaska Highway I began thinking of fall experiences in Alaska. In August 2008 Suzi and I took the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Denali Park. By late August the colors in Interior Alaska had started to change. Continue reading Autumn on the Alaska Railroad
Aurora, 2004 (Glennallen and Anchorage.)
This year we are in a high Aurora cycle. These pictures were taken during the last high period in the winter of 2004. The first pictures are from near Glennallen. The later pictures are from Earthquake Park with the lights … Continue reading Aurora, 2004 (Glennallen and Anchorage.)
Alaska Highway, Autumn, 2004
We have only driven the Alaska Highway in the winter and the autumn. In the summer there is dust, there are potholes and there are mosquitoes. In the winter the potholes are filled with water and frozen over, there is … Continue reading Alaska Highway, Autumn, 2004
Anchorage, Sept 2013
These pictures are all taken within the Anchorage City Limits. The first two show Anchorage on Sunday, without “termination dust” (snow) on the near mountains, the second taken on Thursday shows the termination dust has taken hold. Both were taken … Continue reading Anchorage, Sept 2013
Mat Su Valley, Sept, 2013
We got to spend two days driving with our friends Dave and Carol Lam, one through the Matanuska-Susitna valley (MatSu) and one down Turnagain Arm to Girdwood. We enjoyed the last days of summer and the first of fall in Anchorage and environs. The colors up on the mountains had turned and the mountainsides were red, rust, yellow and green. When we arrived the tops of the near mountains were clear of snow. When we left “termination dust” the first snow dusting the mountain peaks, had arrived. Alaska had a hard winter and a glorious summer. When I posted pics … Continue reading Mat Su Valley, Sept, 2013
Rila Monastery, Bulgaria, 1997
These pictures are faded. We scanned them to put on this website. March 1997 There are fine monasteries, isolated in the mountains, and of only passing interest to the Turks, so they remain. We went to Rila. It is a four story arcaded and fortified place with fine frescos that have the faces of donors to the monastery depicted as saints, and demons. I don’t know if the placement has anything to do with the size of the donation. While we happily spent hours in the monastery on one fine Sunday, it is the mountains rising around it that … Continue reading Rila Monastery, Bulgaria, 1997